1989 Mercedes 190e

Well I managed to do the engine mounts and set about fitting the 40mm springs:



Thanks to Paul/MrSpeedy for letting me hire the proper spring compressors for the job:


Shiny!


I didn't take a proper 'before' picture, I only really have this:


After:




I quite like the way it looks without the wheel trims, I'm tempted by a set of 16" steels either satin black or painted to match the darker silver around the bottom of the car. I'll be keeping an eye out in the scrapyards round here for something suitable!

Do it! I really like the 190e's, this is the second one I've had. The owners' club is a good place to look for one and if you're not afraid to get your hands dirty they're pretty easy to get properly sorted with all the info that's on their website.

Scored this lovely slice of 90s Alpine goodness on a popular auction website to replace the tacky blue/green/orange Sony that was in there:

I've been spending plenty of time soldering tiny little plugs to make up the various cables I need for the stereo install.

But in other news...


Yay! Wheels! They're on their way from Germany, 16" 'Toliman' alloys apparently made by Fuchs. I'll probably just take the laquer off and polish them, depending on their condition. They should be with me next week sometime.

Yeah, it's the fuse on top of the OVP relay, which can cause all kinds of weird issues. And you're right, it lives behind the battery next to the ECU. The fuse on mine is alright, but I think the OVP might be bad. I've got a replacement but it's got too many pins to fit in the socket, I'll get round to finding a proper replacement at some point. Almandine and cream is a really nice combination, especially in sportline flavour

While I've been waiting for the wheels, I decided to crack on with my period-ish sound system. The goal was to keep it nice and subtle, while also trying to keep it as cheap as possible. I had a bit of good luck with the CD changer - it arrived jammed with some rather awful CDs, so I contacted the seller and told them that it wasn't working properly. They let me have it for £5 and it took me all of 5 minutes to take it apart and un-jam it. Happy days!

Next step was to go to Maplin and pick up some bits and pieces:


The CD changer didn't come with a cable, but luckily it uses standard 8-pin DIN plugs. Which happen to be a complete curse word to solder:


Maplin sells some cable that's ideal for CD changers:


It's shielded, and has separately shielded cores within it - perfect for the audio signals. The plan was to make up a cable, but with a box of tricks in it near the head unit:


As standard, the head unit won't accept an AUX-in. However, with a CD changer connected and playing, you can splice into the left and right channels and run your own audio into the head unit. That's precisely what the box does:


I used a 6-pin DIN plug hooked up to a switch that will be mounted on the dashboard, so that the box can get tucked up behind the dash somewhere. Once it's all fitted, it will be completely hidden apart from the switch. This PDF helped me a lot when I did this on my old 306:www.fccuk.org/uploads/downloadfiles/ClarionC.pdf

So after much tiny, PITA soldering, I went out and tested it and it all works. I just need to finish wiring it up into the car and all will be well! I left the inside of the car looking like this for the time being:





I didn't really get that many pictures, but I've probably made well over 40 solder joints to get all this done, so I'm pretty happy the electronic side of things is finished! If anyone is thinking of doing something similar with their setup I'd be more than happy to help, I've got Maplin part numbers as well if you fancy giving it a go.

Found it:

www.hohensohn.info/mbus/index.htm

AI Net is a derivation of M-Bus. The link I have posted is for M-Bus adaptation so will work with your system. Some of the M-Bus systems can be configured to operate via the CD audio input without having the CD changer connected but I cannot remember how it is done. It's a long time since I was in that business!!

Not much progress to report, just been doing little bits like replacing the fan belt and tension adjuster assembly. Stopped a weird noise that turned out to be the old belt flapping about all over the place! I do like working on these cars, the tensioner mechanism has obviously had a lot of thought put into its design which I appreciate.

I've also given it a service with Shell oil, oil filter, air filter and fuel filter. While doing the fuel filter I was treated to a lovely faceful of petrol because I forgot to loosen the fuel cap to depressurise the fuel system. Oops. ECP has also supplied me with the wrong air filter which isn't particularly helpful...

On the wheel front I'm waiting either for the weather to get a bit better or to save up some money to have them done professionally. I need to get some cash together for tyres too so I don't expect to have them on the car any time soon

Just a quick update on the wheels, I bought a polishing kit:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wheel-Polishing-Kit-16pc-For-Alloys-SPWK-0002-/300390665792?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item45f0adce40

And today I had a quick go at polishing the parts of the wheels where the laquer would just peel off:




I was surprised at how well the really corroded areas came up, I might not even have to sand them. Which would be nice ;D Before I start polishing them properly I'll need to strip the old laquer off, so I left it like this. You can see how much of an improvement there is on the areas that have had a quick go over:


Might get the laquer stripped off tomorrow. I'm also thinking about changing the centre caps for some like these:


I have to say that polishing the wheels is a pretty pleasant task in this sunny weather we're having at the moment. Hopefully they'll be on the car before too long.