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Well, I had every intention of keeping quiet about this until I'd actually been and picked the curse word up, but nevermind...... We've been without any sort of retro fix in our lives since we parted with the old black Merc we had the year before last. It was low, scruffy and slow and it wormed its way into our hearts!  We would have still had this now if it hadn't been for my job evaporating and the pressing issue of a chunky mortgage, but that's water under the bridge now and we're slowly getting ourselves back onto an even keel at last. I've still got my poor Volvo C202 sitting forlornly in the wings awaiting some love and attention, but my workshop is chock full of house related nonsense, and our house is draining all of our finances like some sort of gold-digging hussy! It's been getting me down a bit, as we've been stuck in the house, unfinished and flat broke, barely treading water. The Volvo needs some proper work, it's getting totally new running gear and the bodywork is probably about 40% rust, so it was always going to be a big project. So that brings us up to date, pretty much. My ever patient and understanding other half, Zoe, is a bit of a retro girl.....  .... and has been hankering for another classic motor in her life again. She wanted something 40's or 50's ideally, but she does quite a bit of mileage for work, so that would have meant modernising one considerably to make this a viable option. As we already have one big project of this scale, this was off the cards. We decided that if she wanted an old motor as a practical daily then we should be looking at something more retro than classic. So this brings us full circle to the opener of this ramble. I started looking for something suitable, but kept coming back to W114 stacklights. I looked at loads, but they were either rotten, knackered, overpriced, or all of the above! I was getting a bit fed up of looking when I stumbled across this little gem. Some of you may have spotted this up on the 'bay last week - yes - I'm the lunatic who payed too much for it completely blind! I spoke to the seller at some length before biting the bullet and dropping a cheeky last minute bid in. So that resulted in me buying an engineless coupe at the other end of the country! I'm fully expecting a few acres of welding and then I'll be cracking on with the engine conversion. It will be getting a W202 2.5 turbodiesel transplant, a change of wheels and a dose of the lows. It wont be going as low as the old one, as Zoe is quite fond of her spine. So here's the only picture I've got to hand at the moment....  She doesn't look too bad, but we've all heard that one before. Roadtrip starts early Saturday, so I'll try and remember to get some pictures along the way. Fingers crossed, it's not a turd! Joe |
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Last Edit: Jul 14, 2013 20:48:27 GMT by Deleted
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Bookmarked. Your Merc was one of my fave cars of the 2010 Gathering so I can't wait to see what you do with this. Your Volvo has been one of my 'want to see' cars. You know what a quirky/oddball 4x4 fan I am and I really can't wait to see what happens with that when you get around to it (I have very high expectations but I just know you'll exceed them  ). If you ever decide to move it on (and I really hope you don't) then you know where to get hold of me. But back ot the Merc, I really can't wait to see something awesome created in the hands of Mr Joe76. BTW - the house is looking awesome, I might be taking on something like that myself soon so will be knocking your door down for advice. Great work Dude. ;D |
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Cheers Bruce!
Don't worry about the Volvo; I stripped the body panels off and have them all dry-stored and I've actually spent a fair chunk of cash getting the new running gear together for it too. It's getting a Toyota 2.5 D4D engine and RWD box, so I'm hoping it will be a nice useable truck when it's back on the road. Even my local MOT boys are pestering me to get it done, so it's not being forgotten about!
Hopefully the Merc' will be a quicker turnaround!
Cheers, Joe.
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Last Edit: May 2, 2012 9:37:26 GMT by Deleted
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markbognor
South East
 
Posts: 9,969
Club RR Member Number: 56
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Looking forward to reading your updates Joe!
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mirafioriman
Posted a lot
My next project.......
