xxGenericSNxx

Already been done:
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...63-my2013.html

Although nice, not my cup of tea since the facelift does not offer aggressive bumpers (no AMG bumpers for facelifts).


No, because base model R Classes don't have the door trim so it will therefore look cheap.

AmmarYasirA

Ahhhh, I see, I see. Nonetheless your car looks sick. I personally would do the facelift because IMO it has a more aggressive look than this one, but, everyone has different tastes. Are you planning on getting new wheels?

xxGenericSNxx

I do plan on new rims but am not sure which ones yet. Just waiting for the right design to tickle my fancy at the moment and putting it off until the end.

Usually I have the inclination to want to perform a facelift update to all non facelifted MBs but this facelift just does very little for me. I have no desire to do a full front conversion. The only parts I'd consider are the mirrors and tail lights.

AmmarYasirA

Sweet, sweet, are you going to get a black grill as well? Or no?

xxGenericSNxx

I've thought about it but am not sold on the idea. They put the gloss black grille on 09/11 R Classes and it does look sharp, but I do like the boldness of the silver grille. Also on MBs of early 00s vintage utilized silver grille on sport models vs. black grilles on non sport models. Now they seem to have switched things the other way around.

If I were to paint the grille, though, it'd be in body color with chrome ribs but that might not be necessary.

xxGenericSNxx

I've got some updates.

Since last time I've purchased 4 illuminated "Mercedes-Benz" door sills from andy41384 on this forum. Props to him for shipping them out promptly and safely. Unfortunately I don't have any installed photos at this time. They light up blue and do look really cool at night. During daylight, though, they're hard to see. The stock ones had "AMG" embossed on the front and the rears were plain. Unfortunately, Mercedes-Benz never made "AMG" sills for the R-Class.





Third row shades have also been installed but I, again, don't have any photos of that at this time.


I did get a chance to debadge the rear emblems and took a quick roadtrip out to Southeastern Washington.





Coincidence that another camper drove an R500 to the state park.






Stonehenge War Memorial in Maryhill, Washington.








Some random vineyard on a small dirt road:










Quite possibly the best road ever? Unfortunately it was a private dirt road at the Northern end, and I didn't get a chance to try to go up from the bottom end. But 95% of the road is paved and looked quite tempting!



Lots of windmills:

xxGenericSNxx

And finally I'll be paying some attention to the exterior.

First up is this huge box. It's got a Wald sticker on the front. I wonder what it can be...




A thin layer of bubble wrap:




It's a Wald Black Bison front bumper straight from Japan:










Need to stick it in the car to get it to the body shop. It barely fits!







Then there's another box that's from Germany:




Hmm, long and skinny. What can this one be?




Lorinser side skirts! The only company that makes aftermarket side skirts for the R-Class.




Surprised to find out it's carbon fiber underneath the primed exterior.
















And all the rear gets at the moment is a bumper removal so it can be refinished. I drove from the dealer to the body shop like this! After removing the bumper it's evident that there's been a minor rear end collision. The metal rear bumper and right shock absorber has been replaced. However, although the left one is compromised, it hasn't been replaced. So that needs to be fixed since the bumper's off.

xxGenericSNxx

Ludicrous Speed paid a visit from Maryland en route to Vancouver BC. Thanks for ringing me when you stopped by!

South Ocean1

xxGenericSNXX:

So very cool to see two R63s in the same place at the same time. I am not sure when I will ever see another one in person. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Also, I am looking forward to seeing your bodywork additions in finished form. Should be great!!

I saw in one of your posts where you flagged a European R63 owner that converted his car to the new 2012 look. That was also very cool to see as that is truly a one of a kind. Not sure I would need to do that if I had an R63, but it was a treat to see nonetheless.

I am still patiently waiting for your wheel update . . . as that is going to be an important finishing touch to your very stylish ride.

Kind regards,

xxGenericSNxx

I'm glad someone finally posted on here! Was thinking I'm a loaner over here on this part of the board. Seriously, it needs more foot traffic.

It's only the second time I've seen two R63s at once, the first being when I saw another one while I was driving.

