My 'New' W208 Courtesy Of Benzworx

nicensleazy

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Location
Sheffield, South Yorks
Your Mercedes
1998 230 CLK Elegance W208
I’ve owned a 1998 230 CLK Elegance 5 speed manual for very nearly 2 years now and really from the first time I drove it I loved it. It originally had 88k on the clock, service history up to 76k but it had perhaps fallen on hard times slightly and was starting to show its age, courtesy of a little neglect. It had developed rust on the bonnet, both front wings and both rear ones too- all the usual places. It came in my favourite colour for a CLK quartz blue, electric sunroof, Orion grey leather upholstery, electric heated seats and headlamp wash so quite well specc'd. A friend who dabbles in the trade had taken it as a part-ex and after parting with £1450 it was mine.

Mechanically it was fine just needed a ****** good service, which it got replacing all filters, oil, plugs, new genuine brake pads all round (discs were and still are fine) and replaced the steering damper. All genuine parts used and sourced as cheaply as possible via Ebay. The interior was looking unloved, a bit dirty but after a good valet one weekend and the seats receiving a re-colour using Gliptone, it came up like new. Broken speaker grille on the driver’s door replaced with a second hand part, no problem. I’ll keep it for a few months I thought and see how we go! Initially slight problem with the SAM unit but got a replacement cheap enough from Dronsfields.

Well maybe it’s an OCD thing or maybe I just haven't grown up but I started doing bits to it, if I’m honest I just got the Benz bug I think- so a double DIN Alpine stereo with iPod connection was sourced cheaply from Ebay and fitted, chrome door pins added, set of chrome rings for the speedo and heater dials, LED lights throughout the interior. Decided then I much prefer the cream sports clocks, so kept my eye on good old Ebay and sure enough a set of clocks came up at the right price, followed by a cream set of heater controls. All swapped over and looking good IMO. Slight annoyance last summer when the air con packed in and a new radiator, receiver dryer and fitting added up to just over £300 but as much as I wanted to I couldn’t fall out with Max, now christened by my son after the Blue Max. I think you know that you’re losing it when you actually give your car a name but the overriding factor is the sheer pleasure, the grin factor you get from driving what was in 1998 a 35k car (I’ve still got the original sales receipt) that still drives pretty much like a new car nearly 15 years down the line- that is quality. The same however can’t be said about MB’s deplorable track record on rust through the 90’s and into the new century, which is where Clive at Benzworx comes in.

I went to see Clive last year with the car at his then base near Peterborough, with a view to doing a full re-spray, looking at how much it would cost, what can be done to remedy the rust and at the end of it look if it is worth keeping. I could easily change to another newer model but then I could be getting someone else’s problems, I would have to shell out more to buy the car and then possibly more to put things right. Well figures were discussed, the original cheap purchase price, the lack of depreciation involved plus the cost of Clive’s work added into the mix and the fact that I knew I had a mechanically sound motor and I decided to go ahead. I needed to get last winter out of the way and the way things worked out, I couldn’t get it down to Clive now in Essex, (I’m 200 miles away in Sheffield) nor he fit the work in until late June.

However from our original conversation the bug had slightly took me over again. I couldn’t help thinking that the facelift 208 looked so much nicer than the original. Quick call to Clive, who was as helpful and knowledgeable as ever and found that it could be done but it could be expensive parts-wise. Well searching Ebay, Gumtree, Loot and visiting scrap yards is what I’m good at, so after a bit of detective work I came up with a pair of facelift mirrors, front and rear bumpers with the revised lower valances and a pair of facelift sill covers for the princely total of £175- new clips would be needed for the sill covers from Merc but otherwise game on. Max will not just be getting a new coat of paint but losing a few years into the bargain.

So come June 30th he went off to meet his restorer. Clive has provided photos of the work done which included rust remedy to all the wings and these are shown below and to say that I am pleased with the results is an understatement. I know that no car goes on forever but I’m sure given Clive’s handiwork and the fact that I’m fastidious with my care and servicing of all cars that I own, Max who now has over 104k on the clock, has few more years left in him yet as my daily driver.

Since getting Max back, I bought a set of 17” rims with tyres very cheaply and had them refurbished at AP Tyres in Rotherham and these show on the last photos. I’ve also added an auto dimming rear view mirror (for £16) and will be retro-fitting next weekend cruise control (parts cost less than £20 for stalk and steering column shroud). I’m sure I’ll think of some new mod to go for soon- in fact I just have, I fancy stainless steel door sills (note to self must contact CleverDicky).

The last two years have proved, I think, that given a bit of wombling and shopping round, you can run an elderly Merc on a budget and to quote Mike Brewer on Wheeler Dealers ‘enjoy champagne motoring for lemonade money’. I can honestly say that every time I drive that car, it puts a smile on my face. Ok it might have been better, some might argue, with an auto-box and the V6 320 but at the time that car was the right one, at the right price, at a time when I couldn’t afford much more- and I’ve had a lot of fun along the way.

