trey682

Hey guys,

I have put about 5k into this 85 380se so far. These are before and after pics.....I was deciding on whether or not I should refinish these stock rims or go for something custom. I was told the resale will be more if I keep it stock. I bought these rims on ebay and the guy said they had been refinished but I think he meant SPRAYPAINTED! Any suggestions? So far I have done the following: New paint/body, wheels, tint, stereo, minor engine work, interior work. Its starting to look pretty good. It's my first BENZ!

trey682

Before and after

braverichard

Just get custom chrome or alloy wheels that will make the car look ultra sharp. Then keep the stock wheels for winter (if you have a winter season) or just so that when you want to resell the car, if the buyer doesn't want to pay extra for your custom wheels then you can take them off and put back the stock wheels and sell your custom wheels if you wish. Check out the picture below of my 1984 300SD.

Hattaresguy

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforu...ight=AMG+Penta

Try a set of these AMG wheels maybe.

Life is to short for stock boring wheels, adding a nice set to a W126 will make it stand out.

braverichard

Going aftermarket costs a lot of money. I don't think life being too short would matter to someone who doesn't have or want to spend the money. Those AMG wheels are all out of production and thus not only would they cost a lot of money upfront, they'd be very expensive to own and maintain. For instance, if you lose a center cap the cost of replacement would be something insane like $200. I know. I just bought a set of 4 nice 16" Lorinser chrome wheels with no lug bolts or center caps. I'm about to spend $1000 on center caps and lug bolts for the wheels, much more than I paid for the actual wheels even after shipping.

The most affordable way to go is to buy a set of wheels that are still being supported well by the manufacturer/retailer(s), such as the one you bought from Tirerack. The reason why I purchased those Lorinsers was because they were the only 16" chrome wheels I could find that don't look stock.

farooq

get some amg replica's//if u dont wnt to throw lot of money.. almost all amg designs looks good on w126..who can forget infamous pentas..

trey682

Think I will go looking this weekend for some decent aftermarkets. I am not really into the bling bling thing! I am kind of a conservative type. The only part of my car so far that doesnt look stock is the steering wheel. I just hated the stock steering wheel. I do like Farooq's rims though. I wish I could find some of those around here. I am not wanting to spend more than $150 per rim. Thats a small budget I know but the military isn't making me any richer.

braverichard

What type of steering wheel do you have now? Can you post a pic of it? Thanks!

trey682

It is actually a Grant. I bougt a genuine MB emblem and replaced the center cap with it. I think it turned out nice. It's much better than the stock one anyways!

braverichard

Hmm... not a big fan of that steering wheel. Nice touch with the MB emblem. The wood on it (real or otherwise) looks nice but the metal connectors in there don't work for me. But if they work for you then that's great. The stock steering wheel from my car is exactly the same as yours and it does suck indeed. However, I just purchased a nice, smaller steering wheel from a 1989 190E and replaced my stock one with it.

Wow... nice palomino interior! You need to show it off as much as the exterior. It is even nicer! Good job!

trey682

Thanks.......its my first BENZ but I have always been good at doing that kind of stuff. All the work to date has only taken two months to complete.

braverichard

One question though: why is the leather cover on your center armrest black instead of palomino like the rest of the interior?

trey682

I was going to get palomino but I was afraid it wouldn't properly match. The covers are pretty cheap so I got black just to see if it would look good. I like it. It brings out the other black parts of the interior.

m117968

I have heard from others that wheel makes it difficult to see the cluster.. Your experience.....?

Jonathan

trey682

Well here are the wheels I am getting. Got them from good old Tirerack.com.

They just have such good prices compared to all others I have seen. I am getting these for the same $$ as what the refinishing was going to cost!

As far as the steering wheel goes, it does block a little of the cluster. It isn't so bad that I consider changing. I would have probably preferred an AMG or MOMO but I had a hard time finding one that was reasonably priced. They want too much for some of these steering wheels!

braverichard

That's the same type of wheel Hatterasguy has on his '87 300SDL. I personally don't like them as they don't make the car look as aggressive as some other wheels do. But if you love them, get them. Tirerack also has great customer service (from my experience) so you should have a trouble-free transaction.

Hattaresguy

Yeah I have had them on my car for almost 20k miles, great set up you will like them. 16in also gives you a heck of a lot of tire choices.

I want to get a set of AMG Penta wheels next, but thats down pretty far on the list.

Co 55 AMG

Good looking Car!

trey682

Thanks for all the advice guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Barbantus

http://www.performanceproducts4benz....talogList.aspx They sell replica Mercedes-Benz Rims and OEM Mercedes-Benz rims. Another good place to look would be eBay!

trey682

Well here they are. I got them installed and they really make a difference!!

dtkw

I have those with the winter tires. Looks nice on the car. But you'd need to get some euro headlights for yours. I don't like those old style US version.