• Hi Guest !

    Welcome to the 500Eboard forum.

    Since its founding in late 2008, 500Eboard has become the leading resource on the Internet for all things related to the Mercedes-Benz 500E and E500. In recent years, we have also expanded to include the 400E and E420 models, which are directly related to the 500E/E500.

    We invite you to browse and take advantage of the information and resources here on the site. If you find helpful information, please register for full membership, and you'll find even more resources available. Feel free to ask questions, and make liberal use of the "Search" function to find answers.

    We hope you will become an active contributor to the community!

    Sincerely,
    500Eboard Management

Trip to The Green Hell

500ESpain

E500E Guru
Member
Hi guys,

I'm back from a trip from Barcelona to Nürburgring and I'd like to share it with you. This is a trip that a couple of friends of mine and I have been talking about for a while. When one of them bought a 1991 Porsche 964 a few months ago, we decided it was time to do it. Dates were arranged, and off we went, three friends (girlfriends decided to take a plane to Stuttgart a leave the roadtrip to the guys), the Flying Olive and Louis Armstrong (black and with big cheeks).

Day 1: Barcelona – Col de Turini (France)

We planned to leave early and so we did, but after about half an hour driving, my friend realized he had forgotten a bag with his ID, driving license, money, glasses, etc. Nothing important, but we decided to go back. An hour and a half behind schedule we were back on the road.

Nothing special ahead that day, just highway driving to Cannes with a couple of pit stops for lunch and rest. At one of the rest areas two policemen were fining a girl with a VW Polo. They fixed their eyes on us as soon as they saw the Porsche. They left before us and I told my friends that I was sure they were going to be waiting for us in less than a kilometer. We left, and there they were, under a bridge pointing their laser gun like marksmen. I was tempted to wave at them. 120Km/h, bye bye, monsieur le gendarme!

After that, we stopped for a fill up and we saw the first super car, a Lamborghini Something (i'm sorry, i'm not very keen on that kind of cars), proof that we were now very close to Monaco. Of course, hot girl on the passenger seat. Haven't you noticed that fat girls don't like supercars? :twisted:

We continued our trip with nothing remarkable but a storm and a very glamourous and huge Cote d'Azur traffic jam.

Finally we arrived to the Col the Turini, well known for being one of the stages of the famous Monte Carlo Rally. The road was deserted so we enjoyed driving fast uphill through the bends with the roar of the Porsche and the hum of the 500's V8 as a soundtrack. It would have been fun too at the wheel of a Delta Integrale or an Audi Quattro.

At the hotel, on the top of the “Col”, we had a nice omelette with ratatouille for dinner and then time to go to bed. One room, three guys, two beds. I'm trying to forget that.

Day 2 coming soon with better pictures and more interesting stories (I hope)
 

Attachments

  • P1000929.JPG
    P1000929.JPG
    89.6 KB · Views: 5
  • P1000934.JPG
    P1000934.JPG
    92.3 KB · Views: 6
  • P1000954.JPG
    P1000954.JPG
    26 KB · Views: 3
  • P1000967.JPG
    P1000967.JPG
    77.9 KB · Views: 6
  • DSCI0212.JPG
    DSCI0212.JPG
    40.2 KB · Views: 4
Day 2: Col de Turini – Maranello

We woke up early excited about getting back on the road. We said goodbye to the friendly hotel owners and got in the cars. We were ready for start up when first problem showed up: coolant level light on the 500 was on. We opened the hood and the reservoir was empty. We weren't able to figure out were the leak was coming because we couldn't find the coolant spot on the gravel floor. The hotel owner thought we were strange guys because his wife told us that he couldn't understand why we were taking two cars if we were just three :brudda: and I'm sure he confirmed how weird we were when he found my friend looking at the car's engine, waving his arms and shouting “ce n'est pas possible, ce n'est pas possible!!! (the only words he knows in french). Anyway, he kindly tried to help us. Finally, we decided to fill it up and continue with an eye on the temperature needle and checking the coolant level. Meanwhile, an english guy in a Caterham arrived. He was travelling alone and he also had cooling problems (an air lock on the system). We chatted with him for a while and we left.

