Escort, Mercedes and Feb 2015 update - a Volvo and TWO Jags!

[JohnK]

I bought my 190E 2.0 Auto back in 2011. It was for sale on this very forum, but I ended up getting it on eBay (a bit cheaper!).

I drove around in it for around a year (as a second car), made a couple of minor changes to it, but then it was parked up when I started working away. It's kind of been left to rot since, I did move it between storage in early 2013, but apart from that, it has had no attention at all. I've concentrated too much on old BMW's of late and kind of 'gone off' Mercedes. I have a new found love for it after today though.

Over the past few months I have been itching to get this back on the road - aside from needing some rust sorting out, it is an immaculate car throughout.

How I bought it in 2011



First things which I had to change, was the horrendous grill and change back to amber front indicators. A huge improvement I am sure you will all agree, here it is in all of its glory in early 2012, with a private plate on:







Fast forward over 2 years and today, I decided it was about time I got my backside into gear and did something with it. I know for a fact it no longer runs (from when I moved it in 2013) - however it did have some running issues prior to me laying it up and the brakes are well and truly seized on.

The garage door gives an indication of how long it is since it last opened...



So, it appears my family have dumped a couple of boxes of old paperwork in the garage since the last time I went in, and thrown some old parts I recognise that I had left in my old mans garage!



I know I'm quite slim, but I did struggle to get inside this! When I moved it in 2013, as a non-runner, it was pushed into the garage with no consideration to the fact we would need to get it out at some point...



So, I managed to shoe-horn myself in - I kid you not, this gadget here is the key to start it - brief demonstration here (crappy system which was in place when I bought the car and, once I have got it back running, will be the first thing to go!)









Yes, this is genuine mileage, with history to verify...



Managed to find the ball-joints which I bought and never replaced - added to the list of jobs:



And a taster of what the plans were, before it was laid up. This plan will be followed through...



So, we had to get it out. It didn't start (I did try on the off-chance!) and the brakes were completely jammed. So, a rope and my E36 were summoned and we managed to get it out of the garage and then get it parked up, using basic technology...





And just when you can't tow any further (and can't be bothered to push!)...





Voila - one 190E now has daylight:











Looking a bit sorry for itself, with my E36:



As if by magic, the garage has a replacement! Not as long standing as the Mercedes this time though:



So, the list of things to do:
1) The car needs moving to somewhere where I am going to work on it more often - which I will be doing tomorrow. A bucket of water will confirm that the bodywork is as good as I remember...
2) Get it running, sort the brakes and new tyres (preferably on the replacement rims), change ball-joints
3) Once running, MOT it, Tax it and at least I can use it

Then, moving on to the longer term

4) It may be a low mileage engine, however it needs changing. It's knackered. Whether it stays a 2.0 .. probably not...
5) Chrome arches will be removed to show the rust hidden beneath - I will do all the prep work for this, replace rear arch sections and then send it in for paint...

I will endeavour to update as and when I can!

[mrabody]

Cool another 190e with MB-Tex interior.

[breadvan]

cool and clean looking machine i like nice

[THE_Liam]

Love that, except for the chrome arches. Wish mine had a Cosworth kit

[Speedle]

Like that a lot! Loving the rear spoiler too, can't say I've seen that before.

[chrissyb]

want another 190e now

[JohnK]

Sept 19, 2014 6:31:14 GMT mrabody said:

Cool another 190e with MB-Tex interior.

I do love the MB-Tex - even more so than leather!

Sept 19, 2014 7:13:56 GMT THE_Liam said:

Love that, except for the chrome arches. Wish mine had a Cosworth kit

Chrome arches are unfortunately hiding rust - once I source some new front wings, get them fitted and then sort the rear arches, everything will be sprayed up and there will be no chrome. Until that point, they are staying.

Sept 19, 2014 7:55:49 GMT Speedle said:

Like that a lot! Loving the rear spoiler too, can't say I've seen that before.

It has a Zender logo in the corner - whether it is genuine or not I don't know. It screams 80's and brings back fond memories of my dad's old, X reg E21 320 Auto which had a black rubber spoiler too

Going to move it today and then crack on with getting it running.

[Mercdan68]

Nice car I will own. 190e one day

[77allegro]

Good stuff, I remember this being on the 190 forum years ago, back when I had my tatty red sportline!
I didn't know you still had this one, thought it got sold. Nice to see it will hit the road again, still love that Zender kit...

[JohnK]

Sept 19, 2014 20:31:51 GMT 77allegro said:

Good stuff, I remember this being on the 190 forum years ago, back when I had my tatty red sportline!
I didn't know you still had this one, thought it got sold. Nice to see it will hit the road again, still love that Zender kit...

Just seen your thread with your 190's in and recognise them - I was interested in buying your red 2.6 Sportline when it was up for sale.

I've never really had any intentions of selling this since the day I bought it and I have a clear picture in my head of how I would like it to look once it is complete. Will need a lot of work to do that though. I just need to get it on the road because it is an absolute waste of a decent motor just sat doing nothing.

On that note, I got it moved today and a plan is in place to get it running. Won't be this weekend unfortunately (the missus is a week overdue giving birth, so got tomorrow at the hospital for it to be induced!) but I will keep this updated with any developments.

John.

[JohnK]

Compulsory update - no pictures unfortunately.

Engine is now running and brakes all cleaned up and no longer jammed on.

Car insured and in for MOT today and it's failed on some minor items. Waiting on some prices for parts at the moment! A lot closer to getting it back on the road though

[JohnK]

Ok so a bit more of an update.

After splashing out a shed load of cash on some new parts mainly braking and service item related, an MOT and 6 months tax, this morning I was happy with this .,, (note that the site doesn't update tax status immediately)



So, back at home I was well chuffed that phase 1 is over. The car is now on the road and usable. Means I can start putting money aside and work on the interesting bits (sorting the rust and then transforming the look of the car). I was a happy bunny at 11am...



