Twichel04

Just joined here. The AMG section over had Benzworld is a bit dead. This is a copy/paste from my thread over there from when I first got the car last week.

I am a long time Mercedes enthusiast, I've owned mostly w201s over the years. This is my first AMG and my first w202. It's not in great shape, but I bought it to save it. It was really on its last leg, and I didn't want to see it die. Had it been any car other than a c36, I would have walked away when I saw it. But I took a Hanse on it anyway. It helps that I got a good deal too

It's a 96 C36 in 199, which happens to be my favorite color on a Mercedes ever! The car is kind of rough in some areas (paint included) but it's good in others.

The paint is shot, it needs some front end work, vacuum leaks fixed, and a major tune up. I was only running on 2 cyl when I went to look at it. I got it to run on 4 and drove it 75 miles back with out issue. Even on 4 cyl, I can tell this car has some power.

I've only had it for a few hours and I have already fixed a few things on it. The good news is that the interior is near perfect, showing less wear than one would expect when looking at the out side.

Here are a few pictures, mostly from the seller's listing. Don't worry, those nasty wheels will be one of the first things to go once it is running right.















The underside is pretty damn clean. I've actually never owned a Mercedes with this litte of oil on the block, haha.






Pretty clean looking on the inside too.

Twichel04

Since I posted that, the car is doing much better and I have been daily driving it. Turns out that the "front end" work it needed was just an idler arm bushing, one trip to the parts store, a Lemforder bushing, and 15 min later, the front end is nice and tight.

This weekend will be productive, new o2 sensors, coils, wire set, and MAF will all be here by Saturday. I Just used junk yard coils and wires for now just to make sure that the motor was ok before I ordered the new parts. I'm excited to feel the difference.

Here it is with my e46 hiding the fact that it still has the crappy wheels on it. The one you see there is the spare, lol

AMGTestDriverNJ

Really doesn't look bad man. Tell us more about it! How many miles on it? What'd you pay for it? Lets see that interior! What do you estimate it will take to get it into good running shape, cosmetic stuff aside?

Twichel04

It has 185k on it. I really think that all it needs now is the O2s, MAF, and ignition parts. I do have a little lifter tap that comes and goes, but I really think that it's from sitting for so long. It just needs to stretch it's legs. All the bushings on the car actually look really good. It was well taken care of AT SOME POINT haha. Other than that, it will just need normal stuff, like brakes, wheels, and tires. Paint is all shot, but the body is actually in great shape.

Everything on this car has actually been a joy to fix, because most of it just needs to be touched, and it's fine. When I got it, it had an issue where it would only start in neutral. I also had a tranny code pop up. A quick look under found a single plug at the trans with a broken clip that had come undone. Plugged it in, it now starts in park as it should, tranny code is gone, and shifts much better. The only other CELs that I had were misfires (two bad coils, bad wires, and fouled plugs) and an EGR code (vacuum line). Now all codes are gone! Wish I could say the same about the BMW....

The only thing that I have found on the whole car that does not work is the rear headrest release. Everything else works great, including the AC and heated seats. The best part... I only paid $1200! And these days, ANY car that has cold AC and you can drive 75 miles home with out braking down is a seal at $1200, much less a rare(ish) Mercedes.

The interior is still dirty, and the leather needs some conditioning, but it's all in really good shape in there. No rips, no tears, no split seams, and no stains that I can see.

Sulaco

Oh. My. God. That's the second C36 I've seen go for PENNIES lately. I'm so jealous I can't breathe.

jmg1848

Congrats and thank you for saving it! Looks like a nice ride! Ocala is where travolta lives right. House has a runway?

This reminds me of the story of the broken s500 someone bought for a song with supposed engine problems. Turns out one little cable was broken and wallah, car runs perfect!

as a point of reference a c36 recently sold on ebay for $14,500 and it had about 50k miles and was stock

Twichel04

There is also a pretty clean 110k mile c43 for sale near by for $4500 obo. Now seems to be the time to buy these, rescue them, and hold on to them for the next 10 years, haha.

I had to buy it. I just knew if I didn't it would end up being scrapped, because no one else was going to buy it, it looked and ran like crap, lol.

Yeah Travolta lives here. I've met him a couple times.

I knew someone who bought an old 240z for junkyard money because it wouldn't run. Owner thought it was toast, he knew nothing about cars (like the guy I got the c36 from). My friend bought it, towed to to autozone, bought a battery, and drove it two hours back, lol.

Super B

That's a lot of car for the money. What a steal. thanks for saving the old 36.. just getting rarer every year it's nice to see one getting restored back into shape. Hey with that mileage you might want to check the motor mounts. Mine were about shot at that mileage. Super easy to replace.. Might check the flex discs too. If you have any Q's feel free to ask as my 36 has 221k and counting.

Twichel04

Thanks. I meant to check the mounts, but I keep forgetting. They're probably bad. I did check the flex discs though and they look like they have been replaced at some point.

I was a little worried about the top end noise at idle, but people keep telling me that the "diesel" sound is normal for the 36 because of the cams.... Is that true?

I may need to do subframe bushings at some point, but I don't want to spent $300 on the tool, does anyone here rent one out?