As we were going down the Col the Turini, I told my friend how good the brakes were behaving given that I wasn't using the engine brake. After telling him that, I decided I wanted to stop to take a picture of the car. That picture saved our lives. As you can see (not very clearly, sorry) on the picture, the brakes were literally smoking! We let them cool down and continued down the Col. First corner and... pedal to the metal! But I mean (brake) pedal to the metal: it sunk into the floor! Really scary! Take a look at the pictures and the cliffs sorrounding the road. I pumped the brakes and finally got some braking action. Probably the fluid was boiling. They finally recovered after more cooling down we made it to the highway (of course I used the gearbox this time). First job when I'm back is to raplace the brake fluid.

The rest of the trip was highway driving to Maranello and we had the chance to know italian driving. Watch Franco's words of wisdom on minute 1:25 of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8FnNiplNTg That was EXACTLY how they drive.

We made some fuel stops and the coolant level was perfect.

Finally we arrived to Maranello and we have lunch at the Ristorante Cavallino http://www.ristorante-cavallino.it , a Ferrari themed restaurant. Soon we realized that everything is Ferrari themed in Maranello. Ferrari is everywhere there. We saw a couple of stunning Ferraris driving through town but after the fifth one we didn't bother to turn our heads anymore. There were guys with Ferrari overalls everywhere, Ferrari shops, Ferrari rentals...

After lunch we went to visit the museum. A little bit dissapointing in my opinion. Very few cars given Ferrari's automotive heritage.

After that we went for a ride around town in the 500, with one of my friends at the wheel. We drove in front the factory as I wanted to take some pictures of the wind tunnel. A bunch of guys with Ferrari overalls stood there staring distrustfully at us. My friend stopped in front of them, stared them back and floored the 500. Our german engineering present for you, Ferrari guys, right at your factory doors! :deniro:

After leaving our bags at our Ferrari themed hotel we went for dinner at another Ferrari themed restaurant. There we met Douglas Dolton from http://www.sfmotorsports.com. He claimed he had the best car technician in the United States. Maybe you, San Francisco guys,could check that.

I can't tell you what happened after dinner but after that night (plus the factory doors episode) we probably won't be admitted in Maranello anymore.

Relaxing shower with Ferrari shampoo and time to go to bed. Three beds this time!
 

Attachments

  • P1010063.JPG
    P1010063.JPG
    63.5 KB · Views: 4
  • P1010076.JPG
    P1010076.JPG
    127.3 KB · Views: 3
  • DSC_0197.JPG
    DSC_0197.JPG
    139 KB · Views: 3
  • DSC_0200.JPG
    DSC_0200.JPG
    122.5 KB · Views: 4
  • P1010012.JPG
    P1010012.JPG
    127.3 KB · Views: 4
  • P1000999.JPG
    P1000999.JPG
    85.4 KB · Views: 7
  • P1010006.JPG
    P1010006.JPG
    152.8 KB · Views: 10
  • DSC_0135.JPG
    DSC_0135.JPG
    216.4 KB · Views: 4
  • P1000995.JPG
    P1000995.JPG
    139 KB · Views: 4
  • P1000994.JPG
    P1000994.JPG
    135.2 KB · Views: 11
  • DSC_0210.JPG
    DSC_0210.JPG
    128.2 KB · Views: 4
Wow, really beautifull pics :thumbsup2:
Why so small?? I want enjoy it in full size...
 
Very nice! Look forward to hearing more about the trip. Two summers ago I drove from Munich to Barcelona and back along the Cote d'Azur, spending nights in Monaco and St. Tropez. Got some awesome photos. Alas, I was in an MB C-Class (W204).

You are sure correct about the traffic jams on the Cote d'Azur. I'd do it again though !!

Cheers,
Gerry
 
Yes, 036, small photos but the forum doesn't allow bigger, I'm sorry. Anyway I can send them to you via email.

I would love to see some of those pictures, Gerry, and please advise next time you come to Spain!

I will continue posting as soon as possible. 036 Knows some of what happened later on the trip. :banghead:
 
Day 3: Maranello - Stelvio Pass

New day ahead. First thing to check was the coolant level. Empty reservoir again but no traces of coolant on the pristine garage floor. My suspects were on the heater duo valve (something I confirmed later when the side vents started blowing hot air) but where was all the coolant going? :detective: I checked the floor mats but they were bone dry. Anyway, I decided to fill it up again and continue the trip.

Nothing remarkable on the way to the Stelvio.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.
 

