Restoration
Hi all, my much loved 290GD LWB, which is used mostly on our farm and for shooting, so sees a lot of off road use, tows horseboxes on road and lots of things off road, carries lambs around the farm etc etc, has finally got to the stage where it needs some proper TLC; and has even failed its MoT. Its unusual, even by G-Wagen standards. Its a 461 290GD LWB with leather and air con, but rubber mats. It was originally ordered by a Malaysian logging company, but they went bust before it was delivered, so the car was shipped to the UK. I've had it for about 15 years or so, and its been looked after by our local garage, with occasional trips to the Merc dealer.
Its going to need work on the body, there is a hole in the rear offside lower quarter panel. My darling wife has variously rolled it, destroyed an Espace with it, taken out two stone walls, but most recently forgot to put the handbrake on, and it rolled down a slope, demolished a fence and came to rest against a large tree, which has bent the rear bumper and broken the fuel tank retaining strap, the indicator lenses etc etc. (the photo is before her latest escapade). There is also some surface rust in the usual places. I think its probably time for an all over respray, since the paint is, shall we say, um matt.
Mechanically, there are a few bushes that need replacing and quite a few other general refurb points that need attending to. The windscreen is cracked, the speedo isn't working, the rear offside window doesn't open, the rear heated screen has only a few bits still working, the gutter has come off here and there. I'd like to add a rear wash/wipe. The fuse box could do with replacing with a new one (ideally with a lid as well...). A working radio / CD would be nice as well.
I'm not looking for a concours restoration: its a working vehicle; but I do want to make it sound again for the next 10-15 years. I live in Somerset, near Taunton. Would appreciate your thoughts on where to get this done. Clearly I can take it to the G Class Centre in Malvern, but where else should I be thinking about that knows G-Wagens and will do a decent job. I have a trailer and can tow it, but clearly the nearer to me the better.
Advice welcome!
Your poor G- it does sound like it needs a lot of TLC. G class centre in Malvern? I was warned off using them. Do read the link Eddie has posted comprehensively
Good luck. There are some very good people out there though
My initial thoughts:
- become a member of the club, then talk to your regional rep;
- you are looking for a body work specialist not a mechanical guy; people tend to be good at / equipped for one or the other;
- this job will be difficult to price and could be expensive, therefore, proceed carefully; you know what you have once the body is off the frame (hole in the rear offside lower quarter panel); this might sound excessive for a 15 year old car but your description points into this direction;
- this is speculation on my part but you might have to take the scenario into consideration that you need a replacement body [depending on the severity of the rolls and the state of the corrosion, it needs a respray in any case]; when it come to G restorations this is not uncommon and is often the cheaper option.
these guys are in the South West, might be worth a chat with them but agree with what's been said already about bodywork specialists as opposed to mechanics
Shout if you need help with prices or parts issues
Gav
these guys are in the South West, might be worth a chat with them but agree with what's been said already about bodywork specialists as opposed to mechanics
Really? do you have experience of them, they work hand in glove with the Malvern crew.
that G deserves a medal !! it should be put alongside otto......
you need to stop this cruelty.... :(
i reckon you need a good bodyshop more than anything else.
ac and leather.thats a rare G . dare we see the interior ??
welcome to the club...! :)
this G has history (if not character), I can see why it is much loved.
It has probably already pointed out to you, but corrosion in the rear panel is typical for Gs, a hole points to more trouble in the entire back of the car. Have a look at http://www.w463.de/ , at the top of the page there are tabs: choose the tab named W460 in the middle of the third row, it is the story of a renovation project (the text is in German but the pictures are self-explanatory), the person doing the renovation was knowledgeable but still falls into the trap: he renovates the white car (built in 1980) which initially does not look too bad, about three months into the project he realizes that the state of the body does not justify further work, he buys the red car, takes the body off, has it sandblasted (relieve that it is better than expected), still has to do a fair amount of work and then puts the red body onto the chassis of the white car.
