OWNER - OttoB

[OttoB]

Hello, everyone...

I bought my 1992 500 E a year ago this weekend from fellow forum member Andre and it's been a very enjoyable and surprisingly good experience... For starters, after winning the no reserve auction on eBay, I hired DAS to transport the car from NY to Miami. After they took 2 weeks to drop it off, DAS informed me the car had sustained some damage during their transportation of the car and I had them document the "damage" before turning it over to me. When I first saw it, I was shocked that the car had 100's of scratches all over the place.

I dealt with a stubborn, ignorant claims representative who basically informed me that DAS's policy is to not give a car back in better condition than it was before they damaged it, and he refused to acknowledge that the entire car needed to be repainted. Although there were a couple of places where the clear coat was peeling, the scratches (presumably from tree branches) even found themselves in those areas, as well as just about every single panel of the car. After not getting anywhere with them, despite submitting an estimate for an entire glass out paint job, I then chose to front the money and have the car painted on my own dime, and I would then sue DAS.

The car was in the paint shop for 6 weeks and came out pretty good. During that time, I decided to remove the headlight wipers as the only bodywork to the car - it already had the E 500 hood and the entire color of the car was already in dark gray (which I prefer to the two tones anyway). I then went on to repair, replace, and customize the car in a mini restoration where the results are shown below. Some of these consist of the following: I replaced both foglights and lenses, replaced the air hoses under the hood with the help of this forum, I added an aluminum pedal set, new gear shifter along with chrome accent in the shift gate, installed an Alpine head unit along with a good setup of speakers and subwoofer, replaced the headliner, ordered custom coco floor mats, replaced the wood panels in the dash, console, and arm rest (I know, non 500 E parts, but they were in excellent shape and replaced the original ones which were in bad shape), replaced plastic portion of the passenger rear view mirror, tinted the windows, replaced the radio antenna, and added a Renn tech license holder... There's probably a few things I'm forgetting at the moment, but the basics were already there by Andre in having installed sport Bilsteins, the wheels with new tires, the removal of the cats (no emissions in Miami) and having an awesome sounding straight pipes, the HID conversion for the headlights, amber tail lights, the sweet steering wheel, and I want to say the ECU was spiced up as this car is a beast with nothing to be ashamed of when compared to my 1991 911 turbo with over 500 hp!

From a mechanical perspective, the washer reservoir hose was fixed (only light in the dash that was on when I bought it), oil was changed, and after a month of driving, replaced the radiator due to the A/C acting up(?). Since that, though, the car has been straightforward and awesome. I bought it with just under 125K miles, and only added 4K this past year as I like it so much, that I use my 1994 Jag XJS for daily driving duties instead.

I hope you guys enjoy the pics - I should've taken some pics of the engine and trunk and will post them later down the road. Anyhow, this is my long overdue introduction and I vow to become a more active participant in this forum.

Sincerely,

Otto

 

[tanger]

Re: Overdue introduction

Gorgeous! What kind of steering wheel is that? Am looking for something similar...

Love the 91 964T too...

 

[gerryvz]

Re: Overdue introduction

I used Dependable Auto Shippers in August of 2008 to ship my E500 from Portland, OR to The Woodlands (Houston), TX. I went with an open trailer (not enclosed) and they were a full week late in delivering the car. DAS has a partner terminal in Troutdale, OR (just outside of Portland) where I dropped my car off and it was picked up some days later by DAS. When I received the car in Houston, it was in decent condition except for one thing: all four chrome tire valve caps had been removed from the car. Very weird although the car seemed to be in otherwise good condition. I was extremely pissed about getting the car a week later than it had been promised, though. We had just been through a major hurricane (Hurricane Ike) and I cut them a bit of slack because we were without power (and basically couldn't go much of anywhere until power was restored and things opened up again) for about 4 days after the hurricane, but the fact remains that DAS did not deliver on what they promised. I was going to go after them but finally decided after the fact that it wasn't worth my time, energy and money to try to recoup a few hundred dollars, so I just bagged it and was grateful to have my car in relatively unmolested condition. Chrome valve caps are cheap, and I didn't seem to have any other problems.

