e500slr

I have a thread on the CLK AMG page about a CLK Black "conversion". Where I live the Black is too expensive and I want to build a custom 55k car. Don't worry I won't label it Black Series or CLK63 for that matter. I just like the way the widebody looks, it pretty much turns what is a girly car into an absolutely gorgeous sportscar. Now the body panel part might not be as hard as I thought, even though my source is not updating me on it for a few days now I think I'll handle that fine. The problem is I don't just want this project to be looks, I also want to make it a good handling car. Now I'm never going to claim I'll be able to make it like AMG did. Do any of you Black owners know the actual differences. I know the axles and beefier, the brakes are different and the suspension. My questions are:

1. What makes it wider underneath?

2. Are the suspension JOINTS different, in other words would a KW Sport coilover fit on a CLK and the CLK Black bolt on or did they completely change the linkages too.

3. How much bracing is there, is it only the struts and sways or did they weld something.

My problem is I don't have either to compare and no one is going to want to help me ie 2 people with the normal and the Black putting it up on the hoist. My E55 is my daily driver and the family car, it also has less potential than the CLK chassis, it's heavier and longer. I want to build something like this before my kids grow up and the money will pretty much disappear. After that good bye dreams so this is my only chance to attempt this. By the way like I said I'm not after the Black, it's too expensive here and I don't want to build it with the 63 engines anyway.

HELP??!!

Eitan1

I think it would be a very cool project, but I think it would be cheaper to buy a CLK black rather than build one to look like a black. Having said that, these are very technical questions that you are asking. I think that you should start on the net to find out the technical tidbits that went into making a black out of a CLK chassis. Good luck with your project.

e500slr

Yes but I don't want a CLK Black, I want a 55k widebody CLK. The reason I want to know about the Black's suspensions and chassis is for the handling and look. I'm not trying to create a poser fake Black. If anything I want it to be a DTM with Black bodywork. I want it to have the widebody shape, the 55k drivetrain and the handling and braking of the Black. Not that the Black is overrated but I don't think it was a massive engineering dilemma. It wasn't built from the ground up like the SLR, it still shares the CLK basic barebone chassis not including the suspension, axle etc. I've also never driven one but it's not lightest car either so making the car handle like the Black shouldn't be that hard. Problem is I really don't know what's under the Black, there is little info online, definitely no plans or "schematics". I don't think Mercedes would be too happy with people building their own and cheaply so it would be expensive. There are also no detailed pictures of the underbody, I do have alot of snaps but no complete album covering the whole underbody.

Do any of you know if there is a Black part list? Most cars have them as a replacement guide for parts.

Carac

1) Different output shafts and differential in the rear. Completely different suspension geometry in front (closer to the C63 than the regular CLK).

3) The entire chassis is triangulated and seam welding like a race chassis. So the stiffness would be nowhere near as stiff.

Realistically what you're talking about would consist of commissioning a shop to do a custom one-off, which is typically a "money is no object, I want something not offered" kind of thing. I saw your post on the CLK forums and asked a friend of mine that does custom work on Porsche's, Audi's, MB's etc, is a support mechanic for a AMLS Porsche team, and has had a good look at my Black Series on a lift. He said a ballpark for the job would be $25k+ for parts, body panels, etc alone and a couple of months of shop time, giving time for fabrication of any custom welds, parts, etc to do the job right. A rough guess for the professional conversion of a CLK55 to a CLK55 with Black Series suspension, steering, and body is $35-40k+ and even then you don't have the chassis stiffness. It's just cheaper to buy a Black Series if you're serious about the handling, feel, etc. Or just buy one of the CLK widebody mods off ebay. You're basically trying to do (for less than the difference between a CLK55 and a CLK63 Black Series) what Mercedes spent millions on.

Regardless, good luck.

Nero Tenebre

I don't want to be too frank but... let me just say blatantly that this idea is a pipe dream. I hope you do not fantasize about it too much because as everyone else pointed out, it will be much cheaper and smarter to just buy a black series car rather than try to backyard special one up. Not trying to offend you, but I think you will need some sense smacked into you. Just think of how many tens of thousands you would lose on resale! The real BS will keep coming down in value, so just wait and get one at the right time.

Now then, the official black series website for the clk is still up:
http://www.mercedes-amg.com/webspeci...63blackseries/

If you enter the site and click on the rear fender, it will take you to a page that tells you that the chassis was specifically designed for the black series. It is an engineered product you would be trying to replicate, which would just not be feasible considering the amount of resources spent on creating it. The chassis is just the start of it!

Why don't you just build a CLK like mine or make me an offer I can't refuse Just as fast as a BS too

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...-widebody.html

Mbtech85

Digging up an old thread,but CLK63 Black Series are still 65-80k. The cost to do the swap now is much more feasible. Even if I no one reads this I feel better having said it. That is all.

MOFLO

The CLK63BS control arms and coilovers are different from a CLK55 and CLK63, besides the bodywork, shock tower connectors, and interior deletes. If you looking for the performance with a DTM look, then KW variant 2 or 3, shock tower connectors, ECU tune, LTH, and body kit will get you 90% there. Good luck!

blackbenzz

It would cost a fortune to convert a clk55 to a CLK63 BS. I currently have 3 W209 AMG's, one of which is a BS. The more I compare them, the more differences I find. It's not as simple as it looks and the parts are very expensive.

C280 Sport

Agreed! God only knows the cost of a project like this. The difference is crazy. I have 3 CLK's as well. Only 1 AMG but drove a CLK63 BS once. But the difference between even non AMG, 55 AMG and CLK63 BS is enough to blow my mind lol.

Mahhn

I'm in the boat of <a Black is still average $80k, but I have a 550> Although the Blacks exterior is nice, I want to know what I can do to improve handling. A thought of mine is - can I swap out parts (my front end is due for a refresh anyways) on the front end for under 4k (spindles, rack and pinion if needed, control arms, strut/coil overs, sway bar) and give myself the wider track of the Black? I can get a welder and seam weld the car a bit at a time, I can roll the fenders. I don't want it to handle worse (adding wide rims with offsets that don't match the geometry needed to handle well) I could give a rats *** about how it looks as no matter what a CLK with good wheels looks good, I just want to get the most out of a car I like. I'm still looking for anyone that did this. I looked at some track cars once online, but they had full tube frame and nothing close to stock suspension.
Maybe the big question is: are the strut/coil over mounts in the same place on both Black and non?
I did get the Black motor and trans mounts installed last year when the stock went, was a great idea I read on these boards.