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Clifton's new SEC - project journal

19K views 130 replies 28 participants last post by  bsclifton 
#1 ·
Hey there folks,

I'm a long time MB fan and have always wanted an SEC. I first found out about the W126 (and this message board) when I had bought my then girlfriend (now wife) a 1986 560SEL about 8.5 years ago. I got it for about $1,500 and put in a lot of work to get it fixed up. These forums were a huge help! :) Unfortunately, less than a year after buying it, it was totaled when a drunk driver plowed into it. My wife was physically OK after it all, the driver went to jail, and insurance-wise, we did OK.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw a really nice coupe on eBay. It was listed for $12,500 and I put in an "best offer" for $8,500. They rejected my offer but kept following up with me, even though I wouldn't budge. Eventually (a day or two later), the seller accepted the original offer. To be honest, I didn't think he'd accept and I wasn't really prepared.

I flew out to Oakland the next week on a $75 dollar flight. From the airport, I was able to split an Uber with some people to my friend's house in San Jose for just over $20. My friend came with me to buy the car, we had lunch, and I set out on the 750 mile drive home to Chandler, Arizona :)
 

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#2 ·
The car did really well on the trip back. I brought a pad of paper and a pen so I could write down issues along the way and had about two pages of notes by the time I got home (left at 5:30PM and got home at 6:00am). I brought the car over to my friend Bud's shop (MB Motors) and we looked over it together.

Some of the highlights:
  • last model year (1991)
  • paint code 199 (by far my favorite)
  • does not appear to have ASR! :)
  • has rear roller blind (which unfortunately needs repair... and I've heard that MBUSA no longer carries parts for)
  • 3 piece AMG wheels!
  • great body; no rust
  • no cracks on dash

Some of the lowlights:
  • Tires may be too big(245/45/17 front and 285/40/17 rear)- there are rub marks inside the rear wheel well, back end appears to be higher than usual. The tires are also not balanced and cause the car to shake when going over 40 MPH
  • Cruise control doesn't work
  • A/C might not have a tight seal in the center vents. No air really moving out of them. The A/C does work great and rest of the car has good air flow
  • Wood has cracks, etc
  • Needs to have some leaks fixed- rear main seal is leaking and it seems the transmission and power steering gearbox are leaking too
  • There is a power draw somewhere- the current suspect is the circuit that handles the dome light, clock, antennae etc also was handling the amp in the trunk. Car battery will go dead if it sits there without being turned on for about 2 or 3 days
  • Sway bar and some linkages in the back are not stock and may be causing issues. When going over large bumps, it can cause the rear tires to rub against the wheel well.
  • Aftermarket head unit is decent and was working... but the amp in the trunk was drawing power when the car was off (some parts of it look like a hackjob). It's disconnected for now, which means no music.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Here are some pics of the rear sway bar... it has what looks to be a MB part number (126 05 02 019), but it doesn't look stock. Also, the linkages on each side of the sway bar are different- the drivers side is from an R107 (which looks to be shorter) and the passengers side is a 126

The nitrogen cells look to be fairly new and the SLS does seem to be working great
 

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#4 ·
The front end seems to be modified too- with Bilstein shocks and H&R springs (I have no idea if these are any good). Looking forward to learning more about these

That's as far as I've gotten. The next thing on the list: getting the wheels checked out. The tires might be a bit too big (member Tusabes recommended 235/45 front and 265/40/17 rear) and the wheels themselves need balancing badly. 3 of the 4 barrels on the AMG wheels seem to have been repaired at some point- I hope they're OK
 

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#5 · (Edited)
Gorgeous car !!

Your first repair should be new rubber fuel lines , from the fuel pumps in the back all the way to the engine - too many w126 are suffering fires due to old fuel lines and the new ethanol gas

The AC not coming out of the center vents is the vaccuum pods - entire dash needs to come out to fix them . In AZ I hope you get enough air out of the other vents .
 
