gjm

Thanks Matt - much appreciated.

My 560 was gorgeous. Here's a dyno curve from a M117-5.0; I feel power is a bit down on where the euro-spec engines would be, but not enough to worry about. The 5.6 engines would be about 8% higher. Nice torque curve.

Yup. Definitely a real Mercedes. If I give myself a couple of weeks it may just about be enough to polish several acres of black paintwork!

13. Never heard of a Cadillac Elmiraj!

Well over 280000 miles now. More engine, trans fluid change... Got an annoying little regular ticking sound from the front right of the engine (as viewed from the front of the car). Not sure what it is so that'll be investigated and sorted ASAP.

A car I have always wanted. I've had 4 W126s in the past - an Astral Silver II 300SE, A Nautic Blue Brabus 300SE-3.2, a Smoke Silver 560SEC (with Oz rims) and a Blue-black 500SEC. Last week I bought a black 500SE. 1988, ex-Hong Kong (so sadly no cruise control), but it's in pretty good nick. Needs a new thermostat as the engine doesn't come up to temp, a pair of tyres on the front, the drivers seat bolster has worn through, and the surrounds where the seatbelts come through the top of the B-pillar are missing. The odo reset doesn't work (and neither do the dash lights, but same control so probably same problem) and the paint is pretty good unless you look closely. Lots of little scratches and the like. But it doesn't leak anything, there's no rust anywhere, it runs sweet as, and the things that are usually broken, aren't. The electric seat controls are all present and working, and even the centre console wood is perfect. Checking fluids shows oil to not be perfect, but it's obviously been changed in the last 2000km or so, the trans fluid appears to have been changed, and even the PS fluid is the right colour and consistency. Someone has spent some time on servicing. I'm very happy. I initially toyed with the idea of going the AMG-clone route, but have decided not to do that. I'll update the EMS (more power and better economy, although probably not at the same time!), swap the current 15x7 rims for some 16x8/9s (perhaps Lorinser LOs if I can find any), update the suspension and reprogram the gearbox for faster changes. And obviously sort all the little things. It's a great car. I have no plans to spoil it. (This is actually a 300SE, but our 500SE looks pretty much identical.)

The government would export the unicorns so they were more expensive here than abroad...

John Key was originally against the flag change, calling it a waste of time and money. I wonder what changed his mind? And don't get me started on the TPPA. That's a stick with two shitty ends. The majority of the public who have paid any attention to it, worldwide, seem against it yet governments insist on pushing it through while big business sits back, chuckles, and rubs its hands with glee.

Awesome car. Glad it won't be wrecked.

There was someone on Facebook looking for these.

And... Sold.

3DDesign kit under offer.

Thanks. I'll bear it in mind.

May have to... Mrs M has arthritis and is starting to find it harder to get in and out of the 320d.

The ACS / Eibach sway bars have gone. Next up: The balance of the suspension I bought a while back. It is designed for use on all 6-cylinder E46 saloons and coupes but probably not the M3 (although I have seen the same part number quoted for the M3 and other models); Ohlins list a different part number for the M3. This is from the Japanese BMW tuners, 3DDesign, who partner with Ohlins to develop suspension solutions. 3DDesign was founded in 1998 and initially focused exclusively on high-end suspension components. In 2012 they expanded into styling and other parts for BMWs and BMW Minis. I bought this kit secondhand, but it has sat on a shelf in the garage ever since. The 3DDesign page for the kit is here and the pic on that page shows all the parts included - some of the rubbers are cable-tied to the springs in the pic of the kit I have (above). They have 20-way damping adjustment, and use the original BMW top mounts. The webpage is in Japanese, so to help everyone out I have reproduced the info: New price, ex-Japan is \339,000, currently just over NZ$4000. (I've seen the same kit for JPY336,830 and USD 2950. Normally I'd ask 50% of new (or discounted) price but I didn't pay that. Asking $1100.

Fixed.

Well, Kerosene didn't touch it. Andrew - I'll drop you a line. Thanks.

I'd not thought of Autosol... So - two schools of thought. Solvent-based, or polish/abrasion. Any thoughts on use of White Spirit or Kerosene? I'd have water on hand to immediately wash the affected area, and expect to polish afterwards.

We're not sure exactly when it happened, but some ^$#@&^&* rubbed their car against the rear bumper of ours. There's no obvious actual damage - no splits or even serious scrapes - but it has left a red streak across the blue bumper. What's best for removing this? I was thinking something like T-Cut.

A mate in the UK took his test in his Dad's Mercedes E55 wagon after the instructors car was driven into on the way to the testing centre... He passed, but did say he was concerned about parallel parking a bus instead of a Fiesta.

Shhh! Don't tell everyone my secrets!

I like it. Less to go wrong.

Payment received - sold.

On hold, pending payment.

I'll get a price for shipping.