Wilhelm: The First 1500km

[chrisp]

Well, as some of you know I have recently taken delivery of Astral Silver 6.9 #6187, or Wilhelm as we're calling him. I thought I'd share my experiences with the car so far.

Since delivery we've driven from Sydney to Canberra, from there to the Southern Highlands, then on the Blue Mountains (via Goulburn and Oberon) and back to Sydney. A further day trip was completed to the Hunter Valley and back last week taking the kms since I took ownership to about 1500.

As you will have seen from their threads on the subject, Styria and Parks have been working their magic over the last few months on the mechanicals and bodywork respectively and for that I must thank them - the car drives beautifully and looks fantastic! I am also extremely appreciative of Styria's efforts to have the car ready for me to pick my parents up from the airport on their first visit to Sydney - they appreciated it almost as much as I did.

Since this is my first W116 it's hard for me to make comparisons but here are some observations:

• The self levelling ability of the suspension is amazing: four adults and a boot full of heavy luggage didn't change the ride height at either end of the vehicle at all
• Even with all that load the M100 barely noticed (although I did have to put the 'box into low to accelerate (rather than just maintain speed) up a particularly steep section of road going up Mount Ainslie)
• Accelerating from 90km/h puts a big grin on the face; realising just how fast you are going next time you look down at the speedo takes it off again
• The comfort levels afforded both passengers and driver are extremely generous. I could drive for 5 hours and not get stiff or tired; my passengers all commented how comfortable they were
• The hydropneumatic suspension makes minor road imperfections disappear (though Styria tells me that's an area that could be improved on my car; certainly the front is dropping a little overnight, although it goes straight back up again once the engine is started)

There are a couple of things I need to look at. The driver's side wiper blade is perished and that made for some interesting driving techniques trying to see where I was going on the way back from the Hunter in the dark in the rain and the passenger side rear reading light isn't working. Thankfully fixing these will be tasks befitting my level of mechanical ability!

I've attached some photos from the trip to the Hunter Valley. It's fair to say I'm loving my new car!













Regards,

Chris

 

[Michel]

What a lovely and sharp looking 116...

I was lucky to see it in the flesh before it was delivered to you.

The shine impressed me a lot.

Congratulations to you and to Styria and Parks for the great job.

 

[450SE]

Chrisp,
I think we all know the level of pride you are feeling at the moment. It will be ongoing. Congratulations on your purchase. I'm sure you will continue to love the car as much in ten years time as you do now.

A very very smart looking machine indeed.

 

[John S]

It certainly is a great looking car in the posted photos - are you going to display it at the NSW Concours?

 

[SEL_69L]

Chrisp: I drove Wilhelm one or twice when it was in the ownership of Styria a couple of years ago. It is certainly a satisfying car to drive.

 

[Styria]

Hi ChrisP, the car does indeed look lovely in those photographs, and thank you for posting them, as well as your words of praise and appreciation. I can only hope that Wilhelm will continue to give you pleasure in the future to come.

It can be an almost thankless task, and indeed time consuming to the extreme, to pass on a car 'within family', so to speak. You always keep on thinking "is the guy going to be happy with his purchase', or more importantly, is the car going to be reliable ? Important considerations. One can hide behind 'caveat emptor', or there is no warranty but, in the long run, you still have to live with yourself and, I guess, sleep at night.

Wilhelm, in September of last year when going for a pink slip inspection, failed on a/c of a leaking steering box, slight auto trans pump leak and, and a worn drag link. It did not take unduly long to attend to those items (you have three months grace), but I decided to go for a 'blue slip' in the end to save registration money. I also put the plates on hold - they bore no special significance, but were 'nice' plates - if you know what I mean. I also spoke to the guy that does the blue slip inspections, and he assured me that if those failed matters were attended to, there should be very little diffrence between the pink and the blue slip inspection.

