PWNER - gerryvz

[gerryvz]

I have a new technique for painting the hood badges that takes about 20 minutes, rather than two hours.

The job is divided up into two parts.

1) "Flood zone" where the MERCEDES-BENZ lettering and laurel wreaths are at with the blue enamel paint. Paint the whole channel/area. If you get a little on the edges that border the zone, that is fine.

2) Let the paint dry for 24 hours.

3) With a razor blade, carefully scrape the raised surfaces with the edge of the blade -- the tops of the letters and laurel/wreaths, and the border edges if you got any paint on the raised border edges.

It will take about 5-10 minutes to paint the zone, and another 5-10 minutes to scrape the dried paint off of the raised surfaces.

And it will come out looking just like this.

View attachment 141756 View attachment 141755

Here is the restoration of a faded hood star.

Today, I removed the faded hood star from my 560SEC, and replaced it with the star that I had recently painted.

Then, I took the removed star (which is probably about 3.5 years old, and was covered up in my driveway for a full 2.5 years, never seeing sunlight), and painted it.

Here is the paint, along with the color code on the lid ("Reflex Blue").



And, here is the hood star as removed from the car.



After mixing the paint by shaking it vigorously for a couple of minutes, I opened the can and dipped the brush into the paint.



Beginning to apply the paint to the faded hood star.



Here is the painted star, preparing to dry for 24 hours.


After letting the painted star dry, I'll use a plastic razor blade to scrape the paint off of the raised surfaces, as before. I will conclude this thread at that time.

 

[gerryvz]

Finished product before and after scraping paint off of letters and wreath.

 

[gerryvz]

I sent my Becker BE-1492 into Becker last week for its SECOND maintenance, and volume knob replacement. Per the FOR SALE ad I had for the Continental VDO radio, I am also having them add a Bluetooth module to the BE-1492. I felt that it is better to keep the original radio with the car, as (other than the volume knob, which is a really bad weak point of this radio) it works well, and I like it.

The Bluetooth module that they put into my 560SEC's BE780 works really excellently, and they also repaired some of the electronics it so that it really made a difference in how the radio sounds. I put that radio in (which was only used in 1990 models of MBs) back around 2003 or 2004, so it has gotten a LOT of use.

Looking forward to getting the BR-1492 back in the next week or so. Becker is quite rapid with repairs.

 

[gerryvz]

Repaired radio arrived from Becker this morning, and was waiting on the doorstep when I got back from Las Vegas. $392 for the repair of the volume knob, general maintenance and addition of Bluetooth. I'll put it in the car and see how she sounds!

 

[geraniumtr]

Gerry, I have the same radio in my car and had Becker add the Bluetooth function about a year ago. Works flawlessly for me. When I turn the radio on there's about 2 seconds of FM radio reception then the BT engages. If you look at your phone in any open media app you'll see text display indicating BT streaming.

Regards,

Peter

 

[gerryvz]

Gerry, I have the same radio in my car and had Becker add the Bluetooth function about a year ago. Works flawlessly for me. When I turn the radio on there's about 2 seconds of FM radio reception then the BT engages. If you look at your phone in any open media app you'll see text display indicating BT streaming.

Regards,

Peter

Thanks for the update on this, Peter. I will post an update on this later today. I'm excited to have two Bluetooth-compatible Becker radios in my 560SEC and now E500!!

I really hope that the new volume knob and rotary encoder are improved parts that won't go on the Fritz in the next year or two. That part has been a MAJOR flaw with these radios.

 

[gerryvz]

Installed the refirb Becker radio back into my E500. I'm super glad I did, because I LOVE having the Blitzsafe iPod adapter plugged in, in place of the CD changer. This gives extreme versatility as to the music sources that I can use.

So, with the refurbished radio, I have the following sources:

AM/FM/Weather radio:


Cassette (with a nod to the @Jlaa):




iPod 80GB (with a nod to the @gsxr):



and Bloot (observe the JC-Audio-BT8645 at the bottom of the phone screen):



A couple of observations about the new volume knob that Becker replaced on the unit.

First, it is somewhat larger and flatter than the old knob. Second, its detents are significantly crisper and "dentent-ier" than the old knob's detents were.

