Newsletter No.126
MB Spares Newsletter No.126 June 2012
Must be on a roll here, two Newsletters on time in a row! This Newsletter we have news of Nick's retirement, a warning for all W107 series owners, some bad news about import tariffs and all the other usual stuff!
The Pagoda turns 50.
In March 1963 at the Geneva Motor Show Mercedes-Benz released a new model that was to become known as "The Pagoda" . This means that 2013 is the 50th anniversary of that release, with events to be held Worldwide to celebrate. The Australian Event is to be held on the weekend of the 16th and 17thof March 2013. It is being hosted by the Mercedes-Benz Club of the ACT on behalf of sl113.org. This will be an event not to be missed and possibly not to be repeated here in Australia for some time. sl113.org is one of the new age "online" car clubs and has over 2000 members
A website specifically to dedicated to this event has been set up and you can check it out here. The site was only started last week and is currently being updated daily. In the next few weeks you will see more details of the event including a gala dinner at Rydges Capital Hill on the Saturday night.
MB Spares is proud to be sponsoring this event and looks forward to seeing many of our customers over the weekend.
Employment opportunity
Due to the retirement of one of our workshop staff, MB Spares is seeking someone to fill his place within our company. Over the years we have a good record of holding onto staff with a low staff turnover rate. So I guess it was always going to happen that one of our staff would reach retirement age. In July this year it will happen with Nick, or Nicola as he is known to his friends, retiring. If you have not meet him, the picture on the right is him posing with an engine that he recently rebuilt for a 1958 Mercedes 300d. So that leaves a hole in our workshop that we are looking to fill.
The MB Spares workshop is different to most , it is an environment where vehicles components are repaired not just replaced, and cars are brought back to life. With customers as far afield as Singapore entrusting MB Spares to maintain their prised possessions.
If that sounds interesting to you please contact John Green on 0419 295 458
W107 SL and SLC front subframe recall.
Back in the 80's there was a recall for W107 roadsters and coupes with the V8 engine. The fault was that the lower control arm mounts had an habit of ripping off the subframe. If the car was brought into a MB dealership then they replaced the complete subframe with a modified versions.
However the reality is that very few cars were actually presented to have this done and there are still many cars on the roads today that are an accident waiting to happen. We have on average 2-3 cars a year towed in with control arm mounts that look like those in the pictures on this page. Multiply this by the number of workshops around Australia and the high survival rate of W107s in Australia and this is a real issue. If you own a W107 series SL made from 1971 -1988 and are unsure if this has been done have a look at the links on the page above and if still unsure contact your workshop to check it!
Government reclassify 30 year old car spare parts.
Bad news for customers with cars over 30 years old! For many years there has been a tariff concession for most parts (see list below) for cars over 30 years old. But as at the 16th of May this concession was revoked and these parts now attract a 5% duty. In what would have to be a masterful bit of administration it is possible to complain about this and show reason why the concession should not be revoked. But of course this notice was only given once the concession had been revoked.
If you would like to complain the contact details are:
tarcon@customs.gov.au, fax 02 6275 6376 or telephone 02 6275 6041.
TC 0614560 (8708.99.91) 50
==========================
PARTS, PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE, manufactured at least 30 years
before the goods are entered for home consumption, or reproductions
of these parts, being ANY of the following:
(a) suspension components being ANY of the following:
(i) top or bottom control arms;
(ii) uprights, struts and wheel hubs;
(iii) anti sway bars and ball joints;
(iv) anti tramp bars and torsion bars;
(v) suspension bushes, links, bump stops and shackles;
(vi) wishbones and wishbone mountings;
(vii) bump stop spacers;
(viii) sway bar links;
(ix) suspension spring mounting plates and pads;
(b) brake and clutch bleeding nipples;
(c) hood retaining pins;
(d) chassis or monocoque;
(e) instrument and dashboard panels;
(f) radiator ducting (shrouds or cowlings);
(g) stub axles;
(h) fuel and oil tanks, fillers, necks and caps;
(i) roll over hoops or bars but NOT including roll cages;
(j) dipsticks;
(k) roll bar adjustment control levers;
(l) brake balance adjusters control levers;
(m) pedal mechanisms, pedal, pedal mountings, pedal stops, pedal
push rod;
(n) universal joints and constant velocity (CV) joints;
(o) chassis identity plates;
(p) steering idler arms and idler arm brackets;
(q) track rods and drop arms;
(r) steering link arms;
(s) steering box parts being ANY of the following:
(i) steering box housings and casings;
(ii) rocker shaft;
(iii) thrust buttons;
(iv) cover plate;
(v) filler plug;
(vi) shims;
(vii) rocker shaft bush;
(viii) steering rack mounting brackets;
(t) steering column surrounds, shrouds and facias;
(u) steering indicator turn off cam;