Sulaco

Hah, yep. w202's are at the bottom of their market, and it's a great time to snag up truly great cars for pennies. That's why I have 2!

Both of mine went for way less. I paid $4400 for my 99 in MINT condition (because of high miles, owner was afraid it was about to need $10k in repairs). My 98 I found on craigslist for $2500 because the guy was afraid he had killed the engine. Shredded belt had shoved crank seal inside and it was leaking oil like crazy. Alternator bearing ruined and started making loud grinding sound. Drive shaft u joint was failing making it vibrate like crazy. Add all this together with a Ford guy who knew NOTHING about Mercedes and I snagged it for $2300. Used alternator, used drive shaft from a CLK430, and a crank seal later = daily driver! Interior was dead mint, too.

AMGTestDriverNJ

That interior really looks great. Its like the previous owners wore gloves and hovered above the seat! Lots of smiles per mile left in this thing, enjoy it and keep us posted. Are you planning on putting the monoblocks back on or do you have something else in mind?

BF_JC230

yeah...Monoblocks as a spare...get those bolted up!

When I was building up my w123...my mom's friend bought a new C36 and that was the first REAL MB experience I had...needless to say a few (not ///AMGs mind you) later and I still love them! I had a picture of me at the Factory near an identical Red C36 when I first when just to remind me of the heart pounding hard cornering first drive...save this car.

Twichel04

Well, unfortunately, I only have the one Moniblock. It was the spare in the trunk. I'd really like to find another set. It would be even better if I could find a set in 18". The problem is that I need to get something soon. The tires are bad, and the wheels are ugly and bent and made of cheese. And I refuse to buy tires for wheels that are ugly and bent and made of cheese, lol.

So for now, I'll be picking these up from a friend of mine.


The tires are too big, but they are serviceable and the wheels are straight and look much better. It will at least give me something to drive around on while I hunt for some 18" Monoblocks. I searched for 4 months for the wheels on my BMW, and ended up driving 13 hours to go get them, so I WILL find something, haha.

jmg1848

my first experience w/ MB was in high school. this rich-kid got a black 2.3 16v (?) manual and we drove it to lunch off campus every day. car was really bada$$ and i never thought Id be able to buy one...that thing was so cooool

Twichel04

My first one was an 89 190e. Got it from my uncle as my first car. Since then I've had 7 others and a w124 wagon, haha.

AMGTestDriverNJ

Keep an eye out here and on eBay. I just got my best friend down in FL a great deal on a set of 2 piece AMG III's w/ sumitomo HTR Z's for $400 bucks! Can't wait to see them on his C43. I think they'll look great. What a deal though, right? Even with shipping, it came out to $600 bucks for everything! Can't beat it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-17-AMG-III-MERCEDES-MBZ-2-PIECE-SILVER-WHEEL-RIM-B66031031-w-Sumimoto-Tires-/281374056319?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Wheels&hash=item4183335f7f&vxp=mtr

Super B

I crawled all over the 36 with a stethoscope time and time again trying to track that same noise down. After a while gave up and deemed it normal. You'll notice it will get a touch louder towards oil changes.

You will not believe the difference motor mounts will do if they are bad.. Those and the lower control arm bushings on the front. if those happen to be bad. an upgrade to solid rubber w208 bushes is a sweet way to go.

Sulaco

Every single MB I've had exhibited some level of top-end ticking. I've stopped worrying about it. I've had 2 m104 powered cars and now 2 m113 powered cars. They've all performed flawlessly for many, MANY thousands of miles. Just keep it up to snuff with the right oil and fuel and you'll be fine.

Can you find a situation anywhere online where someone's MB engine had a catastrophic failure like that? Maybe 1 or 2 anecdotes? Regardless of the year or use, these motors are designed to last--despite the occasional flaw (like head gaskets)

Twichel04

Oh, yeah. I'm not really worried about the motor, the noise was just a little concerning. This is the first m104 I've owned, but not the first I've dealt with. I know that the 36 has more aggressive cams, so I wasn't too worried about it. I've mostly had m103 cars.

One of my old 190s had 254k on it when I sold it to a friend of mine. He drove it for 7 years, up to 307k before he sold it. As far as we could tell, based on the service history, our ownership, and visual inspections; the motor had never been apart and we think it was still on its original timing chain... Still running great when he sold it.

He only sold it because he bought a sportline and opted to put the money into that.

Now that I think about it, after 9 Mercedes, this may very well be the lowest mileage one that I have owned, haha.

Super B- thanks for the tip! The control arm bushings are good for now, but when it' time to do them, I will definitely look into that. I'm going to go check out the motor mounts in a few minutes, before I forget again.

jmg1848

I have an ad up in the classifieds section b/c I am looking to "save" a mint c43

keep the updates coming pls!

Need4Speed

Its good to see that she got another chance and she looks great

Keep up the great work !

Twichel04

Thanks guys. More updates will come this weekend. I've got a low idle in gear issue to solve!

Sulaco

Are you buying one? Looking for one to buy?

jmg1848

I am looking to buy a c43 but don't want to jack up this nice thread

-Marlin-

Love it.

It must be a great feeling to be able to bring something like this back from the grave, when everyone else who looks at it sees a money pit. This is a treasure.