GregMB

Step 1: buy parts
Step 2: install parts
Step 3: run 10s

Simple, right?

Maybe after 2 weeks reading the archives on MBWorld you "cracked the code" and know exactly how to get into the 10s without a single hiccup along the way.... But the odds are against you.

Ask the guys who ran 10s how "easy" it was to get there, and how many of them did it without a LOT of help. Every post I've seen from a guy who just joined the "10 second club" always includes a huge thank you list of people who contributed time and expertise and advice along the way.

Yeah, you saved some money on parts.... (though not as much as you claimed since you did some trading of parts) and I hope you get your timeslip eventually. My concern is that it sounds like your budget is SO tight you don't have any money in reserve if something breaks or doesn't perform as expected....or for some dyno tuning....or for troubleshooting the car if it starts throwing codes or goes into limp mode unexpectedly....or if the car has some kind of completely unrelated issue (AirMatic, etc).

The AMG platform is awesome, but it's not a "cheap" car to screw around with....


-G

DVC

Don't know if it's fair posting the correspondence without permission from the other party, but it sheds light on the vendor's POV.

This is different from selling computers on eBay. Unless of course, you spent countless hours building, designing, and R&Ding them to be some of the fastest computers. In which case, if someone asked you if you had any used ones or what's the lowest you'd go, you'd probably tell them to buzz off and go to Best Buy!

Maybe not though, and not trying to be critical. Unfortunately, you'll find this community isn't as transparent or sharing in general as the LSx world. And you'll find that a thread about a POS Dodge Neon will have more posts than one about torque limiters in the tune or shift adaptations etc.

e55amgrocket

I kinda went that route and decided to do it alone for the most part but have a very good understanding of how things work and what i needed to get those results. I sat down and made a list of what i needed/wanted. Talked to Blackbenzz about helping me and bought the parts i needed over 2 months. It took us a few long nights to put it all together. Jerry tuned it and the next day the first test run with a super soft launch went 10's. Was it easy? yes and no. Can you run 10's on a budget? Yes BUT its not easy and your budget is most likely going to grow larger than you planned.

GregMB

Steve,

Good on you.... .definitely the exception around here.

One MAJOR difference between you and the OP is the fact that you spin your own wrenches. The costs are easier to control when you are only paying for the hard parts. When you hand over the pile of parts to a local shop and ask them to install everything and make it work, you are opening yourself up for all sorts of cost-overruns when things don't fit or work right, or issues are discovered along the way.

-G

Hammer Down

Damn 1 run it took me 4

e55amgrocket

1 Run when we i decided i was going to run 10's but i had a bunch of runs before that lol. To many to count and i had twice or three times as many 1/8th mile runs ( i had a track 10 minutes from my house)

Hulk

4 is still great HD lol

Hammer Down

Oh ok I was like Damn that's gotta be a record for attempt at 10's

e55amgrocket

Now that would be impressive. I think got my car on a Sunday. Got home on Monday and went the the track on Tuesday lol.

Hammer Down

That would be sweet to live that close to the track. There's a local group here in the Bay Area that owns the Altamont Raceway had once talked about building a Motorsport's complex about 10min from my house but its been pretty quiet since it was first mentioned.

RedBullJnky

I have an 1/8 mile track 15 minutes away from my house. You have to go through a popular part of Mexico first. Which I don't mind.

Hammer Down

Is that little Havana? Is that what they call it?

RedBullJnky

Not sure what they call it, but almost all the race vids from this part of Mexico are from basically my back yard.

dllhg

I hear you man, and I am sorry if I over reacted. As I have said from day one I am sure he is a very good guy. Just came across wrong. I do that myself sometimes Especially when typing on the internet.

I didnt get a used one. I got one that was brand new never installed. I just found out (too late) That ASP will do your stock pulley for only $450 bucks. not including pump pulley and belt , but still that is a good savings for people. I did listen when you and others said not to get a used one. I still want your DRs if you are still willing to sell them to me.