These observations lead me to believe that indeed Becker has replaced the troublesome volume knob with a componet of higher quality and (hopefully) much more longevity.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Jlaa]

Installed the refirb Becker radio back into my E500. I'm super glad I did, because I LOVE having the Blitzsafe iPod adapter plugged in, in place of the CD changer. This gives extreme versatility as to the music sources that I can use.

So, with the refurbished radio, I have the following sources:

AM/FM/Weather radio:
View attachment 143234

Cassette (with a nod to the @Jlaa):
View attachment 143238
View attachment 143235


iPod 80GB (with a nod to the @gsxr):
View attachment 143236


and Bloot (observe the JC-Audio-BT8645 at the bottom of the phone screen):
View attachment 143237


A couple of observations about the new volume knob that Becker replaced on the unit.

First, it is somewhat larger and flatter than the old knob. Second, its detents are significantly crisper and "dentent-ier" than the old knob's detents were.

These observations lead me to believe that indeed Becker has replaced the troublesome volume knob with a componet of higher quality and (hopefully) much more longevity.

Cheers,
Gerry

Nice!!! That knob reminds me of a knob that I think I have seen on some other Becker head unit ..... I cannot quite put my finger on it from which model ... .... but that would be sweet if they soldered on a different component!

BTW That tape is total attention to detail! BASF (German) and Chrome too. Thompson Twins --- Hold Me Now!

 

[gerryvz]

Nice!!! That knob reminds me of a knob that I think I have seen on some other Becker head unit ...

Better view of the knob:

 

[gerryvz]

Yesterday I enjoyed a good six-hour round-trip drive from Annapolis up to Point Pleasant, NJ for some meetings related to purchasing a boat. Took the E500 and it performed flawlessly there and back. It was a nice drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge over to the Maryland Eastern Shore, then up through Wilmington, DE (Biden Country), and then up the New Jersey Turnpike to Point Pleasant.



My average speed was about 80 MPH for the trip, with ~60F ambients (67F in the afternoon on the drive back to Annapolis). Car ran at a SOLID 87-90C both ways, even with the A/C on. Definitely stretched the E500's legs which felt good. No fatigue.

The Bloot Becker worked flawlessly. My favorite tunes streamed from my phone, on the trip home, was two-fold: two albums from the Seattle-based band Queensrÿche:

Operation: Mindcrime


and Empire



This was the object of the trip:

 

[Rouven036]

Nice one! Are you new to boating?
Looks like twin bravo3 drives? What engines?
I'm about to finish the refit on my 36' pick up truck of the sea or better said center console.

 

[gerryvz]

Twin Volvo Penta V-8s, 380HP each. Volvo OceanX drives, duo-prop.

 

[Rouven036]

Cool, had the equivalent duo prop bravo3 on my previous formula, really liked the thrust these drives provide. now twin outboards looking forward to this new experience..
All the best for the purchase or ongoing/continuing search!

 

[nocfn]

Scoured Aruba this week for Mercedes, none to be found.

 

[northNH]

Welcome aboard the Volvo car/truck/boat train…

 

[gerryvz]

Took the E500 on Friday on the 3.5 hour drive up to NYC, stretching its legs again on I-95 / New Jersey Turnpike and US 301 in Maryland/Delaware. Performed flawlessly and was able to get a few 100+ MPH blasts in along the way.

These are really wonderful cars to drive at 80+ MPH -- they just love to run hard and fast. It's SO different tooling around town in an E500E, and driving it on the open road.

 

[maw1124]

But the crazy thing for me is, they do both very well — it struck me again this week as I’ve been behind the wheel of mine. From tooling around town to hustling around curvy back roads to shooting up and down I-75 and across Alligator Alley, the car is just utterly composed and comfortable everywhere, at every speed. Just great cars. And more people are starting to recognize them, even without the badging, I think thanks to the general surge in car enthusiasts among millennials. Three or four “kids” have pulled up on me in as many days, which has not been the case before. Happens with the S55 as well, another relative unknown — late teens and early 20’s kids giving enthusiastic thumbs up and what have you, which is weird because the car is almost as old as them.

maw

 

[gerryvz]

Almost 5 years after living in Texas, but this video short made me laugh pretty hard.....

Jean Shorts Comedy - Californians vs. Texans | Facebook

21K views, 1K likes, 56 loves, 61 comments, 66 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Jean Shorts Comedy: Californians vs. Texans

www.facebook.com

 

[gerryvz]

Finished product before and after scraping paint off of letters and wreath.

