by "4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
Published 11/06/2017 at 14:06
by "4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
Published 11/06/2017 at 14:06
No Tags
STARS: 7
and ended up seriously considering its stable mate instead...
The e24 was in overall good shape, a little rough around the edges, but perfectly good for the age of the car. What let it down though was not the state, but rather the re-fitment, of the interior. Especially the dashboard area.
At some point the fascia, centre console and seats have been off/out completely and re-fitted by someone who just doesn’t seem to care about all those little plastic tags that hold things in place. The HVAC fascia could be pressed into the dash quite easily, the gear selector fascia was holding on with one of four tags, and the driver’s seats hinge was completely broken between the back and the base.
Tie this to the perished window and sunroof seals, badly repainted and rusting sunroof panel, torn rear seat leather, and some quite nasty scars on the inside of the b-pillars, it all adds up to a big fat NO for me. Too many little things that need sorting out to make it somewhat nice inside. Normally this stuff wouldn’t put me off a car purchase, but I don’t want another project, and some of the items are almost prohibitively expensive for what they are. It’s £230 for the front door window rubbers alone!
So to the stable mate, a fairly immaculate automatic 190e 2.5-16. THAT is a well maintained car inside and out. No visible rust anywhere, incredibly solid interior, an absolutely different class compared to the e24. I kinda fell in love a little bit.
I didn’t take any other photos of it unfortunately, but does anyone have any experience with these? Some forum users reckon the automatic is a dog, knocking all that is good from the car with lazy shifts and an uninspired response, but I’m inclined to take some vBulletin posts with a decent pinch of salt.
"RPM esq." (rpm3)
11/06/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 1
We Americans didn’t get the 2.5-16, just the earlier 2.3, and in both cases they were strangled slightly by emissions controls in U.S. spec, so that may impact the take that follows. I’ve driven a Germany-spec auto 2.5 imported from Japan and a manual U.S.-spec 2.3. The 2.5 probably made about 40 more horsepower than the 2.3, but when actually driven they felt pretty similarly on the butt dyno because I could wind up the 2.3 a bit more. The auto is perfectly good—I wouldn’t call it lazy—but it shifts earlier than you might otherwise like and you certainly lose some engagement with the car. Since neither version is really fast by modern standards, it’s all about driving dynamics, and obviously the auto doesn’t affect the excellent handling. The manual is more fun, but I wouldn’t kick an auto out of my garage either, and in fact attempted to buy the 2.5 but just missed out. The 2.5's timing chain setup solves the most worrisome failure point of the 2.3, as well. All that said, though, I’d really want the dogleg manual.
"404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
11/06/2017 at 14:19, STARS: 5
All I know is Martin Brundle approves of that rear-drive chassis, being the best ever being fitted into a sedan.
"Rufant" (rufant2)
11/06/2017 at 14:23, STARS: 2
No help on the Merc apart from to say the are very tasty in an understated way. However can testify that E24 interiors do not like coming apart or going back together nicely.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
11/06/2017 at 14:46, STARS: 0
Great take. I did research the manual, it’s a Getrag 265/5 unit which would cost around £2,000 for an original unit or £1,000 for a ‘rebuilt’ racing unit. Why the racing unit is cheaper I have no idea, but I did find two for sale around that price.
"ToyotaFamily" (robbav35)
11/06/2017 at 15:07, STARS: 0
I don’t have anything useful to contribute, but that 635 brought back memories of test driving one when I had just got my license.
Car wouldn’t start so a jumpbox gets hooked to it, we drive it out the lot and it catches fire.
"I hoon, therefore I am" (hookemdevils22)
11/06/2017 at 15:56, STARS: 0
which is strange considering those odometer gears
"RacingShark" (racingshark)
11/06/2017 at 15:56, STARS: 0
The 635csi tag on the trunk does not look right. it’s on the wrong side, and shouldn’t have the black background (unless the euro models are different)
"I hoon, therefore I am" (hookemdevils22)
11/06/2017 at 15:59, STARS: 0
$13k for that?! There’s an M635csi here selling for barely above that amount. CP for sure, especially considering it’s an auto.
80s German cars are great, but you truly need a manual to make them fun.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
11/06/2017 at 16:04, STARS: 0
It’s the correct badge, the models with the black rubberised euro spoiler came with the black-backed single piece badge, although I couldn’t tell you about the placement. It looked old enough to be original though.
"RPM esq." (rpm3)
11/06/2017 at 16:08, STARS: 0
I think the early ones might have had the black background, but you’re right about it being on the wrong side, unless RHD cars are just all upside down and backward.
"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet)
11/06/2017 at 16:12, STARS: 0
Well it has 86k on the clock and tons of history, and it’s actual price is £8,995
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707187502312
That’s cheap enough for me to go check out what looks like a clean 6er!