(v) differentials;
(w) differential components being ANY of the following:
(i) differential carriers and cases;
(ii) crown wheels and pinions;
(iii) differential and axle shaft gears;
(iv) differential lockers;
(v) bearing caps, locking pins and locking clips;
(x) transmission shafts, including propeller and half shafts,
transmission gears and transmission housings (casings), gear
selection mechanisms, gear levers and gear change rod;
(y) gearbox parts being ANY of the following:
(i) selector forks, sleeves, detents, and housing plates
(ii) gearbox filler plug and reverse gear relay lever;
(iii) gearbox housings and interlock plunges;
(iv) clutch release arms;
(v) synchromesh rings and counter shafts;
(vi) blocker rings;
(vii) retaining clips;
(viii) sandwich plates;
(ix) speedometer driving gear;
(x) spacers;
(xi) bearing carriers;
(xii) locating ball;
(xiii) countershaft and countershaft gear;
(xiv) reverse idler shafts and synchronisers;
(xv) baulk rings;
(z) dust seals and cabin fume excluders;
(aa) pipe junctions;
(bb) exhaust mounting brackets, plates, ribs and pipe straps;
(cc) gearbox tie down straps;
(dd) ornamental trimmings or fixtures;
(ee) number plates and number plate bezels and trims;
(ff) interior trim, cut to fit;
(gg) interior and exterior mouldings;
(hh) dashboard, instrument, console and speaker bezels;
(ii) ornaments proclaiming the make, model, style or accessory
level of a vehicle;
(jj) air ductings;
(kk) flexible cabriolet hoods;
(ll) chassis reinforcing mountings;
(mm) inner wing reinforcement;
(nn) door striker plates, door blanking plates and footrests;
(oo) handbrake levers and handbrake lever mechanisms;
(pp) cables;
(qq) aeroscreens;
(rr) ashtrays and gloveboxes;
(ss) door filler strips;
(tt) door window glass runners and guides;
(uu) window winder mechanisms;
(vv) side panel crash rail;
(ww) door kick plates and panels, heel boards;
(xx) panel release clips;
(yy) fan blades;
(zz) sun visors, sun visor mountings and brackets;
(aaa) flexible boots (commonly known as gaiters or bellows);
(bbb) consoles, placed between the driver and front seat
passengers;
(ccc) header rails;
(ddd) control knobs, layers, buttons and panels;
(eee) choke and accelerator cable stops;
(fff) heater;
(ggg) heater facia panels;
(hhh) grease caps;
(iii) steering wheel bosses;
(jjj) moulding and trim beading strips;
(kkk) reinforcing plates;
(lll) fuel pumps;
(mmm) door pulls;
(nnn) kingpins;
(ooo) tonneau pegs;
(ppp) radiator header tanks, diaphragms and cores;
(qqq) head rests
Cars for Sale.
After starting last month with a flood of cars our stock levels have returned to a more moderate level. In what was a big month we sold and delivered two very special cars. TheConcours winning 230Eand the low mileage 300E. Cars that also found new homes included the S320, the C200 wagon, the 280SL and ???
The 230GE and 380SEC have deposits on them with the sales being concluded this week. The sales of these two cars shows just how wide our customer base is. The 380SEC is off to Kalgoorlie and the 230GE is off to Toowoomba!
Here is a list of the cars currently for sale:
- C280 sedan, Rare V6 version.
-CLK320 Sport coupe, only 72000kms
-190Db, rare Diesel Roundie with a documented 97000miles
Each one has its location listed with some here in Canberra and the others with an associate of ours in Sydney. If you are interested in any information please feel free to e-mail usor contact the mobile number on the cars listing.
Genuine Mercedes-Benz windscreens.
MB Spares is always buying up quantities of surplus stock and we have for sale a selection of Genuine front windscreens to suit the following models, these will go cheap, so first in first served.
W163 ML270, ML320, ML350, ML430, ML500, ML55
W164 ML280CDI, ML300CDI, ML320CDI, ML350, ML500, ML63
W211 E200k, E240, E270 CDI, E280CDI, E320, E350, E500
W639 Viano, Vito
W209 CLK200k, CLK240, CLK320, CLK350, CLK500, CLK63
Interesting Mercedes-Benz links.
Great page with some pictures of some of the rarer AMG variants can be found here.
Mercedes is developing a smart accelerator pedal which pushes back against drivers who threaten to ruin fuel efficiency by putting their foot down too hard. More information here.
Here is an interesting article on Australia's fasted W107 SL!! The conversion from a 380 to 560 mentioned in the article was done by MB Spares around 7 years ago before Paul moved to Melbourne. You can check out his latest efforts on YouTube here.
An interesting audition tape for the Australian version of TopGear can be found here. You will see what this has to do with the three pointed star when you watch it.
Some funnies…
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
When fish are in schools they sometimes take debate.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
When the smog lifts in Los Angeles , U.C.L.A.
The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
The batteries were given out free of charge.
A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.
A will is a dead giveaway.
If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.
With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
Local Area Network in Australia : The LAN down under.
So that's it for now, the pictures from the MBCV Concours which I promised from the last Newsletter will definitely be in the July one!
And if you have anything that you feel is newsworthy or just plain interesting please forward it to us via the Contact page.
John Green.
