C36 AMG, C43 AMG (W202) 1995 - 2000

My W202 blog and my new C43

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Old Oct 13, 2019 | 07:55 PM
  #101  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43
Doing some quick buffing tests to see how the paint is looking. Very promising so far.

While there are a few panels with clear coat ofidation, most of the car can be saved.





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Old Oct 17, 2019 | 05:06 PM
  #102  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43
I will definetly be on the lookout for euro tail lights and the amber corners. It hink those bring out the red even better. Especially the tail lights.


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Old Oct 17, 2019 | 08:52 PM
  #103  
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1996 Mercedes C36 AMG
https://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCEDES-W2...oAAOSwKqNck4AW
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Old Oct 17, 2019 | 09:21 PM
  #104  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43
Thats a little high.

I might have some friends over there who can get them cheap and ship them over but thanks for the link.
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Old Oct 17, 2019 | 11:19 PM
  #105  
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2000 C230k sport (sold), 1999 c43 Amg, 1997 C280 sport sold) 1996 C36 Amg, 2001 E55 Amg
Originally Posted by PJmak
I will definetly be on the lookout for euro tail lights and the amber corners. It hink those bring out the red even better. Especially the tail lights.


Amber tails are so dope!!!! Not going to lie I would love a set for my C36. Nice idea It’s going to look sick on the C43 can’t wait to see
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Old Oct 18, 2019 | 10:11 AM
  #106  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43
Turns out my wife's uncle lives in Ukraine and he knows a bit about cars so it shouldn't be a big issue for him to hunt down a pair for cheap and ship them over

Well see...
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Old Oct 20, 2019 | 12:25 PM
  #107  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43



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Old Oct 21, 2019 | 04:42 PM
  #108  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43
The list is long and growing. A lot of these are partially done but not checked off yet.

C43 TO DO LIST

COSMETIC
Interior:
-take out carpet, seats, door panels, and trim✅
-wipe down all the interior surface✅
-clean carpers(maybe replace)✅
-clean/condition seats
-clean dash✅
-clean door panels
-swap steering wheel
-clean/polish wood trim✅
-clean and recondition all rubber seals
-remove trunk carpet and clean trunk✅
-remove and repair headliner
-wipe roof
-replace radio deck✅

Exterior:
-take off all trim and mirrors
-remove all old clear bra
-clean door jams and small gaps✅
-clean wheel wells
-remove bumpers and clean behind them✅
-remove side skirts and clean behind them
-recondition wheel well plastic
-clean headlights✅
-clean foglights
-remove and restore door and all other seals
-clean wheels and replace tires
-replace tail lights. They look faded✅

Engine:
-clean airbox and replace air filters ✅
-remove and clean coilpacks
-remove and clean all rubber and plastic✅
-clean hood liner
-wipe down any exposed areas

Detailing:
-remove all trim and tape off car for buffing
-stage #1 decontaminate paint with a clay bar
-stage #2 rubbing compound
-stage #3 polishing compound
-stage #4 wax or ceramic coat

Maintenance/Repairs:
-flush fuel
-change oil and filter✅
-replace engine belt✅
-replace sparkplugs and wires
-check water pump it seemed loose
-replace idler pully
-check belt tentioner
-check brakes
-check suspension and flex disks
-flush transmission?
-perform any necessary repairs or part replacements...

Last edited by PJmak; Oct 21, 2019 at 04:45 PM.
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Old Oct 22, 2019 | 12:58 PM
  #109  
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Originally Posted by PJmak
I will definetly be on the lookout for euro tail lights and the amber corners. It hink those bring out the red even better. Especially the tail lights.
Yuck! Why would you want to put ambers on your car?? I hate ambers with a passion! I threw the amber corners off my brand new M3 in the trash the day I brought it home from the dealership. The only reason I regretted doing that is that some time later, my friends and I started holding "amber bashing" parties where we would collect everybody's ambers and demolish them with a bigass mallet to see who can break them into the most pieces per swing. LOL, as silly as it sounds, those were some fun times! Haha, makes me laugh even to this day when I think about it. Anyway, Euro clears for me aaaaaaall day long...it's the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. But to each his own..
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Old Oct 22, 2019 | 01:20 PM
  #110  
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Originally Posted by siideways
Yuck! Why would you want to put ambers on your car?? I hate ambers with a passion! I threw the amber corners off my brand new M3 in the trash the day I brought it home from the dealership. The only reason I regretted doing that is that some time later, my friends and I started holding "amber bashing" parties where we would collect everybody's ambers and demolish them with a bigass mallet to see who can break them into the most pieces per swing. LOL, as silly as it sounds, those were some fun times! Haha, makes me laugh even to this day when I think about it. Anyway, Euro clears for me aaaaaaall day long...it's the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. But to each his own..
To each his or her own, but I'm in agreement that the stock smoked lights (rear) and clear corners (front) look better. I like the contrast. Plus, why put ambers, which were only available on lower-end models, on the highest-end model of the W202 range?!

