I didn’t buy the parts car to make money, I bought it to save some parts I wanted.  The plan was to be able to sell some parts along the way.  I did that early on, but I had my time wasted so many times, I stopped and only sold to people I knew.

Before the car went to the scrap yard, I had a few more parts I wanted to remove.  The final window regulator and horns were quick and easy wins.   I then planned to remove the alloy wheels.  I have plenty of W126 wheels, so I was planning to sell them. While the car is gone, I still have the rear seat and rear bumper which are in OK condition to sell.  The door cards and associated parts are in good condition and I’ll try and sell those too.

However, I simply was not able to remove the lug bolts.  I tried with the longest breaker bar I had, and couldn’t make them shift.  I then got a air impact wrench, and they wouldn’t move either.   It seemed that they were staying with the car.

I then pulled the car out of the warehouse with the 560SEC.  I left the front bumper on, as it was in pretty poor shape.

Given I’ve had so much time wasted, I didn’t bother listing the rest of the car on facebook.  I just contacted one of those places that pay cash for your car.   The one I used was CarTakeBackAus.   The advertised quick and easy removals, which was what I wanted.

I filled in the details on their web form, being very clear what parts were removed and what was still there.  I uploaded photos and got a buy price of $500 which I accepted.   The company then sent me text messages where I confirmed what parts had been removed.  I sent them more details and more photos.   I was very clear I had removed the fuel injection system.

When the two truck driver came, there were two problems.   Firstly, he expected to be able to tow the car with the wheels on the ground.   Not going to happen on a W126, especially one with seized rear calipers.   Secondly, he was upset that there were parts removed from the engine, and said the max they could pay was $300.   I kind of expected this to happen as the reviews on the internet mentioned it.

It was a total bait and switch, but I wanted the car gone.  I told him I would take if they got rid of the car today.   They came back later with a different tow truck and my 420SEL is now gone.  It took me multiple messages and until Friday mid-morning before I finally got paid.

I probably wouldn’t do another parts car unless I really needed to.  It was great to have, but it took up too much space and was a lot of hassle dealing with time wasters.

The post 420SEL parts car – final update appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

On this occasion, I didn’t bother getting the valve.  It looked like it had been leaking.  I’m not at the point of diminishing returns on this car.  It’s taking up space and I rarely get the time to work on it.  I prefer to spend my time on projects that will improve my actual cars.

Now I have access to the front of the car, I will remove the horns, and I want to try and remove the wheels again.  I tried before and even with a breaker bar I could not budge the lug bolts.   After that, I’ll sell the rest of the car.  there are some good rust free panels, but I don’t have anywhere to store them. Originally, I was going to take the front bumper, but it is not in great shape.

I spent some more time getting the car out from the corner where it has been for the last few years. I used my supercheap auto vehicle positioning jacks. The brakes are still locked on, even after cutting the hoses. These jacks are not easy to push a car like a 420SEL. I find I cannot push them forward or backwards on my own, only side to side. It was quite a time consuming process moving the car from side to side to get it into a more accessible position.

Now the SLS is removed, I’ll soon sell the car and free up some space.

The post 420SEL parts car update – May 2025 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

I don’t really like not being able to trust my gauges to be generally correct, so I wanted to see what I could do about this.   The issue seems to be mostly due to grounding.  The whole cluster gets ground from one plug, which then provides ground to each of the instruments, and lights.

A friend of mine with a W123 had fixed a cracked solder joint in his cluster that had made a big difference.  I’m terrible at soldering, so he offered to take a look at my cluster and see if the same solder joint needed repair.

Last week I removed my instrument cluster.  On removal, it had obviously been out before.  Somebody had written an odometer reading on the back, which I assume was done when the odometer was previously repaired.   The cluster was generally in very good shape, except somebody had tried to pull it out from the front before and slightly damaged the front cover, so I had to be careful.

I find the easiest way to remove these clusters is to remove the drivers side speaker and push it out from behind.  The W123 instrument cluster is harder than the W126 version, because the oil pressure sender is mechanical.  For reasons only known to them, Mercedes-Benz give you almost no slack to play with on the oil pressure line and speedo cable.  Even an extra two to three centimeters would make a big difference.

