Daily Abuse: 190E Re-build

[Suped.]

The time has come to give this old 190 a reboot. It's old, tired, and in great need of some TLC and major surgery. I've got a long list ahead of me, for what I'm sure will be a year long project. Luckily I'm starting with a rust free New Mexico chassis with straight bodywork, there's only one dent in the rear quarter that will pop out nicely.

This is not going to be a crazy performance build. I'm setting out to build an ideal daily driver, with a upgrades, and a personal cosmetic touch.

To do:

Engine:

- Source a replacement M102. I'm going to be looking for a later model, with higher compression and a duplex chain.
- Get the CIS working well. The car runs and drives okay. Has some cold start hiccups and the idle isn't perfect.
- Rebuild the head for good measure.
- Take care of all those little things in the engine bay that should have been done a long time ago (water pump, dizzy cap, spark plug wires, etc).
- Fix the exhaust.

Suspension/Brakes/Stuff under the car:
- New shocks/struts.
- New springs. Riding on the PO's Eibach lowering springs right now, not really working out.
- Bushings, bushings, bushings.
- Fix broken sway bar mount.
- Upgrade to 4 pot calipers or rebuild current calipers.
- Replace brake booster.
- Brake lines.
- Tie rod ends.
- Wheel bearings.
- Find some steel wheels and new(er) tires.

Cosmetic/Comfort:
- Paint bumpers and trim.
- New front lip and skid pan.
- Paint engine bay.
- Refresh interior.
- Delete the spoiler, probably will just source another deck lid.
- Do something about the awful paint.
- Swap in composite headlights and add fog lights.
- Get the heater working correctly.
- Find a steering wheel that doesn't touch one's knees.
- Install sunroof motor, this one was missing when we got the car.

[cth350]

why put in a replacement M102 when you could try an M117 instead? It's complicated, but its doable. -CTH

[Suped.]

Originally Posted by cth350

why put in a replacement M102 when you could try an M117 instead? It's complicated, but its doable. -CTH

$$$.

I've already found a replacement engine and it's my girlfriend's daily. If I were to put anything in there, it would be a 3.0 sixer.

[lee polowczuk]

Originally Posted by Suped.

$$$.

I've already found a replacement engine and it's my girlfriend's daily. If I were to put anything in there, it would be a 3.0 sixer.

i could be crazy wrong...but wouldn't it be cheaper to buy another example and use yours as a parts car?

i think you could find a really decent lower mileage 190e or 300e for 3k-3.5k

[liquiddog]

I'm about to go that route just to get the extra engine, tranny, and diff. I figure other parts will be hit or miss. Maybe the fuel distributor is good, maybe not. Etc

For 3.5k he may end up with another car that needs "everything". I'm looking at more like $1k for something that runs/drives.

[Suped.]

This is going to be a budget build of budget builds. The car was a steal at just under $1200, especially in a town where W123's entertain numbers around 4-5k. Everyone has the Benz bug around here, a 190d with a blown up tranny runs $1500.

I'm an experienced horse trader and have been in the parts game a long time, I hope to be only $3-400 out of pocket by the time everything is done. It's going to be a challenge, but that's how I make a daily driver build fun.

Anyone got a picture of how a W201 looks on Audi 16" steelies?

[Suped.]

Did a compression check yesterday. The numbers came up pretty good. So there must be something else causing the crankcase pressure. Any ideas?

[Suped.]

Haven't done anything exciting with this lately. A lot of boring tune up stuff. New dizzy cap, rotor, wires. Cleaned out the IA distributor block and the IACV, finally got this 2.3 idling dead steady. Still need to figure out why the linkage won't hit the Microswitch.

Open questions: Is the adjustable IACV and later non-adjustable interchangeable? Any difference between 84 FPR and the later stuff?

In other news, it was a great day at the pic'n'pull. They got a new 190 in, which is in great shape. I got a bunch of new in box parts out of the trunk. Monroe gas struts, KYB strut mounts and bellows, all for $50. There's a C class with a clean set of AMG Monoblocks on it too, which I plan to snatch.

Swagpile carpet:

[pawoSD]

KYB on a MB.....no thanks.

[liquiddog]

Considering your stated objective of a budget build, I bet you did well on those kyb struts. Nice shiny fpr as well.

[Suped.]

Originally Posted by pawoSD

KYB on a MB.....no thanks.

Surely there's nothing wrong with KYB strut mounts. Snob.

Originally Posted by liquiddog

Considering your stated objective of a budget build, I bet you did well on those kyb struts. Nice shiny fpr as well.

They're Monroe. Soooooooo budget.

[JamesDean]

I can't speak to their strut mounts but my 300D had KYB's on it. I replaced them at 50K miles into their life. The previous owner put them on new. They were very much shot, they had nothing left. I think 50K is an ok lifespan for a strut. I've got bilstein in there now, not sure what to expect for lifespan. I've read that KYBs are decent but only last 30-40K miles.

Lol the 420sel we bought in 2010 came with Monroe shocks all around.

[Suped.]

Originally Posted by JamesDean

I can't speak to their strut mounts but my 300D had KYB's on it. I replaced them at 50K miles into their life. The previous owner put them on new. They were very much shot, they had nothing left. I think 50K is an ok lifespan for a strut. I've got bilstein in there now, not sure what to expect for lifespan. I've read that KYBs are decent but only last 30-40K miles.

Lol the 420sel we bought in 2010 came with Monroe shocks all around.

Struts are one thing, but strut mounts are a big hunk of rubber between two metal plates. I really don't see there being a whole lot of difference between OEM replacement brands. haha.

Also, beggars can't be choosers. This stuff is NIB and the lot was $50, so I don't care what brand they are.

[colincoon]

Chinese Rubber makes strut mounts fail quickly. Stay away from Febi!

I have heard that KYB Strut Mounts are actually pretty good. I will probably end up getting them to replace the ones in my wagon.

[MTI]

Originally Posted by Suped.

Anyone got a picture of how a W201 looks on Audi 16" steelies?

Audi and Mercedes wheels are "hubcentric" mount, meaning the center hole flange is load bearing. The Audi center holes are smaller than the Mercedes and would have to be machined larger to fit.

The FPR is different after the 1984 model given the differences in the M102 engine after '84, and is different for auto and manual transmissions.

Swapping to a "newer" 102 engine may be slightly problematic (ie. expensive) unless you have a donor car parked next to it . . . and if you did, I'd restore the donor car instead.