What sort of upgrades have you done to your MB? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Tirebiter · #16 12-22-2003, 09:21 PM

Sixto:
When CIEBIE bought out Marchal's headlight line they discontinued the Ampilux ( half moon H-1 )

IMHO it was the best headlight ever made. I only saved 8 sets and now I have none left. I will call CARAM Engineering after Christmas to see if he still has some as NOS.

jbaj007 · #17 12-22-2003, 11:05 PM

From front (sort of): 1984 300SD

Euro hdlts. w/ vacuum adj. and euro dash rosette and city lights.

clear corners.

Parallel flow condensor with custom A/C hoses and "test" refrigerant" (yes I can hang meat in there)

Adjusted ETR (33 F.)

Tapped and threaded temp sensor in thermostat housing connected to adj. temp switch for aux, fan.

EGT gauge, sensor in #4 exhaust, 3/4" from port (pre turbo)

Boost gauge.

Boost controller.

80 amp alternator. Bosch AL 69 X (edited)

adjustable voltage regulator 13.7-14.4v. (Transpo)

Flame gaurd from a 115 gasser as blowby condensor in valve cover to air cleaner hose.

Low oil pressure warning LCD and buzzer for catastrophic oil loss warning. This was challenging!

Fan clutch mod with Toyota 10000 silicone oil.

Battery quick disconnect.

Firewall sound insulation (homemade) pad. McMaster-Carr
imitation "dynamat" in doors and floor pans.

Electric actuator remote entry with factory alarm (it's a 1984, remember).

560SEL Zebrano console box with inside cupholders.

Stereo upgrade with CD, MP3 new speakers and amped subwoofers (single band bypass, ported).

clear tail lights (kinda ghetto, but I haven't found any stock ones with REALLY good clear sections for the back-up lights). I have a thing about clear plastic lenses being clear, not yellowed at all.

Extra bulb holder wired for two more brake lights. Brighter (street rod wattage) running lights (nothing melted)

Electric rear window shade with console button control. Nice in
the summer.

Homemade "pop tester" (used a bottle jack, JB Weld and plumbing fittings.) Prechamber puller from bicycle crank tool.
Misc. pullers from threaded rod, plates, washers and nuts.

All suspension, brake, steering components replaced or already in spec; all systems repaired or work (even cruise). Some self upholstery w/ FIRM seat pads, Smaller Nardi wheel to clear my legs (6'3",210#)

Many other little piddlers. FWIW

BoostnBenz · #18 12-22-2003, 11:59 PM

Sounds very nice jbaj007! Where did you find a 90A alternator? I debate how well mine actually works, I'm contemplating on just going for something larger. Was the 90A one off another model which happened to fit?

I also have a Kenwood CD player with a Jensen amp for the rear blaupunkt speakers, the front blaupunkts have no amp other than the 45x4 radio. One more thing is a hard wired radar detector by whistler.

#19 12-23-2003, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BoostnBenz
Did the straight pipe gain much in power or lower the EGTs much so you could raise the boost?

The main reason I did it was the sound. If you have ever seen a straight pipe turbo Diesel, on of the forst things that always catches my ear is the whine of the turbo. Just drive around a parking lot for awhile with your windows down and you will really hear it well.

That is also one of the main reasons I did the K&N. Going down the highway at full boost, you can REALLY hear the turbo sucking in all that air.

Both of these also free up two of the biggest restrictions in the system, and to me, reducing turbo lag quite a lot.

jbaj007 · #20 12-23-2003, 12:16 AM

Jell M,
I let my braggadocio get ahead of my facts. It is indeed an 80 amp. AL 69 X Bosch from a 1989 560SEL, rebuilt. A bit of finagling (pulley goes on after mounting in the car) unless you use the Conti 1035? instead of the 1000? belts. Not sure of the #'s but you get the idea. I edited post to correct error.

BoostnBenz · #21 12-23-2003, 12:42 AM

That is still a bit better than the 65A stock upgrade part, does all of the mounting hardware line up? I just installed whatever belts that are standard for our W123s.

Did the top end power of the motor improve much? I heard that the highway peppiness increases after the K&N so I'd imagine the straight pipe would have to help the cause as well.

#22 12-23-2003, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BoostnBenz
Did the top end power of the motor improve much? I heard that the highway peppiness increases after the K&N so I'd imagine the straight pipe would have to help the cause as well.