#8 ·
Good snag and a very nice looking car, Welcome Back to The Machine. I'll 2nd doing the fuel lines front and back FIRST, the other issues I know you'll get sorted out directly
 
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#10 ·
Brought the car into Discount Tire today and had them check everything out. Glad I did- even though there was some bad news

Good news:
- 3 of the wheels are in great shape. All 4 of the centers are in great shape (no cracks)
- They balanced the tires
- I got a new Michelin 15" spare tire (the one in the trunk was the original)
- People there loved the car :)

and of course the bad news:
- the barrel on one of the wheels has been repaired twice and doesn't look good
- the lugnuts for the rear wheels aren't long enough. They said they could only get 4 turns and they need to get 7 or 8
- the rear wheels have spacers (hub centric)

These two things scared the employees a bit- they immediately refunded me for the balancing (since that comes with a warranty and they were not willing to warranty it)

They told me that the offsets were 17 on the rear and 18 on front. What are the expected sizes? I'm OK keeping the spacers as long as they're safe and there are lugnuts long enough for them

I didn't write it down, but I believe they said the barrels are 8.5" on the front and 10" on the back. I'll be searching the forums and online, but recommendations for a place to buy replacement barrels are welcome :) I also have no idea where to get the lugnuts which are needed for the rear. They did share that they are going to be 12 x 1.5 with a threading of 2.25 or 2.5 inches

Bad news aside, the car passed emissions yesterday with no issues and the California title is on it's way via FedEx and will be here tomorrow.
 
#11 ·
Very nice ride. I had that auction in my watch list. You'll spend a few grand getting her right, but once you do.... Sweetness!

I should add, it's amazing how these brokers an d dealers do absolutely nothing to fix these cars issues when they acquire them. They just wash and clean the interior and get them for sale. And they never make mention of any problems in the auctions.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Thanks! It'll take some work, but I agree- this'll be a sweet car :) At the moment, my wife is not really eye-to-eye with me on that :p


Regarding the wheels, I'm having a hell of a time trying to understand what lug nut size/type is needed.
  • According to this post by alydon, the stock size for the rear lug nuts should be 60mm with a 40mm threaded shank.
  • The folks at Discount Tire were urging me to get a set for each rear that has a 60mm shank... which makes me think the spacer is probably 20mm.
  • Since the offset is wrong, I'm thinking maybe these rear ones went to an R129?
  • I found some lug nuts that might work, but I'm not exactly sure.
  • I'm also curious if the wheel could work without the spacer if it had a skinnier tire (instead of the massive 285s that it has).
 
#13 · (Edited)
I would try to eliminate the spacers and try 265 width tires . Then you might even be able to keep your current lug bolts . Perhaps you can find a tire shop that will let you try a pair before buying them to make sure they fit well . Even if you did have to buy the 265 tires , you'll be able to use them now or save them for the future when these wear out

It's always preferable to eliminate spacers when you can do so .

It sounds like the prior owner wanted to fit as wide a tire as possible in there . Personally I think 285 width look like drag racer tires , and are inappropriate for a non Widebody car . Remember Amg originally spec 255 and 265 rear tires back in the day
 
#14 ·
When a lugnut is fitted in the lug hole you need 15mm of thread poking through the rear of the rim and if a spacer fitted then 15mm through that as if it were part of the rim- that equates to up to 10 turns which is the max you can go on the rear rim
(does not matter on the front as plenty of free room)

Ball Seat Lug Bolt
The above website EZ Accessory.com in USA sells high quality correct ballseat lug bolts in various length shanks up to 60mm long
Standard for your rears from selection is the 12 x 1.5 x 39mm shank (63mm total length)
If using a spacer then add the thickness of the spacer to the 39mm shank length so of a 20mm spacer then order the 60mm shank
 
#15 ·
my experience with 245 was like a meat slicer. 235 fixed that as in 235/45/17.
 
