Nearly two months to the day after the Mercedes’ MOT expired, I’ve finally managed to get the required work completed and had it taken to be tested. Part of the delay was down to the amount of other more important jobs running through the workshop, and partly it was due to some supplier’s inability to provide the correct sized parts in a timely manner. It’s nice to have the car back on the road, but I’m sure the chances to drive it properly will be a little limited until next year when the weather improves, which doesn’t help with my goal of putting some proper mileage on it.
I had hoped to cover well over 1,000 miles since the last MOT, but I fell short by 27 miles, although I will partially blame Coronavirus for me only covering such a short distance, seeing as a good portion of that was during lockdown and the car was SORNed and stored. It seems like a long time ago that I drove down to Goodwood for the Redwood event, which helped to renew my enthusiasm for the car, and we’ve since cured the stalling issue which culled it in the first place. Hopefully with the car running better now, and (hopefully) a full year to use it, I’ll surpass that 1,000 mile figure easily.
Maintenance work on an old car isn’t unexpected, and even a modern classic which has been stored inside and barely covered any mileage, can still require a healthy amount of work to keep it roadworthy. I’ll keep banging on this drum, and saying why anyone who drives an old car should still be getting it MOT’d, or at the very least inspected by a competent professional. Even if you work on your own car there will still be things you will miss or do not realise are a serious issue, and to me it just isn’t worth the risk for £45 and an hour of your time.
I knew the Mercedes would need some welding around the sunroof drainage holes underneath, and some other small areas (including one that is still required to be fixed, as the MOT advisory highlighted). The rubber that stops the exhaust back box rattling around was perished, as was the rear propshaft doughnut and some other small parts. We also serviced the car, as even though it hasn’t gone a long way, its still good to give the car even a basic service and keep everything fresh.
Next week I’ll take the car home and most likely park it up for winter and SORN it, although I may try and give it a run or two before the end of the month in an effort to enjoy it and put some mileage on it. For all of those who don’t like the grille I’ve got a plan to reinstate the original, of a fashion, so watch this space.