It is neat that the Italian guy did a facelift on his R63 as that's truly one of a kind, but I'm glad it's not something I'm totally jealous of and am in a "want it too" mood.

I finally bit the bullet and got a set of wheels which will be arriving in the mail at the end of the week. I got a smoking deal on OEM European spec optional 21" AMG 5 spokes that was truly too good to pass up. Thus, foregoing the aftermarket route since nothing tickled my fancy. And when those aftermarket rims cost $7k+ you sure as heck better like them. The rims should be installed within the next two weeks and will help finish off the exterior.

Looks like this:

http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/cro...-6_1600x0w.jpg

And after the wheels, the car is pretty much done. I've got a special interior mod to do after the body work, but then it'd only be small things such as an alcantara headliner, red brake calipers, and a CF diffuser once I find the proper shop that I can entrust to do the work. The CF steering wheel is planned but I've got to figure out some housekeeping (paddle shifters first) as are the 65 tips, just haven't gotten around to taking it to the exhaust shop.

BTW how's your quest for the GL63 turning up? Have you reserved a spot at your dealer yet? What options do you plan on doing (all of them I hope!) and what color combo? Too bad you can't get diamond stitching in the AMGs.
I saw the 360 camera and power 2nd row folding seats got delayed until the 2014 model year. As you know, the GL63 was the runner up if we didn't get the R63 this year, but the more I look at it, the happier I am because we'd essentially have to wait until the end of 2013 before we can get one with the specs that we want. Although I'm sure it'll be worth the wait in the end!

But just stay tuned as I should have the car back from the body shop in a week (or later because you know how car things go).

South Ocean1

xxGenericSNXX:

One of the things that makes owning an R63 so cool - that you are one of about 45 such owners in the U.S. - is also one of the (minor) downsides. There are so few owners that the R63 portion of this site will always be a little light on foot traffic. I am still surprised at how many MB fans still don't even know there ever was an R63 . . . That's okay though - there are still a few of us who know just how special it is. It is great to see such a unique (and super cool) ride find such a passionate owner as you.

I think your choice on wheels is a great one. As you may recall, that was one of my early suggestions. With a car this unique, you don't need to distinguish it more by going with after market wheels. And the 21 inch OEMs are a great mix between the U.S. standard 20 inch (which look good but have become more common as that is the standard sport size on the R350) and the too big (and too rough riding) 22 inch. I also think they are the classic AMG set. Can't wait to see them on. I am just curious, did you order them from that British wheel shop that has all of the OEM MB wheels at somewhat better prices than U.S. dealers seem to offer? If not, where did you find them? If I get the GL63, I would probaby want to get a second OEM set for the winter.

As to the GL63, not much new news there. I am still first on my dealer's reservation list. But MBUSA is not taking build orders just yet. I did read about the delay on the power third row, but I had not heard about the delay in the 360 degree camera also. That would be disappointing if they are not available on the GL63 in the 1st Q 2013. I don't know whether I would go ahead or wait until the 2014 as those seem minor but I would really like to have them. Heck, MBUSA has been touting those new features in its press roll outs and now they may not be ready for the whole model year - that is poor form on MB's part. But then there are worse problems then having to worry about getting a 2013 or waiting for a 2014. Still wrestling with colors. Need to see a Cinnabar Red in person before deciding between the Pearl Beige, Lunar Blue and the Red. I know you like the Dakota Brown but my wife is still opposed. I will keep you posted.

Kind regards

AmmarYasirA

niceeee, any details on when those parts will be on your ride?? im excited to see what its gonna look like.

xxGenericSNxx

I do visit the C63 board from time to time and get quite jealous at how much foot traffic goes through there!

Yes I remember those AMG wheels were one of your initial suggestions! I do feel that with aftermarket rims, it can get too bling bling and that's not the look I want to go for. As you can see, my exterior mods aren't over the top. I just want to give the car a little differentiation between being an AMG and a regular R with sport package- basically the way I feel the car should've looked from factory. The aftermarket bumper has an AMG influence to it while being more aggressive, and the side skirts give it more flare as it's pretty lame that the AMG has the same side skirts as every other R that rolled off the factory floor.

