BonitaBeast

Now the wait begins. No turning back!!



Progress report when the install begins

BlackSL

nice! keep the updates coming man!

BonitaBeast

First order of business. Yes!!

Found myself a set of Kleemann headers and downpipes. No longer shiny and clean but still in very good condition. Thanks to a fellow message board member for the pieces. You know who you are.



And an original MB underbumper bar and skid plate to replace my existing Brabus front lip spoiler with too many round lights.

drew138

Keep us posted.

dwin888

excited to see this beast in action! hope to see it around the metro!

BonitaBeast

Getting pretty anxious myself.

You may not notice it if you see it though because I won't be adding any distinguishing features on the exterior. It will look like every other earlier model N/A G55

dwin888

I'll definitely notice it around Makati area! That deep G growl! very nice!

BonitaBeast

Like a kid in a candy store!!!

Just a quick update. The palet of Kleemann goodies arrived today. Tomorrow I remove the ECU and send it Cory. Saturday the truck goes under the knife!





Also, an update of the exterior:
I decided to put it back to as stock looking as possible. Still waiting on the unpainted grill I found and the under bumper bar and skid plate:

drew138

I still cannot fathom why anyone would make this modification to the truck; which is why I love it so much.

BonitaBeast

Which modification are you referring to?

And what do you love so much about it?

Am not sure I understand what you are saying.

xxGenericSNxx

I think he's saying that it's a ridiculous modification and you're insane to do it. And for those reasons, he loves what you are doing.

Keep it up! I'm excited to see it finished.

BonitaBeast

Now that makes more sense! :-)

Will be posting some updates shortly.

drew138

Thanks for the translation.

And nice work on the R63.

BonitaBeast

While I wait for the ECU to get back to me, the Kleemann headers are about to go on.

Off come the stock headers, downpipes, and cats; pictured here in the foreground. Kleemann headers and downpipes in the background.


Here's the "new" old grill getting prepped for the paint to be matched to my Obsidian Black.



SC Install
Intake manifold removed. Many of the surrounding parts received a good cleaning, which is adding a bit of extra time to the install.




The Kleemann Bracket is in:


Blower waiting to get mounted. The throttle body is still getting a thorough cleaning before being bolted to the supercharger.


Rims being prepped before getting fresh coat of grey:




More to come this week!

shochu

sweet..
what color is that grey? looks very nice

BonitaBeast

Thanks. It's an original Mercedes color called Onyxgrau Mica Metallic

BonitaBeast

Getting there!!

The Blower is on!!






Before:


After:

BonitaBeast

Just got the ECU back from Kleemann HQ in CO. Cory was away on holiday when Kleemann took delivery of my ECU but Brandon took care of it. They received it on Monday Aug 27 and it was shipped out that same afternoon. Talk about service. Needless to say, ECU goes back on today.

Kleemann Headers, downpipes and Cats are also being installed today. I had to do some minor fabrication to the exhaust end of the downpipes. Because the Kleemann downpipes I got were a used set that had aftermarket resonators welded to them, I cut the resonators off and weld flanges to the ends of the downpipes after the cats. This allows for the OEM AMG cat back exhaust to bolt on directly to the KLeemann downpipes.



Luckily, I didn't have to extend the wires for my O2 sensors. There was enough extra O2 sensor cable wire to reach new the O2 sensor location on the Kleemann downpipes. So I didn't have to cut any wires.

I also had to weld on some brackets to the downpipes to add a little support so the pipes are held on to the chassis securely. The brackets bolt on to the chassis on the OEM locations that the original downpipes bolted to. This relieves some stress on the pipes and the junction with the headers.

Rims are done. The grey semi gloss finish came out exactly as I wanted so I'm happy about that.


With respect to the Suercharger, water lines, radiator and water pump mounting and wiring, hopefully go on today. What's left after that is the Fuel Pump modification and wiring as well as installation of the MAF Clamp with the Resistor.

shochu

looks great, the rims came out looking excellent
can't wait for the final result

BonitaBeast

Am having installer issues. Sorry for the delay. I will give an update soon. Those who will not be named are taking much too much time.

I am switching installers and I will be taking more of an active role during the install.

Long story short, no changes from last friday's update to today. One week wasted. I won't even begin to explain how high my blood is boiling right now.

Good news is the header clearance is solved. We fabricated a spacer and fitted longer bolts. Header clearance is no longer an issue.




Here's the 13mm spacer that we fabricated and placed underneath the engine mount bracket

xxGenericSNxx

Haha welcome to my world BonitaBeast! I've had a lot of work done to my car in the last few months and quite a few times I've had to deal with individuals who need a good slap in the butt to get them to work up to speed. But despite that, I have had my share of good installers as well that are punctual. It's just part of modifying a car, it never takes as little time as you expect. You'll always run into unexpected delays.

BonitaBeast

Am about ready to give more than a slap on the butt..... Talk about trying to keep my cool.

I would understand if the delay is caused by unforeseen items or actual install issues. But when you see the guy working on another car, or coming in late, or not coming in at all, then you gotta draw the line. If I had time to be at the shop I would have done most of the work myself. Unfortunately, I don't, so I'm at the mercy of the guys I chose. Seems I made a Baaaaaaaaad choice for the actual supercharger install..... All the other side stuff and additional items worked out ok

xxGenericSNxx

Believe me I experienced it all. Back in June I had a month to get the car ready at various shops. It was a really tight schedule because I absolutely needed the car for a roadtrip. I had work to do at the dealer which took 3 weeks and work to do at the audio shop. The thing that pissed me off about the audio shop was that I dropped the car off because they booked me for the slot. I already gave a deposit the week before. So everything was supposed to go smoothly. Instead it was sitting there for 3 days because they didn't order the parts and it was being shipped via ground. I had to keep calling them to keep them on top of things. Then about 5 days later they were done... but not finished with the LED work. So that's something that had to be done after the trip. They messed up my K40 and also damaged my third row seat back carpeting. Fast forward three months later and I'm still waiting on them to get that third row seat part to fix the damage on the carpet. I still have to call all the time to get them on top of things. And this is supposed to be the best shop in the area and they sure as hell reflect that in their pricing. I am so tired of this shop and BS yet I'm at their mercy to get the part in.

BonitaBeast

Exactly what I'm going through..... Well, I gave an ultimatum today. I think the head installer is finally taking me seriously.

I think the mention of "Pull-out" and "no-pay" finally got their attention. It sucks that it actually got to this point, but come on!

xxGenericSNxx

vinyl bump