The Hoist is almost operational! The only thing left is to get the unlocking mechanism working. In part two I installed the motor and hydraulic lines. Yesterday an electrician connected up the hoist for me. After fixing a minor hydraulic leak I had a working hoist (sans unlock rod). This is timely as I needed to get the 560SEC inside. While the unlock rod...
Back in 2015 I did a review on the SuperCheap Auto Vehicle Positioning Jack. I had purchased a set of these during a SCA sale. Overall, I have mixed feelings about this purchase. The jacks are useful to move cars that are not running. The big challenge with them is that moving even a medium sized car requires two people, even on...
In Part 1, I had done the heavy lifting to get the Side by Side Parker installed. I have arranged an electrician to come and hook the hoist up on Wednesday. This gave me a deadline to get as much as I could before they arrive. Most importantly to mount the motor. The motor is quite heavy, but straightforward to get mounted. A...
I help defray the costs of my workshop by renting some spaces for car storage. This was making the workshop quite cramped, especially with the addition of the 560SEC. Hero hoists offered an interesting four post hoist – a model that could lift two cars side by side and lift them both without the centre pillar. The presence of the centre pillar would...
I’ve been preparing for the next round of improvement projects for the 560SEC. The most important is the Timing Chain and Valve Stem seals. I’m not going to do this job myself and am hoping to save a little labour cost by having both the stem seals and the chain done at the same time. I had previously checked the Timing chain and...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
I spent the afternoon going over the 560SEC, making small improvements and evaluating the car. The first order of business was to look at the original factory wheels that came with it. As was the norm back in 1987, there are five factory alloy wheels. They were in a really sorry state when I removed them from the boot of the car. They...
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