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#16 ·
I went to Wheel Specialists, Inc in Tempe, AZ this morning and they took at look at each of the wheels
  • They swapped out the passenger front (which had a broken repair) with the 15" spare tire and are going to try and source a new barrel
  • The rear has a 15mm space (not 20mm as I had previously thought) and the bolt was only getting about 1cm of threading in (3 1/2 turns). I got new lug nuts for the rears which have a longer threading and are able to complete 6+ turns
  • The drivers side rear has a small hairline crack in the center, along the hole where one of the bolts goes in :(
  • The passenger side rear barrel has a repair (small crack which was welded; this repair looks good (shown in attachment).

We'll see how it goes with finding a replacement barrel... if anyone has a source, please let me know :)

With regard to the center with the crack, the person who typically does repairs took a look and said it's bad- they wouldn't attempt a repair on it (picture attached with a red box around the crack; this is the rear of the wheel, the center hole). I saw a thread here in the 126 section about repairs and will be reading through it, but ultimately, I agree with the tech- I think replacing the center would be the best. So I'm going to keep an eye out for a new center face for the 10 inch rear wheel and drive on it in the meantime
 

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#20 ·
This is great, thanks so much :) It's definitely a pain in the ass (and discouraging) trying to make sure these wheels get squared away. I'm thinking about getting a backup wheels, basically 3 more 15" full size spares (since I'm already running on one while it's being repaired)

Small update regarding window switches. Like any old 126 which has been used, the console has cracked wood and the buttons have years of muck stuck between the crevices of the buttons. The back ones became so hard to push that I ended up pushing them through the wood (whoops! :p ) I took the assembly apart, popped the buttons out, opened them and attempted to clean/repair them... but they are now causing a short which fries two of the fuses each time a window switch is used (I think the contacts inside the button are touching both sides at the same time). After trying, failing, cussing about this a lot, and getting really mad, I gave up and ordered 4 new OEM window switches from AutohausAZ (living in the Phoenix area, should come quick)
 
#21 · (Edited)
Lots of great updates (not a lot of pictures)

- ordered a replacement barrel for the front wheel I had (which had a leak). I got it at Tunershop and UPS tracking says it'll be delivered Monday :)
- ordered new tires for the rears- 275/40 (BFGoodrich; hard to find Michelin / Continental at 17" for this size). Will be going to Wheel Specialists, Inc in Tempe to get them test fit... might be able to go with a smaller spacer
- since one of my rears has a hairline crack around one of the lugs, I've been trying to find a replacement center without luck. Instead of waiting around, I'm going to buy a new set of 3 piece OZs and just keep the extras in the attic
- got some parts in the mail! :) Owners manual for 1991, new first aid kit (for a newer car, but it fits in the compartment), new 3rd brake light, a euro hazard triangle in great shape (also a new bracket for it), and some other small bits
- found some rust under both doors, by the door seal (see pictures). I used a Dremel and ground it down really good and then hit it with a couple coats of primer. Really happy to have this squared away :)
 

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#22 ·
The doors - drain holes and below where the rubber seal is are the most likely place to find rust but an easy fix. Buy a tin of that POR -it works a treat to kill any rust left after you have ground the metal back as much as you can.
Even better if you get a chance later to remove your door covers and check the lower inside of the door for any signs of rust (if so treat it) and then apply more sealer to ensure the door lasts another 20 years.
 
#23 · (Edited)
It's been a while- lots of updates!
- Got new BF Goodrich 275/40 tires for the rear. Since these fit much better than the silly 285s I had before, I was able to shave the spacer down a bit (it was 15mm, it's now 13mm)
- Barrel was replaced for the passenger front wheel. Tunershop delivered a quality replacement part and the wheel specialists I've been working with put it all back together
- Alternator went out; pulley seized and snapped a bunch of belts in the process :( Replaced with a new part, replaced belts.
- Replaced two vacuum pods and got the air working in the central vents again :)
- Bought a pair of Euro headlamps and installed them. The glass lenses have some chips but I'm happy with them overall (much brighter!). I didn't bother to wire up the city lights (mostly since it wasn't straightforward). The adjustment knobs on the back don't seem to be working... when I turn them, nothing happens. Will have to dig in more.
- Removed the headlamp washers since I think the US ones are ugly and retrofitting a euro set would be silly. I ordered the panels without the hole for the wiper and painted them myself (pics show only one side is done- working on painting the other now). Part numbers are 126-880-07-40 and 126-880-08-40.
- A/C compressor went out- pulley also seized on this one, snapping the belt (again). Replaced it and the dryer. A/C is working great now :)
- Bought a set of AMG 3 piece wheels from member Kim (KRH). One of my rears is cracked and it was near impossible to find only one wheel... so I figured it would be worth buying a set. These are in much better shape too. Just got them all the way from Australia a week or two ago. Will be putting them on in the next few weeks and since these are proper, I'll be able to remove the spacer that I have on the rears

