SL55/63/65/R230 AMG: overZealous1's build thread
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sl55 amg
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still none of the front body work or side skirts is aligned or fastened. that will only take an hour or so since all my alignment holes are already done. should be able to wrap up most everything tomorrow. still have to open trans though and make the exhaust tips. so i figure end of monday or tuesday i can finally set it down and do the cut and buff!!
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V12-Biturbo
Your paint work & attn to details is fantastic..
still none of the front body work or side skirts is aligned or fastened. that will only take an hour or so since all my alignment holes are already done. should be able to wrap up most everything tomorrow. still have to open trans though and make the exhaust tips. so i figure end of monday or tuesday i can finally set it down and do the cut and buff!!
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i did finally see a different pic of the newer tailights and agree they look better. just not enough for me to warrant spending $800 on them right now. probably in the short future. the mirrors i really could care less about.
i think part of the confusion is that i never had the intention to do a "facelift" on the car. i had to do the headlights because that is what the kit required. my path was not to try and fool people into thinking the car is newer than it is. i chose the misha kit over a non-facelift widebody kit because i thought the quality would be better. in hindsight, i probably would have gone the non-facelift route!!
i think part of the confusion is that i never had the intention to do a "facelift" on the car. i had to do the headlights because that is what the kit required. my path was not to try and fool people into thinking the car is newer than it is. i chose the misha kit over a non-facelift widebody kit because i thought the quality would be better. in hindsight, i probably would have gone the non-facelift route!!
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AMG GTC Roadster, E63s Ed.1, M8 Comp. Coupe
Question on rear spacers
First off, great to see how your car is coming together. Definitely an excellent and thorough job!
Also agree with everyone else on new taillights; did the same thing and it was day and night and well worth it. Keep in mind that you can sell your old ones on Ebay as well to bring the total costs down to around $400.
Also spring for the clear brake light
Now my question re. the spacers; at 2 1/2" they are more like axle extenders. Given the torque, isn't aluminum simply too soft to stay straight? No vibrations?
Also agree with everyone else on new taillights; did the same thing and it was day and night and well worth it. Keep in mind that you can sell your old ones on Ebay as well to bring the total costs down to around $400.
Also spring for the clear brake light
Now my question re. the spacers; at 2 1/2" they are more like axle extenders. Given the torque, isn't aluminum simply too soft to stay straight? No vibrations?
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sl55 amg
First off, great to see how your car is coming together. Definitely an excellent and thorough job!
Also agree with everyone else on new taillights; did the same thing and it was day and night and well worth it. Keep in mind that you can sell your old ones on Ebay as well to bring the total costs down to around $400.
Also spring for the clear brake light
Now my question re. the spacers; at 2 1/2" they are more like axle extenders. Given the torque, isn't aluminum simply too soft to stay straight? No vibrations?
Also agree with everyone else on new taillights; did the same thing and it was day and night and well worth it. Keep in mind that you can sell your old ones on Ebay as well to bring the total costs down to around $400.
Also spring for the clear brake light
Now my question re. the spacers; at 2 1/2" they are more like axle extenders. Given the torque, isn't aluminum simply too soft to stay straight? No vibrations?
they are cut hubcentric to the car, then to the wheel also. they are milled out of solid billet, they are plenty strong. the old cast type spacers i think gave them a bad name. the connection strength is far more than what your wheel could handle, so your wheel would fail first with these billet ones.
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sl55 amg
hopefully after 2 pages of tail light and mirror opinions, we can get back to the build stuff.
here is the fog light build.
starts with 5 10mm super bright leds per side, mounted in the front splitter. i found the correct resistors for the fog light circuit so no error codes or blinking. wired them in parallel. tough to do the small soldering and not melt the other closest connection again.
front side. used screw in 10mm led holders.
test.
after the "wiggle wire" test, i encased the whole thing in silicone.
while they do not look bright in the pics, they are. these leds are focused like a typical headlight. in the actual beam it is very bright. i tested it at night and it creates a beam and brightness very similar to the stock fog lights.
hard to get a pic, but here is the work needing to be done in rear wheel wells to get them sealed back up like it should be. all work was painted a textured black when done.
here is the fog light build.
starts with 5 10mm super bright leds per side, mounted in the front splitter. i found the correct resistors for the fog light circuit so no error codes or blinking. wired them in parallel. tough to do the small soldering and not melt the other closest connection again.
front side. used screw in 10mm led holders.
test.
after the "wiggle wire" test, i encased the whole thing in silicone.
while they do not look bright in the pics, they are. these leds are focused like a typical headlight. in the actual beam it is very bright. i tested it at night and it creates a beam and brightness very similar to the stock fog lights.
hard to get a pic, but here is the work needing to be done in rear wheel wells to get them sealed back up like it should be. all work was painted a textured black when done.
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2025 BMW I4, 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, 2008 ML550
You are very skilled. I'm jealous to be honest. My car projects never turned out as nice as yours and now that I no longer have a garage to work out of (live in a highrise with only one parking spot) I'm ashamed to say I outsource all repair jobs to the pros.
I must admit that I have some reservations about the color, but at the end of the day, if you are happy with it, that is all that matters. And once this thing is done I'm sure it will look stunning.
Have you considered swapping over the grey interior for black interior? I think it would go better with your blue/black color scheme.
I must admit that I have some reservations about the color, but at the end of the day, if you are happy with it, that is all that matters. And once this thing is done I'm sure it will look stunning.
Have you considered swapping over the grey interior for black interior? I think it would go better with your blue/black color scheme.
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sl55 amg
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sl55 amg
You are very skilled. I'm jealous to be honest. My car projects never turned out as nice as yours and now that I no longer have a garage to work out of (live in a highrise with only one parking spot) I'm ashamed to say I outsource all repair jobs to the pros.
I must admit that I have some reservations about the color, but at the end of the day, if you are happy with it, that is all that matters. And once this thing is done I'm sure it will look stunning.
Have you considered swapping over the grey interior for black interior? I think it would go better with your blue/black color scheme.
I must admit that I have some reservations about the color, but at the end of the day, if you are happy with it, that is all that matters. And once this thing is done I'm sure it will look stunning.
Have you considered swapping over the grey interior for black interior? I think it would go better with your blue/black color scheme.
thanks. it does take space, especially a body project. this project should have about 2000 dedicated sq ft to do uncramped. i have done it in 2 parking spots with another 1/2 spot and 20' of counter space holding parts and a spare bedroom filled too, lol.
i am happy with the color. it is coming out exactly as i had pictured and the ease of touch up has already proven that a solid color was the way to go. the way my cars stance is though will pull it off completely. it could be any color and look killer!
i would like to have black interior, but i am not willing to spend that much to do full replace on everything. if i found someone willing to do a 2 days swap, i would consider though. the blue does go very nicely with the greys of the interior though, but does conflict a little with the all black accents outside. i have decided it needs some silver to bring the inside color outside and do a final tying together of the colors. the wheels cannot be done 2 tone so i will be getting new 3 piece wheels soon and do a combo of black and silver on them. i am also leaving the emblems chrome and the mercedes stars chrome as small accents. i will probably get chrome lug nuts to bring a little color and detail back to the wheels for the time being till new wheels.
i have also tossed the idea around of a gunmetal type color in place of all the black. really, just need to get car together and on the ground to see where the balance of the colors is best suited.
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SL55 AMG EC Stage 5 Beast / ESS S/C E92 M3
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Are you kidding me!!!
That paint looks fukn flawless & fitment spot on way to go Scott! What'd you do to the headlights? They appear to be covered in a tint of metallic film?
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