Star Shots! - Show us your Ride

[AMG]

Post Pictures of your car here!

Don't forget to include details such as year, colour etc.
If your car has a story, for example; how you came across it, - put it in here with the pictures. It's always nice to read someone else's experiences.

If you've done any modifications / improvments, Here's the place to show them off - Post lots of pics!

It's not a bad idea to revisit your post every now and then, to make sure your pictures are still up, especially if you've linked them to your photobucket / imageshack / picasa web album.
We'd also like to encourage those who do post a Project car, and supply us with updates, to come back to your original post and edit it, rather than make a new post each time, by replying. It will help keep all your pictures and progress in one spot! - It also makes your post MUCH easier to view.

If you're unsure on how to upload pictures, go to the posting tutorial on the main board and try the test posting page, Don't forget to sign yourself up for a free account on imageshack / photobucket / Picasa etc.. if you haven't already.

Get to it! Show us ya Pics! :)

Make those Stars Shine!

[mvmiller]

Here it is!!!

[SingleSpeedSimon]

Wave goodbye - never to be seen in the ACT again, sold to a buyer from WA

[pj2009]

Hi Folks - this is Benzie (cheesy i know), a '93 S420L originally from Geelong. Been mine for three weeks and we are getting along fine so far. I've replaced the battery, tyres (Michelin are doing a run out deal on XMVs at $250 a pop!), fitted KN filters (will keep an eye on the MAF) and done a ton of polishing since these were taken. The close assist pump is missing - so another is on the way (ebay US $300 delivered). I like troubleshooting and am reasonably competent with mechanics - I know this could be a a nightmare, but sitting on 140 km (seems appropriate - it will do 240 - so I am told hehe) with the roof open, music playing and wafting along the highway in the the most comfortable car I have ever driven, with space and power to spare, seems like a good exchange for the roughly 18K she has cost me so far. Everything else works the way it should, the paint and engine are pristine and there's a virtually complete service record with the original delivery documents. A membership of RACQ ($200) seemed wise - and a subscription to alldata as well ($35). Next in line will be new shocks (Bilsteins?) and perhaps springs as the back end feels a bit soft. One of the pluses of the 420 is that the suspension is simpler and cheaper to renovate - otherwise (short of a few kilowatts) it is an S500. I love this car - ask me in a year if it was a good buy!! Cheers, Peter

[DINGO]

Hi everyone

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got this earlier this year. Nice pic but not worth the $80.00!
Cheers Dingo

[jonesey]

Mine :lol:

[Mathew]

Some nice cars here guys this is my wfes S280 1996 model presents as new and my only regret is that I didn't buy a W140 years ago, the best car we have ever owned by quite some measure.

[treedoc]

Hey Mathew, welcome to another forum, how are the battleships getting in the deep south? Hope your keeping them high and dry, pity about your old forum.
Not to worry, this is about W140’s
Below is an ex John Laws S500C we owned twice, yeh, you really don’t get any smarter as you get older, it’s a myth
Bought it the first time for the Little Lady while she was overseas, hence the red ribbon and dozen long stemmed red roses between the seats when I picked her up from Brisbane Airport. It didn’t work.
First time she drove she backed it into a fence post and there after refused to get into the driver’s seat. On sold it a couple of months later.
Then bought her the R129, after six months was not happy with that either, too good to use as a shopping basket.
A couple of years later, the S500C was back on eBay, same guy I sold it to with only an extra 3,000K, we struck a deal where his costs without rego etc worked out at $6.00 per kilometre
Probably the most pleasant motor car for long trips I’ve ever owned’ the 10 speaker Bose Sound System combined with the double glazed windows and the multi adjustable seats meant 8 -10 hour drives where a joy. On a trip from Noosa to Melbourne and back it averaged 9.98 litres per 100 k., not bad for something that weighted near 2 tonne.

[Mathew]

The fleet is going well Geoff even if there is an extensive amount of water to sail them through. The S280 returned 7 litres to the 100 on the way to Wagga Wagga so you might say I'm, very happy about that. Such a large car using so little fuel is reason enough to show case why an S-Class leads the way.

(Apoligies here for off topic) As for our old forum I can see it has left a few asking questions, fair enough but I think the tone could have been a bit more user friendly. I'm no longer on the comittee as I'm now in Wagga but having helped run it a little, it really got down to a lack of numbers really using it that much which became apperent at teh start of this year. I know the company that hosted the site seemed to have an growing number of technical glitches that seemed to take for ever to resolve. I know Mercedes-Benz of Germany wanted the club to follow all the other Australian clubs and utilise the MB German international forum, that request was made on several ocassions from MB HQ. I would point out guys this is what I belive would be the reasoning behind the decision, but I don't speak on behalf of the club just giving you a bit of background to possiable reasons for retiring it.

