Alon,

Thanks. The key is not a steady hand or even patience (I do have both by the way ). The key is the color sanding. With the single stage solid color paint, you can really fix some minor problems with the color sanding. Any errors show up like a "soar thumb" during the color sanding. If you have any shiny spots after color sanding, you are not done.

Plus the 3M products are great. They also contributed to the end result.

When I'm done, my car will look similar to yours. I really think the monotone takes off about 5 years on the cars age.

Later!

Well when I have an extra $10k to drop on the car, I'm doing a full treatment. 94-95 upgrade, bodykit, and maybe 17" wheels at that time. On top of that a beautiful flawless paintjoba nd fully custom interior two tone.

Of course That is only a future plan. I'll keep the car forever. If the engine goes, I'll put in a better one. hehe etc etc.

But I do prefer the monotoned look. My impact strips are not painted, I sometimes wish they were, but then again, if they were they might be cracked all up... hehe

The reason I say patience, is because I never have the patience to lett he paint fully dry when I paint things. hehehe I get too excited about ti and want to put it back together...

Alon

__________________
'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

bob-

Why did you choose the Euro Sport springs instead of the Eibach or another manufacturer?

Performance Products, which is near me, sells Eibach, and I can pick up the chip also.

Thanks,

Craig

__________________
1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

I wanted to stay with a relatively known quantity. It appeared that I could end up with either a "slammed" look or an extremely stiff ride using aftermarkets. I figured that Mercedes springs would offer a well-engineered solution. My friend (ATATexan) here on the forum upgraded his with E500 components (at least as close as possible- all 500's have leveling control in the back and our E420's don't.) I was AMAZED at the improved handling but the ride was a little stiff for my taste. It seemed stiffer than the stock E500 that I've driven in the past. Seeing the success that several had here on the forum with the Sportline upgrade for the 6 cylinder cars, I wanted to pursue that. I began by purchasing the E320 sportline stuff, but M.B.Doc came up with European Sport factory Mercedes parts numbers for the E420, even without the leveling control. I think that if I had used the factory shocks from this line (I assume they exist, I didn't ask M.B. Doc about them since I already had installed new Bilstein H.D shocks) that the result could be even better. But, I really like it just this way (might enjoy a LITTLE more roll control- probably will get there when I get around to installing the E500 rear bar.)

__________________
Bob Johnston
03 E55
Comand/Nav/Bluetooth/Ipod added
Black/black
(Oh man, this car is sooooo fast.)

Where do I find the AMG accessories for the W124? I looked on their website, but didn't see it for the 124.

Thanks,

Craig

__________________
1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

Bob- Why did you decide on the rims from Discount tire? I'm having the dealer put rims and tires on my 'new' E420.

I saw that Discount had the same rims as you have for $125 and Performance Products has RH Alurad (Porsche Manufacture) rims for $179 and then there are the AMG's for about $379.

Are the rims from Discount good rims? I think they must be if you put all that suspension work into your car, you wouldn't put on lousy rims.

How do I choose? And which tire? I need to decide by Monday afternoon. I want something that will work with the Eibach springs I plan on getting.

The other E420 I was looking at had 17" rims on it with eibach springs. Should I go with 17?

This is all new to me. I learned all I could from this list, but when it comes down to it, I can't make a decision.

Thanks,

Craig

__________________
1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

I really like the way the 16's look, but for sure, I've seen 17's that looked great too. The problem with 17's is that you would have to use VERY low profile tires to maintain the same overall diameter. This would make the ride much harder over bumps and the rims more susceptible to bending. I have bent these rims twice and have a local shop that does a great job straightening them for $65. I hit a very bad pothole each time, so I think that I would have bent anything that wore a 50 series tire. The actual rims that I have are not carried by Discount anymore, but they have another that looks identical for the same price. I believe that they are Italian. It may very well be that the AMG is more resistant to bending, I don't know. But I do know how heartbroken I would be to have the rim curbed if it cost that much. All in all, I might be tempted by the Allurad rim. It's not that much more expensive and the quality is a known quantity. My rims are 41mm offset. If you can get 35 or 37 mm offset, you will have a better fit next to the strut. The 41 does work, but it's credit card thickness close. I'm using Yokohama AVS dB's now. They are very smooth and quiet yet high performance. I have Michelin Arctic Alpins on stock 8 hole rims for our Indianapolis winters. A great summer only tire is the Michelin Pilot HX MXM. I think there is a sale now on them in the 225/50/16 size. I had these on the car until they wore out. I would have bought them again, but Luke at the tire rack suggested the Yokohamas. I like the Yokohamas better, but I think they don't handle quite as sharply as the Michelin. Good luck.