Posts: 1,361
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Looks like a nice project. Looking forward to seeing this one develop |
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Well, it's been a long old day today! We blagged my mate's trailer yesterday and knocked up some sangers ready for a 7.30 start this morning. So bright and early the three of us piled into the caddy and blatted down to Brighton. Chris, the guy selling it, was a top bloke and I was relieved to find his phone call description of the car was pretty accurate. Monies and car stories were exchanged and then we loaded up the van ready for home. The Merc was a customer's car which was lined up for a V8 transplant and this was included in the price, but anyone who's read Benzboy's ill-fated and stagnated W115 V8 swap will know this is a hiding to nowhere! In fact, the lack of an engine was one of the things that made this car so appealing! Loaded up.....  Several hours later we were back in Hereford with a tired looking coupe in tow. Time for a proper look round her.... All the brightwork is in good order, straight and shiny. The interior is pretty tidy and there's a boot full of bits and bobs.... The sills are a bit crispy, as are the front of the rear arches, the floorpan, the bootfloor and the bootlid. There's also a nasty looking bubble on the nsr pillar and a big scab on the roof. Not bad for one of these, so I'm pretty happy! I'm also chuffed to find that the doors look solid, a bit of clag, but not bad at all. On top of this, the make or brake bits such as the wind up rear side windows door seals are in good shape. She's just dumped on the road outside for tonight, so the plan for tomorrow is to make some space on the drive and start stripping her out. One thing we did decide today - the white has got to go! Joe |
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Last Edit: May 20, 2012 21:28:12 GMT by Deleted
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rodney
Posted a lot
https://www.facebook.com/RD-vehicle-transport-and-recovery-services-525622614268010/
Posts: 1,677
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these look cool low , will keep an eye on it  ,. |
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facebook: rodney dean / rd transport  |
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Mark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,097
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Awesome. As you know mate, I want to OM605 my w115 so I'll be reading this with serious interest. How are you going to deal with the engine management? Mech pump & 4 speed auto?
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Cheers Mark!
I've done a fair bit of reading up on the 605 and what I actually want to do is keep a chunk of the donor loom and swap the lot in. The plan is to keep the immobiliser and wire the car up to use the later key and hopefully swap in the remote central locking too.
The pump will probably get the 'everymod' tweak to perk it up a bit and possibly a re-chip if funds allow. Not 100% on going down the auto route yet, so I'm keeping an eye out for manual donors too!
It's going to be Zoe's daily, so I want the end result to have the practicality and security of a modern.
Got to get the thing on the driive first and hit it with the welder!
Cheers, Joe.
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Last Edit: May 6, 2012 7:37:06 GMT by Deleted
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good buying skillz there mate ,,,bookmarked !!  |
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300ce lowrider
c220 track car
c280 youngtimer
S320 ...vip no 4
S430 ..
2 x slk 230
500se ,
E36 amg
E 430
E55 amg
Ml 320
C43 amg
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Mark
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,097
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Cheers Mark! I've done a fair bit of reading up on the 605 and what I actually want to do is keep a chunk of the donor loom and swap the lot in. The plan is to keep the immobiliser and wire the car up to use the later key and hopefully swap in the remote central locking too. The pump will probably get the 'everymod' tweak to perk it up a bit and possibly a re-chip if funds allow. Not 100% on going down the auto route yet, so I'm keeping an eye out for manual donors too! It's going to be Zoe's daily, so I want the end result to have the practicality and security of a modern. Got to get the thing on the driive first and hit it with the welder! Cheers, Joe. Nice, have you thought about what rear diff to use? I'd try and whack a 2.65 or similar in there, it'll make it a fantastic motorway cruiser and improve the MPG no end. I will definitely be following this mate, and probably tapping you for stupid amounts of information when I decide to take this on! Enjoy the welding dude! |
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Last Edit: May 6, 2012 10:15:14 GMT by Mark
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Nice one Joe! Bookmarked. |
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May 13, 2012 21:36:36 GMT
