The W126 restoration thread

[octanejunkie]

And finally paint it.
I was able to do this off the car as the wing was not as deformed as the other side.
Just as well, as the rain hasn't stopped now for what seems like 3 years

 

[Tashman]

Wow - really impressed with your work.
When I get up to this sort of stuff on the 123 you always end up being able to still see where the filler went in or where the new paint (bright) joins the old paint (faded).

 

[octanejunkie]

Well, the trained eye would be able to spot it. Close up there are a few tell tale ripples, and a couple of pock marks. Always looks better in photos
I'm not as happy with the drivers side as i was with the passenger side.
I shall probably have to re paint it again at a later date, but i'm on a tight schedule for now, so it'll have to do for the time being.

 

[octanejunkie]

Car is all re assembled now.

Not that happy with the results now its all flatted back and polished. Looks fine from 5 feet away, but the paint is not a particularly good match. I'll get some more paint and and have it made slightly lighter next time. I'll be giving the wings another going over after christmas, hopefully with better results next time.
At least it looks better than loads of bubbling rust and holes!

I took it out last night...... and ran out of petrol
I realised i hadn't put any petrol in it since i bought it. My fault (idiot)

I've also found the locking wheelnut. Yay! Under the passenger seat, two of them, still in the Mercedes bag!

Put a DVD player in it today. One with a flip up screen. Looks the business...
It was a right pain to fit though, as there isn't much room behind the recess for the masses of wires. Took me about 4 hours to get it wired in and located correctly.

Also made some mats for it today. Went to see my local carpet fitter and blagged some nice thick beige carpet off him. I used the original manky mats as a template, and cut them out with a very sharp knife. They have really lifted the interiors appearence. For free!
Seems decent quality deep pile mats just aren't available for W126's. I don't really like the big rubber ones. Makes it look like a Sprinter inside.

Got to refurb the wheels now... Phew..

 

[syncropaddy]

I also had some difficulty fitting a radio into mine. It really seems to be quite tight for space in there. I fitted a bluetooth radio so I wouldnt have to fit a car kit for my mobile even though I have a carphone console which I believe is quite rare.

I have a set of proper alloys for mine that need to be refurbed. I will get them SodaBlasted and then send them to the refurb guy

 

[television]

I also had some difficulty fitting a radio into mine. It really seems to be quite tight for space in there. I fitted a bluetooth radio so I wouldnt have to fit a car kit for my mobile even though I have a carphone console which I believe is quite rare.

That looks a nice car Andrew

 

[syncropaddy]

A few pics of her here

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?p=422201#post422201

Would you like to see her front wings ...... lol

 

[television]

I remember the boot question now

 

[octanejunkie]

Well, i've been using the car a fair bit this weekend, and shes performed without fault.
Heres a picture of the passenger side, now its all been reassembled. The first picture in the thread showed what a mess it looked like before.

 

[octanejunkie]

Haven't quite got the arch profile right on the drivers side, so i'll have to re-do that when time permits. Its my own fault because i rushed it...
Certainly looks a million times better than when i bought it though!

 

[octanejunkie]

As with all cars over 10 years old, the 126 was exhibiting some degree of wear to the drivers seat outer bolster. 20 years of brushing seat belts and entrys and exits had worn an annoying hole, and taken the colour out of the leather.
There are a few kits on the market that can deal with this kind of thing (such as the one from Buffalo at £30), but since money is tight for me, i decided to have a go myself.

The plan was to insert a larger piece of leather in behind the hole, then to cut another piece to the shape of the hole and stick it to that.

Firstly i had to get a small screwdriver and seperate the foam from the leather around the general area of the hole inside the seat.
This left a recess to get the repair patch into.

 

[octanejunkie]

I went to see my local shoe mender and he gave me a piece of soft leather in a similar colour to seat. I cut a piece about double the size of the hole and used the small screwdriver to push it inside and flatten it out. I then got some strong textile glue and carefully glued the patch in place.

 

[Mr CLK]

I read the story about how you purchased the vehicle and I've just read this thread from how the car looked when you purchased it and to what a Fanstastic job you've done! The car looks amazing and it does justice to the hard work you've put in!

 

[octanejunkie]

after letting it dry and gently cleaning off the rough edges with a stanley blade, i was able to glue in the other piece on top.
Apologies for the quality of the photo. I thingk the camera was on the wrong setting

 

[octanejunkie]

I left it to dry overnight.
Then i was able to lightly sand around the area with some 600 grit paper and smooth it out the best i could.
Once i got it as best i could, i then applied several coats of leather dye. I use the dyes made by Gliptone. They are a very good colour match, and i've used them on many types of leather interiors with excellent results.
As the new leather was slightly thicker than that of the seat, the repair is visible, but i rekon it looks ok. I already had the dye, so it cost me £2 to make this repair (for the glue!), so i can't complain...

 

[Tashman]

Another good job.
I think you just need to have the alloys refurbed to complete the look.
Keep it up.

 

[octanejunkie]

I think you just need to have the alloys refurbed to complete the look.


Tell me about it! They're really letting the side down. I'll begin work on them as soon as i can.

 

[octanejunkie]

Progress has been a little slow on the 126 over Christmas.
She has been put to work though, covering around 1000 trouble free miles! Had lots of visitors over the festive period and they have all been ferried around in her. Everyone comments on what a lovely car it is and how nice it is to travel in. They are even more suprised when i tell them how i came to be in possesion of her

My wife bought me some new work benches for Christmas and that has prompted me to strip out my garage and refit it. Its amazing the amount of stuff you horde! Took me about three days to sort it all, but i'm now left with loads of space and a really good area to work in!

Since we have been having the weather that seems more apt for Norway, i've been unable to undertake any of the servicing jobs that the car needs.
I did find a little break in the weather, so i dashed out and took the wheels off that are in desperate need of some refurbishing.
They looked pretty sorry for themselves and were really affecting the overall look of the car.
I'd already bought a tin of acid etch primer, some silver paint, and plenty of lacquer, so iwas ready to go.
I would hhave liked to give them a good blast with the pressure washer to clean them off, but my hose pipe was frozen solid, so i had to make do with scrubbing by hand.
Despite looking pretty manky, the wheels are actually in really good condition, with virtualy no kerbing or chunks gouged out of them.

 

[octanejunkie]

Here they are on the car. Yuk!

 

[octanejunkie]

As you can see, on closer inspection once i''d cleaned them off, the condition was not that bad. It was really just the finish that had tarnished and worn away from years of use.