Yay, proper headlight(s)

Got the Depo euro headlights.  Here is a pic of one installed (passenger side).  I think it's a hair low, so I'll have to fiddle with it a little and work on the alignment when it gets dark out.  Finally a proper look and safer night driving.

Alignment goodness

Just got the car back from having a proper alignment done at Tru Line in Seattle.  Not cheap at $197, but these guys do a very thorough job.  The discovered that the camber on the rear is off, and can't be adjusted without some adjustable arms.  However, it's not too bad at 1.8% and 3% L&R respectively.  Everything else aligned right.  They did find that the steering damper was on backwards (I matched the old one's orientation, so someone put one on wrong a while ago).  Also that the motor mounts were pretty fried and one is cracked badly.  Fortunately this car doesn't really notice it much.  I'll do them soon, but it's not a huge priority.  They did note that the subframe is slightly tweeked, and that the diff is a hair off center, but they indicated that it wasn't far enough off to warrant any concern or worry that it would affect the driveline.

Overall very good news.  I was worried that I had missed the significance of the frame damage, but my assessment seems to have been spot on.

Needless to say she drives much better with the alignment right.  Handling feel is much better and more solid.

I did order a set of Euro headlights, which should be here tomorrow.  I also finally fixed the rear side marker light so I no longer have the bulb warning light.  At least until I turn the headlight(s) on, but the passenger one is fried so that's an easy fix when the new ones arrive.

Cost:
Alignment: $197
Headlights: $185
Marker Bulbs: $4

Back from the shop

Big props to the Mercedes Garage in Bellevue.  They did a bang-up job, did just what I wanted, no more, no less.  They said the throttle body was sticking, so the adjusted that, tuned the mixture, and put proper resistive plugs in the car (who knew that Bosch plugs were crap these days...bummer).  Runs like a top now.  Also got the brake fluid flushed.  I'll be running injector cleaner through it for a while, but for now that's all the engine should need.

After installing the Sportline springs, I've determined that the front is too high, so I'm going to put the #1 pad back on up front.  The dealership did get the wrong springs in, they got the longest ones, rather than the ones I ordered.  But it's easier to cut these or run a thinner pad than deal with returning them.  Since the rates are the same on all of those springs, it should be fine.

I did notice this weekend that the rear toe is way off.  Expected, given that I put the new control arms on.  I was hoping to wait until I did the front control arm bushings to get the alignment done, but it needs it now.  I have an appointment for Thursday, so I need to do the spring pads now.

Cost: $225

Fixes and off to the shop

Haven't had much time to tinker on the car.  I did pull the H&R springs and give them away.  I got a set of factory Sportline springs, unfortunately they sent the wrong part and I got long ones up front, so I'll have to cut a coil or two.  I also installed the O2 sensor, plugs, and plug wires, but the duty cycle still seems pegged at 83%.  So I've decided to drop it off at the local Mercedes shop for proper tuning.

Control Arms

Forgot to post a pic of the bent control arms.  It was only the thrust arms that were bent, but here is a shot of the bent one compared to the new one.

Parts score

The stumbling on accelleration is getting worse, so I'm going to tinker with it.  I went ahead and ordered new plug wires (as one is stuck and will get damaged pulling it off) and oxygen sensor.  Once the wires/plugs/sensor are installed I'll set the duty cycle.

I also managed to score some parts from a local guy parting out a 300ce.  Got a new left tail light, all new trunk carpet (in brown), a replacement trunk plastic trim cover, new plastic skid plate, and a replacement jack.  All for $65.

I had planned to work on the engine this weekend, but didn't get around to it.  Did get the trunk carpet installed, I'll have to take a pic of that.

Cost:

• Plug wires: $125
• O2 sensor: $85
• Misc bits: $65

Can't live with the H&R springs anymore, just ordered a set of factory Sportline springs.  Also, the cars has a bit of a stutter on acceleration.  I'm told this is a mixture issue, I'll check it out.

Cost:
springs: $380

Back on the road

Got the following installed:

• New rear suspension arms
• New rear sway bar links
• New front sway bar bushings
• New drag link
  

Also got the car emissions tested and registered so she's officially mine. Noticed a couple of other minor issues:
Intermittently it misses, based on the way it's doing it, I think it's plug wires
Every once in a while there is a groaning from the power steering. Likely replacing the filter will fix this (which I already have)
I also ordered a set of #3 front spring pads so that I can raise the front of the car about 10mm. Eventually I might get Sportline springs, but I'm going to give the H&R's a chance. I also got a set of #2 pads for the rear. Currently the car has #1 in the front and #3 in the rear. I'm going to put the #3's up front, and see if I need to add the pads on the rear to level it.
Other items on the todo list are:

• Brake fluid flush
• Coolant flush
• Shocks
• Alignment

Cost: New spring pads: $60

Pimpy

Put an old Momo in the car. A bit sacrilegious in a Mercedes, but this is about feel not looks. I'll probably replace it later with an all-black Momo Competition, but this should give the car a little sportier feel and a little more space in the cabin. That stock wheel just felt like it was meant for a boat not a car.
Later I'll pull the airbag warning light. I always use my seatbelt, so I don't have much use for an airbag anyway.