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Another busy weekend! Had a productive weekend doing a chunk of stuff on the house yesterday and today. Got that finished by around 2 today, so I thought I'd better get my  into gear and make a start on the Merc! As expected, it's another example of that increadible Mercedes build quality - so she's pretty rotten! First thing was wings off for a better look...  Caught me out a bit, the bay was a bit more crusty than I was expecting - the n/s strut is rotted out, thanks to someone bodging a repair and covering the drain hole with seam sealer!  The top of the inner wing has a bit of grot and the area around the battery tray has a few nasty bits too. A quick bit of spot drilling had the tray out to give a bit of access to get a repair panel glued in. Onto the sills - I knew these were going to be knackered - and they certainly are! I'm actually in two minds whether to price up some replacements, as they're gone front to back so it might be a better idea than trying to patch them up. The n/s floor is shot to bits and the inner strengthening sill is doing nothing other than adding weight!  So elsewhere there's the boot floor, which is only showing a minor amount of extra ventilation!  It looks worse than it is - mostly surface rust from a leak on the C pillar letting water in.... So there we have it! A few hours of grinding and cutting, resulting in a sorry looking vehicle! It has to get worse before it gets better! Joe |
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Last Edit: May 20, 2012 21:44:20 GMT by Deleted
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May 21, 2012 19:18:25 GMT
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Evening chaps! Time for a bit of an update.... I was getting more than just a bit bored of the constant rain stopping me from cracking on with the Merc and there was no way I was ever going to have room for it in my workshop, so I got online and ordered up a 6x3m marquee for some protection from the elements. It does look like the circus has come to town now, but it does the job and stops my drive looking worse than normal. It also bathes my work area in a rosy glow, which is quite a bizarre light to work in! Expect many a rose-tinted photo from this point on....  With her undercover I stripped out the interior, dash and glass and some of the brightwork, so I could get a better idea of the horrors that lay ahead. Let's just say she didn't disappoint! Bloody Hell - she's rotten! I hearby retract all previous statements about it not being too bad! First target was the crusty n/s sill. I was expecting rot here, so I cut the outer straight off for a better look....  OK, so that's the front half of the rear quarter completely gone, inner rear section gone, inner rear arch gone, inner rear chassis rail holed, rear floor crusty, jacking point dissolved, front floor flintstoned, front inner sill vanished, top of bulkhead vaporised, centre of bulkhead.........etc, etc aaaaargh! A picture speaks a thousand (curse) words...    Ah well, no going back now! First job was to get some strength back into the shell, so I made up a new inner sill section for the front (annoyingly my folder only does 2ft lengths, so I couldn't do it in one go)  Then a bit more tin bashing and a bit of bead rolling had us a front floor again..  So that was the a pillar joined back up with the b pillar, enabling me to scramble in and out of the car again to get cutting more of the grot out. The nasty little scab on the c pillar kept shouting at me until I couldn't resist any longer. I knew it was going to be hiding something special for me and I just had to look.....    The delight of blocked drain holes! You've got to laugh really. By the time i was done for the evening stripping the inner bulkhead of silicon sealer (you know it's going to be good when you find that) it was a bit dark to get some pictures of the beautiful 'repairs' I encountered! I probably wont get pictures next time, as I think I'll just let rip with the slitting wheel and get it all from there rather than dwell on my quality purchase! Next time; more of the same! Chin up! Joe |
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Kieren
Part of things
Posts: 136
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May 21, 2012 19:22:33 GMT
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This thing is just asking to be lowered on some nice wheel's, Would have a DIRTY STANCE !!!!
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MK2 Ford Fiesta Owner
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May 27, 2012 10:25:40 GMT
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Small update on this. No actual progress made on the rot fest, as I've been busying myself with more house-related shenanegans in readiness for my mate coming to do a load of plastering for me in the morning. There has been a bit of headway though, as I've managed to find a decent w202 turbodiesel in manual flavour. It needs another roadtrip next weekend to collect it, but it just happens to be around the corner from my mate's place up in Clitheroe, so we may be able to incorporate beer and barbeque into the equation - result! Almost seems a shame to frag it, as it's got almost a full year of tax and test on it still! Only known issue is the air-con not blowing cold - going to have to see if it's a viable option to incorporate it into the coupe anyway. Other than that I'm hoping it won't throw up any nasty surprises - fingers crossed this time! Here she is in all her ebay splendour.....  Definitely more welding progress this coming week, I promise! Cheers for stopping by, Joe. |
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Last Edit: May 27, 2012 10:28:24 GMT by Deleted
