Bad Influences....

This is one of the better ones Matt! Goodness knows how people can wreck things the way they do.

Speaking of which:

The OSF window falls out of it's runners. This is due to lack of lubrication of the rubber seals which the glass runs in. Ham fisted morons don't address the root problem, and ultimately they bend and break the regulator mechanism. New one needed from Ebay - fortunately they're cheap and easy to fit.

The NSF window didn't work at all. It had no fuse in it (probably removed and stuck in the OSF slot after it blew it's fuse as the motor mangled the mechanism. Anyway, fuse replaced, rubber lubricated with silicon spray - dandy.

There's a Toad alarm fitted, with receipts for over £500 including automatic window and sunroof closing. The alarm worked from the key fob but the central locking needed the key in the lock. The CD changer was refitted (and works) but the original cassette player was dead. We established we had 12v from the Iso plugs and tried a spare CD headunit I had lying around. It works, and suddenly so does the central locking from the fob. The alarm/CL system must somehow by wired through the stereo.
My father had a light bulb moment when I mentioned this because he also has a Toad alarm fitted to his MX-5, and when his headunit developed an intermittent fault, so did the remote CL. He assumed it was two separate faults.

Lastly, I got the remains of the old crankshaft pos.n sensor out of the bellhousing. Both fixing bolts had been bent by the wayward driveshaft and needed straightening out with a big screwdriver to be able to unscrew them (clearance issues). One was bent over at 90deg and broke off on straightening, but as usual I had a stroke of pure genius (or is that luck?) and extracted it with a tiny milling bit on a Dremel. By careful application at the threads, the torque reaction from the Dremel unscrewed the broken stud out of the hole. Job done...

I think that's about it really. We're just waiting on the driveshaft and crank sensor to arrive before we can press on.
 
The parts turned up today. The ABS reluctor ring was an easy swap. The bottom balljoint (double wishbone suspension) was fairly new but damn near welded in, so I bought the only type of balljoint splitter I didn't already own and £20 lighter it was out. Can I get the old inner CV out of the diff? Can I b*ggery... I need a crowbar and some more height to allow more violence. It's easily the hardest I've ever come across.

On the plus side, and to cheer myself up, I fitted the new crank sensor and gave the key a turn. It would easily fire with the throttle closed, then die, and it just wasn't interested with the throttle open even slightly.

It then dawned on me that it had sat for a year but car grade fuel is only intended to last a month or two - and this hasn't ran for a year. I went and got a gallon of fresh fuel and poured that into the near empty tank and it suddenly runs great :D

Just need that b*st*rd CV joint out so I can get my new driveshaft in and drive the beast!
 
Spent another £8 in B&Q on a big foxtrot-oscar crowbar and got the sodding thing out today. The new one clicked into place with such a casual ease that it almost annoyed me more that the old one was such a pig to get out.

There's no tax or insurance on it so I've only been able to go up and down the driveway to prove I have transmission so far - but the engine is running sweet. There's a lot of smoke from under the bonnet from where moly grease from the old CV joint was sprayed across the exhaust downpipe but apart from that, everything is in order. I've left it to cook just to check the radiator fans kick in etc and they do, so I'm happy to take it out driving as soon as it's road-legal. The aircon doesn't work and I still haven't got a new mechanism for the driver's window but they're not that important right now.

I'm absolutely dying to get it on boost and see how quick it feels! :D
 
cracking little project Jamie, hope it performs well when you get to take it out properly! Think I may have found a "please give me some TLC" car this morning. The chap that owns it will be there on Thursday so gonna pop in and see.
 
88 Merc E300 Coupe. It has the AMG 19" alloys on it and generally doesn't look too bad. Like your Rover, it's white and looks like it has just been forgotten about. It has a bit of moss growing on the window edges, a bit of rust tidy up on the front wings, the interior actually looks as if it was well kept. It had 2 flat tyres and no tax that I could see. I have a mate locally who used to collect classic Mercs, so will get some advice from him before taking it too seriously ;)
 
Friend of mine had his imported from Australia. Cracking car. Its an automatic but its so fast. Had his upto around 230kpm and there was still plenty to go.

Cream leather seats with a metalic blue body. He liked my cougar that much that he decided that I should have a go in his Merc