So after 2.5 years laid up, it was on the road for, well... A grand total of 5 miles.

After I had thrown it onto the back of a flatbed I was left with this:





I did have plans to change the coolant at the weekend. Unfortunately, the radiator crapping itself and dumping the coolant all over the road sorted that one out. It's now back laid up whilst I try to source a reasonably priced radiator!

[THE_Liam]

To be fair it's a common weak point, not helped by the stupidly small radiator! I got one from eBay, think it was about £40 NOS Behr, but I think I got lucky.

[JohnK]

I've sourced one and it's on it's way to me - a shade less than £50 delivered.

I've got the old rad out and actually reckon it's repairable, but for the sake of 50quid i will still go with the new one.

[sciclone]

If it's a common fault, keep one as spare and keep swapping and repairing them when either stuffs up.

[JohnK]

So, made some minor progress with things today - only had an hour free unfortunately.

I haven't got the radiator installed yet - the rad was delivered but my new hoses are outstanding.

There's something that has always niggled me about the rear bumper. It has what appears to be a screw holding it in place on the n/s/r - but it has been filled and painted over.

I've left it well alone but the other day when moving it, I bumped the rear end into the wall. This 'screwed' area popped out as a result. On investigation, I wasn't happy with what I saw, so the rear bumper had to come off. Perfect chance to get the chrome arch covers off the rear as well and see what I'm up against rust wise.

Nearside

The area that had popped off, after I had prised it out a bit more



Two more that I uncovered



Some tidying up needed



Chrome trim removed - overall the arch doesn't look that bad:



But evidence of some filler here:



Offside

What an absolute pain it was to get this side removed. The filler was well and truly caked on and the screws well hidden. I took the guide from inside the boot:







Chrome arches off also - the rot needs to be removed so we will replace this:







Back end seems solid though - boot floor looked ok at quick glance also:



I'm going to look at the bumper in more detail after work tomorrow - it can be repaired. I do want to reuse it once the car is back together.

Next weekend I will remove all Sacco panels, side skirts and front bumper inc chrome trims on front wings. Should give me a better idea what I'm up against rust wise before I crack on removing it!

[JohnK]

So, after searching on the forum for something different to what normally interests me, I strumbled across a MK3 Escort, on an A plate, in Gold. a 1.6 Ghia, for £800, I was sold. That was, until I wasn't quick enough and it got sold to somebody who is now breaking it. Nevermind, must learn to be quicker with these things!

Not one to be put off from this, I decided to keep the search going. In the For Sale section of this very forum I stumbled over another MK3 Escort, in Ghia trim again but this time a Silver X plate, with 1300cc of absolute G-Force power. I estimate these things kick out around 400bhp?!

Anyway, a couple of PM's exchanged (not about anything I needed to particularly know about a car 130 miles away - more just a case of 'When can I see it --> Sunday --> Plan'

So, at 6.45 this morning, I was all set to make the journey to go and inspect said Escort. I use the term 'inspect' very loosely - in typical JK fashion I made the assumption I always do when handing over less than £1000, that I might as well just wing it and check it out later.

Foolishly, my E60 525d was barricaded behind my caravan and some trash at my old mans house, so using it was out of the question for today. It was a toss up between one of the two Omega's - one had a flat battery and the rear bumper of my 190E wedged in it, so the 2.2 it was. Apart from checking tyre pressures revealed that the O/S/R tyre was slick. Typical modern day trash, the spare wheel was a 15" (the rest of the wheels are 16"), coupled with my tendancy to drive well in excess of the speed limit on the vast array of private roads here ooop north, I decided to had to use one of the 16" wheels from the other Omega. I'm not the quietest person in the world, so 7am this morning did see some quite annoyed neighbours. Nevermind.



One odd wheel later:



So, the plan was to go and collect some E23 bits for my 728i, then head over to Lincoln to look at the Escort. After some mix-up in communication with my mate who has the E23 bits in Leeds (a heavy night out meaning he wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind), meant a tasty breakfast in a scruffy cafe and the intention to go back via Leeds on the return trip.

Arrived in Lincoln, briefly looked at the car (it started - so my brain dictated I had a good chance of getting home), money exchanged and we were back on the road. It wasn't a bad trip, although a screaming Escort going at insane speeds for its 4 geared 1300cc goodness did give me a bit of a headache, we stopped for fuel and a cuppa - chance to see it properly in the dry (it was wet and miserable in Lincoln).



Back in the North East, I went into the shop and came out to see a MK5 - haven't seen one for a long time and this was very tidy (apologies for the crappy distance pic) - I reckon this might be the start of me seeing loads of old Escorts around locally!



So here she is in all of her glory! For the time being it will remain largely as it is - I will tidy up some of the (very few) bodywork areas that need attention and just use it and maintain it. I've always had plans for a sleeper of a MK3/4 Escort with a wild engine, but I feel this is the wrong car to butcher. There are plenty of MK4 dogs still kicking about cheap if the urge ever took me. These were the humdrum runabouts of my childhood that I have fond memories of (always loved the front end of the MK3) and indeed this received 2 positive comments today, one in the services car park and one at my local Aldi, so has actually received more attention than my E23's have. I'm chuffed to bits with it!

[orangecords]

That's a lovely straight escort! Deserves keeping as uncle Henry intended!

[JohnK]

I think so too!

[retroandproud]

Hey John, how you doing? That looks much cleaner than my 3 door!!! I'm gonna be pulling the 1300CVH out of mine, I've also got a 5 speed box and gearchange mech plus a 1600 carb CVH engine if you decide to upgrade......
Bookmarking this.....