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New C43 owner
Hello everyone, just want to introduce myself. I ve been looking for a 43 for a while but couldn’t find one I liked so I settled for my number 2 choice and got a C32. Well recently I found a good candidate and picked up my C43. Sold the C32 right away to finance fixing up the 43. It’s a 98 Obsidian Black, two tone with 150k Miles. Came with all the maintenance records so mechanically it’s good. Needs a little help on the appearance side. Need to do a bunch of paintless dent repair, respray front and rear bumpers, recondition the wheels, redye the front seats and fix the sagging headliner. I should have enough funds to get it all done. If there’s some left over I would like to give it a slight drop and maybe a 55 swap. Either way I’ll be posting some of the progress and hopefully getting some help from you guys. To start off I’m in so cal and if anyone would like to refer me some places to get some of this work done I would greatly appreciate it. Anyway, here are some pics of the new project. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...35556c582.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...0583a1176.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...1fde14faa.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...910e69852.jpeg |
Congrats and welcome to the club. We have several members here who are extremely knowledgeable and are happy to help. If you have any questions just post them and I'm sure they will be answered. We have a few members in SoCal so I'm sure one can recommend some shops. The C43 is almost bullet proof with exception to the transmission. Regular maintenance and you should easily get another 100k miles out of it. The transmission should be serviced every 40k miles, that would be the first thing I did if it hasn't had that service history. I have replaced the entire suspension and have almost every bolt on for added power. If you have any questions about any of that let me know. |
Yeah, part of why i wanted one was because of how reliable and easy to work on they are. As far as the trans, it got a Mercedes rebuilt trans at the dealer in 2012 so I’m good to go. I still have to go through all the receipts and see when everything else was done. I know the last time it was at the dealer was in January. It got a key, front wheel bearings and ball joints and 4 brand new Continentals. Like I said, really the only things I need to do are cosmetic. Can’t wait till this thing is looking clean. |
Welcome aboard Pedro. Even if your transmission was rebuilt in 2012, it may be worth looking into to see if it has had a filter change and ATF flush since. Also would be useful to know how many miles have been driven since the rebuilt.
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Thanks guys, we’ll I made my first purchase. I couldn’t stand not having and aux for the radio. Tried the tape six adapter but it sucked. The button a on the radio we’re all busted up too. Ordered a Clarion M508 headunit to try and keep as period correct look as possible. Didn’t like the look of the continental unit I’ve seen mentioned so wanted to give this a try. Should be getting it in the next few days. |
Congrats! The transmission is fine if you maintain it every 100k miles. But that engine will outlive you!
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Welcome and congrats on the C43 purchase! I spent the last year or so restoring my 98 C43 at local Orange County shops (headliner, steering wheel restoration, mechanical work, etc) Everything was relatively affordable and parts were easy to source from shops or ebay. After a little TLC, I really enjoy driving this car. Often times, more than my newer AMG's!
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a565161ba0.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...1dcb10ea8b.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...be9747f4fa.jpg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a3a70bb17c.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...3697f38b00.jpg |
Beautiful car mdot949. Love the stance to, what’s your set up? What did you do for the headliner? Do you have any pics? As for the steering wheel did they reupholster it or just dye it? Sorry for all the questions.lol |
Originally Posted by Pedro Sanchez
(Post 7549318)
Beautiful car mdot949. Love the stance to, what’s your set up? What did you do for the headliner? Do you have any pics? As for the steering wheel did they reupholster it or just dye it? Sorry for all the questions.lol Suspension - Bilsteins and Vogtland springs (#1 pads all around I believe) headliner - i dont have any photos at the moment but I had the whole thing redone, it looks new. steering wheel - I had it sanded and re-dyed, below is a photo for reference. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...2182b85f7.jpeg |
Great work done there :y
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So I did my first update,l. I replaced the factory radio with a Clarion M508. I think it looks pretty good. I only wish it had the yellow back lighting to match a little better. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4d9602b7b.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4104660b9.jpeg |
mdot, who refurbed your steering wheel in OC? Do they offer re-wrapping solutions as well? Mine is in slightly worse shape than your original condition, but the difference is amazing!
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Originally Posted by JohnnyRock
(Post 7594607)
mdot, who refurbed your steering wheel in OC? Do they offer re-wrapping solutions as well? Mine is in slightly worse shape than your original condition, but the difference is amazing!
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Originally Posted by mdot949
(Post 7549490)
Thanks! Suspension - Bilsteins and Vogtland springs (#1 pads all around I believe) headliner - i dont have any photos at the moment but I had the whole thing redone, it looks new. steering wheel - I had it sanded and re-dyed, below is a photo for reference. |
So a little update. Played around with the idea of selling the 43 because there was another car that got my attention but in the end decided to keep it. Now I’ve been working to get her looking good. Got all the dents taken care of. Got the front bumper resprayed and added the missing tow hook cover. Gavebtheninterior a good cleaning and had the driver headrest redyed, man what a difference. Shifter was beat up so bought a Burl wood Renntech one. I have a new steering wheel on order. Put H&R sport springs on and a set of 18” Monoblocks to round it all out. Love how she’s turning out. Now I just have to take care of the headliner and cross my fingers that a front driver or passenger seat pop up and the car should be perfect. Btw, got my original 17” monoblocks with newer Conti tires for sale In the classifieds. Here are a couple pics. |
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Nice find
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Neat solution and cheaper also. Just needs some adjustments to fit, but better than paying skyhigh prices for a c43 part and if you can get it from the dealer
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I had seen the video but i didn’t feel like cutting and chopping to try to get it to fit so I just bit the bullet and got it from Mercedes. Got some other parts at the same time so I don’t remember the exact price but I want to say it was $250-270 unpainted. |
Originally Posted by mdot949
(Post 7595924)
Recon Pros Auto Upholstery in Mission Viejo did my steering wheel. They do offer re-wrapping, which is what I was planning to do but they suggested re-dying instead to keep it as original as possible. Either way I'm sure they can take care of you :)
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New steering wheel came in. Got so lucky finding this. Here’s a before and after. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...98c0267c6.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...95510f0df.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...bf19e2483.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...aef75a0b7.jpeg |
Looks nice. I would however try twisting the cover a bit on the left to hide the stitching if that is possible
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Looking good, Pedro. Where did you source that steering wheel? Recon Pro's wants $550 to re-wrap. Dallas Custom Steering wheels wants about $475 as well. (FYI)
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Welcome lovely car |
Originally Posted by JohnnyRock
(Post 7662986)
Looking good, Pedro. Where did you source that steering wheel? Recon Pro's wants $550 to re-wrap. Dallas Custom Steering wheels wants about $475 as well. (FYI)
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