G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

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Mountain Goat 7
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My 1999 G500 SWB is quite a rare vehicle; I may be wrong, but believe that only a handful of RHD ones were ever imported into the UK through the official MB network.

I'm considering having the G restored as the tin worm is beginning to take hold both on the bodywork and the chassis and, being such a rare vehicle, it may be a good idea long term........

Reason for posting is a) Do other members think it'd be worth restoring? and b) Anyone any ideas/suggestions as to where to get such a restoration done? I know this second point may be slightly more difficult for people to answer so I'd be more than happy with any comments/suggestions by PM! 

Thanks.

Arnie
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Any G is worth restoring.

But, to do it properly will take a bit of time and effort.

 

IanA2
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Arnie wrote:

Any G is worth restoring.

But, to do it properly will take a bit of time and effort, and money!

 

 

Fixed that for you!

Seriously though, mine (bought from a "respected G specialist") whilst not requiring "restoration" needed a lot of work doing to get it as it should have been.

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

  you can take it to MAGNA /STEYER for re manufacture if its rare and you think its worth itt

   thats what i would do with my own G

  better than some cow boy and after 4 or 5 years  its buggerd again

prwales
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

I'm surprised its rusty or even starting to rust at that age, can you elaborate

IanA2
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

prwales wrote:

I'm surprised its rusty or even starting to rust at that age, can you elaborate

 

Agreed, just noticed the year. Mine's a '91 and has virtually no rust. Were G's at any time subject to "accountant failure" as many cars were for a period.

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

  huw

​           i will let you know how my new tec works fitting tomorrow

           maybe a good idea for those who live in the frozen lands up north

Mountain Goat 7
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

I am very fortunate to live in the north of Scotland; however, this does have its downsides...... The main one being long, cold winters with plenty of snow and ice and the roads from November through to March are very heavily gritted with high salt content. I believe this may be the culprit for the corrosion and perhaps 1999 Gs were not so well made? 

Corrosion has set in at the front where the body attaches to the chassis and also at the rear around wheel arches, below the doors and tailgate, fuel filler flap, behind rear bumper, windscreen surround, bottom of tailgate, hinges etc. The chassis has a lot of surface rust and some more serious areas like the rear panhard rod attachment area. 

Thanks for all the comments so far. 

Adrian - your idea looks intriguing but maybe too late for me! Also, were you serious about Graz? Is that something they do? 

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

  yes they DO offer  this service

  i will be able to help you with parts  but not the labor (even  i have to pay that)

  i guess not cheep but it you will have a new car  all sorted  (NO BODDGE UP)

    or as they say WE re manufacture   NOT SPRAY  & PREY 

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

 I WILL GET YOU THE HR RATE IN THE MORRNING

  PARTS WILL BE GWOA DISCOUNT

   SURE IT WILL NOT DE VALUE YOUR G 

   I WILL CLEAR THE DISCOUNT WITH THEM BUT YOU DEAL DIRECT 

   JUST STICK ME ON THE E-MAIL SO I CAN CHECK 

prwales
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Mine originated in Dorset and apart from journeys to Tyneside in the summer has only ever experienced South Wales winters none in the frozen North, so point taken about grit and salt

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

huw labor cost 85 euro + tax 1hr

Mountain Goat 7
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Thanks Adrian. Not too steep a rate. How does one get in touch with them? Also I really don't have any idea how many hours a restoration would take......... 

bigblock
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

If I was to take a guess I would say that from your description you would need the following...

1) Full strip down

2) Body repair

3 )Prep fpr paint

4 Full respray

5) Clean and re-paint underside

I think you would be looking at 80 to 100 hours in labour plus parts with transport to and from Graz on top of that.

It does not sound like your G needs much in the way of mechanical work so it might be worth making some enquiries of a few well respected body shops in the UK ( if there are any !) to get an idea of what the costs would be in comparison.

I am not sure where you are in the Highland but I believe that HAWCO the VW/AUDI dealer in Inverness has a state of the art bodyshop and will undertake bodywork restoration on classics and other specialised cars ( for a hefty price no doubt ).

 

 

 

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Mountain Goat 7 wrote:

Thanks Adrian. Not too steep a rate. How does one get in touch with them? Also I really don't have any idea how many hours a restoration would take......... 

     stefan is away at the moment training some army some were 

    i would say take pics and send to him

     will ask tomorrow how we go about this      

scouse g
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?
Any pictures of rot kicking in around the g ? I'm just doing a scatch, treat and paint for a w460 for a guy over manchester way
Mountain Goat 7
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Big Block - thanks for your input - it's good to try and get a handle on overall costs. If I did choose the Graz route, I'd probably drive there and fly back to reduce costs. 

I stay the other side of Inverness from you - about 60 miles west! I will get in touch with MB Inverness, although I think they've gone downhill a bit since Arnold Clark took over, to see what they say. I know quite a few people there. Your suggestion of Hawco is also worth following up. Thanks for the suggestion. 

Theo
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Careful with 80 - 100 hours, it depends on the starting point.  A full restoration of an early G (body/ mechanical/ interior) takes  more than 1,000 hours. In other words a fully restored early G costs the same as a fully equipped new G!

bigblock
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Mountain Goat 7 wrote:

Big Block - thanks for your input - it's good to try and get a handle on overall costs. If I did choose the Graz route, I'd probably drive there and fly back to reduce costs. 