Cost:

• Momo Hub: $75
• Momo Race Wheel: free, already had it lying around
  

New wheels

Got these off Craigslist for $200. They are a 16"x8" version of the wheels it already had. I also had some 225 tires already, so I slapped them on. Here is a pic:
Also got the oil change, transmission flushed, and the front upper strut mounts installed.

On closer inspection I discovered that the car has H&R springs already installed, but they appear to be installed on stock shocks. With the lower ride height, and poor damping, the new tires do rub in the front, so I'll need to address that. I plan to raise the ride height a little with some pads, and then eventually get Koni's, but it's entirely possible that a tire this big won't work on this car. If that's the case then I'll have to get some SLK staggered wheels, as those are probably the best fit.

I also discovered that the rear thrust arms are bent, on both sides. If you look closely you can see the rear wheels aren't centered in the wheel well, they are slightly forward. This probably happened in the accident that totaled the car. I planned to replace them anyway, but this accelerated my plans.

I just ordered:

• Full set of rear Meyle control arms
• New drag link
• New front sway bar bushings
• New rear sway bar links

Total: $287

Next Round of Parts

• Transmission pan seal
• Steering damper
• Both upper strut mounts

That should stabilize the front end so that I can drive the car some, then do the full rebuild later.

Cost: $75

Up on Jack Stands

Finally got it up on jack stands. Had to go get a factory jack from a junk yard ($10) as the car sits too low for my floor jack. Overall it looks good. Don't see any sign of frame damage. Here are the notes:

• Front brakes are in great shape, will just do a fluid flush
• Rear brakes need pads
• Suspension bushings all around are worn out, torn, or cracked
• Front ball joint seals are cracked

Overall not bad, expected worse. Can't see if the shocks are blown or not, but don't see any oil leaking. Still plan to replace with Koni's, but might wait for that till I've driven it a little, we'll see. Bilstein TC's are $410 for a set of 4, Koni's are $615, so the Koni's aren't much more than the cheaper TC's.

I also pulled the air filter housing to look under and see if there were any obvious issues, don't see any.

No tint

The tint that was in it was affecting vision too much so I removed it. Fortunately it was cheap tint so it came out easily. Unfortunately now you can see the ghetto speakers very well (under the blanket...maybe I'll leave it there)

Damage

Pulled the carpet to get a closer look at the damage repair on the back. Honestly it doesn't look as bad as I though it would. There is a slight kink on the frame rail right behind the shock. This tells me that the left side of the truck is likely pushed down slightly, so the trunk is never going to align right. However, it's behind the shock mount, so that makes me hopeful that the suspension alignment is ok.

I'll get in there and sand/treat the rusty spots, and clean out the wells, get rid of the rust tint.

First round of parts

Decided to start recording parts when I order them, not when installed. Should give a better accounting of total amount spent.

Ordered:

Air/Fuel/Cabin/Power Steering/Oil Filters

Transmission filter

Exhaust hangers

Spark plugs

Factory coolant

Total: $147

New Project

Need something a little more relaxing for long trips, and only Mercedes seems to have that. Found this 1990 300CE in Portland. It's a salvage title, been hit in the rear end, and as expected a bit of a hack job repair, but not too bad. I don't plan to make it a show car, just a solid driver. Got it for $2k with 125k miles. I'll pick it up later this week or next, but left a deposit to hold it. From my inspection it looks like it has these issues:

Oil leaks

Worn out suspension

A few electrical items not working

There were jugs of coolant in the trunk, so it's possible it has a leaking head gasket, but it's clearly not leaking into the oil, and the car runs well, so that's probably not it.

It looks mostly stock. Appears some kid tried to put a big stereo into it, cut a few holes to do it. It's also clear the rebuild on the rear end was done on the cheap. There are likely trunk flooding issues that I'll have to deal with. These may or may not be fixable, but it's not critical.

I've always loved the look of these cars, and love the interiors. Been wanting to play with one for a while. I figure this is a cheap way to experiment with these old w124's and see if I like them. Despite the salvage title, I think this one is clean enough to have some potential.

Here are some pics: