01x10 - Mercedes-Benz W123 230E Part 2

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheeler
Dealers, the show that's mad

about buying, restoring
and selling modern classics.

Our challenge is to find
the car and restore it to

tip-top condition for no
more than a thousand pounds.

This is the Mercedes
230E, and in its day it

will cost you a fine
packet to buy and run one.

Well, believe it or not, I bought this one
for a measly 400 quid.

The load price was
partly down to the work

needed to bring it
up to tip-top condition.

So far, my mechanic, Ed China,
has been very busy.

He's replaced the steering box a heavy and
expensive job.

And he's tackled the electric sunroof.

Essential, if I'm going to sell the car on
later.

Luckily, it was only a dub fuse.

The windscreen was scratched and that's
been replaced as well.

Problem is, we've only got 70 quid left in
the kitty and there's still stuff to buy.

If we go over our thousand pound budget,
I'll eat into any profits we make.

Next up, we've got to get the wing
replaced and sprayed.

It needs a full service and it needs the
fan belt changed.

While Ed's cracking on
with the work, I'm going

to go and have a look
at another Mercedes.

Do you never know, this one might end up
looking like when all the work's finished.

And it could give me some inspiration.

Johan, fantastic looking car you've got
there.

But what made this special when it first
came out?

Well, I think my dad used to always aspire
to it.

You know, he always used to look up to it
and he loves the chrome work and so on.

And it's just the classic, you know,
the classic design, the lines of the car.

Your car in particular, the
230, which I thought was

one of the best mid-range
engines of any sort of saloon.

Yeah, it's a four-cylinder 12,
I think.

The performance is fine, it's reliable.

It's economical as well.

It keeps up with every day, you know,
modern traffic and so on.

And it's built like a tank, to be fair.

Right, now, what about problem areas?

Well, the main problem is the timing
chain, which goes every hundred thousand.

And it makes a clicking
noise when you know

it's going to go, so
you've got enough time.

I've got to stop you there.

I love that.

It goes every hundred thousand miles.

That's right.

That's not a bad thing, is it?

Most cars you throw away at hundred
thousand miles.

Exactly, I want 36,000, so it's perfectly,
you know, it's good.

OK, anything else, gearbox?

Well, the gearbox, if it's not a slick
change, there might be slight problems,

but, I mean, normally it's lack of
transmission fluid, which is easily topped up.

You're very proud of your 230.

Yeah.

I'm not proud enough, I hope, to let me
have a go at it.

Well, my top button up on your way and let
you on.

Thank you very much.

I'll look after it, don't worry.

Right, the glorious Mercedes 230E now.

This car, I like to refer to it as an
honest car.

It's trying to be honest.

It's not trying to be anything else other
than what it is.

And that is just a great, big,
luxurious cruising machine.

Although it's got quite a peaky little 2.3
engine.

You don't want to drive it fast.

You don't want to be angry.

You feel like a businessman on his way to
a high-end meeting.

Now, this particular 230E has been
lovingly cared for.

It's got beautiful paintwork on the
outside.

It's stunning on the inside.

It's worn in time incredibly well.

Oh, just wonderful.

We can go round the corners.

Ooh!

What a lovely old machine.

I love it.

I know that we can get our car easily,
easily in the same condition as this.

There is one thing that's completely
ruining this car, and I will not let it

leave the workshop until I've got it
sorted.

Just a look at the state of this.

It's appalling.

It looks more like a banger race than a
Mercedes.

You can follow this dent all the way
around the wing, right up to this nasty,

rusty hole at the end here.

Now, there's no point in even attempting
to fix this wing.

The simplest thing to do is to go and buy
a brand-new wing.

Now, I've sent Mike off on a little
mission to try and find one, and in the

meantime, I'm going to start taking this
one apart.

It's not difficult on a
big old Merc to remove

the lights and bumper
before getting to the wing.

The wing screws on and is mounted with
clips.

On a modern car, it would have to be cut
off, which is much more messy.

It's quite easy to remove, but be careful
not to lose the fittings.

Now, before I get ready for the new wing
that hopefully Mike has found for me,

I need to take all the trim and clips and
things off this wing to make sure that I

can put everything back on with the new
wing.

All the chrome work has got
to come off without damage,

and it's worth spending
time doing this properly.

Well, with all the clips removed,
this can now be binned.

Mmm, that means I've got to find a new
wing for less than 70 quid.

That's rather a tall order.

I need specific parts for our Mercedes
230E.

I could go to the main dealer,
but they're quite expensive.

But then I could go to my local motor
factor shop, but the chances are they

won't have the bits in stock and they'll
have to order them in.

So I've come here.

This is the future of car parts.

These places are springing up on
industrial estates across England.

It's like a great big car part
supermarket.

In here, 90,000 different product lines on
the shelves are in 11 million quid.

This is the perfect place to start.

All right, mate, I need a couple of bits
for a W123 Mercedes.

It's a B registration.

I need an offside front wing.

Yep.

Some wiper blades and some bump rhymes.

Start with the offside front wing.

Front wing, yep.

Hey, we have got a front wing for it.

You're looking at £26.15 plus VAT.

That's the whole wing?

The whole wing, yep.

That's the whole wing.

26 pounds 50?

Yep, it's a patent part, but it's as good
as an original.

It'll go on there nicely, no problems at
all.

Because an original one will cost a couple
of hundred quid, shall we?

Yeah.

So, I mean, it's an older car.

You don't want to be spending too much.

That sort of money.

No, not really, no.

Right, the only other thing is them wiper
blades and bump rhymes.

Do you have all these bits in stock as
well?

Yeah, everything's in here.

I've buried it at the back somewhere,
but I'm sure one of the boys will find it.

Wiper blades, £3.69 plus VAT each.

Brilliant.

Bumper irons, offside, £3.74 plus,
nearside, £3.45 plus, and it's all here.

You're kidding me.

No, I'm not like you.

Fantastic.

I think I can stretch to that.

Well, gobsmacked ain't the word.

I thought I was going to spend
about three or four hundred quid,

but so far I've only spent less
than £100, which is fantastic.

This place buys in bulk and passes the
discount on to you.

Straightway the parts
are collected from the

warehouse and you can
take them the same day.

I've made a big saving by on a pattern wing
that only costs a tenth of what it should.

It's kept me amazingly within budget.

But we're not out of the woods yet.

Ed's still got to fit it.

It's arrived.

This is the wing that Mike has bought for
us.

The only thing is I hope he's bought the
right one for the car.

Now have a quick unwrap.

I don't want to seem ungrateful
because Mike has gone

to the trouble of buying me
this brand new shiny panel.

The only thing is it's black and our
Mercedes is metallic blue.

Now that means I'm going to have to have
this panel painted to the right colour.

Another little tiny detail
is this sticker on the back

of the wing here tells me
that this is a pattern part.

Now that means it hasn't been made by the
original manufacturer and so as such,

might not fit the car first time.

So what I'm going to have to do is trial
fit it and then do any modifications

before I do any of the prep work for the
painting.

On first impressions, it seems this wing
actually fits pretty well.

Only thing is, on the front here,
it's a little bit wayward.

It doesn't quite touch the bolt hole
there.

So what I'm going to do
now is bolt the whole thing on

and just make sure that
everything fits like it should do.

This metalwork, quite handily,
is a lot thinner than the original stuff

so it does bend around a
bit more but it also means it

probably hasn't got quite the
right shape in the first place.

All this fiddling is a common
problem when changing a wing

and it's one reason why it's
an expensive job at a garage.

This is not good.

First of all, the point
of this wing doesn't

actually line up with
the front of the bonnet.

Then I've got this huge gap here so the
whole wing has to be rolled into position.

And then up there at the back,
the top of the wing doesn't actually meet

with the scuttle so I'm
going to have to try and raise

the wing even though
the swage lines actually fit.

It's going to take a lot of fiddling to
get this sorted.

The refitting takes a good three hours but
it's paying dividends.

I'm just preparing this panel for a little
bit of filler because unfortunately I

can't get this panel here to match this
part of the door here.

Once I've got this sorted out,
sand it back, get the finish rather nice

and then some more
primer and then it's ready

to be painted with
the rest of the wing.

My trusty friend, the filler, is only a
couple of pounds and it'll do the job fine.

That'll take about 15, 20 minutes to dry.

And then I can have a go at sanding it
down.

I'm just sanding back the filler to try
and get a shape that resembles the wing.

Now that is so much better.

It actually fits everywhere.

Now the tip of the wing matches the
bonnet.

You've got a nice parallel line all the
way down here.

The scuttle is now the same height as the
top of the wing and this tricky little

corner here is also completely sorted
thanks to the filler.

So now all I have to do is prep this ready
for the paint job.

The wing has been removed again because
it's easier to spray it off the car.

Although Mike's gone out and bought me
this brand new wing as is often the case,

it comes with a whole load of
imperfections free of charge.

Now these three scratches alone mean that
it won't be any good for taking straight

to the paint booth but it's not the end of
the world.

All it takes is a little bit of wet and
dry and you can rub them out.

I've finished the prep
work with a little bit of primer

and now this panel is ready
to be painted in metallic blue.

Morning, d*ck.

This is our nice new Mercedes wing.

Now I think the paint goes 930 silver
blue.

I'm blanking a big favour
from a friend of mine

who is going to spray
the wing in his downtime.

It'll be a much better job and it'll save
me a couple of hundred quid too.

Fantastic.

OK, well I'll leave you to it.

See you later, thanks very much.

Two coats and two hours later and the
result is flawless.

Wow.

I've got to be so careful putting this on.

Now you may remember I had lots of hassle
with this corner trying to get back to

meet there and also to get all the sway
lines to meet at the same time.

And as you can see now, it all finally
works together beautifully.

At last, the 230 is looking like it
should.

Coming up in part two, Ed gives the engine
a final tweak and I'll see if somebody is

willing to take the murk off my hands for
cash.

Welcome back to Wheeler Dealers.

We've nearly finished the
Mercedes 230 that must

be paid for and fixed
for no more than £1,000.

Later on, I'll see if I can sell it on for
a profit.

But right now, Ed's going to tackle the
last jobs on the engine.

Fingers crossed there are no nasty,
expensive surprises.

The car is pretty much
there now but there are a few

things under the bonnet
I want to have a look at.

Now I know it's recently been serviced but
it's not going to be serviced.

But the alternator fan belt actually
squeaks a little bit.

So I want to change that.

And also it's running a little bit funny
so I thought I'd check the timing.

And then I'll have a
look at the fluids as well

just to make sure it's
definitely ready to go.

The first problem I've got to fix is
actually quite a common one.

It's an intermittent fault with the fan
belt.

It squeaks every once in a while.

Now it's just because it's wearing away
and normally you can tighten it but

eventually it will come back again and
again.

So rather than mess around, I'm just going
to put a brand new one on it.

Only cost me a fiver so it's well worth
doing.

So off we go.

If the fan belt is worn, it will be slack
and can be prized off quite easily.

Stretch it over the top of the fan.

And there we go.

One partly worn, or even quite worn,
fan belts.

Now it's not that bad and it's not quite
on the point of breaking.

If you put it round the other way you can
see there aren't any cracks or splits

actually in the belt but still you can see
there's a lot of wearing on the edge.

So we'll pin it and put our nice new one
on.

Now we've got to try and shoehorn it back
on.

So back over the fan so it's just a
reversal of taking off.

Putting on the new one is more tricky.

You have to loosen
the alternator, put the

belt on and tighten
up the alternator again.

OK, and there we have it.

One brand new fan belt fitted.

Timing.

A bit of physics perhaps.

Engines, like this one, are
four-stroke machines and

that means there are
four strokes in their cycle.

There are pistons that go up and down
inside cylinders and there's suck,

squeeze, bang and blow.

Now the bang bit is
very important and it's

important that it happens
in exactly the right time.

And it's governed by
the spark plug which in

turn is actually governed
by the distributor.

Now if it's not quite right then the
engine will run a little bit dodgily.

As does this one.

So I'm going to check the timing to make
sure everything's OK.

Apparently the timing on this is 7 to 13
degrees before top dead centre.

Now that might sound like
complete gobbledygook but it's

actually quite easy to check
if you have one of these.

This is a timing g*n.

In fact it's actually a strobe g*n.

Lots of light flashes
out of the end of that

but it has to flash
exactly the right time.

It does that using a sensor.

So this sensor clips onto
number one spark lead and then

it flashes every time the
spark is detected by the sensor.

Now of course it needs to flash at the
right time so I dial in my 7 to 13 degrees

into here and then I point the g*n down at
the bottom of the crankshaft pulley.

You need to run the engine to do this job
properly.

Adjusting the timing is not that
difficult.

You need to get the strobe
light flashing when the

marks on the crankcase and
the top dead centre line up.

Suddenly the two marks appear together and
you know you've got it.

You can adjust the whole
cycle by loosening the bottom

of the distributor and
moving it until it's right.

OK, so now the pin and the peg are
perfectly aligned which means the timing

is now in exactly the right position so it
should run smoother and hopefully you

might even get some better fuel economy as
well.

Last job is the fluids.

The transmission fluid should be done when
the engine is running.

Automatic transmission fluid is essential
for the Merc's smooth gear changing.

It's just a matter of
filling the reservoir

and then selecting
each of the gears in turn.

By the way, overfilling this will damage
the system so only put in a bit at a time.

And last, topping up the power steering
fluid.

I've not done this since I replaced the
steering box and the level is low but now

it should be fine and the steering will be
nice and light to use.

Well, that's it.

Those last few jobs were small but they
were very important in their own little way.

They make the car
drive and run better and it

really does deserve
those last finishing touches.

And to be honest, I'm going to be very sad
to see this Mercedes leave the workshop.

The Mercedes 230E is finally finished.

Let's have a look at what we've achieved.

I found a bargain Merc on a supermarket
notice fault.

The seller wanted red and I paid silly
money.

400 quid because of the big ding in the
wing and the stodgy steering.

Ed diagnosed the steering box was at fault
so he replaced that and saved the handling.

He sorted the electric sunroof.

It was a cheap fix, only a fuse.

Phew!

The windscreen had deep scratches and that
was replaced.