Attachments

  • P1010229.JPG
    P1010229.JPG
    125.9 KB · Views: 4
  • P1010228.JPG
    P1010228.JPG
    115.1 KB · Views: 5
  • P1010213.JPG
    P1010213.JPG
    153.4 KB · Views: 8
  • P1010170.JPG
    P1010170.JPG
    117.5 KB · Views: 3
  • DSC_0453.JPG
    DSC_0453.JPG
    94.3 KB · Views: 6
  • DSC_0448.JPG
    DSC_0448.JPG
    71.9 KB · Views: 11
  • DSC_0429-1.JPG
    DSC_0429-1.JPG
    116 KB · Views: 10
  • P1010212.JPG
    P1010212.JPG
    180.3 KB · Views: 6
  • P1010168.JPG
    P1010168.JPG
    166.2 KB · Views: 4
  • P1010121.JPG
    P1010121.JPG
    78.4 KB · Views: 11
  • P1010257.JPG
    P1010257.JPG
    59.5 KB · Views: 5
  • P1010255.JPG
    P1010255.JPG
    60.1 KB · Views: 5
  • P1010254.JPG
    P1010254.JPG
    91.3 KB · Views: 7
  • P1010239.JPG
    P1010239.JPG
    72.1 KB · Views: 6
Day 4: Stelvio - Munich

Back on the road. Relaxed highway driving through Austria and Germany ahead. We were expecting to be in Munich by lunch time but disaster happened. My friend, who was driving the 500 called us saying he thought the car was blowing smoke. He overtook us and, yes, it was blowing a lot of smoke. We stopped and we found a huge transmission fluid leak.

We jacked the car and it was a real mess down there. We cleaned it as we could to find out were the fluid was exactly coming from but it was really difficult to tell. We decided to fill it up and continue to the nearest workshop. Once we did it, we turned on the car again but it was leaking so bad that we decided to call a tow truck. While I was underneath the car I found a drain on the passenger side. I put a piece of wire through it and the two missing liters of coolant suddenly dropped all over me. At least, one mystery was solved.

While we were waiting for the tow truck we made bets on the driver's name. My friend's were on Hans or Wolfgang. Mine was on Otto. Finally Hans arrived with a big ADAC truck. The first thing he said was "only german" so I started making strange gestures and saying "getriebe kaputt". He started laughing and said in perfect english "ok, guys, don't worry, let's see what's going on..." While the car was being loaded, he asked about the coolant on the ground. That's another story, Hans.

We arrived to the Mercedes dealer in Murnau, the nearest town, and the car was lifted while we were offered something to drink. We thought it was funny how Hans moved around the facilities and gave instructions to the workers in a too confident way for just the truck driver. Later we found he was actually the owner of the dealership but he enjoyed driving the truck. He was a really nice guy and we chatted with him while the car was inspected. He owned a really cool G-Wagen powered by that kind of fuel that cannot be mentioned on this forum.

After three different guys inspected the car and talked to each other with poker faces that could mean "this is an easy fix" or "new gearbox is required" they finally told me they thought they found the problem: a wrong seal ring on the torque converter plug. Well, those were very good news! Easy and cheap fix! But after replacing the ring and filling it up with new fluid they turned it on and started bleeding again :banger:

New torque converter needed, a couple of days to replace it and around 1500-2000 Euros :( We decided to rent a car (Hans offered his rental car service) and continue our trip and then come back to pick it up. So, bye bye 500, hope to see you soon.

When we arrived we went on a Segway tour around Munich and had a couple of beers at the Hofbrahaus to forget about the misadventures of the day.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0508%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    DSC_0508%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    146.7 KB · Views: 13
  • DSC_0516%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    DSC_0516%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    117.7 KB · Views: 9
  • DSC_0523%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    DSC_0523%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    64.5 KB · Views: 4
Day 4: Munich - Stuttgart

New day and off to Stuttgart in the Porsche and the rental B Class. But we had to make a stop on a small town halfway between Munich and Stuttgart, called Pfaffenhausen. In this cute little town there is a car manufacturer called RUF. I'm sure you all know him but if not, I highly recommend watching this:

[youtube]yfYHCbyo6CE[/youtube]

We arrived and just told to the girl at the reception that we wanted to have a tour around the factory. No sooner said than done, we were back at the workshop with a nice guy (who spoke perfect spanish) taking us around the premises. We were not allowed to take pictures but, as you can see in the documentary, what was in there was amazing: the electric project cars, the electric motors (initially they used train motors but now they had one specially developed for them), the V8 engine that was being build from scratch, the dyno which was going to be replaced as it could “only” measure up to 750Nm, test cars, prototypes, etc.

