Hammer time- project developments - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Hammer Wagon · #1 01-05-2003, 11:29 PM

Have made some great progress on the wagon- thanks to all the great advice offered on this forum. The fenders have been rolled, skirts mounted and spoilers repainted.

Suspension has been totally sorted out with 500E springs front and rear, 92 500E struts front, new bushings, control arms, etc... The rear self leveling has been put back into play and the car sits nice and level- not too low, which is a good thing with the condition of the roads around here and the low front spoiler. As it is, with the newly mounted 17 X 8 inch wheels and 225/45 tires the car is a very darty on a ruff road- I can imagine the Sportline setup would have been even worse. No rubbing problems of yet with the rolled fenders.

I've loaded a bunch of new exterior shots in a new file titled AMG Hammer Wagon:

http://photos.yahoo.com/dshimano

I want to have some parts powder coated black- the original grill was black as well. Any opinions on how the car would look with the black grill vs. the chrome shell? I'm leaning towards the original monochromatic look.

Now if it would only stop snowing

MBZ190E16V · #2 01-06-2003, 12:29 AM

the car is lookin great. if only u could get a c-class style hood, that would look nice. i think an all black grille will make it look mean. the chrome grille will keep the sleeper look.

omegabenz · #3 01-06-2003, 01:07 AM

Looks great man. I like the 17s, great buy too. Pretty stiff ride, but thats alright, its supposed to be like that. You should consider the 500E rear sway bar at 18mm, and the E300 limo sway bar at 28.5 mm with the same shape as the one you have now. The 500E struts are nice, they are more pricey than 400E ones because they have a spring inside of them.

What tires did you put on? If you are worried about the snow, you could get the michelin pilot sport a/s, but only for winter, I dont think they are sticky enough for summer use and hard driving.

It looks super sharp. I hope everything else comes a long as planned.

Austin

Ashman · #4 01-06-2003, 08:23 AM

I'll take a picture of my car with the grill frame shaved and blacked out completely. You should enjoy how it looks.

Alon

Michael · #5 01-06-2003, 08:46 AM

The car's darty, eh? What are your alignment specs? Is the car aligned to Sportline or 500E specs?

Looks nice, BTW, and in keeping with the original look, I'd do the black grille

Hammer Wagon · #6 01-06-2003, 11:33 AM

MBZ190E16V-
I'm not sure if you mean C-class grill or 94/95 124 style, but I want to maintain the car as original as possible, so I'd prefer to keep the original grill shell. When I did the Euro lights I used the dark amber sides that came with it rather than the stock US ones or the clear, although the clears do take a few years off the front end.

Omega- I'm running Pirelli P6000 225/45/17 that I pulled off my Audi- When I put on new tires I may try the P Zeros. I am just frustrated that it's snowing so much here lately just as the car is ready. I don't take it out in the snow, I try not to take it out when there's still salt on the roads, so I don't get to drive it as much in the winter as I'd like.

I don't think I'll be swapping out the swaybar right now. The swaybar is already a beefier on then stock from AMG and the bushings are new, so I'd like to see how it all comes together first.

thanks Alon- I always admired your grill (the blue-black one?)- I think if the chrome is stripped the shell can be powdercoated. The center is plastic and i'm not sure how that is painted- while I'm at it I'll probably do the wiper arms and the door handles as well.

Michael- The car was aligned to 500E specs. I'm having the steering box seals redone, this might account for some lightness in the steering. The 500E had a wider track than my car, so I may have to try the Hammer specs if this doesn't solve the problem.

Here's what things look like today:

need2speed · #7 01-06-2003, 12:48 PM

Chrome or Monochrome...you decide! :p

Ashman · #8 01-06-2003, 02:49 PM

hehe Dean, thats just how my grill looks, Shaved and blacked out.

Have you thought about black chroming the grill frame?

That would look cool I think.

I decided I'll just keep painting mine, as its always a fun project for me to undertake.

