Classic. Yea, I had to sell the house, but it was worth it! We lose the crappy Linoleum floors and gain a Alcantara headliner and a seat that massages you as you drive along getting 6mph! SO worth it! (House isn't ours.. just a better backdrop then the projects I live in.)

 

Awesome. Figured out how to do this multi-quote response thing. Cool.


Yes, Flint gray. I REALLY like this color on the car especially for how I drive.


Thanks. If you were to have told me I'd be in a club with a cozy group of men driving station wagons who like big butts I'd have.. well, I'd not have conversed long with you. This is one small *** club and the car is freaking cool as hell!


For 26 years I ran a professional auto detailing service in Southern California so I know a thing or two about cleaning cars. Funny thing was, when I got the car, it was VERY clean inside and out but the engine had never been detailed so it was actually showing the visual evidence of it's 66,000 miles. But that is the great thing about high-end cars. They are made with higher grade materials and thus they tend to cleanup better then most. Plus, the ideal E55 Wagon to me would have been, no offense, a woman driven (they tend to be lighter and thus less taxing on interiors) car that has always been dealer serviced and who's motor has never been cleaned. And BOOM! This car was just like a gift from the E55 gods when it fell in my lap. Motor never touched, car kept out of the sun both at home and at work and no detailing HACK ever touched the car. It was like a time capsule.



Totally agree. Will tint windows for sure. Need to get bike rack situation done asap as well as it is needed for my employment.

Unfortunately you don't need to be in AZ to get taken in. This car will fast track the irresponsible straight to the slam and I know I am just the idiot to prove it thus the reason, after I finished cleaning the car, I stored it 5 miles away so I don't have easy access to the mayhem it causes. But I said that about my other car and thus far I haven't gotten in trouble in that car in the 3 years I have owned it so maybe I'm lucky. (Guaranteed I will get a ticket tomorrow!)

 

Congrats on the new ride and welcome to the wagon club

 

"For 26 years I ran a professional auto detailing service in Southern California so I know a thing or two about cleaning cars"

So how did you tackle cleaning the S/C? I would like to know the right way to clean the S/C!

 

Uh, not sure how to answer this as it's not like changing a lightbulb. There is about 50 ways to clean anything but knowing what to do and in what order to get the desired result is really the art of it. Basically, using everything from lacquer thinner to a shop vac was needed to clean this motor. Oddly it had something that looked like an epoxy adhesive (or tree pitch) stuck in a bunch of those little grids on top of the S/C and getting all that cleaned out was a challenge. Also, using the right tools (brushes, towels etc...) is always critical as a too aggressive brush can lead to etching of the cleaned surface for example. I have prepped a lot of cars for concours events and as a rule, less is always more. It is difficult to reverse damage caused by being over zealous with chemicals and tools. So I always start out with the least aggressive thing and work my way toward the hammers and chisels so to speak. Often times a good engine cleaner will do a very good job, just go very easy with the use of water in the engine compartment unless you know what you are doing. Motors are quite resistant to having light water used on them but it's the power washer that is the key culprit in damage to electronics inside the engine bay.