93 300CE Cabriolet - previous owner tore off half of front bumper by not using the tow hook. Boneyard had 50% off this weekend, so being a card carrying member of United Brotherhood of Partz Vulturez, I went there while SWMBO hit the malls.

For $65 dollars, got a bumper, two headlights (95), newish fan clutch.

Bumper comes off with 10mm and 13mm sockets, a 10mm wrench for top nut ahead of condenser, and a 13mm wrench for the bumper bolt just under the passenger headlight pan. I did not change the black center strip, new one was paint matched, so I thought I would drive it for a few days and decide. 1 hour or less, I'm slow. You do not have to cut or unplug outside temp sennsor.

Headlight swapped out with 8mm socket, I needed an 8mm wrench for the bolt next to grille. Same electrical plugs. I had thought old side marker/turn signals would fit, but they did not want to. Comments would be appreciated.

Pix shows the "hood gap", I'm not sure if a new grille would fix that, or maybe fab a black rubber strip. If not staying with head lamp wipers, be sure to nab the filler strip from the donor vehicle. My tiny wipers have never worked on my 300TE and this one.

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Good deal! What's with the amber turn signals not fitting? Can you expand on that? I've got a set of 94-95 headlights, but I'm not partial to the clear corners and want to use the amber ones. I'd appreciate knowing if I'm going to run into the trouble before getting halfway through the project.

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Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

I'll put some more time on the turn signal lamps and post back. But an update - after posting the above, about an hour later I joined the holiday traffic on I-95, and....

Some guy from Pittsburg in a minivan hit my back bumper and cracked it. I have an appointment with his carrier (Allstate) and will see where that leads. Murphy's Law does not take holidays!

Ouch! Sorry to hear about getting hit. Hopefully damage is limited to just the bumper.

__________________
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...aman/Fleet.jpg

Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

Time to get the other bumper in the yard, where you got the front bumper from?

The turn signal probably needs adjustment before fitment. IIRC there is a knob to adjust the angle on how it installs. But maybe I'm thinking of another chassis.

Good find! Now you need the proper hood to give it the correct look, with those later model headlights.

Don't know about finding a Cabrio hood... seems like lots of things on this car are just a little different than the rank and file W124's. However, I was able to get the all amber side lights to pop in, a little fitment and push firmly on bottom edge while holding the snap latch under the hood (orangatang arms help).

I work nights, and the drive home in the boonies is a lot better with the new lamps. I can see that deer waiting for me a long way down the road...

As for the back bumper, the donor for the front was an estate wagon with side impact, the back bumper is pristine, but has that notch in it where the tail gate goes. May leave that for a while. Also not sure about length, the cabrios are a few inches shorter, will have to measure. More about that in my next post.

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Well now, another lesson learned. When I got the used headlights at the boneyard, I looked to see if they had bulbs. They did, and they work. But one unit has a broken plastic gimbal inside that adjusts the alignment, so will need another headlamp assembly. Also potential upgraders should note that you will have considerable difficulty changing bulbs on the driver's side due to clearance from the ABS pump bracket. Looks like to me I will need to remove headlamp assembly to get the access door open for bulbs.

And that "newish" fan clutch I got at the same time - worse than what I had. Basically if you look at a fan clutch and the face of it has grime on it, the oil has leaked out.