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I signed up here a few years back when I got my first MB a CLK240 and then posted a few bits about my CL but I've never really done much to it aside from restoring it to showroom condition until now.
So I thought I'd do a little build log of my CL and share the journey with you all. I know the CLs are more popular in the States and there are a lot of very nice ones on here!
My current setup is the following:
Weistec 3.0L Supercharger
Weistec Ice Box
Kleemann headers
CAT and resonator delete
Eisenmann Sport Exhaust
Quaife LSD
Wilhelm ABC Lowering Module
Cosmetically, I've not done too much to the the car. I got my hands on CF overlaid interior trim pieces which look absolutely stunning with the black interior and really updates the inside. Also have a vented hood to try and aid with keeping the engine bay temps down.
Right now the car is not running right as the shop I had the supercharger etc fitted couldn't run the car on the dyno to get it mapped fully as it required a new part so I've not driven it since October but I'm getting the rest of the parts ordered to finish the car off before trailering it to get mapped early next year.
So I've gone on the parts offensive to get this girl ready and looking hot for Spring.
Below is what I've ordered so coming soon:
Single Slat Grille
New Arrow Style Wing Mirrors
Euroteck CF Front Splitter and Rear Diffuser
Rear Trunk Spoiler (color coded)
Plastidip to delete the chrome trim
HRE FF01 20" Alloy Wheels in Tarmac
Front Mounted HE
MB 82mm TB
ITG Air Filter, S/C Elbow (flipped 180deg from Weistec design)
Other work to be done is to install Sport CATS (need to pass emission and it absolutely stinks of fuel) and the calipers will be sent off for a full refurb and respray - either Lime Green, Orange or Yellow...
Once the warm Spring weather arrives, COMAND and the BOSE system will be removed and replaced with something more modern and powerful.
I will update this thread as parts arrive/get installed. I'll get some photos of the car posted up over the next few days as it stands now too.
Hope you enjoy watching this progress, I know I will.
Single slat grill arrived the other day, sadly it isn't the one with the new hood release mechanism so it will be a temporary install, if anyone can help me out tracking one down it would be much appreciated. 123mercedes stock them but don't have the 'order now' button next to the black one, only grey and chrome so assume they are out of stock...
Plastidip also arrived so I can practice on the new grill then hit the rest of the chrome on the car. Purchased the Glossifier to see how it looks on top of the dip also.
Colour coded rear trunk spoiler is coming tomorrow and the HREs should be on their way to me by now.
Today one of the big parts of the build arrived, the new heat exchanger. Custom made piece by Pace Products in the UK designed to fit the CL. This thing is a beast compared to the usual 'upgraded HE' available to these cars. Should keep those IATs right down...
Now that's what I call a heat exchanger! Is that Pace Products in Haverhill ? If only it would fit a W220 - I think the 215 has more room. http://www.paceproducts.co.uk/fabrication/
What are the dimensions of the core? Do you know how you'll fit the ABC cooler? That was a tight squeeze on mine.
How does the stock installation work - is there a (thin) full height HE in front of the AC condenser?
Careful with the mountings. Don't bolt everything down hard and tight. You have to allow everything to expand and contract, otherwise something will break.
It is indeed Pace based in Haverhill. I actually got really lucky with the HE and a lot of other parts for this build as I met up with a member of another forum who was in the process of building a CL55 although moved on to a E55 platform so as the majority of the parts were underway (HE and flipped intake system for the S/C) I managed to continue the build of those parts for my CL.
The dimensions are: L 24" x W 16" x D 2"
The cooler is designed to be a drop in replacement, the unit consists of the main radiator and HE. Sandwiched in the middle are the A/C rad and another smaller radiator (not sure what that is for ). This makes the HE the priority as far as getting cold air goes.
The system will be installed by a Mercedes indie, I'm not brave enough to tackle the oily jobs or have the time with work.
Gave the old girl a detail yesterday in the rain and 30mph winds lol. Just used a spray sealant after claying as it will be undercover in a garage after New Year getting getting the upgrades and custom work done.
Purchased plasti-dip but to be honest, I'm not sure about it. Think I will have the chrome trim vinyl'd in gloss black or if it comes off easily without braking painted at a bodyshop.
Still trying to find the single slat grill with the relocated hood release mechanism.
Her Christmas present arrived in a UPS truck yesterday though... Nice set of HREs, considering they are 20" they are stupidly light.
Note, suspension is at the highest setting to help clean the wheel arches - just never bothered dropping it.
