Mercedes Benz 190E 2.5-16 Complete Restoration
Discussion
Hi everybody,
Thought I would post the progress of my 2.5-16 complete restoration. I acquired the car back in 1992 when the car was about 3 years old. So it holds a lot of special memories for me. I remember at the time there was nothing quite like it on the road and I recall test driving an E30 M3 and liking the Merc better!
Sadly over the years, not having enough time, it fell into a pretty bad state of disrepair. Coupled with some untasteful modifications (window tints, bigger wheels etc) it was looking a bit sorry.
I was in a bit of a quandary as to what to do...Should I sell it as is, buy another, or restore it. After much thought I decided to restore the car – nut and bolt. The story starts back in March 2008.
Here is the car as it looked in 1993, this picture was scanned so apologies for the poor quality.
I was going to pretty much do a full restoration of the car but also add some things that I had always wanted.
The restoration build includes:
Complete strip down of vehicle, including windows, doors, seals, bonnet, boot, engine out, interior out, headlining, fuel tank etc...
Complete body rectification, including rust removal and treatment, and welding if necessary
Complete respray using only Glasurit paint and lacquer, including engine bay, door shuts etc
Body kit to be finished in original matte
New clips for sacco panels
Rebuilding Mercedes Benz long engine 2.5-16 and re-finishing
Rebuilding Getrag 5-Speed gearbox
Fitting new leather interior with heated seats and electric seats
Fitting new carpets
Fitting new Zebrano wood gear surround
Fitting new gear lever
Fitting new volt meter, oil temp gauges
Fitting new outside temperature gauge
Fitting Air Conditioning
Fitting new head-lining
Fitting new seat belt stalks
Fitting new steering wheel (Mercedes Sportline)
Fitting new indicator stalk
Fitting all new switches (Windows, heated seats, rear light, rear de-fogger, air recirculation)
Fitting new heater dials
Fitting new ashtray
Fitting new cigarette lighter (I don’t smoke!)
Fitting new glove compartment skin
Fitting 4 new door cards
Fitting 4 new door handles
Fitting front speakers
Fitting 4 new rain sheets
Fitting 4 new window motors and regulators
Refurbishing instrument cluster (recalibrating needles)
Replacing all bulbs
Fitting 500k HID kit (Maintains road legality)
Replacing all vents
Replacing heater core
Fitting fire extinguisher with felt overlay
Fitting Mercedes oddment container
Fitting Mercedes petrol can to spare wheel well
Fitting Mercedes cassette holder to centre console
Fitting Becker head unit with satellite navigation
Fitting Becker remote kit
Fitting amplifier and crossovers in rear boot (nothing garish)
Fitting new Hirschmann aerial
Fitting new boot liners
Fitting new boot carpet
Fitting new windscreen
Fitting new rear screen
Fitting new windows
Fitting new seals all round
Re-anodizing roof rails, rear window surrounds, front window strip, and side windowstrips
Evolution II wheels with 4 new Dunlop tyres (or equivalent)
Fitting new Mercedes Grille and surround
New Mercedes star
New front lights
New side blinkers
New rear lights
Complete engine bay restoration including new bonnet pad insulation, new rear firewall, new side firewall, new coolant reservoir, new washer reservoir, new hydraulic fluid reservoir, new hoses for cooling system, all new Mercedes jubilee clips, new alternator, new water pump, new heater core pipes, new fuel injection lines, new hoses for fuel injection system, new fuel distributor, new air flow sensor, new fuel pressure regulator, new EHA valve, new idle air control valve, new cold start valve.
Fitting of O2 sensor to non cat vehicle to enable automatic fuel/air mixture calibration
Fitting of new down pipes and centre section
Fitting of new brake lines
Fitting of new hydraulic lines
Fitting of new fuel lines
New brake discs
New brake pads
New tie rods
New steering drag link
New front and rear bushes
Sub frame restoration
Multi link suspension restoration
Cavities all protected with 3M cavity wax
New number plates
I’m sure I have left a few things out and I will add these as I go along. The car will be featured in Mercedes Enthusiast at some point after the work has been carried out.