I’ll finish by saying a big thanks to Clive at Benzworx for his work, his ‘nothing’s too much trouble’ attitude and his never complaining all the times I kept ringing him to ask stupid questions. Finally a big thanks also to contributors on this forum for posting fantastic advice to owners like myself, it’s proved invaluable- keep it up!
 

Attachments

  • Original 1-1.jpg
    Original 1-1.jpg
    39.5 KB · Views: 205
  • Original 2-1.jpg
    Original 2-1.jpg
    49.3 KB · Views: 185
  • Original 3-1.jpg
    Original 3-1.jpg
    52.7 KB · Views: 173
  • Original 4-1.jpg
    Original 4-1.jpg
    53.3 KB · Views: 183
Last edited:
OP
nicensleazy

nicensleazy

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Location
Sheffield, South Yorks
Your Mercedes
1998 230 CLK Elegance W208
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Clive get's to work, more to follow!
 

Attachments

  • MB pics 003-1.jpg
    MB pics 003-1.jpg
    47.7 KB · Views: 120
  • MB pics 004-1.jpg
    MB pics 004-1.jpg
    89.3 KB · Views: 112
  • MB pics 005-1.jpg
    MB pics 005-1.jpg
    80.5 KB · Views: 122
  • MB pics 006-1.jpg
    MB pics 006-1.jpg
    69.7 KB · Views: 125
  • MB pics 007-1.jpg
    MB pics 007-1.jpg
    70.8 KB · Views: 122
OP
nicensleazy

nicensleazy

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Location
Sheffield, South Yorks
Your Mercedes
1998 230 CLK Elegance W208
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #4
And there's more
 

Attachments

  • MB pics 009-1.jpg
    MB pics 009-1.jpg
    70.4 KB · Views: 96
  • MB pics 010-1.jpg
    MB pics 010-1.jpg
    83.9 KB · Views: 101
  • MB pics 013-1.jpg
    MB pics 013-1.jpg
    63.9 KB · Views: 93
  • MB pics 014-1.jpg
    MB pics 014-1.jpg
    57.1 KB · Views: 95
  • MB pics 015-1.jpg
    MB pics 015-1.jpg
    64.8 KB · Views: 97
OP
nicensleazy

nicensleazy

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Location
Sheffield, South Yorks
Your Mercedes
1998 230 CLK Elegance W208
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #5
Some more of Clive's handiwork
 

Attachments

  • MB pics 016-1.jpg
    MB pics 016-1.jpg
    67.7 KB · Views: 86
  • MB pics 017-1.jpg
    MB pics 017-1.jpg
    50.3 KB · Views: 95
  • MB pics 018-1.jpg
    MB pics 018-1.jpg
    35 KB · Views: 86
  • MB pics 019-1.jpg
    MB pics 019-1.jpg
    40.1 KB · Views: 81
  • MB pics 020-1.jpg
    MB pics 020-1.jpg
    60 KB · Views: 85
OP
nicensleazy

nicensleazy

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2011
Messages
45
Reaction score
0
Location
Sheffield, South Yorks
Your Mercedes
1998 230 CLK Elegance W208
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Well unfortunately the forum won't let me upload anymore pictures tonight as I seem to have exceeded my limit. Perhaps I can post some more tomorrow? :(
 

television

Always remembered RIP
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
164,073
Reaction score
367
Age
89
Location
Daventry
Your Mercedes
2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Well unfortunately the forum won't let me upload anymore pictures tonight as I seem to have exceeded my limit. Perhaps I can post some more tomorrow? :(

Use a host site like photobucket and you can upload all you wish
 

47p2

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2006
Messages
3,583
Reaction score
5
Location
Scotland
Your Mercedes
W638, W140, W220, W639 All gone but not forgotten
Looking great
DSC01206.jpg
 

E320mark

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Messages
842
Reaction score
4
Location
Ballyclare
Your Mercedes
E320 cdi sport 2007
Looks superb! Clive certainly seems to know his way round an MB!!
 

Benzworx

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2012
Messages
1,518
Reaction score
13
Location
South East
Your Mercedes
CLK 55 amg
Thanks Phil,

looks a peach now with the new wheels and Max was a pleasure to work on
keep up the mods and enjoy

Best regards

Clive
 

television

Always remembered RIP
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
164,073
Reaction score
367
Age
89
Location
Daventry
Your Mercedes
2002 SL500, 216 CL500, all fully loaded
Nice to have a real body guy active on the forum
 

tjamesbo

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
1,464
Reaction score
95
Location
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
Your Mercedes
1999 CLK430, 2007 VITO 3.0V6 , W124's (1994 320TE , 1993 220TE ) , 07 2.5 X-Type
Nice restoration tho didnt look as scrappy as some that age.
What was the approximate cost range of the Respray / bodywork ?
I am attempting the 210's rust myself but it is hard work and my finish at moment is not up to proffessional standards I am hoping to improve as I go and am learning in the process ( a lot )
 

harp1963

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2008
Messages
61
Reaction score
0
Location
london
Nice work. Happy that the tacky rear light chrome surrounds are not there anymore.
 
Top Bottom