Personally having received a couple of emails myself from forum users early this year, I wouldn't volunteer the many hours again if I were to be treated with such distain and contempt. I think alot of people forget how much effort volunteers put it, it's easy critise mistakes or views but it does get a little disheartening when you put so much in, only to get one negative comment after the next. Anyway that's the real world I guess.

Back to your CL man I know why you parted with it but really Geoff, I doubt I ever could have what a stunning car.

Cheers Mat

[treedoc]

Mat,
Glad to hear the "fleet" wasn't sunk.
You'r right it was a hard decision to scuttle the S500C but it was either it or the SL500 129 and as I had decided to change the suspension on the SLit was the coupe that was put out to pasture.
Problems we'd had with the 140 were,
Repalement of both dizzy caps and rotor buttons, expensive, when the engine wiring harness went south it took the injection module with it, ended up replacing the starter motor loom as well as the air con loom as well,real expensive. Boot auto close function gave trouble as well as a $10.00 micro switch on the door lock/auto close assembly, local dealer wanted $3,000.00 for the lock plus labour plus GST. I got lucky on that one and repositioned the micro switch with three plastic suicide clips worth about a dollar
Good to hear from you and a merry Christmas, drop me an email with your contacts and stay in touch
Geoff

[Mathew]

Yeah some of those V8 issues were why we specifically hunted down a six and with the 280 there are no tricky doors etc, so you get all the hall marks of the W140 minus alot of the big bill items. I would have kept the SL over the coupe, the coupe never has been a pretty car in the W140, awesome car yes, but it's looks, well the bulkiness suits the sedan but perhaps a littler big for a coupe.

Cheers Mat

[Fudger49]

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I went and jumped right in the deep end, a couple of weeks back I had never even driven a W140 let alone remotely considered buying one... I drove this car and liked it so much that I ended up trading my beloved 500E on it 2 days ago.

[Mathew]

That is one mean looking car mate!

[Fudger49]

That is one mean looking car mate!

Thanks Mat, it is a bit of a beast. Have been getting it sorted over the past few weeks as the car had covered only a few hundred KM since 2008, have replaced the brake pads, rear accumulators, oil, filters, wheel balance etc and it's running beautifully at the moment. I must say that compared to the 500E which had covered a couple of hundred thousand European and Arabian kilometres, this W140 is a joy to work on - not a corroded fastener in sight! It was leaking a bit of fluid when I first started driving it, never did get to find out where the leak was as it sealed itself up. Currently it has 67,500km on the odometer (it was 65,000 2 weeks ago). I will start a separate post on the car this week with more pictures and information. Hoping to keep this as a low mileage weekend vehicle and use the 560SE (almost ready to hit the road now) as a daily driver.

[markb]

That is one mean looking car mate!

X 2..... ah yani.....How I miss the cars that you have access to in Dubai.....

[Fudger49]

I must be a glutton for punishment, this lovely freshly imported from Japan into Dubai. 1998 S600 AMG Japan with 324KW M120, in green black metallic. This is the first time I have purchased directly from auction and I am very happy with the result (but not without some risk). The car, including all shipping, import, and registration fees has cost a tad under A$12K to get on the road in Dubai.

[Starman]

Fudger - its so black you cant see it... nice one

[Joe-Trojan]

Hello, first post, here's my '96 S280, my first Merc, bought about 2 months ago with no reverse. About a dozen much more minor issues to take care of but you gotta pay to play with a W140. It shares daily driver duties with another 90's car but hopefully both are never off the road at the same time. I drove it daily for about 6 weeks with no reverse and my only regret is not buying one sooner in life.






I'm in the middle of doing a full rebuild on the box now, yep it was the lip seal but also the clutches were so worn the reverse spring retainer broke. Gearbox is now completely in bits and I'm just shopping around for the best price on replacement parts before it all goes back together. I can't wait to finish, give it a good wash, and enjoy.

[Ivanerrol]

I'm in the middle of doing a full rebuild on the box now, yep it was the lip seal but also the clutches were so worn the reverse spring retainer broke..

Typical problem of no reverse on these '90's Benz's. Try the forum sponsor for bits.

There are overseas sites with detailed descriptions concerned with repairing your no reverse problem - you probably have found them already.

W140's are great cars - especially of you can loo after them yourself.
Weaknesses are :
Self closing door pumps,
Head gaskets on six cylinder engines,
biodegradable wiring harness
air conditioner evaporator.

If you can do your own transmission all those above problems shouldn't be a big issue.

