Attempt two at starting the thread. Last one got deleted for unknown reasons...
New to the forum, but have followed a few builds on here over the years. Finally have a project underway that feels like it belongs. This journey started, as many do, with the itch for an old Benz to tinker with... I was looking at either a W124 or W201, but the plan was for a mild turbo M103, with some kind of period correct body and wheels. I stumbled on a mostly running, but otherwise decent 1993 190E for $1000 and well... I couldn't resist.
The car had a few known issues:
-No keys
-Failed ignition cylinder
-Failed brakes due to a bad rubber brake line
-Running extremely rough
-Missing front bumper (I was going to take it off anyway)
On the positive side, the car did come with a new set of Euro style headlights and a full set of YellowSpeed Racing Super Low Coilovers. Those coilovers wouldn't have been my choice, but we'll give them a try and see how things work.
Overall plan for the build is to throw big brakes from a 400E on it, drop it on the coilovers with Fifteen52 Super Touring Tarmac EVOs, then push about 7-8 PSI through it with a low budget turbo setup. Once it's running well enough to justify the expense I'll source an EVO 2 body kit and tackle the fun of fitting that to the car.
Here is the car after it was towed to the house (a keen eye will notice the lack of steering wheel and the instrument cluster torn out)
As mentioned, the car had a failed ignition switch and was missing all the keys. No big deal, but what I didn't know was that the previous owner had attempted to drill the ignition out only to succeed in snapping off a drill bit deep in the cylinder. What followed was a multi week saga of waiting on an ebay sourced ignition assembly (NLA from Mercedes), judicious use of a dremel, grinder and drill, ultimately leaving me with a running car, albeit with no key for the doors or trunk.
Rough running was ultimately sorted by bleeding the fuel injector lines at the injectors, however the fantastic guide HERE was an invaluable resource and I highly recommend anyone with an M103 read and bookmark it.
Next up was cleaning the interior and getting the instrument cluster and steering column back together.
Man of La Mancha and free coilovers? Not too shabby for $1000!
Once the interior was cleaned up I threw a vintage Nardi wheel in the car and things were looking pretty decent on the inside.
The euro headlight install was extremely straightforward using the correct Euro 6-pin connector (part # 011-545-50-28). The connectors are only about $2 each from any of the big parts suppliers, and I'd highly recommend anyone going to euro style lights on a W124 or W201 use them instead of jumper wires, etc... I elected not to use a lead from the turn signal plug for the "city lights" feature.
At this point I had a decently running and looking 190E, but still un-drivable without brakes. Next step was a full tune up, before pulling the car in the garage to tear in to the brakes and suspension...
I love these cars. Can't wait to read more!
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Scary how similar our tastes are. This is my favorite Benz by far. The last really good small car Daimler Benz has made to date. Somehow I don't think they are on track to top it ever either.
And it's an actual colour!! 190Es are always cool, but I'll be watching for that alone.
TurnerX19 said:
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Scary how similar our tastes are. This is my favorite Benz by far. The last really good small car Daimler Benz has made to date. Somehow I don't think they are on track to top it ever either.
For me the 190E, W124 and W126 in either coupe or sedan are peak Mercedes.
Stealthtercel said:
And it's an actual colour!! 190Es are always cool, but I'll be watching for that alone.
The car will need a re-spray at some point, but no way I'm changing the color. It's fantastic.
Nice. And thanks for sharing with the rest of the class.
"Stage 0":
Excuse the multiple posts, I'm still catching the thread up to the present day.
Next task was a full tune up, to make sure the car was running as well as possible before diving in to the rest of the build.
Fuel filter was an easy swap. Spark plugs were replaced with the correct non-resistor type plugs (NGK BP6EFS). I replaced all the vacuum lines under the hood with new silicone line and pulled the CIS fuel distributor assembly so I could replace the large intake boot under it and the rubber hoses for the idle air valve. While I had access to the intake I cleaned the throttle body and did a full EGR delete, removing the pipe that runs from exhaust manifold to the intake and installing a M16x1.5 plug in it's place. I also simplified the vacuum system by removing all the lines associated with the EGR/air pump and capping the ports since they won't play nice with my planned turbo setup anyway. Last up was the distributor cap and rotor, which quickly turned in to another lengthy process when this happened:
No problem, I thought, I'll just pull the rotor adapter out of the front of the camshaft and replace it...
The car had other plans, so I broke the dremel out again, which eventually allowed me to get a slightly modified puller on the adapter and carefully back it out of the camshaft.
With that finally done, the tune up was complete and I was happy with how the car was running. So it was time to back it in the garage and get it up on stands so the real work could begin.
Ignore how dirty the 928 is, it's nicer than it looks in the picture...