All shiny, really starting to hate the chrome so much...
New shoes...
Oh and a Brabus shifter knob, still need to fit the door pins shame the door cards need to come off for them.
Hi Martin,
Really nice work!
Can I ask if that is a carbon fibre kit specifically for a w215 that you installed?
I also have a CL55 K.
I notice you're based in Scotland - based in Aberdeen myself!
Great looking CL, love the front lip, can't wait to get mine!!!
The interior trim isn't a kit, the factory trim was removed and sent off to oCarbon who removed the wood veneer and layered CF onto the original pieces. The finish is incredible, its a mile deep and they also layer the CF at different angles for different sides of the car as you'd find in a car with CF trim installed from the factory.
If you can live without the trim for a while then it is the way to go, otherwise hydro-graphics would be my other choice which is quicker although not quite the real deal.
I will be looking for EuroCharged in Aberdeen to remap my car before March too, if its not miles from you could meet up?
Last edited by martinp; 01-01-2016 at 12:53 PM.
Reason: typos.
hi martinp , great Car ive seen your post since day one but your CL and Build made me speechless.
let me say to you sir your cl makes my cl look like a prius.
my build Plan was almost the same but went down the trash.
A. My Carbon fiber(front-skirt-diff) parts got "lost" while being shipped dunno how but it seem that this happens.
B. all the top tuners close to me promised me they could get me a great deal getting me Weistec blower package or Eurocharge stage 3-4 ... all of them couldn't deliver their promise ... one of them couldnt even get me a downpipe which i paid a deposit for and didn't get, good thing i got refunded today.
and more and more....
what im trying to say is that your build isnt easy, you need to find the right stuff and the right person to do it with.
anyway...i wish you all the best in your build and hope you enjoy driving the car safely with your friends and family.
Have recently received the euroteck rear diffuser too but haven't got around to fitting it yet!
That interior carbon trim really is amazing! Had always tried to convince myself that I prefer the wood but now I'm not so sure!
Yeah, would be really good to meet up if you're in Aberdeen! I'll pm you my contact details!
Originally Posted by martinp
Hi James,
Great looking CL, love the front lip, can't wait to get mine!!!
The interior trim isn't a kit, the factory trim was removed and sent off to oCarbon who removed the wood veneer and layered CF onto the original pieces. The finish is incredible, its a mile deep and they also layer the CF at different angles for different sides of the car as you'd find in a car with CF trim installed from the factory.
If you can live without the trim for a while then it is the way to go, otherwise hydro-graphics would be my other choice which is quicker although not quite the real deal.
I will be looking for EuroCharged in Aberdeen to remap my car before March too, if its not miles from you could meet up?
Gooseyman; honestly thank you so much for the kind words. Means a lot man.
The spend on this car is beyond crazy but once done I really hope to have one of the nicest CL55s out there.
That sucks about your CF parts, really hope you got your money back from the supplier! Finding a decent shop to carry out fairly extensive surgery can be tricky although looking at the Weistec SC manual its a DIY job for some people, minus tuning...
Thankfully, I have now found a excellent shop to work on the car who I can trust. They are MB specialists and love to do custom work (coolest was a VW camper with 300hp) so they know the car and aren't afraid of fabricating bits and working things out as they go.
She is being dropped off on Friday and I'm going to have a good long chat with the guys who will be working on it to discuss everything and explain my OCD.
Should have the car back by the end of the month (thankfully January is a quiet month so they can work on mine alongside the usual work) so I can get it tuned in February.
The shop will be taking before/after photos as they go so once I get some updates I will post them up on here.
James; Nice one on the rear diffuser. How does it line up with the bumper, is it spot on all round or not quite?
I actually really liked the wood too but the transformation is quite something!
I'll hopefully be up your way in February all going well so will keep you posted. Always nice to see other CLs!
Well, today was the day... Getting towed off to her new home for the month.
She is proof even broken things can still be beautiful
Spent two hours with the owner of the company and the chap who will be working on the car alongside him and it is so refreshing to meet two MB nuts that have the same mindset as me.
Thankfully the car will have its own ramp for the duration which means parts can be sent off and worked on without worries about needing to be moved around etc.