Alon

#9 01-06-2003, 06:02 PM

Man, that's a SEXY lookin wagon you got there!!! The suspension mods look tasteful, not too low. The original AMG aero's look KILLER on that car- I don't think you could have done anything any better. I like the no badge thing- kinda keeps the folks guessin' as to what that wagon's packing... I myself like the nondescript looks of the chrome grill, BUT, this is no ordinary wagon you have there, SOOOOOO keeping this in mind AND in keeping with the history of the car, I'd go ahead and get the grill done in black. Hell, you got the goods to back it up, GO FOR IT!!!

Hammer Wagon · #10 01-06-2003, 06:45 PM

thanks travmonster...

actually, as I've mentioned before I was thinking about '300TD' and 'turbodiesel' badges for the rear.

Then I'd get a derby hat with a white wig attached, thick glasses and calmly glance over at every slammed car I see. ahhhhhhh the pain- 'yo whassup, i been smoked by some old guy in a benz diesel!'

I should have put the fog lights on with just the city lights- it makes the headlights look almost smoked- really mean.

Always loved that black Hammer pic from AutoWeek, thats one menacing looking car.

Holson Adi · #11 01-06-2003, 09:25 PM

What a beautiful car!!! Just awesome well worth whatever you have put into it. I really like the old-skool AMG 124's

regarding the grille, I would just paint it black. I mean it came like that from AMG.

However if you wanna go with the Turbodiesel badge, keep the chrome grill hehehe

a 300TD Turbodiesel :p

run.exe · #12 01-06-2003, 09:26 PM

1) face-lift the hood (to the new E-style); black it out

2) get clear-corners and E-Code (European) lights, ASAP

3) paint your wiper-arm the same color as the car

4) install a RENNTech front sway-bar

5) post pictures

Hammer Wagon · #13 01-06-2003, 10:40 PM

1) It looks like a hands down for the black grill- I have a spare chrome shell I purchased on the forum- I guess I'll hang on to it for more "formal' occasions. I'll probably have it powdercoated, but I can't do the 94/95 nose to such a rare and original car. I love the 500E fenders too, but that nixes the AMG air dam, so I'll have to settle for a 'companion' 500E sometime.

I was the high bidder at 23,500 for a beautiful 94 E500 a few weeks back on ebay, but that turned out to be a story- see the end of this thread:
What is the Consensus Market Value of my E500?

2) Clear corners see # 1. I do have the OEM Euros, city lights and all- you may have seen the older album, the first AMG album is the newer one. I have the euro trim panels too, I'm still looking for the wipers, the set of Euro wipers I have is missing the plastic trim cap where it mounts to the panel.

3)wiper arms front and rear will be powdercoated or painted black- there is some plastic on the front arm so it may not be "powdercoatable." I'm looking to do the doorhandles too.

4)AMG front Sway bar measured up to be thicker than the 400E bar, I'll have to get an exact measure.

The only modification I was seriously tempted by was a complete black leather Sportline interior from a European Sportline wagon. Same front seats as a 500E, and a matching folding rear seat. Unfortunately, the seller in Germany absolutely refused to ship overseas.

#14 01-07-2003, 08:00 AM

Those are KEWL... If I ever do a wagon, I am gonna have to either find some or have some done up like that. Just too damn cool, man.....

I am not sure as to the year of the car, but I would try to keep it original as possible- switch out the seats if the stock seats kill your rear, but I don't think I'd sell the old ones. I just want the wood from that car. God, I just LOVE the bird's eye maple wood in that car- Mercedes was WAAAAY ahead of the curve on THAT one.( I have a plan for a bird's eye maple covered drum kit pretty soon, but there are a few things that need doing first.....)

Travmonster.....

......droolin' in disgusta......

Hammer Wagon · #15 01-07-2003, 02:57 PM

spoke to the powdercoating shop today. Since the Mercedes grill frame is chrome plated the powdercoat will adhere to the chrome on the frame and only be as strong as the bond of the chrome plating. In a nutshell if the chrome plating is affected by the high temperature of the oven when the finish is baked on, it may begin to peel along with the chrome plating.

I am under the impression that the chrome grill frames are quite robust, at least the OEM ones. Does anyone have any other experience or advice with how to "blacken the grill?"

Has anyone painted the plastic door handles and are there any special tips in that regard?