A 10mm spanner is needed for the oil pressure line, but the rest of the connections can be done by hand.

My friend looked at my cluster, and didn’t see the same solder joint broken.  There was some oil inside the cluster, and some of the screws were a bit loose.  Since the oil pressure gauge does not seem to be leaking now, I wonder if it leaked in the past?   Regardless he gave it a clean and also made sure it was screwed in properly.  From what I understand, the screws are important for the grounds.

I also decided to add another ground line.   From reading on the forums, it seems a lot of other W123 owners do this.   I figured it couldn’t hurt.  I grabbed a couple of ground lines with eye terminal from the 420SEL parts car. One terminal went on the other side of the ground bolt behind the W123 instrument cluster, held it on with a washer and nut, also from the 420SEL.  I put the other ring terminal behind one of the screws on the instrument cluster.   The only non Mercedes part was a connector between the two ground lines.

I put it all back together and took the car for a test drive. Getting the oil pressure line on is quite fiddly.  Eventually I got the cluster back in place and tested all the connections.

Today is very hot, mid 30s, so I was curious to see how the temperature gauge performed.   The fuel tank is full, so I will not be able to test that until I have used some fuel.   At least on the 20 minute test drive I did, the gauge seemed to perform very well.  It crept up to about 100 at one point in stop and go traffic, and then when I was on the move again, slowly came down.   It never used to perform so predictably.   I will keep an eye on it, but so far it seems like a big improvement.

The post W123 Instrument cluster grounding appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Based on that, I decided to strip more from the car and then send the shell to the scrapper.  The main issue is that I always prioritize my actual cars when I am doing work on cars, so the parts car always falls to the lowest priority.

The thing is, I could use the space, so I spent a couple of hours stripping fuel injection parts from the engine.   These don’t take a lot of space, and are good to keep. This included things like the EHA, fuel distributor, fuel pressure regulator and so on.  I’m not sure if the hard fuel lines are the same M116 and M117, I suspect not as the M117 is slightly wider.

Over the last year I have slowly stripped other parts when I had the time.  I used the motor for the drivers window on my 560SEL, and I’ve used various screws and nuts on the W124.   I’ve taken three of the four window regulators and motors out, the alternator, rear bumper and most of the interior.  I also took off the ABS pump yesterday.  There is not much left that I want.

The main thing is the self leveling parts and the gullideckel wheels.   I don’t think I’ll keep the doors, I don’t have space for something so bulky. I’ll also go through and make sure there is nothing else I want to take off the car before I get rid of the shell. The interior is already pretty empty but there are a few wiring plugs and the like that are worth saving.

I also need to get organized and sell some of the parts I do not want myself. I find selling parts online is so time consuming as people are always messing you around. It is handy to have the parts car around, but I just don’t have the space to keep it long term.

The post 420SEL parts car update appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

I’ve owned my 420SEL parts car for a while now, and not really provided any updates as to how it’s going.   Overall, I’m glad I purchased the car, although it’s hard to find enough time dismantling it.

I’ve been able to recoup some of my money selling a few parts, but I really need to put more effort into this in 2023.    I’ve sold a couple of interior trim bits, the air cleaner, boot floor, blower motor and regulator, bonnet latch etc.     My main goal in buying the car was parts I wanted myself, but my secondary goal was at least breaking even on the purchase which I have not yet done.

Early on, I was able to get the car to sort of run with starting fluid.   The fuel injection system was partially dismantled, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back for this car.

The car was also useful in planning my Becker installation for the 560SEC, I was able to find the X30 power block on RHD cars and experiment getting some of the trim off.   I did break a few pieces which meant I didn’t on the SEC!    I’m also going to experiment with removing the armrest before I do so on the 300TE.

I’ve also used a few parts on my own cars already.    A tail light and rear headrest is on my recently sold 300SE.   The rear view mirror is on the 300TE, an X30 wiring harness on the SEC.    I also plan to use some of the rear door pulls on the front door of the 560SEC.    I’ve also used various screws for projects where they were missing or in poor shape.    The original speakers have been invaluable to test Becker radios.

