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Newsletter No.003 Modern Fords?, 250LWB page, Heckflosse page

Please note that some of the links in this Newsletter may no longer be active as we update this site regularly
M.B Spares and Service
 
14Lyell st Fyshwick ACT 2609
 
(02) 62391099      john@mbspares.com.au

 
 
Newsletter number three.
 
Removal instructions below.
 
Hello  everybody! Let's start this newsletter with yet another apology for the virus hassles with the last newsletter.  Hopefully, not to many of you suffered from the KAK worm. It appears from the research that I have done on it that it has been around for over 6 months now but obviously some poor soul thought it was funny to reactivate it just before the end of the financial year and when all business's around Australia were doing their GST change over. We spent all of Friday night (the 30th) fixing the problem instead of concentrating on our stocktake. Luckily it was a weekend and we did the stocktake on the Saturday. So once, again sorry if we caused you any hassles. It certainly was not the way I wanted to start off a customer newsletter.
 
Just for the record we have changed to a new virus detector and plan to run a full scan the day that we send out the newsletter from now on!
 
 
How modern is your Mercedes.
Ford Australia has just announced an update to there Falcon/Fairmont range. One of the improvements that they are raving about in their media releases is the fitment of "hydraulic engine mounts". This has been done as a response to public complaints of vibration of the engine.
 
Did you know that Mercedes-Benz introduced hydraulic engine mounts in 1984 with the 190E series and that by 1991 all Mercedes-Benz vehicles were fitted with them?  Also all Mercedes-Benz vehicles since 1968 have had engine shock dampers fitted to them from new!
 
Some other technical advancements that show the large gap in technology between our home made product and a Mercedes-Benz are worth thinking about. Mercedes-Benz introduced ABS brakes as standard equipment in their large sedans (W126 series) in 1981.  Falcons and Commodores have only just recently done the same. All Mercedes-Benz vehicles from 1985 onwards are fitted with seatbelt pretensioners. These tricky devices retract the seatbelts by about 20cms in the case of a severe front end accident. Many cars sold in Australia today still don't have this feature.
 
So the point of the story.  Don't worry that you are driving a 15 year old car.  Just remember that you are driving a superior (modern) car.
 
Mystery of the week.
What model is this shot from? First correct e-mail gets a free oil filter for their car!
 
 
 
 
Cars for Sale.
Not a lot of cars sold these last two weeks. No surprise really with the GST implementation and the bad weather. We have decided to absorb all the costs of the GST on our range of pre loved cars. So all the prices remain the same and some have even been reduced.
 
Here is a list of what we have on offer:
 
380SE sedan                                      $12990.00
280SEL sedan                                    $11990.00  Reduced
380SLC coupe                                    $16990.00
380SEC coupe                                    $22500.00 Reduced
450SL roadster                                    $26990.00
C240 wagon                                         $58500.00 Reduced
300TE wagon                                       $26990.00
450SLC coupe                                     $6990.00 Reduced 
 
Another toy?
Many of you who know me well will know that I have rather a strange collection of cars myself and am interested in the stranger side of Mercedes-Benz  vehicles. My latest purchase is a W123 250 LWB sedan. Have a look at it here. I also own a 1971 220D factory stretch that is currently undergoing restoration. It will also be painted silver and has a matching black interior to the 250. The plan when finished is to use the two cars as hire cars. In the meantime I am taking bookings for the 250.
 
Other cars in my collection are a 1954 300b limousine, 230 Ambulance 1966 (one of only four ever made), the 300CE3.4AMG coupe mentioned last newsletter, 250SE coupe (under restoration for the last 6 years) and a few others.
 
As mentioned last newsletter if you have an interesting or just an ordinary car that you would like featured, please send an e-mail to john@mbspares.com.au
 
What are we doing?
I know that many of our customers are interested in the jobs we have in progress. So here are some of them:
 
  • A rare 280SEL 3.5 is in for a diff overhaul. We had a NOS (new old stock) limited slip diff centre in stock so we are fitting it while we are at it. Should make it a great car to drive as it is a manual, not an auto, like most of them.
  • A customer has brought us a 450SLC in pieces to put back together. It was at a panel shop for a respray when the shop was sold. The car had been painted but not put back together. It is very large jigsaw puzzle, but not one that is beyond us.
  • Last week we did three 230E's with blown head gaskets! This is not known to be a common problem for this model.  We also changed four brake master cylinders last week. Nothing unusual except that I don't think we had done one for about six weeks before that!
  • We also have a  1992 S600 in for a gearbox overhaul. These V12 monsters are an amazing car. They have every thing the opens and shuts on them. Even the doors close themselves with no need to slam them.
Link of the week.
Last newsletter we looked at the Ponton (Roundie) site so it is a natural progression to look this week at the Fintail or Heckflosse page. Whilst checking it out have a look at the History page and the Photo gallery. There is also a link to a similar site about the Coupe and Cabriolet versions of the Heckflosse. This site can be a bit slow to load at times but it is worth the wait.
 
 
 
 
Special of the week.
We sold all the Roundie rubber parts from the last newsletter so here are some more specials:
 
W116 headlamp protectors          $45.00 normally $55.00
W120/121 Late style taillamp lenses           $150.00  each.
M110/116/117 oil filters suit all Twin cam and most V8's         $10.00 each
 
All prices include GST.
 
An unusual problem.
 
This was posted on the Mercedes Veterans Mailing List. It appeared on the BBC
 
MERCEDES HAMSTER RUN COSTS DOCTOR  
 A father who bought a hamster for his 
 son had to have his new Mercedes  
 taken apart when it got trapped inside.
                                       
 Dr Alan Pinto from Liverpool left the 
 car with a 25-strong team of mechanics,
 telling them to do whatever they could.
                                       
 They removed upholstery and stripped  
 the bodywork. Food put out was eaten  
 and the animal chewed through a trap. 
                                       
 It was finally enticed out by a female
 hamster after four days. The doctor got
 back the hamster  and a 300GBP bill.   

 
 
 
 
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