View attachment 141889 View attachment 141890 View attachment 141891

Following up on this .... the repainted C126 hood badges that I did in blue enamel paint have held up flawlessly all year, including plenty of direct sunlight and rain, etc. The blue paint is far better than the cheap anodization that MB has used on these badges for many years. So happy to have cracked the nut on this problem !!

I will take a photo in the near future of the badge that has held up since January 2022!!

 

[gerryvz]

Following up on this .... the repainted C126 hood badges that I did in blue enamel paint have held up flawlessly all year, including plenty of direct sunlight and rain, etc. The blue paint is far better than the cheap anodization that MB has used on these badges for many years. So happy to have cracked the nut on this problem !!

I will take a photo in the near future of the badge that has held up since January 2022!!

Here's the badge that I repainted nearly a year ago. Still pretty much pristine. This badge as anodized from MB would have had almost zero color after this period of time.

 

[gerryvz]

Today was the day for a little boat maintenance. Specifically, to replace the sacrificial anodes (made out of aluminum for the "brackish" water of the Chesapeake Bay) on the drives and trim tabs.

These were about two years old and part of the "baselineing" of the boat. In the spring, I'll have the bottom re-painted. Anodes should be replaced annually or every other year, and the bottom painted about every 2 years, 3 if you want to "stretch" it.

 

[gerryvz]

We have a new arrival coming to our home on the 31st of March, courtesy of Bobby Rahal Lexus of Mechanicsburg, PA. This is to replace the 2017 Lexus IS350 F-Sport, which my wife has thoroughly enjoyed. After 76,000 miles, and only TWO problems ever (a failed sway-bar rubber bushing, and a leaking AWD driveshaft seal -- both covered by Lexus factory warranty), it was time to upgrade to the very last, naturally aspirated V-8 engine Lexus will ever produce.

First of all, the "old" 2017 IS350 F-Sport AWD (311 HP):
Pictured at our tailgating spot in Admiral's Row at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis:



And now for the new car:



Spec for this car:

HP: 472
Torque: 395 lb-ft
0-60: 4.4 seconds
Cylinders: 8
Displacement: 5.0 liters
Aspiration: Natural
Top speed: 149 MPH
Transmission gears: 8 + OD
Wheels: 19" BBS, Forged
Number produced: 150 total with Performance Premium package

2025 IS 500 F SPORT Performance Luxury Sedan | Lexus.com

Obsessively engineered to push exhilaration to a 10, the 2025 Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance is the most powerful IS.

www.lexus.com

This is the very last of the naturally aspirated, V-8 engines that Lexus is producing before going to the smaller and cheaper engines they and BMW are collaborating on.

2023 Lexus IS 500 F Sport Review: An M3 For College Graduates

With a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds, a giant V8, and long-term comfortable interior, it's the M3 for non bro-bros.

www.hotcars.com

 

[Jlaa]

We have a new arrival coming to our home on the 31st of March, courtesy of Bobby Rahal Lexus of Mechanicsburg, PA. This is to replace the 2017 Lexus IS350 F-Sport, which my wife has thoroughly enjoyed. After 76,000 miles, and only TWO problems ever (a failed sway-bar rubber bushing, and a leaking AWD driveshaft seal -- both covered by Lexus factory warranty), it was time to upgrade to the very last, naturally aspirated V-8 engine Lexus will ever produce.

First of all, the old 2017 IS350 F-Sport AWD:
Pictured at our tailgating spot in Admirals Row at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis:
View attachment 163239 View attachment 163240


And now for the new car:
View attachment 163241 View attachment 163242 View attachment 163243 View attachment 163244 View attachment 163245 View attachment 163246 View attachment 163247 View attachment 163248 View attachment 163249 View attachment 163250 View attachment 163251


Spec for this car:

HP: 472
Torque: 395 lb-ft
0-60: 4.4 seconds
Cylinders: 8
Displacement: 5.0 liters
Aspiration: Natural
Top speed: 149 MPH
Transmission gears: 8 + OD
Wheels: 19 BBS, Forged
Number produced: 150 total with Performance Premium package

2025 IS 500 F SPORT Performance Luxury Sedan | Lexus.com

Obsessively engineered to push exhilaration to a 10, the 2025 Lexus IS 500 F SPORT Performance is the most powerful IS.

www.lexus.com

This is the very last of the naturally aspirated, V-8 engines that Lexus is producing before going to the smaller and cheaper engines they and BMW are collaborating on.