And then there are the parts I’ve saved for my own future use.    The headlights, front corners, the taillight I have not already used are really good to have.   I’ve got plenty of switches and other interior bits and pieces that are really useful to have.    I still have not yet removed the SLS struts, but they were a big reason why I bought the car.

I’m now getting to the point of diminishing returns for myself, so if I got a decent offer for the rest of the car, minus the struts and wheels, I would let it go.     If not, I’ll dismantle it further before sending the rest to the crusher.   The interior is mostly out, and my next project is probably the bumpers.   While they are not perfect, they are in ok shape and I can probably go a good way to breaking even by selling those alone.   The door cards are in good shape and the wrong colour for my SEL.  A good candidate for sale.

I took the seats out and removed the poor quality sheepskins.   The leather on the front seats is in poor shape and the back seat only average.   The motors all work, so that part i’ll probably keep for my own use.  The leather is not much use to me as my saloon is grey.

In an ideal world, if space was no issue, I would just keep it around and pull parts off when required.   But the car does take up space I would either use or rent out, so it will need to go at some point.

The post 420SEL parts car update appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

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.   Quite a lot of original Hirchmann antennas got replaced with these as they were not much more than the cost of a new mast.   I have one on my 450SLC, as when I got the car the original Hirchmann was long gone.  Sadly, it had been replaced by something cheap and nasty.

Since I planned to sell the 300SE, and I wanted to sell it with a working power antenna, I swapped out the 90s Hirschmann antenna with the proper 80s unit that no longer worked.   Since the 300SE was no longer sporting its original Becker, it seemed like a reasonable swap.    I also had one in the 420SEL parts car.    As the harness had been cut on the 560SEL, I was able to grab that piece of harness from the parts car.

That harness piece let me test both antennas.   The great news was that both of them moved a bit, they just had bent and stuck masts.    I had bought an aftermarket mast to try with these antennas, so I started with the antenna from the 300SE.   It was actually worse, even though the one that came out of the 420SEL was really dirty.    After a clean up they both looked pretty good.    I was pleasantly surprised, as I had low expectations of even having one working antenna from the two.

I set about opening up the Hirchmann antenna from the 300SE.   While you don’t strictly have to open up the case to change the mast, I wanted to inspect the inside and lubricate the gears.  Opening up the antenna case is very easy once you’ve done it once.  You have to release the plastic tabs.  I found the best way was to use a medium sized flat head screwdriver and lever each one carefully from the top.   I tried for a while to push them from the bottom but that never worked.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the internal condition of the antenna.   It was a bit dirty, and there was a very small amount of moisture inside the case.   That was all cleaned up.    You need to be careful not to lose the little rubber rings that locate the motor.   There are three on the front and three on the back.

The actual process of removing the mast is well covered in various youtube videos.   I found once I had loosened the top of the mast and removed the mast carrier, I had to run the antenna to get the toothed belt out of the housing.   Its possible with one person but would have been easier with an assistant to hold it.   I also had to run the antenna to feed in the new mast.  I went with a cheap aftermarket mast, primarily because I had fairly low expectations that my antennas would work.

The mistake I made first time, was to feed in the new mast fully before re-assembling the housing.   The best way is to feed it in about 80% and then cut the power.   If you feed it in all the way, the motor runs to the end and pulls itself up too far and off its mounting points.   This means the belt doesn’t line up with the bulge in the case to accommodate it.     If you only feed it in 80%, you can then locate the motor properly in the case, check the rubber rings are all located properly, and then put the case back on.   Once the case is on, I then tightened up everything else, and ran the mast up and down a few times to test it.

From there it was a fairly simple matter of installing the antenna in the 560SEL.   I forgot to order a new rubber grommet to locate the antenna in the rear wing.  The one from the 300SE was a bit hard, but generally ok, so I re-used it.    I first spiced in the harness from the 420SEL into the 560SEL, and was a bit perplexed why it didn’t work.   After a few minutes of checking fuses, I remembered that the trigger wire to the old antenna was separate.  It wasn’t using the blue wire from the factory harness.