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Time for another update on what's turning out to be the world's most rotten 114! Started off the bank holiday with a run up to Blackburn on friday evening to my mum and dad's and then over to Clitheroe next morning to collect the C Class donor. More typical eBay cack, they're never as good as people make out! Seller neglected to say that it has that fuel draindown fault that afflicts many of these 250TDs, or that the discs were warped to hell, but not to worry! Fuel issue is an easy fix anyway, so I'm not overly worried! So that was Saturday done and dusted by the time we had trundled home and had some grub. Back onto the coupe.... I've had the feeling it was more of a nail than I was originally led to believe! I knew it would be, but I wasn't expecting anything quite like this! Anyway; dwelling on this wont do any good, so it's just a case of knuckling down and getting stuck in. I really am hoping that the nearside is the worst bit, as it's been pure rot from front to back! I've been grabbing hours whenever possible to make some headway and it's starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere at last! Got the n/s inner wing all patched up and shot it with epoxy mastic. Moved on to the rear arch and sorted about 75% of that, which then meant I could get the sill on...      Coming together! Sill had the slight drawback of being for a more-door, as no-one does coupe ones, so that needed a bit of a fettle. The top line was a great fit, but the lower edge took a bit more persuading to get sitting right. Anyway, boshed that on and then moved back inside the car and did the inside of the rear arch....    Next up was the rear floor. There were a load of previous repairs here around the rear subframe mounts, but (as with all the other ones dotted around the body) whoever did them didn't bother to cut the rot out first, so the only way forward was to just chop out the lot and start again.....  You can just see the other patch which needs re-doing around the subframe mount in that photo - got a bit late for any more grinding tonight, so I'll get on it tomorrow after work. Catch you later, Joe. |
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Last Edit: Jun 5, 2012 21:56:10 GMT by Deleted
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Jun 12, 2012 13:16:18 GMT
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A bit more done on this. I know it gets a bit samey with all this welding guff, so it's more for my own sanity than anything else.. Tore out that manky repair around the rear subframe mount and the original rot that was still there underneath it too! Cleaned out the grot and buzzed in a fresh patch and sorted the rear floor area whilst I was underneath getting burnt. Didn't get any pics, but suffice to say, it now looks like this but without the holes...  Feeling like I was getting somewhere, I dropped the front wing back on to check the front sill line and then closed the sill end off with another panel. Then I attacked the rear of the back arch and boot floor. The rear doesn't look too bad, but the boot was an altogether more crusty affair. As soon as I buzzed it over with the knotwheel on the grinder I could see pinholes all over it, so, rather than banging in a patchwork of repairs, I did the sensible thing and cut the lot out.  Cut out a couple of bits of sheet and fed them through the bead roller to put some stiffness back in. I was cursing my lack of a free-standing roller at this point, as the sheet kept hitting the wall behind my bench and the throat of the roller wasn't big enough to do them the other way round...  Just got to trim them to fit a little and then hit it with the welder and that's the boot nearly done. My 'quality' ebay marquee isn't as waterproof as I'd hoped for and is looking decidedly ropey after all this stormy weather of late, so I'm currently on stop until the rain clears up! Hopefully I'll be able to start adding some interesting updates, that people may actually want to read, fairly soon! Cheers, Joe. |
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Last Edit: Jun 12, 2012 13:32:20 GMT by Deleted
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Jun 12, 2012 13:30:56 GMT
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Jeez Louise.....that's some mighty rot you've got going on there! However, THIS: Time for another update on what's turning out to be the world's most rotten 114! Anyway; dwelling on this wont do any good, so it's just a case of knuckling down and getting stuck in. .....is such an awesome attitude to have when most others would probably have thrown the towel in. I really admire your detemination to get in there and make it all good. Amazing welding skills going on there Joe and I am really *REALLY* looking forward to seeing this progress. Fingers crossed you're through the worst part of the rust now and things start turning more towards the fun stuff. If I had a decent gazebo (if I even had a gazebo) I'd be heading up to you right now to give you some extra rain protection. Keep at it Dude, if it's anything like your other builds it's going to be a cracking car. All the signs are there so far! ;D |
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Jun 12, 2012 14:27:28 GMT
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I am in awe... I love this concept.
Also, if that C-class has a genuine, working Mercedes tyre compressor and space-saver spare, please let me know if you're parting with the compressor - I want one in my SLK so I don't have a thing rattling around the boot (also the SLK space saver may be the coolest space-saver I have seen).
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[*]
). If you ever decide to move it on (and I really hope you don't) then you know where to get hold of me.
,.