2023 Lexus IS 500 F Sport Review: An M3 For College Graduates

With a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds, a giant V8, and long-term comfortable interior, it's the M3 for non bro-bros.

www.hotcars.com

Curious to hear about your driving impressions of that Lexus V8. Same displacement as our beloved M119, yet, up nearly 150+ in horsepower and nearly 50+ lb-ft in torque ....... with (hopefully) Toyota reliability.

 

[gerryvz]

Curious to hear about your driving impressions of that Lexus V8. Same displacement as our beloved M119, yet, up nearly 150+ in horsepower and nearly 50+ lb-ft in torque ....... with (hopefully) Toyota reliability.

Well, the 3.5L V-6 she's had has been pretty stellar. It's rev happy as hell. AWD so only 6 speeds.

They don't sell the V-8s with AWD, probably because of the space constraints.

I still prefer the solidity and old-schoolness of my 560 and E5er over the Lexus, but I'm getting increasingly crotchety and gsxr-like (Luddite) as I get older, so that's probably to be expected. In any case, it's gonna be a fun 2-hour drive down to Annapolis from Harrisburg/Mechanicsburg area.

 

[gerryvz]

Today was the day for a little boat maintenance. Specifically, to replace the sacrificial anodes (made out of aluminum for the brackish water of the Chesapeake Bay) on the drives and trim tabs.

These were about two years old and part of the baselineing of the boat. In the spring, Ill have the bottom re-painted. Anodes should be replaced annually or every other year, and the bottom painted about every 2 years, 3 if you want to stretch it.

The boat's bottom has been repainted with new, black ablative paint. This should be good for the next couple of boating seasons to prevent growth on the bottom of the boat. The Volvo stern-drive units have also been painted, and the 5.3-liter Volvo-Penta (GM Gen 5) V-8 powertrain are ready for commissioning for the upcoming season.

Boat splashes at 9AM on April 6th. A weekend of clean-up from winter on the cockpit and cabin, and refitment of equipment and food/beverage, and we'll be ready for a nice long 2023 boating season.

 

[maw1124]

Curious to hear about your driving impressions of that Lexus V8. Same displacement as our beloved M119, yet, up nearly 150+ in horsepower and nearly 50+ lb-ft in torque ....... with (hopefully) Toyota reliability.

I've also been curious about that car, but haven't found one to drive yet (so much to do, so little time). Your thoughts would be appreciated. Nothing to compare really to a 30+ year old Benz, but a driver focused review (go, turn and stop, from someone who drives best in breed Germans) is always a good thing. Nice color combo BTW -- same as one of the M3's I drove when the selling dealer erroneously listed it as "Silver" (which it obviously is not).

Cheers,

maw

EDIT... I suppose their comparison to the M3 says it all... oh well.

 

[gerryvz]

Your local Lexus dealers should now have IS500s in stock and available for test drives. Many of ours do in Maryland, except Lexus of Annapolis which is a mile from my house. But Silver Spring, Towson, Rockville, Wilmington DE ... all have them in stock.

We looked at a couple of color combos. This one is growing on me. She really wanted to keep a red interior.

The IS500s have been out for a year, but until very very recently have been EXTREMELY constrained because of supply-chain issues. I had only seen ONE of them on the road over the past year-plus. Happy to provide my driving impressions.

The IS350 is a completely different car than any Benz I've driven. I have enjoyed owning and driving it, and my wife was honestly reluctant and a bit sad to let it go. If the new 500 is anywhere near as reliable as the 350 has been, I am sure she will become very attached to it.

These things just have too many gizmos for me. "Sport" mode via a center console dial, and that kind of thing. I want "Sport Mode" on my cars 100% of the time, on tap for when I need/want it.

I plan on keeping my E500 (20 years this year) and 560SEC (21 years this year) for another 20 years. By that time, I'll very likely be too old to drive. A second G-wagen is still coming into my stable -- I will have more news to report on this in the future. Don't get me started about the G-wagen market over the past 5 years. A book should be written about it. My news will be involving a European Delivery.

 

[Jlaa]

These things just have too many gizmos for me.

Agreed - I only care about your impressions of the engine.