Anyway back to the story! After I had decided to carry out a full restoration I began on trying to find who was capable to undertake such a mammoth task. Sadly it became apparent that no one person could carry out the body work and mechanical restoration. I would have to get several things done at several different places. I did not like the idea of this because I did not want the vehicle being pushed from pillar to post.
So my journey took me to a company in Germany who have been carrying out complete restorations on Mercedes old timers and young timers. The restoration would not take a few months I was told...But it would take about a year or so! That’s not that bad considering some restorations can take years – as this great forum shows...
So let’s start with the pictures...
This set of pictures shows the state the car was in...NOT PRETTY AT ALL!
The car in the UK
[U]These are pictures of the car’s arrival in Germany[/U] and being stripped...You can see the extent of the rust...
So as you can see the rust has definitely taken its toll. All the jacking points were rusted. It was in pretty bad shape.
The following pictures are of the car freshly painted with Glasurit paint and laquer. All the rust was sorted out and the body shell perfectly restored...
We still have a long way to go and the interior needs to be sorted out along with the car underside and engine needs to be put back in after the rebuild. But as soon as i get updates i shall update this thread...
These are the wheels that will be going on the car...
More updates soon and i hope you enjoy the progress as much as i am...
Josh
Thought I would post the progress of my 2.5-16 complete restoration. I acquired the car back in 1992 when the car was about 3 years old. So it holds a lot of special memories for me. I remember at the time there was nothing quite like it on the road and I recall test driving an E30 M3 and liking the Merc better!
Sadly over the years, not having enough time, it fell into a pretty bad state of disrepair. Coupled with some untasteful modifications (window tints, bigger wheels etc) it was looking a bit sorry.
I was in a bit of a quandary as to what to do...Should I sell it as is, buy another, or restore it. After much thought I decided to restore the car – nut and bolt. The story starts back in March 2008.
Here is the car as it looked in 1993, this picture was scanned so apologies for the poor quality.
I was going to pretty much do a full restoration of the car but also add some things that I had always wanted.
The restoration build includes:
Complete strip down of vehicle, including windows, doors, seals, bonnet, boot, engine out, interior out, headlining, fuel tank etc...
Complete body rectification, including rust removal and treatment, and welding if necessary
Complete respray using only Glasurit paint and lacquer, including engine bay, door shuts etc
Body kit to be finished in original matte
New clips for sacco panels
Rebuilding Mercedes Benz long engine 2.5-16 and re-finishing
Rebuilding Getrag 5-Speed gearbox
Fitting new leather interior with heated seats and electric seats
Fitting new carpets
Fitting new Zebrano wood gear surround
Fitting new gear lever
Fitting new volt meter, oil temp gauges
Fitting new outside temperature gauge
Fitting Air Conditioning
Fitting new head-lining
Fitting new seat belt stalks
Fitting new steering wheel (Mercedes Sportline)
Fitting new indicator stalk
Fitting all new switches (Windows, heated seats, rear light, rear de-fogger, air recirculation)
Fitting new heater dials
Fitting new ashtray
Fitting new cigarette lighter (I don’t smoke!)