The ding wing was changed with a bargain
pattern part and sprayed on the cheek.

And the result?

A Mercedes that might be 20 months old,
not 20 years.

We spent £300 on the steering box, 230
quid on the windscreen, a new wing was £26.

50 and service
parts and fluid £20.

Dial in 400 quid original price and we
come in at just under our £1000 budget.

Pretty impressive, really.

Ed, good to see you again.

Look at that.

What a wicked job.

Thank you very much.

Well done, fella.

When I left you this car last time,
it looked like you'd done nothing to it

but you pulled the car out of the bag with
this one.

Well, it was a lot of hard work
because it was a pattern part

and it wasn't Mercedes, so
it makes it a bit more tricky.

Don't worry about that.

It was a cheap wing to buy but the job
turned out right in the end.

And also, I've done an
engine service and it runs

like a dream as well,
so that's really good, too.

Fantastic.

So, when I left it with you last time,
you'd done the sunroof windscreen.

And also the steering as well.

And the steering.

So it's ready to drive.

It's not together.

You've got to be careful with it,
aren't you?

I will be.

Right, now, Ed's had a hard task to pull
this whole car up together.

When I gave it to him, it was in a real
sorry state but he's done a cracking job.

But one of the things I was hoping he was
going to fix, especially if I've come down

to drive it on a day like today,
was the electronic sunroof.

And there it goes, all the way back,
so I can get the sun showing on me bumps.

When I first drove this car, it had really
woolly steering.

It used to drift all over the road.

But now, it's much more positive.

It gives a much more satisfying drive into
the corners.

Also, he's tuned the engine.

So the old girl picks up and has got good
revs to it.

It feels like it wants to go somewhere.

But the really excitable thing is what
he's done on the bodywork.

Originally, it's kind of a
great bit whack in the side and

it looked like a right sorry
state driving down the road.

But now, it's a car to be proud of.

I'd drive this car to a
polo match or to a ball

and I'd be proud to climb
out the other end of it.

I think Ed's words miracles on this car.

The best way to gauge the
price for your old Merc is to

have a look at what other
people are selling them for.

A fully restored
version of a car like this

would probably fetch
around two and a half grand.

I could probably get two grand for this
one but I'm not going to be that greedy.

I'm going to ask 1,700 quid and probably
settle for 1,500 quid on a handshake.

Now, the best place
to advertise this car is

in one of the big selling
motoring weeklies.

Magazines like AutoTrader, Exchange of
Mart or even Lute.

What you're looking for is the bargain
hunter who's after a prestige motor.

Now, in your advert,
don't bother saying things

like genuine reason for
sale or drives like a dream.

People don't care about all that rubbish.

They just want to know the condition,
the mileage, whether it's got any extras

and, most importantly, has it got MOT and
tax.

That's all they really want to know.

When the buyer turns
up, you're not obliged

to offer a test drive
if they're not insured.

If they crash your car whilst on a drive,
you won't have a leg to stand on.

Now, remember, when haggling, if you get
offered a lot less for your car,

just stick to your g*ns.

The right buyer will eventually come
along.

Now, this Merc is a kind of car that was
sold by word of mouth.

I put the feelers out
earlier, and this fella phoned

up and twisted my arm to
come and have a look at it.

He's been on it for about five minutes,
and his body language is pretty good.

Let's see if I'm right.

You all right, Laurent?

How are you getting on?

Yeah, it looks really good, Jim.

Is there anything else I should know
about?

Not really, no.

All the electric works.

The sunroof goes backwards and forwards
all the windows.

It's even got cruise control, which is
nice and tidy.

Yeah, we've tidied it up on the outside as
well.

We've given it a good polish.

There was a tiny little ding
in this wing, which we did

repair, and I think we've
done a nice job of it, don't you?

Yeah, very good.

Yep.

There you go.

When's the last time we've serviced?

Funny you should ask that.

We've just done it.

We've given it a full service.

Oh, and another thing, these old Mercs,
they tend to have a woolly steering box

when they get a bit older,
but we just serviced the

steering rack, and it's absolutely
as tight as a drum there.

It handles beautifully.

So, do you want to have a deal?

Yeah, I'm interested, but I'm thinking
more like 1,400.

No.

I wanted 1,700 pound for it.

I'll take 1,650.

No, I think that's... I'm thinking more
like maybe 1,500.

Cash?

1,500 cash.

Go on then.

The job's a good one.

Cheers.

The Grand Old Merc delivers a 500 quid
profit, not bad when it only costs 400

pound in the first place,
a car that might have

otherwise been dinged
once more and then scrapped.

I'm just happy that it's on the road,
looking as good as new.

Well, there you go.

Another classic lives to fight on another
day.

That's it for Wheel of Dealers.

Join us again when we be breathing life
back into another motoring favourite.

Tala.