So after lurking around on this forum and learning as much as I can regarding all things W202 (specifically what to look for when buying) I have finally pulled the trigger on a 96 C36. It's a super clean second owner well maintained beauty with all the gremlins addressed (wire harness and head gasket).
Some of the upcoming mods I'm having done are H&R springs, Billstein shocks, Avantgarde grill, flat hood badge, wheels and tires. Thus far I have only purchased the wheels which are 18x8/9 Rays Engineering Victrix. I'm still doing my homework on the rest but will be getting it done in the immediate future.
Looking forward to making some new friendships and bouncing ideas off each other with my build. I'm open to any suggestions
Welcome to the family! car looks clean like it. Looking forward to see the car with a drop and those wheels
Thanks my brother! Wheels are being re finished as we speak and I haven't ordered the suspension pending a proper inspection by a local Mercedes mechanic to see if any other suspension components may be needed. Minus well replace any damaged bushings, tie rod ends or ball joints while on the list. I'm also going to have to do some research and see what camber kits are needed to get that before hand as well.
Nice car! I like those rims, what did they set you back? What are their measurements? offset and size on lips?
I got the wheels for $800 before even getting the car. I already knew the car I wanted and saw the auction ending on ebay kinda low so jumped on them. The specs are 18x8/9 with current offsets F:36 R:35 I plan to use a 5mm spacer for the front. As far as lip sizes, shame on me for not measuring them. I'll measure them when I get them back from the finisher.
If interested I can send you the link of the seller I got them from. He specializes in rare older wheels and always has deals.
Please do, I've been looking for a set of deep dish Monoblock Aero style rims, but I haven't found them anywhere. I know for a fact that deep dish monos will fit as I have seem them on several cars. The ones below are 10 in the rear and 8.5 in the front, I've seen other very nice sets with 10 in the rear and 9 in the front:
I may settle for the AMG SL 18s as they are a bit deeper, but I'm yet to source them for a decent price. I can probably get a set of 18 Monoblock Aero for maybe $800 refinished (possibly less), but I'd really like to stand out a bit. It's a beautiful rim though and I may settle for them if I can't find anything by mid-summer.
I'd never seen a W202 with monoblocks with such lips. It looks sick. But I can't see that ///AMG badging on it so I can sonly assume it's an aftermarket wheel. Looks good!
Please do, I've been looking for a set of deep dish Monoblock Aero style rims, but I haven't found them anywhere. I know for a fact that deep dish monos will fit as I have seem them on several cars. The ones below are 10 in the rear and 8.5 in the front, I've seen other very nice sets with 10 in the rear and 9 in the front:
I may settle for the AMG SL 18s as they are a bit deeper, but I'm yet to source them for a decent price. I can probably get a set of 18 Monoblock Aero for maybe $800 refinished (possibly less), but I'd really like to stand out a bit. It's a beautiful rim though and I may settle for them if I can't find anything by mid-summer.
I been following that same thread that car is wicked. If I was you I'd message him and find out who makes those reps and jump all over them. I do recall he did mention they where reps.
Below is the link to he guy I got mine from. He imports from Japan and is very detailed in his descriptions and has 100% feedback. I did see a nice set of Wald wheels he has but they dont have a dish.
I'd never seen a W202 with monoblocks with such lips. It looks sick. But I can't see that ///AMG badging on it so I can sonly assume it's an aftermarket wheel. Looks good!
Most def reps, I recall the owner making mention of that.
Thanks dude. Yeah that seller has some hot rims but I think I'm going to hold out for those mono reps. I posted another pic with a painted set in a related thread this morning. Pick up anymore parts? I only purchased the Vogland springs so far and they still aren't here yet.
Thanks dude. Yeah that seller has some hot rims but I think I'm going to hold out for those mono reps. I posted another pic with a painted set in a related thread this morning. Pick up anymore parts? I only purchased the Vogland springs so far and they still aren't here yet.
Nothing yet man the expense of the head gasket replacement sucked up my accessory funds. Did you get those Voglands in? I'd love to hear the ride quality.
Here's an update to how things are looking:
Head is removed and heading to the machine shop Monday
Wheel are powder coated and the lips are being polished this week
Now I just need to figure out how to refinish my valve cover gasket
I did mine in a satin finish black with a little metal flake.
Be careful though when it comes to removing the paint. Some of these valve covers are made of aluminum, others are made of magnesium... which can combust... especially if you chose to sand blast them. Luckily, I did not. But the magnesium is also very very soft, and they are prone to warping and cracking. The paint on mine was not that great of a job because I decided to hold out to do a quality prep and spray for when I can get an aluminum cover to replace it.
This ended up becoming a fiasco. I took it to BullsEye Powder Coating and they sand blasted right thru it. I ended up having to buy a brand new one which set me back $540.00. To make matters worse they accepted no responsibility whatsoever and blamed it on the material. There where so many obsticles that came up from the moment I purchased this car till today but somehow I pushed myself to just keep at it and as of today I have no regrets.
Oh, I would have raised some serious hell. Material or not, they should have inspected it to determine what the material was BEFORE they blasted it. You can't just ***** nilly start blasting parts and hope that the material is harder than your medium, especially as a business that specializes in media blasting!
Looks like yours was Magnesium too, and they used sand on it. They're lucky that it didn't burst into flames. Magnesium is way too soft for them to blast like that. I put a divot in mine just from using too high of an air pressure to dry it off after cleaning it.
Man that sucks, having to shell out extra cash unexpected always blows. Buy hey at least you don't have to refinish now. Plus all the ground posts for the coils and the threads for the coil bolts are all new.
Pricey way to get all that but some what a silver lining.
Oh, I would have raised some serious hell. Material or not, they should have inspected it to determine what the material was BEFORE they blasted it. You can't just ***** nilly start blasting parts and hope that the material is harder than your medium, especially as a business that specializes in media blasting!
Looks like yours was Magnesium too, and they used sand on it. They're lucky that it didn't burst into flames. Magnesium is way too soft for them to blast like that. I put a divot in mine just from using too high of an air pressure to dry it off after cleaning it.
Man that sucks, having to shell out extra cash unexpected always blows. Buy hey at least you don't have to refinish now. Plus all the ground posts for the coils and the threads for the coil bolts are all new.
Pricey way to get all that but some what a silver lining.
Agreed! After spending $3500 on that top end the last thing I wanted was to cover it all up with that nasty looking valve cover. While replacing the gasket I sent the head out to the machine shop and had the mechanic change every single hard to reach hose, timing chain and a bunch of other little odd end recommendations he made. I'll see if I get a picture of the engine bay.
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
