The Defiant in Drydock - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TylerH860 · #31 02-07-2009, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

I'm still waiting on the Excelsior pics with the new shoes.....

According to Fedex tracking they are at their processing center in New York.

I'll have 3 generations of AMG wheels. 80s pentas, 90s Aero Is, and 00s 5 spokes (don't know name)

TheDon · #32 02-07-2009, 11:27 PM

nice shoes

JimmyL · #33 02-07-2009, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

According to Fedex tracking they are at their processing center in New York.

I'll have 3 generations of AMG wheels.

Oh, I thought you had them already. Whoops......

daw_two · #34 02-07-2009, 11:52 PM

Tyler --- that blue seat looks GREAT and the mats; well what a PLUS.

Now, about those nets on the back of the front seats......add that to your list. It's EASY to do. I did it to Coda's seats.

TylerH860 · #35 02-08-2009, 07:26 PM

Just finished wrestling with the seats again. You would think it gets easier each time you do it, but it doesn't. This is my 4th time removing and re-installing seats in the past year, and its still just as big of a PITA.

I drove my grandmother and a few of her friends to an antique roadshow premier in the Defiant. They visited Wichita recently, and featured grandmother and one of her pieces. The two women in the back wanted me to pull up right to the theatre and open the back door of the Defiant, so all their friends can see them getting chauffeured in a Mercedes.

They were probably just being polite, but the compliment gave me a boost.

DeliveryValve · #36 02-08-2009, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

.....
I forgot to mention the belt buckles between my 83 and the 84 seat donors are not compatible. It looks like I'll be pulling the seats again to install the old female pieces.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyL

Well at least we know the transition year on the seat belt buckle design.

....

The change over was mid-1983 model year. So '83 had two different styles of belt buckles.

So Tyler, it looks good.. Is the new/old seats also leather?

TylerH860 · #37 02-08-2009, 08:28 PM

No, but I have the rear MB-tex seat as well. The top of the seat is a little baked, so I need to use some leatherique crack filler and vinyl paint to get them up to snuff.

Also, the more I drive the car, the less it shakes at idle. Its barely noticeable now.

TylerH860 · #38 02-09-2009, 08:50 PM

Had a nice blue fabric dash pad given to me by Bob today. Sun fading has made it a bit purple, but I'd rather have that than live with a cracked dash.

TylerH860 · #39 02-10-2009, 09:18 PM

15. Take car to PDR man to pop out dents, install replacement impact strip on front bumper.

I had a great experience today with the PDR guy. He looked at the fender dent, went in to his shop, grabbed a long tool with a 90 degree bent end, and popped it out free of charge.

He got about 95% of the dent out, but not quite enough for the new trim piece to grab the tab. A little dab of loctite will take care of it easily. It looks great, not noticeable unless your looking for it.

TylerH860 · #40 02-11-2009, 10:28 PM

I took a break from the Defiant today to install new nacelles on the Excelsior.

They're in a little bit worse condition than I expected, but nothing I can't handle. The tires are in excellent shape... continental contisports.

Though they may not fill the wheel and give the stance like 17-18" wheels would, I wanted to still have a comfortable ride. I think the front end could be lowered an inch or two to really set it off, but I'll probably leave it alone.

The Excelsior is dirty from rainstorms for the past few days, so please excuse the dirt.

I'm hoping the weather cooperates this weekend so I can get to dumping old fluids from the Defiant.

TheDon · #41 02-11-2009, 10:33 PM

I thought the wagon was black... I love that green

TylerH860 · #42 02-11-2009, 10:39 PM

When I get the front bumper painted back to body color it will really look sharp. The paint is in great shape otherwise.

Non-dirty photos to make up for it.

TylerH860 · #43 02-11-2009, 11:18 PM

I forgot to thank Jimmy for his on the fly advice on torque settings for mounting the wheels.

Its nice having a courteous smart alec Benz expert on speed dial...

pawoSD · #44 02-11-2009, 11:44 PM

I think the original wheels actually look a little more fitting on the car.....AMG flat faced ones just don't seem quite right on a wagon.....maybe on a SL or a sedan.....

JimmyL · #45 02-11-2009, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

I forgot to thank Jimmy for his on the fly advice on torque settings for mounting the wheels.

Its nice having a courteous smart alec Benz expert on speed dial...

How very ironic that when Tyler called me to tell me about his wheels and ask about torque specs I was dealing with a wheel issue of my own.....