Hood star stolen...
 

So, some idiot decided to steal the hood star off my '86 300e, was wondering if i can just buy a new one and pop it in. i've seen many for sale for between $20-50 on ebay. Can i buy one of these and just attach it myself? Any replies welcome. Thanks.

I have never done it myself but I have taken my grille off the car. It doesn't seem like a hard job at all. I don't know if they are car specific either. I do know you can buy detachable ones to take with you when you leave the car.

Sorry to hear that...I always worry that someone is going to swipe if from my car when I park :eek:

It would be nice if you can hook up a alarm to it..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3627807068&category=395

Get it from MercedesShop.com! Click on Fastlane above and get your filters and plugs while youre at it, too. My hood emblem was $ 20 or so, FAST delivery and genuine MB part. Also, you get to support this site! Do a search and learn how to install it.

-Tom

You can also get one with a removable star, friction fit. You can pull it off and drop it in you pocket or into the glove box, then stick it back in while driving.

Replacement is easy -- open hood, reach up through the access hole with a pair of pliers, pull down on the black metal u-shaped clip and rotate CCW 90 degrees.

Pull old base out, insert new base, then reach up and pull down the clip and rotate 90 degrees clockwise.

Easy.

Don't play with the new one and rotate the retainer on the new out of the car, it turns fairly easily and will pinch the s... out of you when it snaps down!

Peter

It's happened to me twice now. The first time they also scratched the paint on the hood of my 140 which really pissed me off. You can get them cheap from our host and they are pretty easy to install. Good luck!

Wire a 10K farad capacitor to the new one. You'll drive over the theif's ashes in the morning ;).

Mine was just stolen today. Is there some kind of spring loaded automaticaly protruding spike model? $20 isn't going to kill me but I get so p.....ed that people have the utter lack of respect for things that don't belong to them.

self defense
 

I don't condone violence.

But if I did, I would sharpen the bottom edges of the star with a knife sharpener. Imagine the fellah yanking up with all his might on what turns out to be a razor edge. Bloody, and you could collect the fingers as trophies.

My electronic-engineer friend suggested wiring it up to the battery with a cap. Electronics are beyond me, but it seems like a more elegant solution.


Dan
(not responsible for your actions)

Mine got stolen last week off my 111..
It was a really windy night and the wind must have pulled the car cover so hard that it ripped it out and some punk found it on the ground and took it. I figure the cover caught it and pulled it out to begin with because there were old brake rotors attatched to the corners and they were pulled clean across the yard and the bungee cords flung off. It was butt cold so I wouldn't imagine anyone was out lookin to rip stuff off unless it was easy. I hoped that someone found it and placed it on my porch or somewhere where I would find it but no..it's gone.

I've never had mine stolen, but I fear that one day I'll walk up to my car and see it's been castrated. I like those ideas - sharpening the edges and wiring it to a capacitor - but I don't want to injur anyone... maybe there's a way to secure it so well that it CAN'T come off at all, like welding from the inside or something?

That's the only thing I am worried about my trusted W 124.
I DID sharpened the underside and guess what ?
I found my MB in the parking lot at my workplace, "The Star" out of "alinement" and covered of blood but...entirely intact.

Danny

How did you sharpen the underside?

Very good ideas. Although evil, I would have no qualms about doing these things. I'm especially interested in the battery/capacitor method. Anyone want to explain how to do this?? :D

There's only one main drawback I can see to all this. Some guy is gonna come along only intending to rip off the hood ornament, and then as a result gets nicely bloodied up and/or fried. This might piss him off bad enough to where he now wants to REALLY f*** your car up (i.e. keying, denting, busting out some glass) whether it be at the time or if it means coming back later. Just something to think about.

I just had all the little chrome strips on the door handles stolen off the E320 at a shopping mall. Really mad, would like to electrify those, too. Can't beleive they didn't take the star.