2018 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Review

I recently rented a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport for a family holiday. It is an interesting contrast with the Toyota Fortuner, which I reviewed earlier in the year. Overall the Pajero Sport is the better car, although not by much.

The Pajero Sport is actually the 3rd generation Mitsubishi Challenger. As far as I know, the only relationship with the full size Pajero is the name.

Regular readers of this site will know I am not a fan of this type of car. I think they are mediocre at everything. I also don’t see the need to buy your car […]

W126 Differential Ratios

The W126 range was in production from 1979-1991.  I’ve never seen a comprehensive table of W126 differential ratios, so I have attempted to create my own.   Not only did they vary between models and years, but in some cases countries too.

It is possible I have missed a few more country specific ratios.   Please indicate in the comments below if I have.  The data comes from the official technical data books.

If this table is being referred to for swaps, the first and second generations diffs are not interchangeable.   Neither is an ASR diff.   LSD was standard on 560s but […]

560SEC Major Checks

My two biggest concerns buying this 560SEC was the potential for rust being a UK car, and the condition of the timing chain. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked underneath the 560SEC and found that it was not a rusty car.

The other common W126 rust area is under the rear windscreen. This is also an issue in Australian delivered cars as it’s caused by rain. Rain gets under the rear window seal causing rust. The first evidence is that the rear windscreen starts delaminating at the corners.

As can be seen from the pictures, the rust has […]

MBCNSW Topless Drive 2018

The Mercedes-Benz club run an annual drive aimed a convertibles. It is better for everyone that the topless drive is referring to the cars, not the drivers. I last attended the drive back in 2014. I had planned to take the 250SE on this drive. The forecast was for rain, which makes it hard in a convey as putting the top up on the 250SE takes about 10 minutes. I was keen to see how the new tyres performed on the 560SEC, so decided to take it instead.

The route chosen was one of the better ones […]

New alloy wheels for the 560SEC

My 560SEC came with a set of Simmons wheels. These wheels are not to my taste and were too wide for the car. The wheels had been mounted with spacers which I do not like. On Thursday, I secured a great set of 15×7 Mercedes wheels which I fitted to the 450SLC. This meant that the ASA Type 8 wheels I had on the SLC were available for the 560SEC. These wheels have come full circle as I originally purchased them for a 560SEC.

The ASA Type 8 wheels are a replica of the 8 hole alloy wheels found on […]

New alloy wheels for the 450SLC

My 450SLC was originally sold with 14″ alloy wheels. This style of wheel was the standard Mercedes alloy wheel from the late 60s to 1985. It has a few nicknames such as Bundt Cake, Baroque, Fuchs etc. On the V8s it is 6.5″ wide but narrower versions (5.5″ & 6″) were available. The challenge with these wheels is that good tyres for a heavy car like an SLC are now hard to find. They are also hard to keep clean and I find the 195/70 tyres too litle for a car like the SLC.

When I moved back from the […]

Road trip to MB Spares and Service

My 560SEC came with a set of aftermarket wheels from Simmons. The Simmons wheels are a locally made wheel, and this set are two piece 16″ variants. They are shod with 245mm tyres so the fronts rub on sweeping corners and the backs on higher speed bumps. I prefer a more stock look so the plan is to remove and sell the Simmons wheels.

My ideal would be to get a copy of the 15″ Fuchs wheels for the 450SLC and then use the 16″ wheels that are currently on the SLC on the new SEC. These wheels were bought […]

2018 Rolls Royce Display Day

The Rolls Royce Owners Club run an annual display/picnic day at Historic Linnwood House. I’ve been a couple of times before and it is always a nice informal day. In some ways it is like a mini all British day. The highlight is obviously the Rolls Royce and Bentley cars. They also invite guest marques from other British brands like Rovers, Wolseley and so on. They also sometimes feature American luxury cars.

This year the numbers of Rolls Royces and Bentleys was down considerably. From what I understand this wasn’t the actual concours day, and I’m not sure if this […]

560SEC Improvements Part 2

Today I continued working on the 560SEC. I gave the car a quick wash to get a better sense of the condition of the paint. Overall it is pretty good for its age, with the usual minor chips and scrapes here and there. The worst is a small amount of damage on the passengers side in front of the door (behind the plastic lower trim). I still think this can be a good car with some improvements.

My plan was to remove the after market chrome wheel arch trims. I have removed them from both the 450SLC and my 300SE. […]

Auto Brunch St Ives November 2018

There has been a cars and coffee event not far from me since 2015. I’ve not had a chance to visit until last weekend. It is called Auto Brunch and is run by the North Shore Sporting Car Club. It’s held on the first Sunday of the month at the St Ives show ground. I was quite impressed with the event and will probably attend again if I can.

There were at least 100 cars in attendance. Unlike the trend of overzealous security and restrictions of when you can come and leave, it is very informal. The biggest surprise was […]