I will say this though -- next time, I'll pay the extra money and go with an enclosed car carrier, and also will go with a top-tier auto transporter like Passport Transport. Trying to save a buck just isn't worth it when you have Neanderthals who are shipping the cars, letting them get things stolen off of them, and so forth. There are few lines of business out there that are more scam and scandal-ridden than the auto transportation business.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

Re: Overdue introduction

Threadjack alert:

To investigate transport companies, check out this link, and read the reviews. Also note the number of reviews, how many years they have been on the site, and how many are "paid" reviews (indicated by a small green dot to the right of the reviewer's name). Don't automatically assume a high rating means they are ok, also look up the BBB score of the company... click here to search BBB, it's usually easiest to search by the company phone number rather than the name. I'd avoid companies with no BBB rating and definitely not use companies with a poor BBB rating. I'm in the middle of looking for transport for my BIL's car, it's been an interesting process. I'll start a new thread with more details on the whole auto transport thing after the car has been moved.

Back on topic: Welcome aboard, Otto! Looks like a Victor steering wheel, btw... very nice, and rather expensive (near $1k from Europe, IIRC).

 

[szvook]

Re: Overdue introduction

I wonder what exactly was attempted to spice the ECU, did Andre mention anything specific about the ECU?

 

[OttoB]

Re: Overdue introduction

I am an attorney by trade, so I prepared a lawsuit as an exhibit to a demand letter which also included over 100 + pics of the car before going to paint. Although it took me months to get around to this, DAS responded to the demand letter and settled within 7 days of receipt. At that time, also found out that the imbecile adjuster had been let go a few weeks prior - karma!

Not anxious to make any purchases soon again, but will not use DAS again. I had an ok experience with them in '05 where they charged me $1800 to deliver a car from Az on a closed container and thy had been the least expensive then too...

I love, love my steering wheel and the horn was inoperable when I got it, but now of course it works like it should along with everything else. I actually emailed Andre the link to this thread last night when I posted it but my email came back. If anyone has a way to get a hold of him, then he could perhaps chime in with his knowledge of the car as all I got was the title and that's it...

Thank you for the kind words and I'll see to it to take pics of other areas (but all they show is that the car is clean throughout)... Buenas noches!

 

[500AMM]

Re: Overdue introduction

Back on topic: Welcome aboard, Otto! Looks like a Victor steering wheel, btw... very nice, and rather expensive (near $1k from Europe, IIRC).

Dave, by the first glimps it looks like a Victor steering wheel, but it is not, it's quite different. (supposed that it's not an older serie.) Victor steering wheels have perforated leather on the grips and wood inserts; http://www.victor-deutschland.de/shop/product_info.php?cPath=1_15&products_id=259
But the st.wheel in Ottos's car is nice of course.

Otto - a good looking car, and you have a great collection of cars there.

Cheers
-arnt-

 

[gsxr]

Re: Overdue introduction

Arnt, you are correct... the Victor has wood inserts, while Otto's steering wheel appears to have complete wood sections. Must be a different manufacturer! Ooops....

 

[OttoB]

Re: Overdue introduction

I think Andre mentioned to me that it came from a later model car without specifics...

 

[maw1124]

Re: Overdue introduction

Funny story here. I was in Miami the weekend before I found my car, and I saw (what I now know to be) Otto's car on I-95 and spotted to one of my fellas. Interrupting his conversation with a: "Ooooh!! 500E alert!!!" He was like, "Would you just hurry up and buy one already?" Seeing this black one roll by kinda sealed the deal for me. After that, I was ready to write my check. And as soon as I was ready to stop looking and write the check, the car appeared. It's either the Buddhists or the Taoists who have a saying: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

Nice car, Otto. Thanks for the inspiration. I too, practiced law by trade for almost 15 years. Maybe that's why I don't mind researching cars so much. It beats case law.

;-D

 

[126v8]

Re: Overdue introduction

I wonder what exactly was attempted to spice the ECU, did Andre mention anything specific about the ECU?

 

[OttoB]

Re: Overdue introduction

Anything beats caselaw! That indeed is a funny story as I only know I other guy who's a forum member who's got one here in Miami besides mine... Wonder if I was anywhere the speed limit, as its hard to do in it and the sound of the V8 with straight pipes is just a mean, intoxicating sound - hence gas mileage I don't dare keep average of!!! The color, which not sure if it was originally dark gray or not, looks very dark in person but is actually gray upon closer inspection and light reflecting it...