The work list for them is pretty much as per below:
Complete health check on the car (also replace anything that looks worn and/or makes sense to swap during the work)
Remove and replace existing rad/IC/A/C rads with supplied parts
Flush ABC system and replace anything worn
Replace plug on transmission where oil is leaking and renew fluid in trans and torque converter (Trying to get a Speedriven deep pan & valve body upgrade but awaiting a reply from them)
Remove and replace Weistec elbow and TB plate with supplied parts
Remove and replace TB with 82mm
Fabricate intake tube, heat shield and CAI system for new ITG filter
Replumb Weistec ice box for maximum efficiency and also make it look as OEM as possible
Install CM30 pump as a back up, rewire CM30 and ice tank pump to run off OEM ECU trigger wire (currently ice tank pump is fitted to battery/ign live)
Remove all brake callipers (I will be sending these off for refurb and refinishing in gloss yellow w/AMG logos)
Remove exhaust system and install 2No. hi-flow CATS (redo entire exhaust in S/S if it looks like messy due to removing CATS/resonators etc.)
Replace spark plugs with cooler NGKs
Remove valve covers, paint gloss yellow and reinstall
Install new style mirror covers (the standard black colour actually matches pretty good)
Replace window rubber on passenger door & split door seal
Install Brabus door locks
So as you can see, there isn't really that much work to do...
Asked to have the car completed early February and then I can get it towed off to Eurocharged for tuning and its ready for the 2016 season.
I will be heading up there probably once a week so will try and get progress pics and some before/afters.
Sadly the wheels will need to wait until late February / March before being fitted, don't want them being potentially scratched during transporting on the flat bed. Same goes for the CF front lip and rear diffuser, even at max height with the lowering module there wasn't much clearance.
Once that's done though still have plans, the chrome will be vinyl'd over think paint will be a PITA to do. Also really want to get the roof lining redone in dark grey to black out the car completely, thankfully the shop doing the above work knows an excellent trimmer who has done loads so that will be a nice final touch.
Wow, that car is being babied! What a lucky car. Can I suggest a couple of things in the same spirit as your ambitions:
Whatever you do, don't use the Johnson CM30 pump. Its the worst of all the so-called intercooler pumps, by any measure (except that it doesn't have a dynamic impeller seal). Even the stock Bosch pump is better. See my sig.
While they're down there, I strongly recommend adding thermal insulation sleeving to all the ABC flexible hoses in the engine compartment. This gives a huge benefit to reliability. Also replace any hoses that are already seeping at the crimped joints. See my sig again.
I'm about to do the rear crank seal on mine today - wish me luck!
Yup, the car is babied pretty bad. lol Even when its running properly I very rarely go above 3k rpm on the road as there generally isn't much need and I really don't want to lose my license! lol
It's a totally different story at the track though...
Might just go for the new Bosch pump, it's only to act as a backup and potentially aid flowing the water faster to the ice tank anyways.
Will pass the insulation comment onto the shop, I've already asked them to renew any hoses which show any signs of weeping at the joins. Don't want to go through all this expense and a hose starts to leak or worst case blow!
Good luck on the changing out the seal, the CL is a complicated beast and I'm a bit too intimidated by it to start wrenching on it. I'll leave that to the experts. lol
The new heat exchanger is fitted, pretty much plug and play minus a little modification to the ABC radiator bracket and hood support struts but all in all nothing major and didn't pose any problems.
The hoses from the icebox to the front have been redone and relocated from over the engine / headers (can't believe this is actually the routing stated in the Weistec manual saying that they also supply that stupid air filter!!). The hoses now run with proper bends at the rear and along the chassis, up the front wheel well through a unused OE rubber grommet and behind the firewall to the supercharger. From the same location they run back to the HE to the front IC pump and back along the well to the tank.
Sadly I don't have photos of this (mechanic took some on his mobile so will post up when the build is done) but needless to say, the job is super clean and OEM looking.
ABC has been flushed out and refilled with new fluid too.
Had one small teething problem with the new TB adapter in that the hole was not 82mm, so that was sent back to the machine shop last Friday to be redone for my 82mm TB. Hats off to the machinists for sorting it out so quickly and the shop for test fitting my parts sooner rather than later.
Next steps are to install the sports CATs but the shop is having trouble finding ones large enough, I thought 2No. 5" 200 cells would have done the job but they are looking for monsters I think!? lol
After that the brakes callipers will be removed and refurbished with OE seals and a nice yellow paint job and the ///AMG logos re-applied. To go with the new callipers I have a set of custom made light-weight rotors and braided hoses, fronts are 4.2kg lighter and rears are 2kg lighter than OE.
Whilst the callipers are being refurbed work can begin on fabricating up a intake and heat shield for the man sized ITG filter.
