For The First Time In 6 Years...

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
03/26/2018 at 10:44 • Filed to: None

Tucker is being retired from daily driver duty.

(If you’re ever in Pittsburgh, I highly recommend Fiori’s Pizzeria. I’ve never had pizza with sweet sauce but it was absolutely delicious!)

I put Laura in a storage unit, there’s just not enough space at home for me to store a 4th smart.

I began thinking about this. I told myself that once I had a convertible smart, I’d retire my beloved first smart from daily driver duty and leave him for towing things/off-roading (once that project is finished). I just didn’t expect my convertible to be a rare W450.

(Lordstown GM plant)

I’ve completed my inspection of my new cabrio and here’s what needs restoring in order of severity:

- Tyres - Front two are serviceable but the rears are trashed.

- Headlight stalk (?) - Parking lights don’t work unless you turn on the rear fog light and turn on the high beams, then turn both off.

Similarly, the low beams don’t work unless you turn on the fog light, turn on the high beams, turn off the rear fog light, turn on the parking lights, turn off the high beams, turn on the high beams, then turn the switch to low beams. Oh and the high beams don’t work at all...only when pulling the stalk back to flash them.

- Cleaning - I’m not sure how these 450s get so dirty, but this one is just as dirty as Chelsea was. I’ll actually get before and after pics that’ll make even Svend blush.

- Protecting the convertible top - It feels very untreated, bad news for the salt belt. I’ll treat the top.

- Convertible top mechanism - It works...sorta. It’s very slow and gets stuck. I’ll first lube the tracks and crank down the tension rods a little. Too much tension can cause this issue as the motors aren’t super strong.

- Rust removal - The subframe was bottomed out on something, probably a curb. It’s rusting in that area. While that’s not a big deal, I hate looking at it. Away it goes!

- Convertible top roof rails - Huh, of all the things to start rusting on a smart, I’d never thought the roof rails would be the first. There are a few specks of rust on these things...somehow. I’ll clean them up and protect them. Maybe this is why the 451+ rails are plastic?

- Radio - Someone replaced the Grundig unit with a generic Pioneer system. If we’re going to go aftermarket, it has to have an an aux jack. Otherwise I’ll just find a Grundig.

- Interior parts - I’ll need floor mats (I’ll make my own), a cup holder, headlight stalk/wiper stall caps, and a new clock pod. I’ll also need to see why the A/C button on the safety triangle doesn’t work. I may have broken it while inspecting the clock pod.

- Mods - Finish removing the ugly padding G&K added during conversion.

(Toledo FCA plant)

I’m going to daily drive the car for the whole spring, summer, and fall. Tucker finally gets a break! None of these repairs are expensive so there’s no reason for me to lazy out and not do them.

I’m going to drive Tucker until the tyres come in, then he finally gets a break!

Sadly I couldn’t make the Air Force Museum. Apple Maps’ ETA had me arriving like 10 minutes before closing, so I just took the tollway home.

DISCUSSION (18)

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 10:52

I think that tunnel is in Pittsburgh? I drove through it with the ISF on my way home Sounded quite nice.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 10:57

When’s the Oppo meet to swap some kind of crazy engine into Tucker? Ford’s 1L ecoboost can be built to make 250+ HP pretty easily...

Svend > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 10:59

Make me blush, huh, bring it on girlfriend, I’ve seen things, seen things you can’t imagine, seen horrors that have turned me to drink just thinking about them.

You want to make me blush, go for it.

Lol.

punkgoose17 > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
03/26/2018 at 11:11

Yes, it is just south of downtown across the Monongahela river.

Captain of the Enterprise > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 11:14

I thought you were dailying the newer one that was orange. I’m hoping I can drive my cousins one this summer when I visit. I think it would be a pretty unique driving experience. Her’s looks like this, she wanted a small car since she’s used to driving her Suzuki motorcycle.

Kinja'd!!!

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 11:19

If Tucker is retiring from DD duty, then you can finally rallycross him :)

First event of the year is April 22nd

http://statelinerallycross.com/events/bms-april-22-time-trials/

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 11:30

wait...you now have 4 smart cars and a fairly large garage and you still dont have room to keep all 4 of them?

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 12:00

That must have been one heck of a trial and error process to come up with the proper sequence.

Mercedes Streeter > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
03/26/2018 at 12:01

I don’t live in that house anymore. :/ The drug dealer girl (now porn girl) brought me to the point of suicide and I decided to move out before I did actually take my own life. My brother lives there now.

Mercedes Streeter > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/26/2018 at 12:15

It took me a bit to figure it out, but I noticed that the parking lamp switch didn’t work unless the rear fog light was turned on first, then turned off. I also noticed that if you just turned on the high beams (which actually turned on the low beams), the taillights would go out.

Hmmm...so what if I got the the parking lamps working...then just added the “high beams”? And there we go. lol

E90M3 > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 12:19

That tunnel you took a picture of, yeah I was redlining the IS-F with the windows down in it.

Long-Voyager > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 12:35

Got her number?

Asking for a friend ;)

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 12:49

I have the solution for your smart car storage problem:

Buy a 26-footer truck like one of those U-haul trucks, and park your Smarts in it.

Leave your daily driver out, maybe your weekend warrior, and park your backups/neat ones in it.

Now you can take Smart cars anywhere you want to.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > E90M3
03/26/2018 at 12:50

As someone who lived in Pittsburgh for college and post-college, I have “heard” of such a thing happening once or twice.

Mercedes Streeter > Long-Voyager
03/26/2018 at 14:12

I actually do lol. I wouldn’t bother though, her “sources” for her stock were the kind of people you wouldn’t want to associate yourself with.

Long-Voyager > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 16:07

I was thinking more her “now” job than the previous. Only joking though, I enjoy my marriage too much. ;)

Mercedes Streeter > Long-Voyager
03/26/2018 at 16:25

OH! LOL! Trust me, you wouldn’t want her. ;) Plus, marriage and all that xD

Long-Voyager > Mercedes Streeter
03/26/2018 at 16:37

Oh, come on, she sounds like a very nice girl who clearly has her life together. /s