I had a bad loss of someone close to me a year ago this past weekend, which is what prompted me to buy it in the first place in hopes it would cheer me up. I needed a 4 dr. for the eventual family but I don't care for anything built this century (maybe an S8 or?)... I was debating like many others here about a 1st generation M5 Euro or Alpina as the genuine knowledge that a car was hand built is really cool. But, on any BMW you can dress it up all you want to make it look like the real deal (until you stomp on the gas) whereas our 500 E's are almost impossible to follow for those that would want to emulate the look. Actually, now that I remember, there was a white 400 E 1993 converted with 500 E flares for sale over at eBay - wonder how it did...

Anyhow, thanks for sharing this rather unique story since we all seem to have brief memories/mental pictures in our minds that tend to last longer than others, and in your case, your passion for these cars made you pull the trigger on yours!

 

[AndreNY]

its great to see my old car in Great Hands

 

[Geoff]

Andre will you clear up the question of where the steering wheel came from please.

 

[500AMM]

Andre will you clear up the question of where the steering wheel came from please.

Hi Geoff.

If I'm not totally wrong, it is a DTM style steering wheel, and you find them here;
http://dsa.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_odkw...krad+&_nkw=Mercedes+124+DTM+Lenkrad+&_sacat=0




-a-

 

[OttoB]

I get compliments on the car all the time... It's weird (in a good way!), but the Porsche has had major maintenance issues over the course of the last 3+ years, and has been in the shop for a retro-modding as of 3 months ago today. I bought an 850 BMW back in April, and other than driving it for 2 weeks, its been (and still continues to be) at either the body or mechanic's shop. With the recent acquisition of the Ferrari, I knew that one was headed to the shop directly and have not driven it 3 feet in 6 weeks.

However, the Mercedes has been like a machine working flawlessly, taking people from work to lunch, serving as a going out taxi with my friends, taking my kids and their friends to the movies, while allowing me to drive in style... I cannot say enough about the car and I'll be refreshing it within the month to make it even better, as soon as I get one car out of the 3 in the shop. Nothing major, just redoing the front seats, painting some areas with wear, and taking the engine apart to replace every seal, gasket, etc. while doing a tune up. I'll keep the board posted. I am more active in bimmerforums, pelican, and ferrarichat just because those other cars of mine require that much more attention than this one, which is to turn it on and go!

Andre, my brother mentioned to me 2-3 days ago about how he'd love to have an E39 M5 with bbs wheels, and when I had told him about your offer last time we communicated, he flipped and was all for the swap. This morning on my way to work, I saw an E39 (528 or? - single exhaust) with an M badge and cheap wheels, and only reinforced the fact that I'm not letting this one go anywhere anytime soon!

Here's a pic from last weekend of the BMW.

 

[OttoB]

I am open to some suggestions for the 500E when I take it in to have a face lift, such as getting rid of the antenna (shark fin?) and adding some bigger brakes, if anyone has suggestions as to how to improve on either or are selling a big brake kit...

 

[OttoB]

Recent pics of the car - still holding up well, but when the other 3 come back from their respective makeovers, this one needs to be in the same ballpark and condition, hence the upcoming trip to the shop(s)...

 

[bing]

adding some bigger brakes, if anyone has suggestions as to how to improve on either or are selling a big brake kit...

Check with GSXR /dave if he has any or ebay here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MERCEDES-R1...d=100011&prg=1005&rk=1&rkt=5&sd=161119373415&

 

[OttoB]

That seems like a good price... Should I go ahead and buy it? Anyone else done this brake upgrade on theirs?

 

[gsxr]

That seems like a good price... Should I go ahead and buy it? Anyone else done this brake upgrade on theirs?

A LOT of people have done this upgrade. Search for "Silver Arrow upgrade" on the forum. You will need to replace your front lower control arms with new MB OE, that alone will be ~$800 plus installation and alignment, plus the cost of calipers, plus new rotors (another $400)... plan on over $2k total for the brake upgrade.

And yes, that price is excellent, I'm surprised they haven't sold already. The bad photo doesn't help.

