a 1988 240DL wagon with only 88000 miles on it (for only $3500).

it is completely stock, although many components have been recently replaced.

my question is...how can i better suit my car for where i live? the area i drive in the most has frost humped, potholed roads, some of which arent even paved. i am planning on buying the chassis braces and anti-sway bars from ipd and would also like to eventually buy new shocks....what would you guys recommend? one more thing....the headlights are just terrible....what light setup would be best for me? i would love some really effective, durable fog lights but dont know where to start.

thanks in advance...ive already learned a whole lot from just reading the board :-D


-www.forkinhand.com-

Hi.
First, forget the antisway bars -- they keep the wheels on opposite sides (i.e., the right and left front, or the right and left rear) moving together. With potholes being your major concern, at least what you expressed, you want them to move separately -- i.e., as close to an 'independent' suspension as possible to lessen the jarring effects (assuming one wheel hits a pothole, and the other doesn't).
Second, as for the lights, my best advice is to get rid of the USA headlights and get the real 'E code' European headlights instead. A world of difference, and you don't have to go to higher wattages to see an improvement.
Good luck, and congratulations.

I'd start with buying some good used lenses, or new ones depending on your budget. The conversion to the good Euro glass lenses also requires changing the corner lamps- it's a reasonable sized job but not necessarily easy. The likelihood of rusted bolts that refuse to come out is very high, and you'll end up destroying the lights on the car in order to swap over. Or the light brackets anyway.
Try to find some that are nice and clear and you'll be amazed at the difference if your present lenses are yellow and cloudy.

I'm happy with the Bilstein Touring struts and shocks, coupled with Turbo sway bars, and GT strut-to-firewall braces. 195/60-15 tires on Virgo turbo rims, and it's an entirely different car. For your driving over rough roads, you might like the Boge/Sachs shocks better, coupled with upgraded sway bars. Definitely buy the new rubber mounts and brackets for the bars, you'll be amazed at how bad the old ones are in comparison.

Good luck with it!
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 229K, 88 744GLE- 218K, 82 245T-181K Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 231K, 87 244DL, 239K, 88 245DL, 246K

Definitely add the IPD bar. Boge Turbo Gas/Sachs Advantage shocks & struts are a good tick above OEM, as are Bilstein Touring. Bilstein heavy duty are a bit stiff, according to some here. You will probably want to look into replacing suspension bushings soon. Torque rods, rear A-arm bushings (up front), Panhard rod, trailing arm axle bushings... get urethane for whichever ones you can. The diagonal firewall-to-strut tower braces are inexpensive, and worth it.

Look at your flame trap, and keep it clean. fcpgroton.com has great prices on 90% of what you need, and they're not far away... Nick Bauer there gets stuff shipped poste haste. I was in CT until a year ago, but even now in AZ my orders get her promptly.

Headlights... oy vey. OEM's suck big time, now way around it. Depending on what your traffic and driving conditions are, *good* fog or driving lights are the way to go. The OEM lenses will respond to polishing if they are discolored, but at best they are marginal. Make the most of them by adding relays to maximize delivered current, but add auxiliary lights (PIAA, Hella, Cibie, Carello... Bosch are poor substitutes). Search out Susquehanna Motor SPorts and Danile Stern for advice and commentary on auxiliary lighting.

Also, www.seriousauto.com sells Cibie lights for slightly cheaper
than Daniel Stern does, IIRC. Driving lights are nondirectional,
so you can buy a pair of Cibies from the UK and get them shipped
here for cheaper than you can get them here. Not sure about fog
lights, however. Headlights are definitely different for left-hand
and right-hand drive markets.


-b.