Anyhow looks like my mods are coming in at $5900 and I just got a price of about 1900 to install ALL of them and there is a LOT of parts Yay . Pretty close to where I wanted to be. I always knew the labor would be a variable but wanted to keep my mods to around $5K. So I'll have about 25K into the car total and it has 60K miles on it. Just found out it has dynamic seats too. Didnt expect that. Pretty cool feature and kind of weird. Almost like getting groped.

dllhg

no I never said it was simple and I never even said I would run 10s or expected to. I simply said I was going to do my best to get the same types of mods of other members who have run 10s on this platform at my local track. Hell I will be happy with a 11.2-11.3. I do really want to have 124-125 MPH traps. Should be doable. I dont see why there should be any problem with mirroring someone else mods who is extremely successful. Heck the guy I am copying admitted he copied two other guys mods and got the same results. So it isnt as crazy of an idea as it sounds. I also dont feel I compromised on the quality on parts installed, at least not by much.

Money isnt actually that tight. See my sig ?

Here is hoping for better that a 11.8 my GTO ran

Love the car BTW. Lights up these 285 Hankooks pretty easily even from 2nd gear pulls.

dllhg

I have actually done my fair share of wrenching. I dod my own SC to turbo conversion on my GP years ago and did it in one 12 hour session Put an IC on it when it was stock and didnt have one. PITA that was trying to rig things up. I used to replace carbs about every 6 months on my old 66 Mustang until I finally figured out my cheapo gas station had crap in it my filters wouldnt pick up Did a 99% restoration on that car by myself over the years only to have someone do a hit and run on it while it was parked out on the street in the middle of the night. Did about every piece of suspension old and new cars I have owned. Every body part you can think of. Hell I built a salvaged Gran am when I was about 20 that had pretty much only an engine on the front and everything else missing. Didnt have an AC, steering column etc etc etc. Made about $4K for a couple weeks work. Back then it was a lot of money. I am old lol. I done a few head gaskets even. Never did a cam though.

I honestly dont know how mechanics stay in the business. I basically got burned out and too busy to do all this stuff anymore. I still do a little here and there but usually try to avoid it now. Its like magic to give someone money and have it all fixed for you I used to have to do everything myself because I didnt have money to pay anyone. Hey I deserve this damn it !

GregMB

...oh, yeah I saw that. Impressive.


-G

e55amgrocket

You only ran 11.7@118 with a 500hp GTO?? Forgot to ask you about that.

dllhg

LOL well you were the one acting like I didnt have a pot to **** in after buying my mods. Would have thought you would be more observant

People sure can be soooo judgmental and love to just assume things sometimes ........ Are you done now trying to completely figure me out based upon internet posts I have made in one week on one forum ???

dllhg

Not that uncommon really. Another local member has a much more effiecient blower than my Maggie 112 plus he has a Cam and he has only run a 12.0@118 MPH with a 1.9x 60 foot. Best I have managed was a 1.85 60. Did run 9 out of ten passes in the 11.8-11.9 range last time out. The low to midrange is crazy on the car but up top it runs out of breath. I was only running stock cam and true shorty headers into stock cats too.

Why do you think I moved on ?

Hammer Down

Because you saw my car and said holy ***** I kid I kid.....seriously though you made a good decision because I have a bunch of 11.7's under my belt being stock on drag radials.

dllhg

That is exactly right ! I was feeling pretty ok with my car. Then I see you roll up looking almost stock. Start ripping 11.0xs@ 125+ MPH and finish the night with a 10.9 ! I remember being very happy for you. I was happy, you were happy, it was a good time. I very quickly started looking to see what these cars cost used and was very surprised. Next thing you know I have one myself and $5900 worth of parts on the way I think I said it before, I have always like the E55 AMGs and have always wanted one. This car made it very easy to move on from owning a GTO for the last 5 years. I got 20K for my GTO so that alone gave me 3K in mod money. Good times.

FunkTron

This actually happened to me at Mercedes Benz of San Diego.
Was ready to buy and got a ride to the dealer. Walked on the lot and looked at a couple cars. Saw an E63 and was looking through the windows and outside. I walked over to a salesman and asked if I could get a little help checking out the car since the doors were locked.

I swear to God he asked me "what did you drive here in?".
I said "I got a ride in that truck over there, why?"
He walked away.