Retrosound Model 2 Repair

The Retrosound Model 2 radio in my Citroen DS has been playing up. It would randomly adjust the volume on its own, mostly down. The practical effect of this was not being able to listen to the radio. A while back I removed the face of the radio to take a look and the wire from the volume knob to the radio looked chafed. The face of the radio is separate from the main unit as there is not enough room in the DS to install it in one piece.

Retrosound sell replacement shafts so this seemed like a […]

2019 ACT German Car Show

This weekend I traveled to Canberra for 2019 ACT German Car Show. I’ve been to this show a few times before (2013, 2015, 2017), but this is the first time I have formally entered a car. In prior years I have driven down on the day and arrived around 11ish to see the show for an hour or so. This year I decided to do it properly and stay over in Canberra Saturday night.

The NSW Mercedes club were doing a convoy on Saturday, but I had a lot to do before I left so elected to drive down myself […]

2019 British Car Show, Sydney

Yesterday I attended the 2019 British Car Show at the Kings School. This is still, in my opinion, the premier car show in Sydney each year. It was a lovely day, with summer like weather and a big turn out of cars.

I didn’t display a car this year. Last year, I displayed my E-Type. However, the Jaguars now come in a different way over a series of rather large speed humps. I don’t think my stainless steel exhaust system will last very long given how badly it scraped last year. This change is because the show has been consolidated […]

M117 lower oil pan replacement

One of the things I noticed when I first changed the oil on my 560SEC was the dent in the lower oil pan. Presumably it hit a curb or rock at some point. It was also leaking. the dent was likely too small to interfere with the oil pump, or oil pickup but I wanted to be sure. The M117 lower oil pan can be changed without removing anything else. It made sense to replace it with a new one to make sure there is no impact on the engine and to stop the leaks.

As it was about […]

Classic Auto Sound Becker tribute radio part 2

Today I completed the install of the Classic Auto Sound Becker Tribute. In the first part, I removed the old Clarion, and installed the the Retrosound wiring harness. I also tested the radio and it was working fine. The new radio looks great and is a huge improvement over the Clarion CD player.

Installation Step 4: Convert the Becker Tribute radio to DIN

At some point in its life, somebody cut the dashboard of my 250SE for DIN. To fit the new radio, I also needed to order a DIN kit. The radio was supposed to be already set […]

Classic Auto Sound Becker tribute radio part 1

I have been wanting to change the radio in the 250SE since I have owned the car. It was a basic Clarion unit that looked totally out of place. The dashboard in my car has been cut to DIN size, meaning going back to the original Becker wasn’t really an option. Unfortunately many W111’s had their dashboards cut up in the 70s and 80s as owners demanded cassette decks and CD players.

My plan was to customize a Retrosound radio with a real Becker face plate. I even went to the point of purchasing the face plate about 18 months […]

Four post hoist oil drippage

I installed a double four post hoist late last year. Overall, I have been happy with the hoist. It is a very tight fit in my space, but it is worth being able to store cars more effectively. It also allows me to rent out a couple of spots to help cover my costs.

The major problem I have is oil drippage from the cars above. Cars that are over 40 years old are going to have some level of oil leaks even when well maintained. The hoist came with drip trays, but there are not enough to cover engine, […]

S211 Tail light replacement

The Mercedes-Benz E Class wagon is not particularly common. It would appear that most buyers opted for the ML/GLE model. Their loss as I believe the S211 is the far better car, unless you want to tow. This makes spare parts a bit more tricky, when those parts are not shared with the sedan. In this case, the tail light lens was broken and needed replacement. Even a used unit was hundreds of dollars. Dealer parts here in Australia from Mercedes-Benz are eye wateringly expensive. Luckily the part is the same on US cars, and i was able to source […]

Mercedes self-leveling rear suspension flush

A common feature of Mercedes cars from the mid 70s through the mid 2000s is the self-leveling rear suspension. This system is standard on the wagons, but was commonly specified on the higher end sedans too. Mercedes-Benz Australia was particularly keen on the system fitting it to coupes and even mid size saloons.

The system ensures that even with a heavy load in the rear of the car, the suspension remains level. Keeping the car level improves handling and safety. It is actually quite a simple system, derived from the more complex system on the 6.9. This system, in turn […]