'85 280SE 2.8L W126 UK introduction

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Bob_DVB - 28 Nov 2007 23:29 GMT

Hello Ladies and Gents,

I thought to post by way of an introduction, I bought my MB last year
from my father who wasn't using it, despite it's age its only finally
crossed the 60,000 mile mark last week. It's in lovely condition and I
am happy with it. As this is my first Merc, and in fact because since
graduating I was living in London this is in effect the first car I
have solely owned and operated. I am now determined to stay on the
Merc path for life, new or old and my girlfriend even agrees as she
loves the ride.

I am debating some issues I have:
1) Arch rust, I have a couple of inches of arch rust on the front
passenger side and rear drivers side. They are nominal at the moment,
but I have little doubt I am on a slope. Is it worth me getting the
panels repaired? I hear these panels might be very tricky?

2) I was polishing the bonnet (hood) the other day and I could swear
it looked a little crazed, but all over. Is this age, paint effect or
am I looking at a total body respray and restore? It's the "Petrol
Green" metalic type colour. I don't think the car is worth a huge
amount, but I want to preserve it.

3) Is it normal on idle to get a little rumble every couple of
seconds? Is it just the Mercedes growling? Or will I have an issue
down the line.

4) Is it best to replace the wood trim if it de-laminates/peals or is
there a cure?

5) Are there any mods I should do that won't damage my resell
prospects but will enhance the car. (I've already eliminated the idea
of putting a Cosworth engine in, even if it seemed like a fun idea.)

Regards,

Bob

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-->> T.G. Lambach <<-- - 29 Nov 2007 01:37 GMT

General comment: It's difficult to chart an approach to "Dad's old car"
without knowing its true cash value. Establish approximately what this
old car is actually worth by some research of comparable specimens.
Given its age, fuel thirst, rust and interior trim delamination it's
probably not much. Sometimes fix up money is better spent to buy a newer
model that exactly suits your needs.

Engine stumble may be due to a bad ignition wire, vacuum leak, bad spark
plug or dirty fuel injector. Add some fuel injector cleaner to the fuel
as a start then investigate the other possibilities.

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Bob_DVB - 29 Nov 2007 18:58 GMT

Thanks for the reply TG Lambach

Yes, I don't value it highly, earlier in my possession I was tempted
to sell it, while I have plenty of admirers for the car (because
despite my description it is in fabulous condition) when it was listed
on eBay it didn't attract any serious bidders and the sale ended up
falling through. I kept it because it suited my needs enough and had
cost me very little. For its age, while not in factory condition it is
actually very good, and considering it cost me very little I think I
don't have to worry about depreciation, thus because my needs are
modest and I am comfortable driving it I will keep it as long as it
doesn't cost me too much per year to maintain. If I were to buy a more
expensive car then I would be far more worried about depreciation and
parts cost than this model. I had to replace a light fitting in the
summer because of a small disagreement with a Rover 25, using eBay it
cost me just £50 to repair totally. Replaced the breaks totally front
and rear because they were totally shot, cost me dearly but it was
worth it.

I have recently tried a bottle of Redex to see if that might give a
little extra life to the engine, noting noticeable so far but that's a
theme with Redex. I did have a sticky hydraulic tappet a few months
back because I had let the oil go on a little too long, but I had a
fluids service (oil and water) at the garage and within a few days
that had cleared up. Had some dying issues when in low revs which was
fixed when I had the ignition system cleaned by a friend in a spare
moment. But I think the new year might be the time to buy a new set of
leads and sparks as a treat for the car. Am I correct in assuming the
distributor rarely needs anything other than the clean it has already
had? Another friend told me the coil will be fine. I read somewhere
that the Bosch ignition controller can sometimes have problems, but
that seems to be a specific symptom of varying revs.

My girlfriend wants me to have a '97 320 CLK, but I think I'll wait a
while for that one.

Regards,

Bob

On Nov 29, 1:37 am, "-->> T.G. Lambach <<--" <"T.G. Lambach at
NoHamorSpamcomcast.net"> wrote:

> General comment: It's difficult to chart an approach to "Dad's old car"
> without knowing its true cash value. Establish approximately what this
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> (c) 2007 T.G.Lambach. Publication in any form requires prior written
> permission.

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