That was good news as I was confident that the blue slip would be a 'breeze'. Imagine my consternation when a mysterious oil leak appeared about two days prior to the inspection date (you need to book in) at the back of the engine. Oh great ! What sort of a leak have we got ? The mind started racing around head gasket oil leak, rocker cover etc. - in short - it was NOT nice, if you know what I mean. Plus, plus, I could not get the engine to idle slowly enough. More troubles, and potentially not very nice ones. Okay, what next ? Well, all of a sudden I knew Chris' Mum and Dad were going to hit Aussie Shores on the Sunday 6 am ! No time to sort out problems on that Sunday - far too late. Wow, things needed to be done in a hurry. Anyway, blue slip inspection,was it Friday, Thursday ? I think the former.

So underneath that car - just by pure bum (can't use the other word), the oil leak at the , back was caused by one of the exhaust manifold bolts not having been screwed in far enough - let alone being tight. Four hands, and two bodies, fixed that. The fast idle ? Kaputt Auxiliary Air Valve - that is potentially a $1200.00 replacement unit - ( there goes the profit - boom boom), but a rebuilt unit plus some judicious tuning, restored the idle to a fairly normal setting. The rest is there for everyone to read and see. Regards Styria

 

[Styria]

Hi ChrisP, the car does indeed look lovely in those photographs, and thank you for posting them, as well as your words of praise and appreciation. I can only hope that Wilhelm will continue to give you pleasure in the future to come.

It can be an almost thankless task, and indeed time consuming to the extreme, to pass on a car 'within family', so to speak. You always keep on thinking "is the guy going to be happy with his purchase', or more importantly, is the car going to be reliable ? Important considerations. One can hide behind 'caveat emptor', or there is no warranty but, in the long run, you still have to live with yourself and, I guess, sleep at night.

Wilhelm, in September of last year when going for a pink slip inspection, failed on a/c of a leaking steering box, slight auto trans pump leak and, and a worn drag link. It did not take unduly long to attend to those items (you have three months grace), but I decided to go for a 'blue slip' in the end to save registration money. I also put the plates on hold - they bore no special significance, but were 'nice' plates - if you know what I mean. I also speak to the guy that does the blue slip inspections, and he assured me that if those failed matters were attended to, there should be very little difference between the pink and the blue slip inspection - in other words, straight forward. Little did I realize that in the end Wilhelm had to pass a most rigorous inspection.

That was good news as I was confident,that the blue slip would be a 'breeze'. Imagine my consternationwhen a mysterious oil leak appeared about two days prior to the inspection date (you need to book in) at the back of the engine. Oh great ! What sort of a leak have we got ? The mind started racing around head gasket oil leak, rocker cover etc. - in short - it was NOT nice, if you know what I mean. Plus, plus, I could not get the engine to idle slowly enough. More troubles, and potentially not very nice ones. Okay, what next ? Well, all of a sudden I knew Chris' Mum and Dad were going to hit Aussie Shores on the Sunday 6 am ! No time to sort out problems on that Sunday - far too late. Wow, things needed to be done in a hurry. Anyway, blue slip inspection,was it Friday, Thursday ? I think the former.

So underneath that car - just by pure bum (can't use the other word), the oil leak at the back was caused by one of the exhaust manifold bolts not having been screwed in far enough - let alone being tight. Four hands, and two bodies, fixed that. The fast idle ? Kaputt Auxiliary Air Valve - that is potentially a $1200.00 replacement unit - ( there goes the profit - boom boom), but a rebuilt unit plus some judicious tuning, restored the idle to a fairly normal setting. The rest is there for everyone to read and see. Regards Styria

 

[chrisp]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. A new cover arrived from Covercraft yesterday so hopefully the bodywork will be preserved in its current condition for years to come. He fits in our garage - just - but has been getting quite dusty in there as it's really a glorified carport.

 

[chrisp]

It certainly is a great looking car in the posted photos - are you going to display it at the NSW Concours?

Not just yet - still need to get around to joining the club - but I will get onto that soon. He will be putting in an appearance at the Topklasse Concours, however.

 

[Styria]

Not just yet - still need to get around to joining the club - but I will get onto that soon. He will be putting in an appearance at the Topklasse Concours, however.

Hi ChrisP, due to a slight hiccup in abl567's health, it was considered prudent and considerate to postpone the get-together. As soon as Anthony is well again, we'll get the ball rolling. Regards Styria (Michael)

 

[chrisp]

Ah yes, I did see that after I had left the previous post - thanks Styria.