Fitting new glove compartment skin
Fitting 4 new door cards
Fitting 4 new door handles
Fitting front speakers
Fitting 4 new rain sheets
Fitting 4 new window motors and regulators
Refurbishing instrument cluster (recalibrating needles)
Replacing all bulbs
Fitting 500k HID kit (Maintains road legality)
Replacing all vents
Replacing heater core
Fitting fire extinguisher with felt overlay
Fitting Mercedes oddment container
Fitting Mercedes petrol can to spare wheel well
Fitting Mercedes cassette holder to centre console
Fitting Becker head unit with satellite navigation
Fitting Becker remote kit
Fitting amplifier and crossovers in rear boot (nothing garish)
Fitting new Hirschmann aerial
Fitting new boot liners
Fitting new boot carpet
Fitting new windscreen
Fitting new rear screen
Fitting new windows
Fitting new seals all round
Re-anodizing roof rails, rear window surrounds, front window strip, and side windowstrips
Evolution II wheels with 4 new Dunlop tyres (or equivalent)
Fitting new Mercedes Grille and surround
New Mercedes star
New front lights
New side blinkers
New rear lights
Complete engine bay restoration including new bonnet pad insulation, new rear firewall, new side firewall, new coolant reservoir, new washer reservoir, new hydraulic fluid reservoir, new hoses for cooling system, all new Mercedes jubilee clips, new alternator, new water pump, new heater core pipes, new fuel injection lines, new hoses for fuel injection system, new fuel distributor, new air flow sensor, new fuel pressure regulator, new EHA valve, new idle air control valve, new cold start valve.
Fitting of O2 sensor to non cat vehicle to enable automatic fuel/air mixture calibration
Fitting of new down pipes and centre section
Fitting of new brake lines
Fitting of new hydraulic lines
Fitting of new fuel lines
New brake discs
New brake pads
New tie rods
New steering drag link
New front and rear bushes
Sub frame restoration
Multi link suspension restoration
Cavities all protected with 3M cavity wax
New number plates
I’m sure I have left a few things out and I will add these as I go along. The car will be featured in Mercedes Enthusiast at some point after the work has been carried out.
Anyway back to the story! After I had decided to carry out a full restoration I began on trying to find who was capable to undertake such a mammoth task. Sadly it became apparent that no one person could carry out the body work and mechanical restoration. I would have to get several things done at several different places. I did not like the idea of this because I did not want the vehicle being pushed from pillar to post.
So my journey took me to a company in Germany who have been carrying out complete restorations on Mercedes old timers and young timers. The restoration would not take a few months I was told...But it would take about a year or so! That’s not that bad considering some restorations can take years – as this great forum shows...
So let’s start with the pictures...
This set of pictures shows the state the car was in...NOT PRETTY AT ALL!
The car in the UK
[U]These are pictures of the car’s arrival in Germany[/U] and being stripped...You can see the extent of the rust...
So as you can see the rust has definitely taken its toll. All the jacking points were rusted. It was in pretty bad shape.
The following pictures are of the car freshly painted with Glasurit paint and laquer. All the rust was sorted out and the body shell perfectly restored...
We still have a long way to go and the interior needs to be sorted out along with the car underside and engine needs to be put back in after the rebuild. But as soon as i get updates i shall update this thread...
These are the wheels that will be going on the car...
More updates soon and i hope you enjoy the progress as much as i am...
Josh
Edited by Immortal Tekniq on Monday 20th April 14:43
Edited by Immortal Tekniq on Monday 20th April 14:45
An amazing labour of love !
Im the first to understand why you`ve done this and I`m sure the car will be fantastic once it`s finished .
How did it get so neglected if you`ve had it for so long? Has it been used (the mileage indicates it has had a reasonably busy life ) or just standing ?
I wish you luck though and look forward to seeing the finished article
Im the first to understand why you`ve done this and I`m sure the car will be fantastic once it`s finished .
How did it get so neglected if you`ve had it for so long? Has it been used (the mileage indicates it has had a reasonably busy life ) or just standing ?
I wish you luck though and look forward to seeing the finished article
Thanks for thumbs up guys :-)
Thing is it has been well used, i recall it had 12,000 miles on the clock when i bought it.
A lot of things were going on in my life and the car eventually went to the bottom of the list - at one point my beloved Mother used to drive it! Hence the car was adorned with many a scrape!
For the last few years its pretty much been standing still, hence the sorry state.
I wont say how much its all costing, but i will say its worth every penny!
Thing is it has been well used, i recall it had 12,000 miles on the clock when i bought it.
A lot of things were going on in my life and the car eventually went to the bottom of the list - at one point my beloved Mother used to drive it! Hence the car was adorned with many a scrape!
For the last few years its pretty much been standing still, hence the sorry state.
