Hello. This is my first post. I own a 1992 Mercedes 190E. I bought it about a year ago and I'd like to make a few improvements on it. First, I would like to take out the original grey grille insert and replace it with a black one. Does anybody know of any places which sell the black grilles? Second, I would like to replace the standard black shifter (it's an automatic transmission) with a wooden one to match the rest of the dash. Anybody know where I can get one of these as well? I don't want to spend too much money on it, so I would really appreciate it if you could inform me on where I can get these items for a good price.

Thanks

You can quite easily remove the gray grill plastic insert and paint it black. A couple of cans of primer and paint, some chrome polish (might as well spiff up the trim strips), 10mm socket wrench and 2-3 hours is all it takes. There are a few threads that discuss painting the grill. The alternative is an aftermarket grill insert, like the AvantGarde, which can run over $100.

The shifter is easy, a burlwood or zebrano shifter runs about $75 on E-Bay (W201 or W124 specific), or you can get the shifter adapter ($15) and use any later model MB shift knob. To change the shifter you will need to carefully remove the wood trim and switches on the center console, since the shaft is nut tighted underneath the console.

Try Here


Grill Painting 190E

The OEM grey grill insert is cheap...under $20, so its cost effective to experiment....and there's a new spray paint formulated to bond with plastic (Krylon or Rust-o-leum?)....I painted an old plastic W124 grill with regular black paint with OK results, but it chipped. I'll try it again when I find that new paint....

__________________
Jim

1992 500E
2007 CLK63
2003 Audi RS6
2001 Audi allroad

Well, let's say I wanted to get an AvantGarde grille for my car. Where can I get one?

At a reasonable price, I would have to say German E-Bay.



They are generally under 100 Euro at auction. Shipping via German Post would be $30-50. Add another $10 for wire transfer fees via C2it (local banks charge $30 or more). Bekkers used to charge $250.

I did this modification to both mine and my kid brother's 190e today using black spray paint and 6 additional chrome strips per grill.

A VERY cheap mod with spectacular results!

My best bang-for-buck mod to-date.

I took photos of the whole process for my own website.

Cheers.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Before.

Attached Thumbnails

 

After.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Yeah...

Attached Thumbnails

 

Right on!! Great idea Azhari...looks sharp.

__________________
Jim

1992 500E
2007 CLK63
2003 Audi RS6
2001 Audi allroad

Thanks, Jim.

I noticed that the Avant Garde grill is expensive in most places so I just wanted to share another possible idea that might benefit other fellow Merc DIYers.

Cheers.

...I bought one for my '85 380SE. Installing it was something else, unless I missed a trick. The problem is that you have to hold the spring loaded threaded socket for the lever in an upright position while you attempt to thread the new shaft in. This is done 'blind' since you can't really see the socket, and the shaft has a bend in it that makes screwing it in really awkward. And don't forget to stick it through the shift gate first, which has to kind of dangle there while you sweat to get the shaft started. It took me almost an hour to get the damned thing threaded in the hole, and my finger was really sore from holding the spring back! Good luck.