 

[gerryvz]

A slight mishap recently with the 560SEC, as described here:

560SEC Hood Catch Lever Breakage | Body Shop

This past weekend, while opening the hood of my 560SEC, I popped the hood release under the dashboard. This popped the hood up, and then I went to the front of the car to pull the two small catch levers on the sides of the grill to release the hood catches. And as I did this, I heard a "ping"...

126board.com

 

[gerryvz]

Agreed - I only care about your impressions of the engine.

Now that the deal is consummated, we'll be driving the new Lexus IS500 back to Annapolis this Friday afternoon (March 31) from Harrisburg, PA. Will provide driving impressions then. It will be a 2-2.5 hour drive. The car has 39 miles on it.

 

[nocfn]

Red interior GVZ?

 

[gerryvz]

Yes, just like the current car (which is white over red).

We will be saddened as we "unload" the old car tomorrow. I have to say that the overall quality and mechanical reliability of Lexus is better than MB. I really hate to say it.

But outside of a G-wagen (which is still hand-made), I really just cannot bring myself (quality/materials/solidity-wise) to own an MB made after 1995. Lexus is my post-1995 MB.

 

[nocfn]

I bought a 2019 Cabriolet new with 6 miles on it. It is a fantastic car, but at that I had hoped to have it forever. Forever now is a long time, even if the cabriolet is an instant classic with limited production. decisions...

 

[geraniumtr]

Gerry, is Lexus selling at MSRP or MSRP plus $$.

Regards,

Peter

 

[nocfn]

These are quality cars, and options for shop MX are really unlimited should one desire to hire out the work post warranty.

 

[gerryvz]

Gerry, is Lexus selling at MSRP or MSRP plus $$.

Regards,

Peter

Peter,

Depends on the dealership. We worked with several on deals, including Lexus of Towson, and Bobby Rahal Lexus.

Towson wanted $5K dealer markup **above** MSRP. They wouldn't budge downward off of that, even $100.

We negotiated several thousand **below** MSRP with Rahal. Another friend of ours, who works at another Maryland Lexus dealership that didn't have any IS500s in stock, told us (back-channel) we negotiated a screaming deal and to get the ink dry and things locked as soon as possible, which we did.

Part of it is that any Maryland dealership, particularly those in the counties surrounding Washington DC (Montgomery, Howard and Prince Georges Counties) and the counties adjacent (such as my county, Anne Arundel County, Carroll County, etc.) are the counties with the richest populations, and the dealerships feel they can charge ABOVE MSRP from those "richer" populations. And the IS500 being a new, "hot" and top-of-the-line model, the dealers add $5-10K because they think they can.

Northern Virginia counties (such as Fairfax, Loudoun or Prince William) surrounding Washington DC were also no-go.

We ended up going with Rahal in south-central Pennsylvania because prices are lower, and Lexus cars aren't in as much demand there, so the dealers are more willing to negotiate. Other options would have been to go to central or southern Virginia, or West Virginia, or such, but they are further away, and Rahal was very happy to go toe to toe with us on some hard negotiations.

My wife project-manages building data centers, so she is very skilled in negotiating and contracts. Although I actually did the deal on her 2017 Lexus.

If we'd have gone to Lexus of Silver Spring or Lexus of Towson or a dealer like that, we'd have been pushing $80K with dealer markup and such. We did WAY better than that out the door.

 

[geraniumtr]

Gerry, glad to hear you negotiated a very good price. At the multi franchise dealer I work at part time everything is at MSRP although some Bimmers may be above. The Mini Coopers were plus 10% a few months ago but inventory is more plentiful and it’s back to sticker. The Hondas sell at sticker with the refreshed HRV and CRV models flying off the lot. MB are at sticker but I heard the EQS electric has a rebate due to slow sales.

Good luck with the new Lexus, its a sharp looking car.

Peter

 

[gerryvz]

After we picked up the IS500, I drove it to Shrewsbury PA (on the PA-MD border) before handing the wheel to my wife. I didn’t get it above about 90 MPH due to traffic on I-83 South.

Initial driving impressions:

1) engine feels quite a lot like the M119. Has that same V-8 “freight train” acceleration feeling where it just steadily and unemotionally pulls, pulls and pulls

(I contrast this with our previous IS350’s 3.5L V-6, which was hyperactive and quite free-revving but also smooth). This V-8 just delivers power very steadily and unemotionally exactly when demanded.)