@PJmak You can polish the lenses and that will restore their luster. When I polish and wax my C43, I usually go over the lenses with the buffer.
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Old Oct 22, 2019 | 01:33 PM
  #111  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43
I had clear corners on my black c43 for a long time.

It just started looking cheap/faded/low quality for me so went back to stock. At this point its either stock or amber corners for me but for sure suro tail lights.

I like smoked tails on any color except red. I think the slightly darker red(not smoked black) and a bit of orange in them will offset the imperial red nicely.
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Old Oct 26, 2019 | 04:04 PM
  #112  
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Old Oct 26, 2019 | 05:20 PM
  #113  
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Old Oct 28, 2019 | 11:06 PM
  #114  
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Started wet sanding the paint. The paint on the hood is really hard but the car is turning out nice. Gonna try to do the no orange peel look.

Polished the rear door after wet sanding. Gonna have to hit it with 3k grit again.










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Old Oct 29, 2019 | 10:32 AM
  #115  
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this is so awesome, did you ever figure out why the damn thing was even parked? it didn't apparently have anything wrong with it?

this is inspiring me to get my butt in gear to start restoring mine, but it's literally the opposite of yours: has been chugging down the miles since 1999, over 312k miles now. It needs a complete respray, headliner, suspension and steering rebuild, leaky valve covers, leaky AC, and the most frustrating random no-start issue I've ever seen.
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Old Oct 29, 2019 | 10:37 AM
  #116  
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Thanks

Owner parked it because she couldnt afford to get it fixed and she lived in down town area so couldnt leave it in the streets due to parking laws.

Parked it in her backyard and left it there. Im sure the car will need some maintenance at least. She went through a divorce or something so she was stuck with the car sounds like.
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Old Oct 29, 2019 | 09:27 PM
  #117  
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This is quite the labour of love! I hope your wife is on board with the time commitment !
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Old Oct 30, 2019 | 10:21 AM
  #118  
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Originally Posted by Goldecho
This is quite the labour of love! I hope your wife is on board with the time commitment !


She is. I dont actuall get to spend as much time on it as Id want. There are always things that come up.

I work on it m maybe one to two times a week.
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Old Oct 30, 2019 | 09:02 PM
  #119  
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What are the two piece monoblocks off of? 17s or 18s? I think they look great.
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Old Oct 30, 2019 | 09:23 PM
  #120  
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Originally Posted by Goldecho
What are the two piece monoblocks off of? 17s or 18s? I think they look great.
They are sl600 wheels 18x8.5 front and 18x10 rear et 25 all around.
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Old Oct 30, 2019 | 09:38 PM
  #121  
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Cool. Interested to see how the car "sits" on those.
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Old Oct 31, 2019 | 11:04 AM
  #122  
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Other car sitting at my parents


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Old Oct 31, 2019 | 12:14 PM
  #123  
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Perfect stance....
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Old Oct 31, 2019 | 03:24 PM
  #124  
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Originally Posted by PJmak
Other car sitting at my parents

"Nasty"!
Janet Jackson
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Old Nov 9, 2019 | 09:03 PM
  #125  
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05 c55 silver, 98 Imperial Red C43
Got the fuel drained and refilled.

Took some troubleshooting but figured the fuel pump was bad.

Swapped with my black car and got the car to start and drive.

Got new stuff on the way.


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