I wont say how much its all costing, but i will say its worth every penny!
Wow! What an excellent story!
The world needs more Mercedes owners like yourself.
I suppose it's a toss up between scrapping a car you love or buying something new for a similar price. I know I'd be in your camp with a decision like that
I look forward to seeing some more photos, too. I like the Evolution 2 alloys - very nice.
Good luck with the rest of your project
Darren
ETA: Which company in Germany is doing the restoration? The obvious one I can think of is Mechatronik
The world needs more Mercedes owners like yourself.
I suppose it's a toss up between scrapping a car you love or buying something new for a similar price. I know I'd be in your camp with a decision like that
I look forward to seeing some more photos, too. I like the Evolution 2 alloys - very nice.
Good luck with the rest of your project
Darren
ETA: Which company in Germany is doing the restoration? The obvious one I can think of is Mechatronik
Edited by iluvmercs on Monday 20th April 23:22
Hi Darren,
Sadly new cars don't really do it for me! They are not very original, and dont evoke any real passion in me...
It was either the Evolution I alloys or the Evolution II. I went with the latter because they are a bit easier to clean. I will however be getting the original alloys refurbished.
Actually the company is called Team Stadler Motorsport - Renowned 190 specialists. It's in good hand's :-)
More updates soon!
Josh
Sadly new cars don't really do it for me! They are not very original, and dont evoke any real passion in me...
It was either the Evolution I alloys or the Evolution II. I went with the latter because they are a bit easier to clean. I will however be getting the original alloys refurbished.
Actually the company is called Team Stadler Motorsport - Renowned 190 specialists. It's in good hand's :-)
More updates soon!
Josh
Hi everyone,
A small update...
I have managed to source some extras for the car.
First up is a brand new original Mercedes fuel can. Looks like a remnant from WW2!
Apparently it was the last one Mercedes had...
This fits into spare wheel well. It certainly looks the part.
Next is a cassette holder, which is fairly standard fare. This slots in the centre console. Looks very retro. Item is brand new.
Lastly is something that i have been looking for a while. The original steering wheel looks a bit dated in my opinion, and after market ones (AMG, Brabus, Lorinser etc) don't do it for me. I have been looking for a 1993 Sportline non air bag wheel for a long time. I have seen a few but they were second hand. You cannot buy these new anymore. I managed to source a brand new one. Should look nice...This is slightly smaller at around 385mm so you are still able to see the whole of the cluster...
A small update...
I have managed to source some extras for the car.
First up is a brand new original Mercedes fuel can. Looks like a remnant from WW2!
Apparently it was the last one Mercedes had...
This fits into spare wheel well. It certainly looks the part.
Next is a cassette holder, which is fairly standard fare. This slots in the centre console. Looks very retro. Item is brand new.
Lastly is something that i have been looking for a while. The original steering wheel looks a bit dated in my opinion, and after market ones (AMG, Brabus, Lorinser etc) don't do it for me. I have been looking for a 1993 Sportline non air bag wheel for a long time. I have seen a few but they were second hand. You cannot buy these new anymore. I managed to source a brand new one. Should look nice...This is slightly smaller at around 385mm so you are still able to see the whole of the cluster...
Edited by Immortal Tekniq on Saturday 25th April 15:19
Hi everyone,
A little update for you all...
Everything has been removed from the bottom of the car. As was thought there is rust and that is in the process of being removed and treated.
New axles, wishbones, fuel lines, brake lines and hydraulic lines will be fitted.
After that the rest of the car will be put back together!
A little update for you all...
Everything has been removed from the bottom of the car. As was thought there is rust and that is in the process of being removed and treated.
New axles, wishbones, fuel lines, brake lines and hydraulic lines will be fitted.
After that the rest of the car will be put back together!
What a fantastic thing to be doing! And what a car it will be when finished! However, note to self- try not to let my hobby car to get into a state that requires a full restoration! I know too well though how real life can get in the way of maintaining and caring for these things as you would like.
GV
GV
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