2) The Lexus motor has much better off the line, low-end grunt than thr M119

3) Through the mid range and high end, similar pull / feeling as M119

4) Exhaust is tuned to make some wonderful sounds. Definite V-8 sound with a nice idle burble and great music when you open it up.

5) I didn’t notice really that the Lexus has 50% more HP than the M119. Torque is much closer to M119 level, and thats what I used in accelerating. Other than the low-end grunt on the Lexus, once going it didn’t feel that much different than the M119 say above 50 MPH and climbing.

The car is shod with Bridgestone 235/40-19s up front and 265/35-19s on the rear.

I think this Lexus can give any small BMW or AMG a run for its money, and do it with 10x the reliability. Build quality is exquisite. Materials are not up to 124 standards but are excellent by modern standards.

It’s a lot of car for the money. I’m glad we bought it!

 

[gerryvz]

A few other notes, as I think about them:

• The IS500 has four driving modes -- "ECO," "Regular," "Sport" and "Sport+". The "Sport+" mode (which in reality should be called "Beast Mode") is exclusive to the V-8 models, and dials things up to 11 in terms of performance and responsiveness. All controlled via a dial on the center console.
• Generally, with the current generation IS (introduced in 2022 in lower models; for 2023 in the IS500) being a facelift of the previous generation IS, nearly all of the controls and such are very familiar.
• The center console between the front seats is a couple of full inches wider than the previous generation IS, which was a HUGE complaint because it was very narrow for both front seat occupants to rest their elbows on the console arm-rest at the same time. This is remedied with the wider console.
• Also, the previous car's twin cup-holders were placed very far back on the console, almost right where you want to rest your arm. The new, redesigned console puts the cup-holders further forward and out of the arm-resting area where your elbow/arm naturally want to fall. So kudos to Lexus for listening to customer complaints about this. The arm-rest pad (which doubles as the door for the center compartment) is also much wider, accordingly.
• The new IS also has a much more adjustable steering column, a la the E500E, which allows both in-and-outward adjustment of the column, as well as up and down. All motorised.
• Also there are THREE memory seating/mirror/steering wheel positions on the new IS. The old one had none (although I **think** it may have been an option on the older model). Again, being an .036 & SEC owner, having multiple memory positions for the driver is a welcome addition to have.
• Another nice touch is that the digital speedo/cluster display uses GPS mapping to show a small icon that has the current speed limit on the specific road you are driving on, next to the speed display.
• The new IS' center console display is of the "vertical ipad plopped on top of the dash" design whereas the older one was slightly smaller, but better integrated into the top of the dashboard. As a consolation, though, the new IS' display is a touch-screen, or can be controlled with a small "track-pad" on the center console ahead of the cup-holders. The old IS had a large squarish flat "joystick" with several "ENTER" buttons around it that allowed the driver to control the cursor on the center display.
• The track-pad is very easy to brush and swipe with fingers, wrists, or a phone charging cable moving across the top of it. We may cut a small piece of "mouse-pad" and place it on top of the track-pad, to alleviate this problem, which we have already found can be a bit annoying. Particularly as you can use the touch panel to directly point to what you want to do, rather than having to use the track-pad (or joystick on the older model).
• Our IS500 has the rear sun-shade option, which our old one didn't have. It works much like the E500E's does in terms of the raising levers.
• The car we bought was particularly well-optioned, with the only thing I noted it DOESN'T have being the illuminated "F-Sport" door sill plates at the front doors (our old IS had these). Easy thing to purchase at the dealer. We learned that the particular car we bought had been shipped to the dealer DIRECTLY by Lexus specifically as one of the display cars at the Harrisburg Auto Show (January 26-29), and then went to the dealer for sale. So that explains the color combo, and why it had pretty much every option imaginable.
• It's sort of interesting having two charcoal-ish colored cars sitting side by side in the garage. My unpolished E500 is looking dull and sad next to the new waxed Lexus, so I'm going to have to remedy that STAT. Where's the @Jlaa when I need him ?!?
• As soon as we got home, I removed the cardboard Pennsylvania temporary transit plate and installed our custom Maryland "BBYYODA" plate that had adorned the IS350. Hopefully the MD registration will arrive soon..... We also removed the two hideous Pennsylvania registration stickers at the bottom left of the windshield. Fortunately, and unlike Virginia and Pennsylvania, Maryland doesn't require windshield stickers on our cars.

