[s-cars] NAC - Benz 300E Questions

Peter Golledge petergolledge at gmail.com
Mon Dec 7 19:24:51 PST 2009


One wonders if P-Cars will go the same way.  You can purchase pretty much
anything for the 911/930 with lots of interchange.  One day that might
change, particularly after the nasty Porsche-VW saga.

-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of Bruce Mendel
Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 7:20 PM
To: Taka Mizutani
Cc: s-car-list
Subject: Re: [s-cars] NAC - Benz 300E Questions

Any of the parts that are exclusive to the AMG mods are unobtainable. AMG
bodykit pieces? Gone. AMG suspension stuff? Gone. Head gaskets? Gone, or
custom made or buy from Barry Taylor at $1500 each. Headwork needed on the
AMG 32V heads? Hahahaha! Even the lower end when punched out to 6.0 from 5.6
is very difficult to find. Wheels only in Europe or Japan, interior
burlwood, tray tables, steering wheel, gone gone gone. And no one even knows
the valving specs done by AMG to the trans any more.

Mine is a pretty solid example, gone over by the top old-school AMG mechanic
in the USA who also happens to have one. But not for the feint of heart, and
it can become a disposable if major engine work needed.

B
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Taka Mizutani 
  To: Bruce Mendel 
  Cc: Douglas Landaeta ; s-car-list 
  Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 7:09 PM
  Subject: Re: [s-cars] NAC - Benz 300E Questions


  What are the issues with your AMG'ed W126?

  Now you got me looking for an E420.

  Taka



  On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 6:12 PM, Bruce Mendel <brucem105 at comcast.net>
wrote:

    As a guy that has a 560SEL 6.0 AMG DOHC, I can assure you you don't want
one. :)

    The 400E/E420 is a great compromise between speed of 300E and
rarity/price of 500E. It's a 275HP V8, great personality on the road, and
other than the motor/trans is pretty much the same as the 300E so plentiful
parts.

    Same wiring harness/minor electrical issue as any W124, plus some extra
potential issues underhood from heat, as the engine is shoehorned in there.

    But they're not well know, so can be had pretty cheap.

    B
    ----- Original Message ----- From: "Taka Mizutani" <t44tqtro at gmail.com>
    To: "Douglas Landaeta" <dlandaeta at gmail.com>
    Cc: "s-car-list" <s-car-list at audifans.com>
    Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 6:07 PM

    Subject: Re: [s-cars] NAC - Benz 300E Questions



      Yeah, but 500Es are rare as hell, Doug.

      I'm talking about "normal" W124s.

      I'd rather have a full AMG 560SEL 6.0 DOHC, oil leaks be damned.

      Taka


      On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 5:56 PM, Douglas Landaeta
<dlandaeta at gmail.com>wrote:


        W126 = more mtce. $$, less performance, over a W124 with the 8 cyl.
M119

        Sent from my mobile


        On Dec 7, 2009, at 5:50 PM, Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com>
wrote:

         Just to add, the head gasket issue referenced seems to only appear
in the

          24v engines.

          Regardless, the W124 is one of the best Benzes in recent history-
as for
          the
          ride and driving experience, I can't comment. I've thought about
getting
          one
          myself several times.

          I personally would prefer a W126 S-Class, though.

          Taka



          On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 3:22 PM, Michael Lardizabal <
          mikellardizabal at yahoo.com> wrote:

           .....so true about the torque.


            I had a 96 C36 AMG that would just rip the tires all day long.
Even w/
            the
            ASR button ON.

            As far as the headgasket...yes the later I-6 motors had a rep of
going
            thru
            them, but its not too bad a price to pay for what you get in
return. I
            think
            that once they're done at the typical 110K- 125K mark, they're
good for
            maybe more the next time about. I think once the block has gone
thru a
            few
            heat cycles, the HG isn't as prone .

            As far as the 190E, the only one worth any effort is the Cossie,
but I
            agree. The interior fit and finish is .....well, at least its a
            lightweight
            car w/ a dogleg 5 and an intake sound thats insane.
            --- On Mon, 12/7/09, Kent McLean <kentmclean at comcast.net> wrote:


            From: Kent McLean <kentmclean at comcast.net>
            Subject: Re: [s-cars] NAC - Benz 300E Questions
            To: "s-car-list" <s-car-list at audifans.com>
            Date: Monday, December 7, 2009, 2:54 PM


            More from the V8 list...

            -- Kent

            -------- Original Message --------
            Subject: RE: 300E Beater
            Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2009 13:46:06 -0600
            From: Brian K. Ullrich <bullrich at ullrichsys.com>

            As usual, Roger has the goods. I do differ on a few points
though:

            The W124 chassis ran from 1984 to 1995. Badged primarily in the
US as the
            300E, it later changed to MB's new badging as the E320, etc. So,
it
            covers
            a
            lot of cars, and differing model numbers, including the diesels,
which
            can
            be easily visually distinguished by a fender vent on the right
front.

            In my estimation, the best of the W124 cars are the 1993 and
newer. They
            are
            the post-facelift cars, and include many newer features. I
personally
            owned
            a 1990 and a 1995 W124 (300E and E320, respectively), and had
little
            problems with either, but my 1995 W124 E320 was a smoker. That
i6 was a
            torque-making fool. And it got great gas mileage.

            I do differ with Roger on one point about the 190 vs. 300/320: I
feel
            that
            the 190 is a much inferior car to its larger cousin. The 190 is
known as
            the
            W201 chassis, and in most US trim, it was equipped with a 2.2l 4
cylinder
            motor mated to a 3-speed auto (although the 2.6l 6-cylinders are
            available,
            and they are equipped with a 4-speed auto). Roger is correct in
his
            assessment that a teenager could hardly get into too much
trouble in this
            car, because it just ain't fast. However, I feel that this car
is not a
            good
            choice because those motors revved so high at highway speeds
(around 3K
            RPM)
            that it just put the engine at risk for failure, especially for
            high-mileage
            cars. Not to mention the fit and finish, which were just not
really up to
            the standards of MB at the time.

            For my money, if I were to put my teen in a Benz, I'd find a
later model
            W124, either diesel or gas, and call it a day. The best inline
6-cylinder
            engine MB ever built was the 3l/3.2l, and coupled with the W124
chassis,
            I
            think that makes the best sense. Compared to the 190/W201, parts
are more
            plentiful, and it's easy to work on.

            Of course, this is just my opinion. My esteemed colleague, Mr.
Woodbury,
            may
            have something else to say on the matter.

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