 

[AndreNY]

Wow Otto the car looks great im so glad its serving you good, im in the market for another 500E the best Daily for the money. I sold the M5 a few months ago an got back into a Merc (2003 CL55) very fast and fun car but def. not a daily driver, so im just lurking here to see if I can find another Beast.
A buddy of mine did a full W211 E55 front and rear Caliper swap I think that's the best upgrade all you need is custom brake carriers and your good to go ( I will get more info for you if you are interested)

This is my current car

 

[gsxr]

W211 E55 brakes ARE NOT a bolt-on to a 500E in any way, shape, or form. Major modifications are required, plus custom front brake rotors ($$$$). There's lots of discussion about that upgrade both on this forum and others. Do your homework before even thinking about it. My 500E had this kit cobbled on by a shop many years ago and the previous owner had to remove the kit, and replace it with the Silver Arrow kit, which is still on the car today.

 

[AndreNY]

my mistake I ment to say SLK55 calipers they are pretty much bolt ones and much much better then those crappy Silver arrow brakes which are more $$$.

I will snap pictures from my friend 500E this weekend

 

[gsxr]

The SLK55 brakes are still not a bolt-on, but at least those don't require custom rotors. However that kit isn't any cheaper than the Silver Arrow, while you may be able to find the SLK calipers cheaper, the cost of the SLK rotors (approx $1500/pair list, ~$1000/pair from parts.com) eliminates any savings. And you need to cut the steering arm, and mill off a section of the caliper, and use a custom brake hose with banjo bolt, all of which is contrary to the definition of "bolt on"...

 

[szvook]

SLK55 calipers they are pretty much bolt ones and much much better then those crappy Silver arrow brakes.

Hmm...have you tried both kits/calipers to make that call? Unless you have tried the SA brakes, how can you call them "crap"? Unless you're one of those guys who just wants the coolest "looking" kit without any knowledge of how it really works - know any Guido's?

Slap on a 6 piston front caliper on an 036 without upgrading the brake master cylinder and watch how much your brake pedal will need to travel before you feel the car slowing down...

 

[gsxr]

Yup... pedal feel is another big question. Literally dozens of people have done the SA brake kit and not one person to date has complained about pedal feel. It just plain works.

With the E55K brake setup (8-piston fronts), there was definitely a pedal feel issue. There hasn't been enough people trying the SLK kit (6-piston fronts) to really validate if the feel is acceptable... one or two people is not adequate, and sometimes folks don't like to admit when their $$$$ super-duper brake kit doesn't work how they expected. I'd love to drive a W124 (preferably 400E/500E) with the SLK setup for comparison but it's not likely I'll ever get the opportunity, and I doubt I'll ever attempt the install because I don't want to cut my car or modify the caliper fluid inlets.

 

[szvook]

I don't want to cut my car or modify the caliper fluid inlets.

Ditto. I want a working brake kit vs. one that took blood/tears/butt load of $ to install and having it perform like crap.

But then again, my motto is function before form.

 

[NIGHT RAIDER]

The cl600 calipers are bolt on 036?

 

[500AMM]

The cl600 calipers are bolt on 036?

No.

Post #67, #77, #79, #89: http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?3694-Silver-Arrow-Brakes

 

[500AMM]

Ditto. I want a working brake kit vs. one that took blood/tears/butt load of $ to install and having it perform like crap.

But then again, my motto is function before form.

Yup... pedal feel is another big question. Literally dozens of people have done the SA brake kit and not one person to date has complained about pedal feel. It just plain works.

With the E55K brake setup (8-piston fronts), there was definitely a pedal feel issue. There hasn't been enough people trying the SLK kit (6-piston fronts) to really validate if the feel is acceptable... one or two people is not adequate, and sometimes folks don't like to admit when their $$$$ super-duper brake kit doesn't work how they expected. I'd love to drive a W124 (preferably 400E/500E) with the SLK setup for comparison but it's not likely I'll ever get the opportunity, and I doubt I'll ever attempt the install because I don't want to cut my car or modify the caliper fluid inlets.

Guys,

I will do the AMG brake upgrade as I've explained in the Silver Arrow thread. But I am also fully open on it and I don't know how the pedal feel will be. I will post about it when time comes and I am not afraid of telling the throuth and I will not condemn other brakes for any reason. For me it is three main points counting; better brakes, a good look (+ keeping the AMG style), and from a technical point of view it is a lot of fun to create things.