:

[Joe-Trojan]

Yep, the rear main seal is another common oil leak/problem on the 6cyl, you can see mine removed on the ground to the left of the flywheel. My head gasket looks to be seeping a bit of oil too. I don't have self closing doors or hydraulic suspension to worry about, maybe one day I'll get a V8 or V12 with those features but I'll see how I get on with this one first.

[Giles]

Got a fair bit to do on this 140-050.

An inspection of the engine harness this weekend and if OK an oil change and fuel dump before I try to get him going.

I figured I'd name him Nelson. Seems apt for a Battleship.

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Giles

[DBW124]

Got a fair bit to do on this 140-050.

An inspection of the engine harness this weekend and if OK an oil change and fuel dump before I try to get him going.

I figured I'd name him Nelson. Seems apt for a Battleship.

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Giles

Why not Otto, as in von Bismarck?

[Giles]

Nelson was a private import from the UK, pretty much nautical blue and a good car for the yacht club car park that I don't belong too.

Plus Commander Nelson had a pretty good record.

Don't mention the war as Basil Faulty would say.

Regards,

Giles

[Giles]

Lord Nelson, back on the road again.

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Giles

[DBW124]

Looks great Giles (part from those CWAM ). Have loved following the road to resurrection.

[Giles]

Looks great Giles (part from those CWAM ). Have loved following the road to resurrection.

The wheel arch moulds may have to go. The wider wheels and tyres along with half a coil less are now occasionally rubbing causing the front mould some grief.


Giles

[DBW124]

Looks great Giles (part from those CWAM ). Have loved following the road to resurrection.

The wheel arch moulds may have to go. The wider wheels and tyres along with half a coil less are now occasionally rubbing causing the front mould some grief.


Giles

Maybe there is god...

Have to say those wheels really suit Nelson. I remember when the 140 first came out (unemployed and living in Christchurch), thinking it really needed some decent rims to help offset the bulk.

Not really my favourite M-B, but their OTT Germany/Mercedes-Benz Uber Alles attitude is compelling. If I won the lottery (not having a clue on how achieve what you've done) after finding a 6.9 I'd be hunting down a 500.

[richard300]

Here is my S280.... I bought the car a week ago, after deliberating for a couple of weeks. But after checking the AC over 2 visits, spaced 10 days apart, thoroughly checking that everything electrical worked, checking the motor for overheating and Head gasket issues and all the other stuff you check for when buying a used car - I decided to go for it.....

The did have some minor/annoying issues that needed addressing (but i negotiated this into the price) Namely:

Wheels needed a refurbish
The front dummy tow eye cover/access trim was missing from the drivers side of the bumper.
Laquer/Paint on the roof was ruined
Rear View mirror casing has come apart in several pieces
No recent service history - It was evident that the car had been serviced, but no invoices had been kept in the sellers period of ownership
There is an S320 badge on the boot instead of an S280 badge.
The car was fitted with Chrome wheel arch trims.
There was a big monitor mounted to the dashboard (luckily not screwed to any trim) and wiring running (badly) through the car, to a rear view camera, mounted next to the boot release button.
The car needed a lot of deep cleaning.
There was a blow or excess noise coming from the exhaust - Nothing major, bur definitely there.

Basically, i bought the car from an elderly lady, who had stopped driving the car a long time ago, as she had lost confidence in her driving such a big car (she had a W126 560SEL) before this, and so had switched to a C-Class, and her husband works in the tropics for 9 months of the year. And so the car had become a driveway ornament.

Here are the pictures from the advert - I think they must have taken these when they first bought the car some 3-4 years before advertising it for sale.




First thing i did was remove the arches and give the car a good clean and a quick polish, so that i could double check for any further paint damage, marks, scratches etc - She actually came up quite nice:



I removed the monitor from the dash and pulled out the wiring to/from it. Then gave the interior a good clean, hoover and fed the leather.
As a real bonus, i found the trim from the front bumper, under the passenger seat!!






I then set about giving the wheels a new lease of life:







Then started sanding down the roof and filling in a dent that was next to the sunroof - ready for prep and paint.



Once completed i gave the car another good clean and a coat of carnuba wax, and took some pictures:









As i write this, the car is at a local exhaust fabricator, having a new rear box made/fitted as the baffles in the original exhaust were shot. I have also changed the plugs and the air filter (all the fluids were new, when i bought the car) and carefully inspected the wiring harness - which, thankfully is clear of any of the biodegrading issues that some W140's can suffer from.

[w140fan]

1992 W140 300Se...
Arctic white
20" wheels 235/30 tyres

[Angellus2012]

My s350 i am working

Had done high km on dalby toowomba highway but all looks ok...

Just have to fix cup holder spring and worn piece next to glove box (can see in photo) and then all good.