Long weekend W114 fun

[CraigB]

So the weekend started with an offer of a free W114 in exchange for me collecting the car and pulling the djet 280 and delivering to the purchaser of the car. But why would I bother?

Not sure if I mentioned before, but for simplicity as much as anything, I took a sad W114 280 in part exchange for some labour.... long story and not that smart... but in the back of my mind was to get my eldest and 3 of his mates and help them to get it good enough to use in Khanacross.....looks appealing in signal red with not much rust, thinking them spending time together off screens etc etc, ownership of the car, competing with each other etc. Bits missing and lots of problems.... easy to think we can fix that, and not think about the time.

But the free car is in good condition except except accident damage - would supply steering box where the place that did rust repair on the red one cross threaded and broke bolts off in steering box, lights etc that owner of red car took, suspension and driveline parts that were super dodgy (in the red one the front of rear subframe bushes were so worn that the whole axle assembly moved forward and back an inch when moving from D to R and you can imagine how it sounded!) and various interior bits.

So project for today was to get the kids around to work through the red car and work out exactly what was wrong, what the free car might provide and if there were any 'showstoppers'. They pulled the plugs and we compression tested - 130 on one and rest 120 - probably low comp motor. So too even to suspect major problems. Drained the tank and fresh fuel. Has that horrid 4 barrel carby but bit of fuel down there and fired up straight away and settled down to an even idle. But lots and lots of smoke. No brakes on the car, one caliper badly leaking and rears I tried to rebuild for the other car but locked solid.

I let it warm up and the smoke reduced, but never stopped and I knew that from past assessments. Probably guides or if lucky stem seals might hold it back for a while, but any of that is a fair bit of work and if you do the seals first and then fails, you are still pulling a M110 head and by the time you get guides fitted, faced etc, you are starting to look at $2k. So while I had forgotten a bit about smoke - that in itself is probably a show stopper.

But I wanted to assess the trans and diff and the handbrake kinda worked, so I just went out on our 'private' road. Felt pretty good, but I was trying to test the trans shifts and see if I could get a first gear start, with a very dodgy feeling column shift. So I rolled back and forth over the 100m slope outside our place trying. Then got it to work and put my foot down but pulling back the steering wheel came up and I lost all steering (steering box only held by a couple of gutter bolts by the rust repairers - who past owner had paid a reasonable wad of cash - another story).

So I am pretty good at dealing with such challenges, backed off and pulled on the handbrake while desperately trying to re-engage the steering shaft - at these slow speeds, in hindsight should have just shoved it into park - throttle was idling a bit high too at that stage. Anyway, if you hadn't guessed already.... I hit a huge gumtree! No chassis damage but pushed the top in of an otherwise undented guard...... and that final insult that you try to open the door and cant and damage it on the guard! Not fast enough to do any damage to me.

So I think the decision is made and my short excursion into W114 ownership has come to an end! It probably saves me huge numbers of hours in mentoring the boys, better spent on things like getting the widebody on the road.... but then also missed opportunity to connect with the boys. We still will though I am sure. On here there is an advert for a $1k 190e that maybe just needs a fuel pump and is within a couple of km from my house...... would make more sense.

So now not sure to spend time stripping parts from the car, sitting on them while trying to get my money back or just get it out of my yard, see if interest out there in it as is.

But at least the decision is made - I still have that problem that I have this urge to save every car, but I should practice what I preach and take account of all the labour in any decisions.

And why tell you all this? Thinking out loud really and maybe if you picture my antics it might give you a laugh! And what I should have been doing is making Barts chain guides fit.....might head out and do a bit more on that now....

[Bartman4800]

Sorry Craig, you probably did not think it was funny, but I had a chuckle when reading this story.

I had a vision of:

Look and learn lads! Let this dude show you young uns how it is done!
Only to end up against a gumtree with a dented EGO...

That car did not sound like a weekend spanner job to me, more like months of work...

Anyway, you live and learn. Choose your battles. And fit my chain guides

Bart

[T-Modell]

...
Look and learn lads! Let this dude show you young uns how it is done!
Only to end up against a gumtree with a dented EGO...
...

... me too. I agree with you Craig, W114 and W115 will suck the money out of you ... it took me years to understand!

Thomas

[eddie]

I had to chuckle a little bit Craig, knowing you were alright made it ok!!

That’s an awesome story, steering wheel coming off in your hands must have been quite the moment. We’re the boys with you? What did they think of it?

[CraigB]

They were still chatting back where we had been working on it in the big flat area east of the house. Heard a bang and then eventually thought they should come and look! It wasn't a huge hit. Its interesting just how dodgy this car was - the owner having paid good money for the body work and they removed the steering box doing rust but didn't put it back right. I think the owner drove it but then I think he had it transported to Eric for him to 'finish it off' - at that point Eric saying he wouldn't touch it and take his money because it was all too dodgy. Eric could see the steering box was loose and had some broken bolts. I didn't touch it, knowing it was dodgy but good enough for what i was doing at low speed, but imagine being out on the road and that joint in the steering column to 'box coming apart - which is where it broke and whole wheel and shaft coming away with wheel. I think the car was saying.... "I've had enough...please don't rally me.... I'll commit suicide and run into this tree!!

[beerbaron]

At least I didnt hit a tree

but i did try and reverse the 280 out of my driveway , turning the steering wheel , but no movement on the front wheels.

I sort of knew then this was a sad car , with money and resources i probably should not of spent

But Craig did help me with a better car.. had some rust on it too , but it was in a lot better condition and worth saving

So big thanks to craig , for providing the advise and assistance with my current car

[beerbaron]

and this is the car Craig helped me save ..240d

been to Eric's a couple of times after
new glow plugs , front and rear mounts all replaced, new shocks. Drives extremely well, albeit not suited for 100km/h expressway driving at the moment ( long drive for work )

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