Diesels take in as much air as the engine restrictions will allow. Think about it. A 3L engine sucks in and spits out 3L of air for every two rotations. Multiply that by 3000rpm at 65mph, the added gases from combustion, and boost from the turbo and that is a HUGE amount of air. You can feel how much air it's taking in at idle by puting your hand over the air filter intake tube. (Just imagine how much air the big 12L+ highway diesels take in!) By geting rid of the restrictions at both ends you free that air to get in and out as fast as possible. Reducing turbo lag, get more air in to burn fuel, removing the hot exhaust from the tubes, and releasing the backpressure post-turbo. Some say that 4ft of tube is needed to prevent you from torching the exhaust valves, but that might just be for gassers and N/A engines since the turbo provides enough back-pressure to cool the valves.

Rick Miley · #23 12-24-2003, 11:07 AM

Headlight rings, silver window tint, and E430 wheels on Big Smokey (E300).

Same silver on tint on Lil Smokey (TDI).

Perfesser Leaky (240D) has had most of the interior parts replaced with better ones from the junkyard. Best upgrade I did on that car was screw the no load stop all the way in and adjust the linkage so it actually accelerates.

bodyart27 · #24 12-24-2003, 11:28 AM

Upgraded from stock (not counting just misc repairs):

vent tube from cam cover to air assembly
oil filler cap
dash light kit from **************.com (very nice)
CD player and changer
H4 hella headlamps (very nice)
trans cooler lines (reinforced)
Michelin X-Ones (5 - including spare).... I assume tire technology has improved in 20 years

rickg · #25 12-24-2003, 11:49 AM

Some of you guys go all out on a diesel

Never figured anyone would do much custom stuff to one of these babies. I'm taking notes

All I have that's not stock:
By P.O., euro headlights and later w126 rims
By me, Polk Audio speakers and a couple SAS Bazooka Tube subs in the trunk. (They make nice boom-booms, without being over bearing to the neighbors.:p )

lietuviai · #26 12-24-2003, 12:41 PM

I upgraded to euro headlamps and upgraded the sound system to a Clarion CD player with 2 MTX amps with MTX subs in the trunk. I also hid two Infinity 6X9's behind the back seat. I left the original speakers hooked up as well which are controlled through the stock fader switch which I modified slightly. The previous owner had upgraded the car to Ronal alloy 15" wheels.

BoostnBenz · #27 12-24-2003, 01:39 PM

Do you have any pictures of your 116 VirginiaDude? I'm thinking that other than project MBs the 116 is the next one I'll buy, eventually I'll get bored of adding stuff to my current one.

Those headlight rings make a world of difference, they look great!

Did those Infinity 6x9s add much? Are they Kappa or Reference? Rather than give up trunk space I would rather fit some speakers beside the fuel tank, there is a little room there so I may just as well utilize it.

The blapunkts are excellent for mids and highs but the lows on a 5.25" speaker are truly sick. I'm not looking for enough bass to vibrate house walls as I drive by, but I'd like to know how the music was originally intended to be heard.

lietuviai · #28 12-24-2003, 02:43 PM

My Infinities are Kappa's. Since I have them behind the seat, their only purpose are for low to mid-range frequencies as the one MTX amp running to them is set for that. The other MTX amp runs the subs that are in the trunk which provides more than adequate thundering bass. The subs were strategically installed in such way that the fuel tank adds to the total bass experience. The original stock speakers are set up for the high ranges and they are running straight off the head unit using only its built in amp.

Erikir · #29 12-24-2003, 07:41 PM

1981 SD

'99 SLK rims
H4 hella headlights
Connected the extra light bulb in the tail light assembly

Soon to add the stereo that was previously in my 300D - MBQuarts front and rear, 560 watt amp powering them. 2 12" JL Audio subs, each powered by a 300 watt amp all controlled by an Alpine CDA 7894. (photos of the stereo install in my old car http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/283733 )

michakaveli · #30 12-24-2003, 08:18 PM

[Mods]
- MY00+ {Elegance} Tail lamps
- Intra Monoblock Replica Wheels
- Euro fender markers
- Chrome shifter trim
- Chrome AC vent trim [on the way]
- clear font corner lenses
- Xpel Clear headlamp covers
- Chrome headlamp rings
- Xenon D2S retrofit
- Both rear fog lamps wired together
- Dynamatted all 4 doors
- Gotta be something I've missed...
- Gotta something I will add-on...