Restoration - Mercedes-Benz W126 300SE (part 2)

This is part 2 of my Mercedes-Benz W126 300SE restoration. Carrying on from part 1, the Mercedes-Benz was actually stripped off its entire interior in order to re-do it. The seats including the door panels were re-upholstered and whatever needed to be replaced, were replaced and it got a new set of wood panels for the whole dashboard including the centre consoles and the doors.

The car took about 3 months to finish as the work was not too extensive in the sense that the body was in very good condition. It was fully restored to its original specification including all mechanicals and electrical. Once it was all done, I enjoyed using it as my weekend car as well as my after-work car.

It would have been better if I still had all the older pictures taken during the restoration with me but unfortunately I don’t. A few months later a good offer came for the car and I sold it and started searching once again for my ultimate dream machine, the Jaguar XJ6 Series 3.

The history of Jaguar

The name Jaguar back in the days was always associated with speed. The origins of Jaguar can be traced back to a company, the Swallow Sidecar Company that began by making motorcycle sidecars in 1922 under the stewardship of William Lyons (later Sir William Lyons) and William Walmsley. The Swallow Sidecar Company later started building automobiles and moved to Coventry, switching its name to Jaguar after the Second World War. It produced premium saloons and sports cars, including the legendary XK120.

Adding to Jaguar’s reputation was its motorsport success in the 1950s, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours race twice with a C-type – in 1951 and again in 1953 – and then with a D-type in 1955, 1956 and 1957. In 1961, the company launched what became perhaps the most iconic sports cars of all time, the E-type. In 1968 it merged with BMC (British Motor Corporation), which later became part of British Leyland and included Rover.

After splitting from British Leyland, Jaguar became independent again in the 1980s, before being purchased by Ford in 1989. In 2008, Jaguar and Land Rover were bought by Tata Motors, India’s biggest car maker, and officially joined together as one company in 2013. Sales and profits have risen year on year, with more exciting chapters in the histories of these two brands still to be written.

Jaguar Land Rover is a company that brings together two much loved, highly prestigious British car brands. After Tata Motors acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in 2008, it merged the two marques into a single company and its success has flourished, with memorable vehicles and innovative technologies that add to a long-lasting legacy.

Source: www.jaguarlandrover.com

Mercedes-Benz W140 S-Class

Today I’m writing about the Mercedes-Benz W140 S-class. Many of you who were born in the 80’s and early 90’s would surely remember this automobile. And maybe by looking at it, some may even remember this car to be the same model as the one Princess Diana crashed in 1997. The Mercedes-Benz W140 was one of the largest Mercedes to be manufactured during the 90’s and it replaced the very successful Mercedes-Benz W126 and not surprising, they were both designed by top designer Bruno Sacco.

The W140 had many different engine variations which included the entry level 2.8 litre 6 cylinder, the 4.2 litre V8 and to top it up was the 6 litre V12. The common engines in Malaysia were the 2.8 litre and 3 litre 6 cylinder, though there are a few rare imported models with the 5 litre V8 and the 6 litre V12, both known as the S500 and the S600 respectively. They came in 3 main different body variations, the short wheel base (SWB), long wheel base (LWB) and the Coupes later to be known as the CL. And there was also a made-to-order limousine version.

During it’s 7-year production period, more than 400,000 units were built. As what most of the S-Class cars were used for, they were mostly used as State cars for ministers as well as high ranking government officials worldwide including in Malaysia of which you could once in a while come across a bullet-proof model even here.

There were also many technology advancements that were present in this car and to list it would be endless but do go have a look at one if you are interested as it’s luxury will certainly blow you away like it did to me some time back. A good example with everything intact and close to mint would only cost around RM 25,000 depending on the condition. Trust me, these older top range cars have never failed to surprise me with the technology available during that time.

 The short wheel base (SWB)

 The long wheel base (LWB)

 The Coupe later to be known as the CL

 The stretched Mercedes-Benz W140(R) and the W100(L)