I got the rims off eBay brand new in box: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251129947935...r#ht_500wt_969

Don't fret too much on the GL63. If you've got to have it now, you can always retrofit the options on later to the car (albeit at a much higher cost and probably to the frustration of your tech!). The three colors you've narrowed it down to will be interesting- and horray for a non silver or black AMG! Any idea on the interior color? Black, white, or brown- guess it'll depend on the exterior?

Ammar, the front bumper is being installed this week. The side skirts and rims will probably go on next week. I still need to order tires and TPMS.

hpV12

Looking good, can't wait to see it when it's done!

wasted

Great Thread, Awesome car!

hyperion667

wow!! great pictures and documentry!
this is really cool.........
you love that R, I can tell....

hope you get many miles of motoring man!
I missed what kind of camera you have/like.....

subcribed!

xxGenericSNxx

Hey, thanks man! Yes, I'm very enthusiastic about this car!

I'm using a Nikon D90, and most of the pictures were taken with either a 35mm f/1.8 or 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Nikkor. It's an older camera but still does its duty pretty well.

BTW, love your CLS63. Edit: Just found your thread on it. Looks sick and love the semi concave rear wheels! How's the sound on the new 5.5TT? Any opinion on comparison between the new 5.5TT to the older 6.2 NA?

DHH

Great thread and looks like a fun project you have undertaken - where did you get the Euro spec 21" rims? I would like a set for my incoming R63.

Thanks in advance.

Ludicrous Speed

the next non-car mod for Nathan is a full-frame camera!

xxGenericSNxx

Hi DHH,
If you scroll up to post # (fittingly) 63 it shows the eBay link that I got the rims off of:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_500wt_1180


Keep in mind MSRP is $1,045 a wheel (at the parts counter) making it $4,180 a set. Compared to this eBay auction which is $2,124 shipped which basically makes it half price. However, the OEM spec cars with these rims run ET60 up front and ET48 at the rear, but the auction is ET60 for all four rims. I'm going to mount the rims next week so hopefully the 12mm difference isn't big, otherwise I may run some spacers to bring the rims back out to factory spec.

BTW congrats on your R63- do post photos once it arrives! Any other mod ideas? You may also want to consider the Euro spec 4 piece fender flares which I'm installing this week.
Pictures of said flare can be found here: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w251...er-fender.html I've got the part numbers if anyone needs them.

MercedesFTW

Loved going through this thread...dunno why haha.

Good looking BEAST, and I think the R63 can truly live up to that moniker!

BonitaBeast

Nice ride you have there. Great Project car.

+1 for Flower Lounge Milbrae but I'd have to vote for Coi Palace in Serramonte Plaza Daly City for the best Dim Sum and roast duck.

xxGenericSNxx

Thank you! I can't believe all the major things will finally be done in a few weeks!

Never been to Coi's myself but hear it's really good (and very long lines).

Gdup4rmftup

Subscribed!

xxGenericSNxx

Wish I had more updates but for now this is how my car looks:





The body shop did send me some photos of the front bumper that's being worked on.

Long Version (skip this paragraph to go to the short version): In order to get the Wald bumper to fit, they have to transfer all the internal brackets
for the Parktronic sensors, headlamp washers, and bumper brackets. Can't say I'm very pleased with the quality of the Wald bumper itself. This
bumper is just as expensive as a Lorinser or Brabus part but it's NOT plug and play. Those Lorinser parts are very high quality and ready to bolt
onto the car while the Wald requires a lot of PITA work and more money to get it to properly fit the car. It's also fiberglass so it's very stiff and fragile.

Short version: All I have are boring photos showing that the shop retrofitted the headlamp washer hardware from my old bumper to the new one so
I decided not to upload them.


I did get another package.... actually four. This time from Michigan. Can you guess what they are?

Quite heavy at 45 pounds each.



A peek:



A little more:



Ta da:



21" OEM AMG 5 Spoke Rims (optional in European markets).





Sorry no photos of the rims naked. I want to keep them wrapped so I can transport it to the tire shop safely. Hopefully I'll have some updates
throughout the week.