I’ve ben grappling with a stuck ignition key on my 280SE W116 for some time. In part 1 I finally managed to move the key to position 1, but could not unscrew the collar to remove the tumbler. In part 2, I tried a special tool, and then attempted to remove the whole steering lock. As the collar and tumbler was still on the...
When I purchased my 560SEC, the A/C was not working. It hadn’t even been converted to R134A. I suspect it had never worked while in Australia. The car came out of Queensland, and I’m not sure I would want to drive a car without a car up there. The long time owner was in the Army, I guess tougher than me! When I...
In Australia, the 560 models were standard with a Becker 868 or later 874 Mexico CD Player. This doesn’t sound like much of a deal in 2022, but back in the mid 80s this was a huge deal. Should you have wanted to upgrade your 300SE or 420SEL from the standard Becker Cassette player to the CD, you would have paid more than $2,000...
I am currently installing a Becker 1402 Grand Prix electronic in my 560SEC. I don’t have the original owners manual packet for the car, so I didn’t have an instruction guide. In any case, since my 560SEC is a UK version, it would have originally had a slightly different Becker that looks visually the same. There were a couple of buttons I wasn’t able...
Previously I had a stuck ignition barrel in my 280SE. After 5 hours of trying, I finally got it to move, allowing me to get the car out of the way. At the time, I was feeling pretty confident that the right tool would get the ignition tumbler out no problem. As it turns out, my optimism was misplaced. The first issue was...
Today was the 2022 Shannons Eastern Creek Car Show. This is the biggest car show that I know of in Sydney, and is held at Eastern Creek Raceway. I’ve been going for years, but have never entered a car. All those previous times I have been a spectator, most recently in 2018. The 2021 and 2020 events were cancelled due to coronavirus and...
I’m currently planning to install period correct Becker radios into my 450SLC and 560SEC. I previously outlined the radios I plan to use, and tested them. I was able to confirm that the Becker 1402 destined for my 560SEC was working correctly. Rather than using the internal 2x25W amplifier in the Becker, I planned to connect it to an external amp. While I...
by Nick Gruzevskis · Published August 9, 2022 · Last modified September 15, 2024
It was back in April 2018 when I got a call from Greg at Gullwing Motors, telling me to come in as he had a car that I might be interested in. Oooh, this sounded exciting, what was it?! I couldn’t get up there fast enough to see the red W116 450SE which Greg had just towed out of a customer’s garage, together with...
I installed the Classic Auto Sound Becker tribute radio in my 250SE a couple of years ago. The W111 series are supposed to have a slimline radio instead of a DIN size. Unfortunately, a previous owner cut my dashboard to DIN size. This meant putting the correct radio for the year was now practically impossible. Instead of putting a 70s Becker instead, I went...
by Nick Gruzevskis · Published July 25, 2022 · Last modified September 15, 2024
It’s only been a bit over a year since I sold Oskar, my 1988 300SE at the 2021 Shannons Autumn Auction. It was my father Oskar’s pride and joy, and I was keen to join the MBCV when I inherited the car in 2011. For many years I used the car as a daily driver, then later it was swapped to club plates, with...
I was quite keen to start using the 280SE more now I have sorted out the steering, exhaust and drivers seat. I don’t have a modern car, so I rotate the various historic registered cars I own to keep them inside their 60 day logbook. The 280SE obviously has a lot of entries available. I was also looking forward to driving it more...
Now I had the 280SE at the point where I could drive it more, I wanted to attend to the drivers seat. Like most of these cars, years of driving had caused at least some of the springs to break, causing it to feel collapsed and lopsided. The first Mercedes I ever owned, my 1985 230E already had this issue on purchase. It...
The final things preventing me from turning the 280SE from a garage queen to a rolling restoration was getting the exhaust sorted out. It really was a mess. The rear muffler had been changed about 20 years ago (I have the receipt), but the rest was original. It really showed. Not only that, but the 280SE W116 exhaust for right hand drive cars is...
My next job on the 280SE project was replacing the drag link and tie rod ends. Of the six ball joins in the steering, two were really bad, and the others were all quite old. In addition, I planned to replace the idler arm while I was there. The rubber was old and cracking so it was definitely due for it. I already...
I generally like to keep my cars stock. The exception to that is period accessories that are totally reversible. Things that the first owner may have wanted to do to the car to improve it or customize it. The most obvious of those are wheels, but there are plenty of other things that can be done, like changing the steering wheel. I’ve...
In the two years of owning my 560SEL, one of the things I have appreciated is the original Becker CD player. I’ve owned many classic Mercedes-Benz models over the years, but until the 560SEL none of them had their original Becker intact. The Becker radios just look and feel right in the dash of the car. I had never really understood that before. That...
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