Fortunately the body and underside of the 190E are almost perfectly rust free. The only real rust on the car appears to be a little on the support under the radiator. I'm not quite sure how I'll tackle that yet, but at a minimum clean it up, rust convert it and get some type of coating on it.
Up next: Getting ready for the big brake swap and starting to work on the suspension install.
A friend's dad had one of these when I was in highschool. I absolutely loved it. Felt pretty darn quick back then with the 2.6.
Enjoy!
kombatrok said:
For me the 190E, W124 and W126 in either coupe or sedan are peak Mercedes.
Seems to be a popular opinion around here. Thanks for reposting this.
Would a little anti-sieze on the rotor mounting screw prevent a repeat of that failure? At least it isn't on the back of the camshaft like some others!
I'll ad my positive comment on the color too. It looked right when it was new, and the green is holding it's tone unlike Volvo's take on the same shade that faded into olive in a decade. I would keep the fender profiles stock if it was my project, the side details on the original are too perfect to alter. The continuity of the horizontals and their convergence to the front makes it.
One of my favorite mercedes color.
For the evo2 kit don't you have to relocate the strut upper mount location or tub it? I have a few buddies with completed evo2 w201's in the US.
Also, I'm pretty sure I have bigger w124 brakes in a bin in my garage plus other oem m103 and CIS stuff you might find useful.
I also have a clean front bumper in my basement, you can have it for free if you come get it. I'm in Virginia.
Reminder to update my 190e thread.
TurnerX19 said:
Would a little anti-sieze on the rotor mounting screw prevent a repeat of that failure? At least it isn't on the back of the camshaft like some others!
I'll ad my positive comment on the color too. It looked right when it was new, and the green is holding it's tone unlike Volvo's take on the same shade that faded into olive in a decade. I would keep the fender profiles stock if it was my project, the side details on the original are too perfect to alter. The continuity of the horizontals and their convergence to the front makes it.
Abosolutetly, the new screw and rotor adapter went in with anti-sieze on them. This is apparently not an uncommon issue on these engines. It's remarkable how perfect the paint on the sides of the car is, when compared to how trashed it is on the hood and trunk lid.
Continuing to catch the thread up to the present day: Rear suspension!
Rear "coilover" install was very straightforward. I'm maxing out the ride height adjustment, but still worried the car will be too low without cutting/rolling the factory fenders since this suspension setup is advertised as a 3" or more drop. This won't end up being an issue if I do go the EVO 2 route, but I'd like to drive the car in the meanwhile. No way to know until shes back on the ground though.
I also replaced the sway bar end links while I was at it (plastic? really?) and if you look at the top of the brake dust shield, you can see where I cut the stock shields to clear the oversized 400E brake rotors. It looks like the front rotors will clear, but if needed they will get trimmed as well.
Up next: Front suspension overhaul.
yupididit said:
One of my favorite mercedes color.
For the evo2 kit don't you have to relocate the strut upper mount location or tub it? I have a few buddies with completed evo2 w201's in the US.
Also, I'm pretty sure I have bigger w124 brakes in a bin in my garage plus other oem m103 and CIS stuff you might find useful.
I also have a clean front bumper in my basement, you can have it for free if you come get it. I'm in Virginia.
Reminder to update my 190e thread.
If going to a full EVO 2 style suspension I'm sure you would. I'm not aware of any reason the bodywork would interfere with the strut towers, and there are definitely EVO bodied cars out there running stock style suspension setups. I could be totally wrong though since I'm learning about these cars as I go.
I already have the full brake setup ready to go in the car, although the two rear calipers I have are both for the left side, so I may have to work something else out... I would take you up on the bumper. I'm in NC and am up in VA almost weekly!
In reply to kombatrok :
I'll look into the evo2 bodywork requirements to fit the kit truly.
Are the front coilovers actual coil overs?
yupididit said:
In reply to kombatrok :
I'll look into the evo2 bodywork requirements to fit the kit truly.
Are the front coilovers actual coil overs?
Front are true coilovers.
I would imagine wheel fitment at EVO 2ish ride height will be dicey and could require some modification of the wheels tubs for clearance when running wider wheels. The rear fenders definitely require some cutting and welding to open up the wheel arch a little.
Front Suspension:
Here's the drivers side, with brake caliper and rotor removed to show what we're starting with.
Disassembly of the passenger side.
Here is the passenger side suspension completely torn down, with the new parts ready to go in. Just need to pop the tie rod off and adjust the replacement to match, although the car will still need a serious alignment once ride height is sorted.
Control arm, tie rod and sway bar mounts all went in with no issues.
From there it was on to installing the steering knuckle/hub assembly to the control arm and test fitting the coilover.
The drivers side went together just as easily as the passenger side.
The only other addition was strut tower reinforcing plates from Garagistic.
Should I have gone a little more in depth with replacing bushings, etc... in the rear of the car? Probably 
On to the brakes!