I stay the other side of Inverness from you - about 60 miles west! I will get in touch with MB Inverness, although I think they've gone downhill a bit since Arnold Clark took over, to see what they say. I know quite a few people there. Your suggestion of Hawco is also worth following up. Thanks for the suggestion. 

Sixty miles west of Inverness would put you in Wester Ross (or the sea !) a beautiful place to live. I imagine that you have even fewer neighbours than me (neighbour being anyone within a 10 mile radius)smiley.

Like you I have not heard very good things about MB Inverness since Arnold Clark took over which is why I mentioned Hawco.  I am not sure if MB Inverness actually have a body repair shop?

Anyway at least you you won't need any restoration work on your rear axle !! devil

 

 

prwales
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Bells in Coldstream always had a very good G-wagen reputation, now part of Western Mercedes and a very long way south but still just in Scotland

mgrays
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Is that a 463? The 460 have no wheel arch liners so are more rot prone. My 1988 had pretty much a body off, windows out rebuild.. and in addition to that it needed spring hangers done on the rear chassis/axle a bit later. I spent about £3.5k on parts alone and it took about 3 years. 100 hours is only 3 man weeks which might .. just might cover the time required to re-assemble from a body off, windows out paint job if you had done it before. I would put it nearer to 2 wks strip, 2 wks welding, 3 wks on under body paint, 2 wks painting, 3 wks reassemble. So 12 wks at 100 Euro (VAT etc).. 12,000 Euro.. plus paint is £3k min, maybe £5k .. plus £4k parts .. if you get change out £20k you would be doing well. For that you could swap it out for some molly coddled London school runs car..

I am thinking of building a better shed .. which is the key; after 7 years mine needs a redo. It is worst of winter only car (Aberdeenshire up a hill) but lives in what was a damp shed. A decent shed is dark and air sealed with a dehumidifier running in it.. plus wash the salt off; do that and a moderate rebuild will last for years... a good one for many decades.

 

The other key is the paint used under the shiny stuff and the preparation. You need to sand blast. You need to use 2 part epoxy primer (which is water proof). These are things beyond any dealer's paint shop.. you need to go to a proper classic car rebuild shop who knows how to rebuild correctly and ask what they do for the paint preparation and paint type. MB Owners clubs have some speicalist but again maybe £30-50k if done by them.. but you could go to concour events then!

I have stopped buying Scottish cars if they are over 3-4 yrs old .. the Southern cars are so much better.. my last car was the ML500 and it spent 3 weeks having it's undercarriage painted at 12 years old from Midlands/Wales life. The Scottish ones were just balls of rust at that age.. the London one I saw was immaculate (but had been put on it's side at some point.. so did not buy).

Arnie
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Theo wrote:

Careful with 80 - 100 hours, it depends on the starting point.  A full restoration of an early G (body/ mechanical/ interior) takes  more than 1,000 hours. In other words a fully restored early G costs the same as a fully equipped new G!

 

I spent 6 months of weekends on mine and then there's the cost of parts.

That was about 400 hours and mainly covered chassis, suspension, brakes, exhaust, cooling system, engine tidy-up, but only very minor bodywork.

Granted, with the proper facilities, equipment and experienced people, you can shave some time off, but it also seems you are needing some major body-work done too.

I guess even if they can put it back on the production-line, so to speak, it won't be less than 300 hours.

 

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

   SEEMS ODD THAT YOU ALL TALK 100s  HR IF YOU HAVE BEEN A PRAT AND NOT LOOKED AFTER

    YOUR PRIDE AND JOY MAYBE 

     MY G 26YEARS OLD JUST UNDER 200K ON THE CLOCK 1 DAY TO PUT IT BACK TO Mmmmmmmm

      i have never used waxoil or any other product as IMO this will trap moisture   NO RUST AT ALLsurprise i

     admit i did have the top guy and he had to fly off and take care of some army some were

      THE NEXT DAY

      on the TEC-CHECK THEY MAKE A FULL LIST GIVE YOU THE PRICE THEN ITS UPTO YOU

      I JUST SAID OK DO IT GOT DRUNK AND IT WAS DONE BEFORE MY HANGOVER HAD CLEARED     

      

IanA2
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

cox.adrian wrote:

   SEEMS ODD THAT YOU ALL TALK 100s  HR IF YOU HAVE BEEN A PRAT AND NOT LOOKED AFTER

    YOUR PRIDE AND JOY MAYBE 

     MY G 26YEARS OLD JUST UNDER 200K ON THE CLOCK 1 DAY TO PUT IT BACK TO Mmmmmmmm

      i have never used waxoil or any other product as IMO this will trap moisture   NO RUST AT ALLsurprise i

     admit i did have the top guy and he had to fly off and take care of some army some were

      THE NEXT DAY

      on the TEC-CHECK THEY MAKE A FULL LIST GIVE YOU THE PRICE THEN ITS UPTO YOU

      I JUST SAID OK DO IT GOT DRUNK AND IT WAS DONE BEFORE MY HANGOVER HAD CLEARED     

      

 

Adrian, did you know that using CAPS is the equivalent of shouting...??  #justsaying

cox.adrian
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

  NOT WITH ME wink

   but you are a long way awaylaugh

neilmarton
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

cox.adrian wrote:

  NOT WITH ME wink

   but you are a long way awaylaugh

WHAT ?

G-Restorations
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Re: G500 SWB Possible Full Restoration?

Not just me then?