The cost is much higher than the Silver Arrow, 2 times at least, depending on whether the parts are new or secondhand. I am going for 360mm fronts and they are VERY RARE to find used. However, I like to have the front brake discs new anyway due to safety reasons (..not from a crashed car).

Ciao
-a-

 

[gsxr]

Arnt, I'm looking forward to your report on the 360mm setup!! I'm glad you understand what is required to install the 360's... too many people think it's "bolt on" or "cheap" and it is neither.

 

[AndreNY]

i can see there are a lot of "expert" mechanics on this Forum....

 

[gsxr]

i can see there are a lot of "expert" mechanics on this Forum....

Yep. And there are a lot of people who think they are experts, and do half-arsed brake "upgrades" and believe they're awesome. Like the E55K brake kit installed on my '92 by a shop in SoCal, that did such a screwed-up dangerous job, the kit promptly came off the car once the next owner discovered the hack job. The owner who had the upgrade done had no idea and thought it was great (well, except for the lousy pedal feel). I lost interest in the SLK upgrade after I saw a grinder come out to chop off the steering stop. Maybe you're ok with that stuff, but I'm not.

^^^ This is NOT my idea of "bolt on". ^^^ :roll:

 

[bing]

my mistake I ment to say SLK55 calipers they are pretty much bolt ones and much much better then those crappy Silver arrow brakes which are more $$$.

I will snap pictures from my friend 500E this weekend

Andre, please do!

And let us know how "pretty much bolt ones" they are ?

 

[AndreNY]

Andre, please do!

And let us know how "pretty much bolt ones" they are ?

well apparently I don't know what im talking about according to the "master 500e" GSXR so I don't know how much help I can be to you bing. I will post pictures of the front and rear SLK55 set up on my buddy's 500E. You can note this the "SLK55 is NOT A DIRECT BOLT ON", however minor and I mean very very minor modifications are necessary to make this set up work which means NO cutting NO welding NO breaking is necessary ... but then again what do I know I don't even own a 500E......

 

[OttoB]

!) Andre - great looking car, my goodness!!! I thought about one for a hot second instead of the 850, but I hesitated due to all the electrical componentry that car has as well as the fact that an acquaintance of mine spend buckets of money to keep it running, and ultimately was too troublesome - is that why you don't think its a DD?

2) I went ahead and bid the same buy now price for the calipers, but since some other bidder had made a bid, the auction has to wind down in order to determine who will win the calipers.

3) I would like for any members to please refer me to a source(s) they believe to be consistently reasonably priced in order to purchase the rest of the upgrade, along with the specifics of same in order to get the ball rolling on it.

4) I have an open check account to make this car the best it can be - any suggestions other than the brakes? The car handles like its on rails and the engine pulls strong all day long... From an aesthetic perspective, it looks on point too, although I will probably replace the '94 style grill since its seen better years - ebay or?

Thanks in advance!

 

[gsxr]

well apparently I don't know what im talking about according to the "master 500e" GSXR so I don't know how much help I can be to you bing. I will post pictures of the front and rear SLK55 set up on my buddy's 500E. You can note this the "SLK55 is NOT A DIRECT BOLT ON", however minor and I mean very very minor modifications are necessary to make this set up work which means NO cutting NO welding NO breaking is necessary ... but then again what do I know I don't even own a 500E......

Well your buddy has the one and only reported 124 with SLK55 brakes that didn't require cutting. Photos of the outside are useless, you'd need to pull a front wheel and get photos of the back side of the calipers showing the mounting, the fluid inlet, hoses, and unmodified steering stop. Don't worry, I'm not holding my breath. But I will happily be proved wrong if he found a way to pull this off.

 

[gsxr]

3) I would like for any members to please refer me to a source(s) they believe to be consistently reasonably priced in order to purchase the rest of the upgrade, along with the specifics of same in order to get the ball rolling on it.

Search the forum. This has been discussed repeatedly. Buy the rotors from parts.com or get aftermarket Zimmerman from your favorite McParts vendor. Get OE MB late LCA's.