I'm still loving this car- wouldn't trade it for anything. :) My wife isn't quite there yet... she just sees it as a money pit and would rather have a new purse :p I can see her perspective. The lesson here is that I should have had a PPI done before buying the car.
 

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#24 ·
I was pretty impressed with my shipper. I dropped the rims off all boxed up at one of their offices nearest to me in the suburbs Friday late arvo 14th July and Brian had them delivered to his front door the following Thurs 21st July (that is amazing for such a huge journey)

Sadly a lot of wives (mine included) do not understand the way we think and the satisfaction we get from owning and tinkering with classic old cars as an escape from the fast paced modern complex world we live in today.
Doesn't matter what country you live in or what your occupation is or your age - the same desire exists and it usually starts from an early age in most cases and remains with you for the rest of your life -haha
 
#26 ·
I know one thing. The continual parade of deliveries found at my door spawned an interest into Anthropologie, Kendra Scott, StichFix and the ubiquitous Amazon. Soon, deliveries from Sundance and the like dominated the door bell ringing. Not to be out done, I promptly purchased a second toy, the E500 and that resulted in new wood floors, complete kitchen remodel and resurfaced pool and new pump/filter and heater.

Be married 25 years so I just smile everytime I think about hitting enter on a $350 part as there is nothing left to fix in the house! (Did I mention that I ended up getting her a White convertible last September - now she is a MBUSA club member :D)
 
#27 ·
I think we both got pretty lucky! :) The Mrs and I hit 7 years this year and even though I get teased from time to time, my wife (Maggie) loves Mercedes and knows a good amount about them. I'll be putting the brakes on car stuff for the next month so that I can return the favor here :)

I love your 126, Louis! and hearing about your your E500 is awesome too- what a great car. I do computer programming for a living, so it's really nice (like Kim says) to tinker on classic cars. No computers needed! (other than maybe printing out something from BenzWorld :) )
 
#28 ·
Regarding the headlamps, maybe someone can help me figure out some next steps

- The adjustment knobs on the back don't seem to do anything. How are they supposed to work? I can twist them either direction and nothing happens. I'll probably have to take the lights out and inspect. I'm guessing one knob controls up and down, the other left and right?

- I didn't wire the city lights, since it wasn't clear. I asked my friend Bud and he said that these are simply a parking light (since the euro models don't put the turn signals on when in park). Is this correct? When I originally heard about them, I wasn't sure if they were a daytime running lamp or something like that
 
#29 ·
Brian yes the knobs on the back are exactly for that - adjusting the beam angle either up & down or sideways to set it up correctly
The reflector moves as you screw in or screw out the knobs

Yes the little globe inside is a parking light (when the headlight dial is in park position.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Had some time this morning, so I took one of the lights out and inspected it in detail. It turns out, the adjustment knobs are working perfectly fine

The problem is: someone spray painted the reflectors a gray color. When I put masking tape over the paint and gave it a good tug, the underlying reflector finish would show as the paint came off. I pulled off a decent amount of paint, but you can tell whoever had these before tried to sand the reflector and screwed it up big time. After pulling some of the paint off and putting the lights back it, light showed up great and I can see the adjustment just fine

At this point, I'm thinking about buying a new set from Adsitco and just selling these for parts. The lenses have cracks, the reflectors need to be replaced (and I can't find replacement parts). Too many issues :(
 
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