I suspect this is because the Becker 868 is a two piece unit, and the antenna trigger wire comes from the secondary box, which is located in the boot on my car.    I’ve left this wire with a quick disconnect. I often park the 560SEL under the hoist, so it can be useful to disable the power antenna.

I’m going to purchase a new grommet and new genuine mast to have on hand.   The old grommet was quite hard, and I’m not sure how long this aftermarket mast will last.   Now i’ve done it before, it will be a simple job to replace them if I have to.   The car is all ready for a club run tomorrow.

The post W126 Hirschmann Antenna appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

The second generation W126 wiring harness provides a factory way of adding additional accessories.   This is the X30 power block.   Up to 8 accessories can be connected using factory plugs and their own wiring harnesses.   The number already connected will depend on options installed on the car.

Other than the direct power for the amplifier, I plan on using the X30 power block for the rest of the accessories.     The x30 power block provides five pins, each with a specific purpose.

1. Hot at all times:   Power from fuse 15 (8 Amp)
2. Hot in run or start:  Power from fuse 8 (16 Amp)
3. Ground
4. Illumination.   This is for accessories that have a small bulb activated with the headlights
5. Hot in accessory, run or start:  Power from fuse 19 (16 Amp)

This provides pretty much all the options required when installing a standard accessory.   Obviously something that draws decent amperage will need a direct connection from the battery.   These fuses are shared with other features.

For the amplifier, I’ll probably just use the ground.   I’ll take constant power directly from the battery as it requires up to 15 amps.    For the USB ports, I’ll want to use pin 5 and pin 3.    For the FM injector, I’ll trigger it from the radio, but use pin 5 for its actual power source.    I shouldn’t need pin four, unless I can’t locate the standard illumination wire for the Becker radio.

The electrical manuals I have for the W126 are for the USA versions.   The core manuals do a fairly good job of covering other models too, but the electrical manual is quite US specific.   According to that manual, the X30 power block is available in the diesels, 420SEL and both 560 models between 1986-1987.   For 1988 it was only installed in cars that had heated seats.    In those years many standard accessories were now hard wired in.

This explains why the 1988 560SEL I grabbed two X30 harnesses from only had the two.  One for the front heated seats and one for the rear.  Earlier cars would have had more.

Since the 300SE/SEL models were not offered in the USA until 1988, I am not sure if the 86-87 models were standard with the X30 power block.  In any case my 560SEC is an 1987 and has heated seats, so the X30 power block should be installed.    I guess it was cost cutting that removed it for later years.

My other complication was that I didn’t know where the X30 power block was located on right hand drive cars.  On left hand drive cars, its under the dead pedal in the drivers footwell.   This location is specifically referenced in the manual.

Luckily I had my 420SEL parts car to use as a guinea pig to search for the X30 power block.   As a 1987 model it should have one.   The first place I looked was under the dead pedal.   I figured if it was in the same place for RHD and LHD cars the manual would have said it was on the left hand side of the left hand footwell.    It wasn’t.

Next place I looked was where the dead pedal would be if my car was LHD.  I had to remove the under dash panel, the bonnet release catch and the trim piece under it.   It was worthwhile using the 420SEL as a test, as I broke the plastic retaining clip trying to remove it on the 420SEL.   That gave me an opportunity to examine it further to ensure my removal didn’t break it on the 560.

Sure enough, the X30 power block was in pretty much the same spot on LHD and RHD cars.   Its an ideal location as it’s right next to the conduit going to the rear of the car.    Not only was it there on my 420SEL, but three accessories were present.   The cover was also still there and not broken.   Great to have as a spare.   The photo above shows the X30 power block with the trim removed on my 420SEL.  It’s the tall rectangular thing in the centre of the photo.    The photo below shows the cover off and how the accessories connect.

That gave me the confidence to locate the X30 power block on my 560SEC where even more accessories were plugged in.    I also found a rats nest of old wires for the previously removed car alarm.   I plan to clean this up as part of this installation.

The X30 power block provides an easy way to install additional accessories on your W126 should it be present.  I understand it is also present on some W124s as well.  It means no alterations to the factory wiring harness are required.