• We're going to get the car clear-bra'd and ceramic-coated in the near future, along with a moderate tint of the side and rear windows.
• One edit/addition: We filled up the gas tank last night, and the range when full is ~280 miles. This is significantly less than the ~310-320 mile range of the IS350 AWD that we had. I need to look at the specs to see the fuel tank size and compare it to the older car. One thing is for sure - it is going to require more frequent fill-ups.

The 2022 Lexus IS500 F Sport Performance Is Properly Old School

Enjoy the IS500 while you can. Lexus likely won’t offer a new rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered sport sedan ever again

jalopnik.com

 

[Draginev]

Congratulations to your new car @gerryvz!

 

[TerryA]

Congrats Gerry it looks great. You and your wife should have many years of driving pleasure out of it.

PS: 1 suggestion, Clear Bra it ASAP! When I got my lower fascia and windshield wiper delete panels repainted I waited a month for the paint to harden. By then I had already picked up paint chips. Don’t wait.

 

[gerryvz]

A slight mishap recently with the 560SEC, as described here:

560SEC Hood Catch Lever Breakage | Body Shop

This past weekend, while opening the hood of my 560SEC, I popped the hood release under the dashboard. This popped the hood up, and then I went to the front of the car to pull the two small catch levers on the sides of the grill to release the hood catches. And as I did this, I heard a "ping"...

126board.com

Some updates on the hood latch saga with the 560SEC, for those interested in how this is playing out.

 

[gerryvz]

Some updates on the hood latch saga with the 560SEC, for those interested in how this is playing out.

HOW-TO on the hood latch lock assembly removal and replacement is located at this thread, for all 126 coupe owners.

HOW-TO: Replace 126 Coupe Hood Latch Lever | "HOW-TO" Tutorial Articles

Per my recent thread detailing the failure of my passenger-side hood catch lever, I ordered a new latch assembly from MB. The current list price is $680, discounted to around $510 for the latch. The driver's side is somewhat cheaper, though still in the low hundreds of dollars. This is a...

126board.com

 

[maw1124]

^^^ you didn't even have to use your A.K.

maw

 

[gerryvz]

^^^ you didnt even have to use your A.K.

maw

Indeed.




Boat splashed at 0900 today as well

 

[gerryvz]

I am happy & proud to announce that Laura and I will be welcoming a new addition to our family at the end of August. She was born on June 28th and is the pup in the light purple collar in the photos.

Her name will be "Poppy" and she will be joining our 6-year-old yellow Lab "Chase" as his new little sister.

 

[smilecenterlab]

must have been tough to choose the one!

 

[a777fan]

Congrats gerry! Such cute little chonks!

 

[gerryvz]

Congrats gerry! Such cute little chonks!

This is the "little chonk" now, at almost 15 months....she's turned into quite a Labby young lady...she's now at a full 70 lbs. I don't expect her to get much above 80 lbs when fully filled out.

They grow up fast, no?

She just recently got spayed, so her hair was shaved on her belly and arm (for the IV).

 

[gerryvz]

It's been a while since I updated my PWNER thread, so thought I'd let folks know of my most recent acquisition, as of a few weeks ago.

Fortunately it's a 110% @jhodg5ck and The @gsxr approved purchase.

It's a 2007 E63 AMG. Maryland car since 2009, when it had 1,500 miles on it, collector-owned. Currently 24,500 miles .. full paperwork and maintenance history since new.

I have been saying for decades that I would NEVER own an MB made after 1995. I had to make an exception for this car, as soon as I saw it, because:

1. It's the first V-8 engine designed 100% by AMG in-house (M156)
2. It's the last naturally aspirated V-8 engine that MB has made (and probably will ever make; I hate blowers and turbs)
3. It's a pretty rare car, only about 2,600 W211 E63s brought into the US over the 2007-2009 period
4. The car had low miles and is still essentially new
5. It was pretty much fully loaded except for the Pano Roof and Distronic systems (not needed), and the P30 performance option was not available until the 2008 models
6. It's sort of the spiritual "grandson" of the E500E on multiple fronts
7. Chicks dig anything "A M G" .. though my car is 100% de-badged...thus an even bigger sleeper than the E500E !!

I'm looking very much forward to enjoying this car in the coming years. Definitely adding to my long-term collection along with the SEC and E500.

Hope you guys enjoy it.....