We also visited the paintshop and there, underneath a tarp, I noticed “something yellow”. “Is that the...?”, I asked. It was.

[youtube]RIibbiDJMpo[/youtube]

Finally we visited the body shop where they were cutting in half a brand new 911 to make the Ruf CTR. Among other interesting cars, they also had a 356 body shell that was about to be restored at an estimated cost of 200.000 euro.

Once we finished the tour, we said goodbye and went for a walk around town. Right behind the factory we found Mr. Ruf's own house and guess what car was parked on his driveway. No pictures until you tell me.
 
500ESpain said:
Once we finished the tour, we said goodbye and went for a walk around town. Right behind the factory we found Mr. Ruf's own house and guess what car was parked on his driveway. No pictures until you tell me.
YELLOWBIRD!

:omg:
 
A Trabi?

proxy.php
 
gsxr said:
YELLOWBIRD!

:omg:

The Yellowbird was at the paintshop. I HAD to touch it. Later I thought that wasn't a good idea as it could probably be very recently painted but no yellow paint on my fingers and no german yelling at me.

On his driveway was his everyday car.

gerryvz said:

:lolhit: Near!
 
Wait. I think I remember this... his "everyday" car is a 124.036, isn't it!

:124:
 
gerryvz said:
OK ... well now that [previously known] fact is out of the way .....

:neeed:
:postpics:
:thankyou:

:roll:
 

Attachments

  • alois_Ruf_500E_02_Red.jpg
    alois_Ruf_500E_02_Red.jpg
    132.6 KB · Views: 71
gsxr said:
Wait. I think I remember this... his "everyday" car is a 124.036, isn't it!

My friend visited Ruf last year and while he was there old man Alois pulls up to the shop in his 036. The man certainly knows his cars. :respekt:
 
gerryvz said:
OK ... well now that [previously known] fact is out of the way .....

As we say in Spain: "when I'm going to buy the flour, you're already back with bread"



036, very good one! :man:
 
JordiC said:
My friend visited Ruf last year and while he was there old man Alois pulls up to the shop in his 036. The man certainly knows his cars. :respekt:

When we were leaving, we heard the roar of an engine. It was Alois driving a Ferrari 358. He was very kind and he even spoke spanish with us (his wife is from Venezuela). My friend, obviusly jealous, said that the 036 was Ruf's maid car, so I had to ask him and of course he told me it was his own car. I told him about my car and the broken gearbox. He asked me about mileage and when I told him that it was around 115.000kms he said "well, that is because you don't use it enough. Mine has more than 400.000 and it runs perfectly".

His wife and his daughter arrived later in an Audi A8 and they were also very kind. We took some pictures with them, chatted for a while and they gave us a lot of gifts (DVD's, pens, etc.). We had a really great time there. Exactly like being raped every time you go to the Mercedes Stealership ;)

I'm sorry but due to technical reasons I can't post the pictures right now, but I promise I will as soon as possible.
 
Pictures
 

Attachments

  • P1010536%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010536%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    140.2 KB · Views: 8
  • P1010540%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010540%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    104.1 KB · Views: 6
  • P1010555%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010555%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    95.1 KB · Views: 4
  • P1010565%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010565%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    110.9 KB · Views: 11
  • P1010568%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010568%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    124.3 KB · Views: 72
  • P1010560%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010560%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    109.8 KB · Views: 17
  • P1010559%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010559%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    139 KB · Views: 5
  • P1010558%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010558%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    106.3 KB · Views: 3
  • P1010549%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010549%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    38.5 KB · Views: 3
  • P1010545%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010545%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    134.7 KB · Views: 3
  • P1010574%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010574%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    159.8 KB · Views: 6
  • P1010586%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    P1010586%20%28Copiar%29.JPG
    85.2 KB · Views: 5
Thank you!
Great stuff... it´s so nice to see that big master drives decent car in perfect condition....
 

Who has viewed this thread (Total: 1) View details

Back
Top