You have owned your car from the beginning, i.e. there are no cosmetic cover ups and as a consequence a fair initial assessment is easier. It is still important to be realistic about budget and time from the outset. As you will have the work done by a third party, it is important to understand that once you are committed there is no going back (i.e. your budget goes up significantly if the initial assessment was incorrect). This is the difference to somebody who does the work himself (i.e. labour is free). If his initial assessment is incorrect it leads to a longer timeframe of the project and he might need more parts than assumed but the overall cost remain reasonable, i.e. if he does good work he can still sell the project at break-even.
Really? do you have experience of them, they work hand in glove with the Malvern crew.
That's quite an aggressive post; I have no experience of them at all. How do you know that they work with the G-class centre, and even if they do it doesn't mean they have the same issues. I suggested them purely because of where they are and that they like doing conversions.
Really? do you have experience of them, they work hand in glove with the Malvern crew.
That's quite an aggressive post; I have no experience of them at all. How do you know that they work with the G-class centre, and even if they do it doesn't mean they have the same issues. I suggested them purely because of where they are and that they like doing conversions.
WHY would you post a recommendation about some one you know nothing
about at all
try reading what I wrote
Really? do you have experience of them, they work hand in glove with the Malvern crew.
That's quite an aggressive post; I have no experience of them at all. How do you know that they work with the G-class centre, and even if they do it doesn't mean they have the same issues. I suggested them purely because of where they are and that they like doing conversions.
Adrian beat me to it
Not aggressive at all.
I just don't understand why you would recommend a company you have no experience of?
The G Centre Malvern offer 606 conversions claiming they've done them, in actual fact they pass the work on to the crew in Barnstable and they do the conversion. They miss off several elements of the conversion that G-Restorations, Mike Axel and Mark consider Vital, like the Inter cooler and the mechanical IP, both difficult and expensive to carry out. They then charge £7000 to which the Malvern boys add on another £3000 or so. notwithstanding the conversions are very untidy.
So for a job that should cost about £4000 customers are being charged £10k
Also the original poster was asking about bodywork restoration? not engine conversions.
Gordon O
That's a better response, perhaps you should put it on the "Word of Warning thread" but my not knowing this doesn't entitle you to jump down my throat.
Not being a diesel owner the niceties of diesel conversions are not particularly interesting to me either, but I accept you have greater knowledge here, the initial poster was asking about renovations and possible conversions and these don't have to be diesel
Thank you all for your input. I'll take some pictures inside and out at the weekend - if there are any particular angles or views that you'd like to see, let me know and I'll try and do them.
I'm not interested in changing the engine, though, thank you. If I want to go faster I'll take something better designed for it. The G always, always gets me there, and when the weather is foul, which is for most of the winters on Exmoor, and I need to bring some lambs in from the far side of the farm; or I need to bring back 150+kg of red deer carcass, the G is just perfect. Speed is not so important.
Ask around , find a decent body shop , be prepared to be without it for a few months,though?
You might get someone who will work on it between jobs if they have space and charge less?
Doesn't' sound like mechanics more than a days work?
......So for a job that should cost about £4000 customers are being charged £10k....
Gordon O
Is that the going rate for a professional 606 conversion then, £4k ??
Conversion becoming cheaper than ever ....
Really? do you have experience of them, they work hand in glove with the Malvern crew.
That's quite an aggressive post; I have no experience of them at all. How do you know that they work with the G-class centre, and even if they do it doesn't mean they have the same issues. I suggested them purely because of where they are and that they like doing conversions.
WHY would you post a recommendation about some one you know nothing
about at all
I now see the problem politicians have, having things they say taken out of context £4000 was the max for a bad job. I make no secret of what I charge.
The start price if you have a 460/diesel/manual is £6200 if you have anything else or your truck has other issues then it will be more. If you have a 463/petrol/auto there are lots of difficult issues to deal with so it will be more.
Gordon O
Please can we draw a line on conversions on this this thread, Mr Cox asked about restorations after all. If you have any more questions please start another thread with your question I'll be happy to answer publicly.
Hi all, my much loved 290GD LWB, which is used mostly on our farm and for shooting, so sees a lot of off road use, tows horseboxes on road and lots of things off road, carries lambs around the farm etc etc, has finally got to the stage where it needs some proper TLC; and has even failed its MoT. Its unusual, even by G-Wagen standards. Its a 461 290GD LWB with leather and air con, but rubber mats. It was originally ordered by a Malaysian logging company, but they went bust before it was delivered, so the car was shipped to the UK. I've had it for about 15 years or so, and its been looked after by our local garage, with occasional trips to the Merc dealer.