4) I have an open check account to make this car the best it can be - any suggestions other than the brakes? The car handles like its on rails and the engine pulls strong all day long... From an aesthetic perspective, it looks on point too, although I will probably replace the '94 style grill since its seen better years - ebay or?

Depends what you are looking for. IF cost was no object, I'd shell out for a 6.0L uprgade. You live near RENNtech headquarters, chat with Hartmut about them building a Stage III (~440hp) motor for you, but it will be in the $30k range installed... also get a Quaife to get the power to the ground if you go that route.

 

[AndreNY]

^^^ No problem will do

!) Andre - great looking car, my goodness!!! I thought about one for a hot second instead of the 850, but I hesitated due to all the electrical componentry that car has as well as the fact that an acquaintance of mine spend buckets of money to keep it running, and ultimately was too troublesome - is that why you don't think its a DD?

I know the ABC suspension is a nightmare however I replaced the P/S Pump and all 4 shocks (a lot of $$$$) but now the car drives like brand new. Plus with the winter approaching I don't think it would make it a good daily driver being that its 650 HP

Keep and eye out on a crashed SLK55 (I know its very hard to come by them) but my buddy did and scored big time the whole set up cost him $1500 and its well worth it

P.S. my buddy(with the SLK brakes) is currently building the fastest 500E in the world

 

[gsxr]

P.S. my buddy(with the SLK brakes) is currently building the fastest 500E in the world

Have him post photos & details of the car on the forum!!!

 

[gerryvz]

i can see there are a lot of "expert" mechanics on this Forum....

Dudes...... Let's chill on the rhetoric here.

We all know GSXR is a master W124 mechanic . Don't mess with the Mushroom Man.

 

[OttoB]

5) I am very fortunate and blessed to be incredibly busy, so that to the extent I am going ahead and having a brake upgrade on the otherwise okay brakes currently in the car, I will go with the Silver Arrows route for convenience purposes.

6) Andre, I would like to learn and admire the world's fastest 500E, so that if your friend gets around to posting about it, it would be cool to track the progress and various modifications undertaken on it.

7) If you are on the market for a 500E, I live 5 minutes away from one that I saw as recently as last month still for sale after a few months - probably because its over priced. But, if anyone would like me to check it over for them, let me know. Here is the link of the ad when it was first posted in this forum months ago -

http://www.500eboard.com/forums/sho...00E-Black-Gray-94kmi-16k-(West-Palm-Beach-FL)

8) I do have an open checkbook, but my car is awesome to drive, has plenty of grunt, and looks killer already (IMHO)!!! I live 15 minutes away from RennTech, but I have spent less than half of the $30K indicated in stroking my 3.3L Turbo motor from my 911 Turbo to a 3.5, and it cranks close to 600 hp. The 911 is my go to insane car, and I don't need that kind of horsepower from the heavier 500E (you'd be better off spending less on something lighter, if you wanted to go faster). Other than the brakes and probably a shark fin antenna as I have gone through 4 antennas in the past year, I cannot see any 'must have' mods for the car, and of course, aside from a mechanical and cosmetic overhaul. However, I am still open to suggestions...

9) thank you to everyone for making the time to chime in!

 

[KarlC]

P.S. my buddy(with the SLK brakes) is currently building the fastest 500E in the world

6.0 with NOS or is he pulling the motor and dropping in something else ?

 

[gsxr]

6.0 with NOS or is he pulling the motor and dropping in something else ?

Also not clear if that is fastest as in highest top speed, or quickest as in lowest dragstrip ET. Very dfferent things.

 

[gsxr]

8) I do have an open checkbook, but my car is awesome to drive, has plenty of grunt, and looks killer already (IMHO)!!! I live 15 minutes away from RennTech, but I have spent less than half of the $30K indicated in stroking my 3.3L Turbo motor from my 911 Turbo to a 3.5, and it cranks close to 600 hp. The 911 is my go to insane car, and I don't need that kind of horsepower from the heavier 500E (you'd be better off spending less on something lighter, if you wanted to go faster). Other than the brakes and probably a shark fin antenna as I have gone through 4 antennas in the past year, I cannot see any 'must have' mods for the car, and of course, aside from a mechanical and cosmetic overhaul. However, I am still open to suggestions...

