My car has now gone :(
 

Finally the new owner has taken delivery of zeb, my 380 TE :( I am gonna miss it...

At least now I can put all my attention into the hydraulics on my '89 420 se

Work starts on it monday evening.
Firstly by removing the entire spare wheel well and putting some strong framework around the whole. I found this is the easiest way of dealing with the twin pipe out back problem :D I will be using 2"stainless tubing 2 loud stainless silencers and 2.5-3" exits either side. Its gonna be loud. Should have TVR drivers tremblin!! :D Into the whole i will be sinkin a battery rack to house some of the 8 group 31 truck batts. The rack will be made of 6mm steel plate so alot of the strength will be put back. hoping to be running 3 or 4 competition pumps and 3 tonne hopping coils. Other body/suspension strengthening will be done when the car comes off the road. IT is gonna be one hell of a beast!! :eek: :eek: :cool: :D

This is what i plan to do, maybe a different colour choice though!!

Hmmm.....hydralics......Mercedes......
Well, to each their own!:D

I didn't mean my previous remark as a put down. Shouldn't have said it. If it's the way you like your cars, go for it. I like Erics idea of black with tint. I saw a 560SEC all black with tint and slightly lowered. I couldn't stop looking at it! Was a gorgeous car.:)

I would love to paint it black and blacken the windows,

black paint, bodywork needs to be totally straight and blemmish free!! those facts plus the cost of a full re-spray, are at the moment totally out of the questio..............It will get done though

Black windows, police over here are trying to make ALL non standard tints illegal, due to a shooting on new years eve!!

I think mercs do suit juice very well,. With the local councils over here building speed bumps every where. lowering a car an inch can be a nightmare. and why lower it an inch when you can lower it 5". you have the added option of sittin it on its belly! OH, and then theres the dancin.

I know squat about the tech side of what you guys do to your cars, but I'm always curious about anything mechanical. Do you have to custom build the componants, or is there alot of off the shelf stuff available for Mercs? I'd like to see some close-up pics of how it all goes together if you have any.
To me it doesn't matter if I like what people do to their cars or not. I just appreciate the work and effort someone will make to do what makes them happy(Well, I'll draw the line with some of the over the top ricer stuff:D )

Nooooo I love it!!
You wouldn't do it to your daily driver, obviously, but its a neat touch on more of a 'show' car. Looking forward to seeing it..

I'm not a fan of hydraulics...I just don't get the point. But I do like the lowered look on newer models, if done correctly and tastefully. I also think the black with black tint would be a good choice. Hopefully my next MB will be a black one.

Mike

Not quite off the shelf. All the parts, Yes.
A knowledge of welding, and basic engineering skills essential. YOu can go Too far. Merc front suspension has only 4" of safe usable travel, and the rear has 6"


the fitting of the rams is the only bit that involves the thought. On the front arms the spring is removed and the spring mounting plate also. the springs i will be fitting are half the size of the origional ones. but because i want to hop it, i will be strenghthening the arm. Strong mounting plates are then wellded under the bonnet and some of the metal removed to allow movement of the ram, cos its not fitted vertically. On the rear, the top of the rams are made up to fit in like a shockabsorber, and only a lttle plating on the inside of the car over the origional seam weld. It also uses the original bushes. The rear arm has brackets welded through the middle, and is connected to the ram using heavy duty rose joints. Battery racks need be secured to the chassis rails.

after 2 and a half years of abusing my w123, i have come to realize that merc shells are VERY strong.

For those of you who don't see the point in Hydros, I suggest that you should blag ago in one when you can. They are Seriously addictive!!! :D

I also won't be destroying a beautifle car. All is being done in a proffesional and origional way. When i do it, all people will see is a set of 100 spoke, tripple dipped chrome wires. I want 15x8's. I will be doing nothin drastic to the outside. It is gonna be one classy ride!! ........................................:D :D :cool:

It is gonna be used regularly, most weekends. WE have members in our club that use theres daily to and from work. Also all cars in our club regularly attend car shows. DUring the summer, there are about 2-3 shows a month all over the country that we can attend and put on a wicked display. One of the best is Lowlife, its a new show, just done its second year devoted to british and european lowrider cars and bikes. If anyones in bristol this August check it out.

I feel your pain, i just sold my W123 i feel sad about it but the new owner is going to restore it :D , but im also starting a W126 project:D
Gonna take my W126 strip it down and then take my uncles car wich he gave me for free and make one really nice car out of them both but no hydrulics for me:p

I have a '69 230 and I'm thinking of doing a chameleon pain job (white with blue overtone), lowering it a bit, and switching the rims. Ither then that, tinted windows (maybe blue), new stereo, and... who knows? Something else. Props, and peace...

Philly

do you have problems insuring chameleon paint jobs on cars, cos some insurance companies here will not touch them.

Where I live there doesn't seem to be any problem with different paint jobs. I think the only problem with custom paint is that I don't think I can legally have a very shiny paint job. I think it would be too distracting for other drivers. What I may have a problem insuring would be hydros (if I decide to put them on). I think they're illegal here, but not sure.

A reverse Q for hydro experts.
 

Zeb,
Neat project you got going there.
I have a question for you. If one wanted the ability to raise the car for a bit and then bring it back to normal height is that possible. This is just idle curiosity but who knows some day. I was thinking along the lines of an off road machine where perhaps one could use your hydro technology to make an incline manageable. The shock absorbers etc would have to stay for normal driving though, it would be way cool if they could stay even when the level is being adjusted!

Take pics while you are doing the project and post em, we could learn something from your modifications.

Thanks