Introducing my 1990 Mercedes 300TE

Now I have sold my 1986 Mercedes 300SE, time to introduce its replacement, a 1990 300TE. I had been keeping my eye out for a good driver quality S124 wagon for a while. I wanted a car I could use for things like taking my kids bikes around and so on. The S124 really fits the bill for this. I think these Mercedes-Benz E-class wagons are exceptional cars, and hugely preferable to an SUV. Others must agree, as prices have been rising considerably over the last couple of years.

Surprisingly, the 300TE is a much smaller car than the […]

Farewell 300SE

Today I sold my 1986 300SE W126. It was the right decision to sell, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss the car. It wasn’t the nicest 300SE in the country, but in some ways it was like a favorite pair of shoes, comfortable and familiar. I originally bought the car as a daily, and I was on full registration for the first four years I owned it. My requirement was a car that could fit three child seats across the back, and I would have rather walked than have an SUV. I was actually looking for a […]

MBCNSW January 2023 seven bridges night drive

Last night was the first MBCNSW night drive of the year. This month we tried something a little bit different. Previously inner city drives have been a bit of a failure as the group got separated and lost. This time, we tried again with a few changes. Firstly, we kept the route quite simple. Secondly, we had a muster point halfway along the drive. Thirdly, we tried to make sure everyone had a copy of the route.

The drive ended up being the seven bridges night drive. Since were were doing an inner city drive, why not make the harbour […]

Citroen DS sphere regassing

The Citroen DS is known for the quality of its ride. The books use epithets such as ‘Magic carpet ride’. There is a bit of puffery in that statement, but the sentiment is right – the ride is normally very good. Recently my DS has become the worst riding car that I own. Something was clearly wrong.

The biggest impact on ride quality is the state of the suspension spheres. There are four suspension spheres, one for each wheel. In addition to the suspension spheres, a D will have at least one accumulator sphere. These store pressure for various reasons, […]

MBCNSW Past Presidents drive through Berowra

Today was the first Mercedes-Benz club event of the year. It was the first of a couple of drives, organized by past presidents of the club. This drive was organized by our immediate past president and started in Berowra. Next week the previous past president is organizing a drive down south.

The route was pretty similar to one we have used before as Night Drive. It started at Berowra station, took the Berowra ferry across to Glenorie, then up the old Northern Road to Wisemans Ferry road, then south to the final destination, Lynwood country club. This is always a […]

For sale: 1979 280SE W116

For sale: 1979 Mercedes-Benz 280SE. Australian Delivered. Update model with the nicer velour carpet and full wood trim. Original Becker Mexico radio. Well optioned including alloy wheels, sunroof etc. 906 Grey Blue with cream MB-Tex interior, both in great shape. Original books, data card, and service history for the first half of the cars life.

A lot of work in the last twelve months to get it driving really nicely, including a full stainless steel exhaust system from manifold to the back. Dual pipes the whole way like the W126, eliminating the Y piece that just cracks and robs the […]

For Sale: 1986 300SE W126

For Sale: Australian delivered W126 300SE in striking signal red and cream MB-Tex interior. Both interior and exterior in nice shape. Car was repainted by the previous owner. I’ve owned the car six years and it was my daily driver until the covid lockdowns. Since then I have a different job and I’m not driving it as much as I used to – time to find a new owner for it that enjoyed it as much as I have. Now on non-transferrable club rego. AC is nice and cold.

Over the six years and 16,000km I’ve owned it, I’ve […]

W126 Hirschmann Antenna

A couple of months ago an eagle eyed viewer of my Instagram feed asked my why my 560SEL doesn’t have a Hirschmann Antenna. Given how original the car is, it was a good question. I had never really noticed what antenna the car had, other than it worked. Since I have the original Becker, I really should have the original Hirschmann Antenna to go with it.

I had a look at the car, and saw that while it did have a Hirschmann branded antenna, it was the wrong one. It was one of those generic antennas sold in the 90s. […]

Auto Vintage Bangkok

I recently spent two weeks in Surat Thani, Thailand. On the way back, the flights from Surat Thani to Bangkok do not line up with the flight back to Sydney. Therefore, I had an afternoon to spend in Bangkok before returning home. It turns out there is an amazing classic Mercedes (and select other models) restoration shop very close to the airport. It is called Auto Vintage. This was a far more preferable place to go than the nearby shopping centre.

The owner of Auto Vintage Bangkok, Jay, was kind enough to give me a tour of his whole facility. […]