First gear start is nice if you don't already have it. Stereo upgrades (Jehnert system). I think there was a thread or two about upgrades...?

 

[500AMM]

8) I do have an open checkbook, but my car is awesome to drive, has plenty of grunt, and looks killer already (IMHO)!!! I live 15 minutes away from RennTech, but I have spent less than half of the $30K indicated in stroking my 3.3L Turbo motor from my 911 Turbo to a 3.5, and it cranks close to 600 hp. The 911 is my go to insane car, and I don't need that kind of horsepower from the heavier 500E (you'd be better off spending less on something lighter, if you wanted to go faster). Other than the brakes and probably a shark fin antenna as I have gone through 4 antennas in the past year, I cannot see any 'must have' mods for the car, and of course, aside from a mechanical and cosmetic overhaul. However, I am still open to suggestions...

Hei Otto.

The Silver Arrow brakes will be a great add to your car. The AMG performance package P030 for the CLK/SLK55 AMG is nice to have of course, but cost demanding and a kind of overkill.

Please don't go for a shark fin antenna. First of all it doesn't match the car style IMO, but worst of all is the extra hole in the roof plate. I have a roof antenna on my SuperMerc and I simply hate it; it breaks the smooth lines on the roof, it will at some point starts corrosion, and it is a PITA during wash & polish. I will remove both that one and the OE el.antenna due to weight savings and one thing less to maintain. I will then look for an option for a hidden antenna, maybe an amplified to get proper signals.

In addition to the FGS as proposed by Dave, I would add an ASR defeat switch. Not that important, but for fun moments though. Next you should consider a LH el.mirror upgrade, it is very simple with only a el.mirror and the harness. If you don't have a drivers side memory seat, that is a practical add, but a bit more demanding implementation. And finally I would propose to install the OE autodimming rear view mirror.

One question - I don't see the snow chain button on the switch board below the dash. If I'm not wrong it was a standard feature on the 036. Is it disabled and removed?

-arnt-

 

[OttoB]

10) I need alternatives to the antenna because I am old fashioned and listen to the radio every day on my work commute which is 45 mins. each way. I already have an incredibly loud and obnoxiously good stereo system in it, so I'll leave that alone. But, since I am retouching the front spoiler and a couple of other areas, this would be the time for me to have the whole filled out where the Hirschmnann original antenna goes. When I bought the car, I purchased a "hidden" antenna and it was a fiasco. I agree that the shark fin might be too modern for the car, but open to suggestions for an antenna since I am so frustrated with what's happened to all of them recently!

11) I will look into other suggested, additional upgrades soon, as I expect the 850 to be out of the shop in the next 10 days, and need to start ordering parts for the 500E now so that they arrive within that time period and it can go to the shop.

12) the wood in the car when I got it was not too good, so I was able to locate second hand replacements in excellent shape. As to those switches where there was no room, they were simply deleted and I don't regret it because who needs a speaker dimmer in their center console versus the controls in the stereo, or snow chain mode in Florida? I bought the car to keep, not to maintain its purity (has a salvage title) or impress anyone else. I do realize, though, that this may not be in line with some of the forum members, but it was a decision I had to make and don't regret it,nor expect some to like it.

 

[OttoB]

Can anyone chime in please as to what's the most I should offer on the calipers listed on ebay. I really do want to perform the upgrade and don't want to shop around until another set becomes available in 2 weeks or 2 months... The auction ends today, I bid $650 which had been the buy now price, but 4 others (and perhaps even more later today) have also jumped in to place bids on them. Your suggestions are welcomed as always and thanks.

 

[500AMM]

10)
12) the wood in the car when I got it was not too good, so I was able to locate second hand replacements in excellent shape. As to those switches where there was no room, they were simply deleted and I don't regret it because who needs a speaker dimmer in their center console versus the controls in the stereo, or snow chain mode in Florida? I bought the car to keep, not to maintain its purity (has a salvage title) or impress anyone else. I do realize, though, that this may not be in line with some of the forum members, but it was a decision I had to make and don't regret it,nor expect some to like it.

I guess we all have individual taste & preference, and I'm sure it is room for all opinions here. People should do what they like as long as they take care of their 036 in a decent way.

That's my 2 cents.