The post Locating the W126 X30 power block on RHD cars appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

I did not want to start the car, firstly because the fuel cap is missing so I have no idea what is in the tank.   In addition, the fuel injection system has been partially dismantled. I did want to see if the engine would turn over however. I removed the fuel pump relay and the engine turned over happily. At least I know it isn’t seized. I suspect it had a timing chain problem early in its life. The left valve cover is the older 450 style. The timing chain probably came through that cover and the car was repaired, but the earlier style cover used as a replacement.

Before I brought it inside, I had to give it a quick wash.   It has been sitting outside in the mud for the last 6-12 months and it was filthy.   I didn’t want to use my Bowdens car wash, so I just used dish washing soap. The car looks much better after a wash, especially after some of the flaky clear coat came off.

Getting the car inside was a major mission.   I did it mostly by myself and I shouldn’t have.   A neighbor helped me a little, but I found myself stuck with the car half in the garage door and half out, not able to move.   The front calipers are locked up, so the car is incredibly hard to push.   I have a set of dollies, but I find they take a lot of effort to push.   The little wheels also struggled to get over the small lip into the garage and then the hoist cable run.

In the end I had to lift the front of the car with a floor jack and gently pull it over the hoist cable run with the 450SLC.   I didn’t have a tow rope, but I did have a long picture hanging wire, so doubling that up allowed me to gently pull the car over the lip.   I was a bit worried about the wire breaking, flicking up and damaging the paint, but I could not leave the door open with a car stuck half in and half out.    Pushing it back out also wasn’t a solution as I couldn’t make it move that way either!

In the end, I was able to get it in enough to make room for the other cars by about 10;30PM.   I’ll go back and position it properly another day.  A dead 420SEL with locked up brakes is very heavy.   The dollies are an ok solution, but there must be something better. I struggle to push the cars with them and I would be stronger than average.

At least its in and I can start to properly dismantle it.    I’ve already had some interest in a few parts from some MBCNSW members which is great.    If I ever get another parts car, one that rolls easily would be nice!  Even better would be one that can move on its own.

The post Evaluating my 420SEL parts car appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

I found a car on Facebook marketplace last week and went out to see it on Saturday.   As it was a parts car, I wasn’t going to be too picky but I needed to make sure it wasn’t full of water and mostly stripped.    What I found was a very high mileage 420SEL that had developed a problem with the fuel distributor and sat for a while.   It has been slightly vandalized, but is otherwise complete.

The car was an Australian delivered, 1987 model (1986 production) and had originally been champagne. At some point, it was painted white. I suspect it had been used as a hire car given the colour and mileage (497,000). The previous owner to me had purchased it from the country and towed it back to Sydney.  He spent a fair amount of money trying to get it going ($2500 he said). It had new fuel pumps etc, but the problem was suspected to be a bad fuel distributor.

I’m not sure the full story, but the repairs were never completed and the car was brought back half dismantled, and it sat on the nature strip out the front of this owners house for a while. I am assuming it was at that point it was slightly vandalized.  It looks like somebody tried to rip off the front grille, and things like the catalytic converter, jack, first aid kit and spare tyre were presumably stolen.

For a 420SEL parts car, the interior is not in such bad shape.   Its a testament to the build quality of the W126 that it could cover almost half a million kilometers and still be somewhat ok inside.

I want to keep things like the SLS struts, headlights, tail lights, key relays, plugs, clips etc. The rest will be sold to recoup the purchase price of the car. I already took my first part off the car, one of the indicator lenses.

I have also hooked up a battery and checked some of the electrical systems. A lot of things seem to work fine, I won’t check the windows until I can get the car inside. I wouldn’t want the windows to get stuck down and it rain.  Dismantling this car will also build my knowledge of how the W126 fits together.

In finding my 420SEL parts car, I didn’t want to wreck a car that had any reasonable chance of getting back on the road.   I’ve seen otherwise nice cars get parted out due to a bad head gasket or transmission.   This car needs pretty much everything and is not a prospect to get back on the road.

The post My 420SEL parts car appeared first on Classic Jalopy.