Considering ported heads and then everything will essentially be taken as far as possible on stock internals. Going to speak to the shop about the labour involved in the swap.
Lastly, picked up a pair of 16" 7.5 ET42 W211 alloys from Germany to slap a pair of drag radials on, will be refinished in matte/satin black of course.
So things are coming along nicely with the car, work is starting to get busy again so I likely won't be able to pop in next week for pics but will have an update call next week to know the progress made.
HE pics (sorry they are rubbish but you get the idea...)
Hoping the combination of the vented hood and the huge HE will eliminate the need to even think about KillerChiller (don't want to drop the efficiency of the AC inside with a black car!)
Drag radials will be 255/50/16s, either Hoosier or MT, whichever is easier to obtain in the UK...
CAI is another story. lol
There is no getting around the fact the Weistec system was designed for the E class, filter is on the RHS to avoid the SBC pump and the vast majority have just made a new pipe down to where the expansion tank sat, cleared some space and put a filter and shield there.
CL that isn't an option, we have the ABC system which you don't want to relocate.
So, on comes these two custom machined parts. Essentially a flipped version of Weistecs' original elbow and TB adapter although the internals are completely smoothed out unlike the cast finish inside the Weistec parts.
New Elbow
New TB adapter (To be powder coated matte black also )
The new 82mm AMG throttle body simply bolts onto the adapter.
From there it gets a little custom...
The CL has a washer bottle and expansion tank in place of the SBC pump. The expansion tank isn't a problem, Weistec supply their own mini tank which is a easy install. The washer bottle isn't quite so straight forward, however, the shop have a heated W203 bottle with remote filler cap which will be installed in the wheel well so that takes care of those two items and we will end up with a nice big hole.
Within that hole, the filter gets a bit of an upgrade to a nice big ITG filter, this will allow the engine to breathe properly.
So essentially the only two parts left to fabricate is a pipe to run from the filter to the TB and a heat shield to seal off the filter from the engine bay.
As this project isn't in any major rush the shop is just spending about one day or so a week on it and then any downtime but the progress being made is awesome to see...
Here's what has happened since the last trip,
- Brake calipers fully stripped and sent off for refurbishment and respray in yellow w/AMG decals
- Lightweight brake rotors fitted front and back - look sexy and save a good bit of weight
- W203 washer bottle fitted behind bumper and remote filler installed, heating and screen / headlamp washers remain intact which is nice
- Air pump for warming CATs relocated and installed at new location in engine bay - looks very OEM
- Full pipework of ice tank removed, pipe bender arriving Mon to do it properly. Pipe was just resting on suspension work previously so not good...
- Weistec S/C elbow and TB adapter removed and new custom parts fitted.
- ITG air filter located in engine with a custom bracket to secure within compartment
- I/C & ice tank pumps wired into ECU relay
Had a couple of issues, the air condenser is leaking so a new one has been ordered from MB - at least it will match the HE in colour! That's a bit of a blow as everything needs to come out, be disassembled/reassembled and reinstalled which will take a few hours.
Discovered the dealer just hammered the brake discs into the callipers or something, pins are all out of alignment and one has a chunk taken out of it so all pads front and back will be replaced, just sticking with OE parts.
Funnily enough the dealer called this week to say the car is due a service and inspection, told them where to go lol
Dropped of the HREs to the shop and ordered tyres too, Mitchelin Pilot Super Sports, 295/30/20 rear and 255/35/20 fronts. Will look amazing with the yellow calipers.
Once the calipers come back, the bodyshop will match the color and paint the valve covers, Weistec s/c pulley bracket and EGR breathers in the same colour to get rid of the horrible alloy look. TB adapter and heat shield they are working on will be painted in matte black too.
Aside from the air intake pipe, heatshield, ice tank plumbing it is very close to being completed. After those things, its basically just needing a service and sport CATs fitted and an inspection. Then it's a trip to a dyno for a proper remap with either Weistec or Eurocharged.
Here are some pics for you all...
Engine bay
Air Pump Relocation & very tidy pipe work
Air Filter & Remote windscreen filler cap
Awaiting air intake pipe & heat shield
Inlet and Outlet hoses for S/C routed up wheel well, behind firewall and directly into S/C (sorry, can't get a pic of the hoses behind the firewall)
New rotors installed
Old ugly calipers fully stripped and sent for refurb
That's it for now, any questions or feedback welcome!
12-10-2015, 01:12 PM
). This makes the HE the priority as far as getting cold air goes. 
)
