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TL;DR: I'm building a racecar. Subscribe to StumptownBenz if you want to get updates along the way.
I've been racing my 2004 E55 for the past three years and now that it's running in the low 11's I risk getting kicked out of the track at every event because it lacks a rollbar. Since it's my daily driver I don't want to cut into it so I decided to retire it from race duty and buy another car to use exclusively for drag racing. This will allow me to be aggressive on the weight-reduction and tuning fronts, as well as add any safety gear necessary as my ETs drop and the MPHs go up.
I decided to go with a W208 CLK chassis because they seem to be the lightest cars that came with the M113, and I definitely plan on doing an M113k powerplant. After a few months of trolling the various car-selling websites, I came across this beauty:
She's a 2002 CLK55 with 219k miles on the clock, but the best part is that it's a running, driving car and I only paid $850 for it! Even with shipping from LA to Portland the total cost was only around $1500. Of course for that kind of money it does have some issues, but they are typical stuff for any MB of this era: needs a battery, motor mounts, rear main seal, front LCA bushings, new tires all around and a good cleaning. It's got some other issues with the electronics, but for a racecar, I don't really care about those too much.
I've got a multi-year plan for this car, as follows:
Phase I: Stock Baseline Goal: 13.20 ET
The 2018 race season will be to set a baseline, keeping the car 100% stock. All I'm going to do is fix the above issues, do an oil change, new plugs and wires, and make it look a little prettier. The paint will get wet-sanded followed by buffing and polishing, and I will put my old OEM E55 wheels and tires on it. Those anemic looking little 225's have got to go!
Phase II: Weight Reduction Goal: 12.99 ET
After establishing a stock performance baseline, the next phase will be weight reduction. Here's what I have planned:
Racing seats
Remove rear seat
Remove all sound deadening
Manual R&P swap
CLK320 brakes and wheels
Sunroof delete
Miscellaneous weight reduction as I go along
I'd like to save 500 lbs, but that may be a little optimistic.
Phase III: Bolt-Ons Goal: 11.50 ET
This is where the fun begins! The steering changes will have made room for a proper set of long tube headers to let the beast breathe properly. An aftermarket ECU and TCU will let me play around with tuning beyond the limits of the factory ECU. I've already got a rear subframe sitting in my garage (thanks Alex!) with 3.73 gears, a Quaife LSD, and heavy-duty drive axles. This is also where I'll put in a higher stall converter and probably upgrade the transmission. A rollbar will get installed that is certified down to 8.50 along with any other safety gear needed for the lower ET's/higher MPH's. Let's see how fast we can get a NA M113 to go!
Phase IV: Fully Built M113K Goal: 8.99 ET
At this point I should be close to the performance levels of my E55. Now it's time to go for broke! I'll do a fully-built, sleeved, overbored M113K motor with ported heads, forged pistons, aftermarket cams, and hopefully around 20 psi of boost. My ultimate goal is to run an 8.99 in the 1/4 mile. Based on others who have paved the way (Blackbenzz, I'm looking at you!) this should be attainable. Time will tell!
I expect this whole process to take 4-5 years, so subscribe to this thread if you're interested and I'll post updates along the way.
Last edited by JoeJErnst; Mar 14, 2018 at 04:15 PM.
They are so much simpler than their W211 brothers and sisters! I can't wait to get mine on the road with the new motor mounts and poly bushings and see how it really feels. (my first two test drives were cut short by the engine trying to jump through the hood!)
I have 99 W210 E55 and 01 W208 CLK55, I love to see that these cars are getting second chance but maaan its so sad to see them either in destroyed original condition or destroyed modified I wish you good luck with your project, but it hurts to see it
PS. keep me in mind when youll strip it naked, I might buy some parts from you
I hear ya. One of the reasons I got this car is because I refuse to cut up my E55. I was planning on getting a CLK430 for this project, but I stumbled upon this 55 that was literally one day away from going to the junkyard! I figure I have a free pass on this one. ;-)
I could probably use some interior parts when it's time to strip it. My sunroof doesn't work. Removal might be worthwhile. What do you use for the resulting roof hole?.
Last edited by jim9; Feb 4, 2018 at 05:20 PM.
Reason: simplify
I could probably use some interior parts when it's time to strip it. My sunroof doesn't work. Removal might be worthwhile. What do you use for the resulting roof hole?.
I haven't tackled that project yet, but the plan is to weld in a piece of sheet metal once the sunroof is removed.
man I could definitely use that interior you are stripping out of that car!
What are you planning on doing with all the stuff you remove from it during the lightening process? Reason I ask is that I just bought a black CLK 430 Cabrio project car that is rougher than yours, except for the bodywork.
Mine is a 2002 as well, and the interior is trashed & same color (black) as yours! Also, I need a matched set of wheels for it, as it has 3 different style of rim on it currently. Also need the side skirts too. I sure wish you were closer than Oregon, LOL!
man I could definitely use that interior you are stripping out of that car!
What are you planning on doing with all the stuff you remove from it during the lightening process? Reason I ask is that I just bought a black CLK 430 Cabrio project car that is rougher than yours, except for the bodywork.
Mine is a 2002 as well, and the interior is trashed & same color (black) as yours! Also, I need a matched set of wheels for it, as it has 3 different style of rim on it currently. Also need the side skirts too. I sure wish you were closer than Oregon, LOL!
I have a really nice set of 18 AMG's if you are interested.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
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.
I wish you good luck with your project, but it hurts to see it 