Its going to need work on the body, there is a hole in the rear offside lower quarter panel. My darling wife has variously rolled it, desstroyed an Espace with it, taken out two stone walls, but most recently forgot to put the handbrake on, and it rolled down a slope, demolished a fence and came to rest against a large tree, which has bent the rear bumper and broken the fuel tank retaining strap, the indicator lenses etc etc. (the photo is before her latest escapade). There is also some surface rust in the usual places. I think its probably time for an all over respray, since the paint is, shall we say, um matt.
Mechanically, there are a few bushes that need replacing and quite a few other general refurb points that need attending to. The windscreen is cracked, the speedo isn't working, the rear offside window doesn't open, the rear heated screen has only a few bits still working, the gutter has come off here and there. I'd like to add a rear wash/wipe. The fuse box could do with replacing with a new one (ideally with a lid as well...). A working radio / CD would be nice as well.
I'm not looking for a concours restoration: its a working vehicle; but I do want to make it sound again for the next 10-15 years. I live in Somerset, near Taunton. Would appreciate your thoughts on where to get this done. Clearly I can take it to the G Class Centre in Malvern, but where else should I be thinking about that knows G-Wagens and will do a decent job. I have a trailer and can tow it, but clearly the nearer to me the better.
Advice welcome!
If I may make a tactful suggestion which may help prolong the life and well being of your characterful G. Buy Mrs C a Landie 
if you do buy her a Landy have a roll cage fitted
A number of positives about your G, you know its provenance, you know its history, you know how it drives and from reading your posts, it deliveries what you want, then why not treat it as part of the family and invest in the TLC? Even if you spent a little over the top to get it back to an acceptable standard, you know , if done correctly you have a truck that could go on for another 15 years. Deprecation? pah! not in this case.
As pointed out from various honorable members on this thread, there are now so many people who can help both here on the forum and through various 'connections' you should be able to get it done at very competitive prices, though I would recommend considering have an engine transplant as one can never be without too much power! 
Spider1V
I'm not very good at this, but some pics of the G-Wagen. I was in a bit of a hurry I'm afraid, so I'll do some better ones in due course. I've also realised that the interior picture (please excuse the udder cream, tow ropes and other detritus) doesn't show the leather at all, so I'll have a better go at showing the interior as well.
I've also realised that I've taken pictures of all the rust / dents in it, since I wanted to send them to someone to assess things a little. They probably aren't so interesting either. Sorry about that. Its made me realise that Mrs C has managed to ding both rear three quarter panels, although, thankfully the brunt of, her taking out walls, Espaces etc has been taken by the roo bars, which are intimidatingly bent and rusty now. Let's just say no one argues in traffic with it.
I know its messy inside. Its a working vehicle. Sorry!
hi mate thats not bad ive restored 3 that makes yours look good ?. if you have more photos email them to me and ill give you a pri ce to do yours or if need advice i be only to happy to help. i all so run a w463 in black 1994 g300 thanks KEVIN 07770954777 MY NUMBER
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Thank you all for the responses.
You won't like the interior... I'll take some more pics at the weekend, but here's a couple of its having been rolled. To be fair, she rolled it very carefully and didn't even break a wing mirror. It was in the very cold winter of 2010 when it was very icy. The main road up onto Exmoor was blocked with a crashed lorry and 4x4, so she went round to one of the smaller roads. What isn't so clear from that picture is that the road is VERY steep and has quite a strong camber with the right side of the road lower than the left (as you look at it). Unperturbed by the sheet ice, Mrs C engaged low ratio and all the diff locks, but when the back end slid out on the camber and the front merrlly climbed the bank presented to it, she wasn't quite quick enough with the lock, and the car gently rolled onto its left hand side and the bank.
We got it the right way up again using a tractor with a front loader and a bale. It was actually quite difficult to tell that it had been rolled at all, but it sounds terribly dramatic.
Her more recent effort of forgetting to put the handbrake on did rather more damage and has bent the rear three quarter panels a bit. I'll also check the MoT failure list, since I may have forgotten a few bits and pieces.