__________________
Bob Johnston
03 E55
Comand/Nav/Bluetooth/Ipod added
Black/black
(Oh man, this car is sooooo fast.)

OK, I figured I'd resurrect this thread after over a year of it laying dormant. I recently poked around the Euro EPC to check out the Euro 400E Sport kit. Basically it uses most of the 500E parts:

The 400E Sport uses the 500E sway bars, which are indeed the diameters posted by Neil (although the 400E minimum diameter is 22mm, and the 500E drops to approx. 18mm for a short section like the 6-cyl Sportline bars). It also uses the 500E struts with internal springs (p/n 124-320-57-30). The rear springs (NON self leveling) are the SAME as the the 6-cyl Sportline cars (p/n's 124-324-28/36-04, depending on application); and the rear shocks are the same as the 6-cyl Sportline (p/n 124-320-23-31).

I am planning on getting some combination of these parts on my car, as my current Neuspeed springs & Bilstiens are too stiff (and low) for my preference. I don't have self leveling so I guess I'm stuck with rear Sportline springs & shocks (or maybe KONI's?). Up front, I want the trick 500E struts, but can't decide between the 400 Sport and the 500E springs... I'd prefer the softer of the two but can't find specs on them.

I'm about to install the LWB front sway bar (28.5mm) and will do the 500E rear bar as funds allow. More info on sway bars, with full specs and part numbers, are in this PDF if anyone is interested:

http://www.meimann.com/docs/mercedes/124_swaybars.pdf


Regards,

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Oh great, just as I'm about to purchase Eibachs. I was told that there aren't Sportline springs for the E420's and Eibach just discontinued the W124 springs last Nov.

Craig

__________________
1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

FWIW- I have the 6-cylinder front & rear Sportline springs for sale ($145 + shipping).

I'm like you, I went with the softer 500E springs front & rear.

:-) neil
1988 360TE AMG
1993 500E

Craig,

If your E420 has self leveling you can use the complete 500E setup all around. If not, you can use the 500E stuff up front (or the 400 Sport springs), and just use the 6-cyl Sportline rear shocks/struts. Your dilemma is not as bad as mine, since I have a diesel and I don't know which engine weighs more - my OM603 or your M119.

I wish there were some way we could locate specs for the 500E front springs to compare to the 400E Sport... I'm told the TDM for 1993 doesn't show spring rate specs like the older TDM's do.

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

I don't have self leveling suspension.
Do you know the $$ for the Sportline springs? 4 Eibachs will cost me about $300, shocks are another $350, swaybars....um..~$300.

Craig

__________________
1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.

Craig- if you're interested I'll look up the PN#s for the SportLine springs I currently have.

:-) neil
1988 360TE AMG
1993 500E

As posted earlier by Bob, plus some additions from me:


Part numbers for the suspension:
E500 Front sway bar: 124 323 72 65
E500 front sway bushings: 124 323 51 85 (2 req'd)
E500 front sway bushings: 124 323 47 85 (2 req'd)
E420 Euro Sport front springs: 124 321 42 04
1 bump spring pads: 201 321 09 84

E500 rear sway bar: 124 326 25 65
E500 rear sway bar bushings: 201-326-16-81
E420 Euro Sport rear springs: 124 324 35 04 (self-leveling)
E420 Euro Sport rear springs: 124 324 28 04 (NON self-leveling, shorter)
E420 Euro Sport rear springs: 124 324 36 04 (NON self-leveling, taller)
4 bump rear spring pads: 201 325 12 44



As for pricing, here's the MB list prices as of Nov 2002:

124-321-42-04 - FRONT SPRING - $76.00 (Euro 400E Sport spring)
124-321-35-04 - FRONT SPRING - $83.00 (500E spring)
124-320-71-30 - SHOCK ABSORB - $184.25 (Strut for 500E and 400E Sport)

124-324-28-04 - REAR SPRING - $62.00 (6-cyl Sportline, stiffer of 2 avail; "soft" for E420)
124-324-35-04 - REAR SPRING - $87.00 (E420 Sport self-level only)
124-324-36-04 - REAR SPRING - $95.00 (Euro EPC shows this as stiffer opt, or 28-04 for softer/less load)
124-320-23-31 - SHOCK ABSORB - $93.00 (Rear Sportline shock for 300E/400E)

BTW - better plan on $350-$400 for the 500E sway bars, they are NOT cheap - especially the rear, bushings are ~$25 each!


HTH,

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Looks like my friend all ready got the Eibachs for me unless they turn out to be for the E320. Parts guys always make mistakes. re. E320 and E420's.

omegabenz can get the swaybars. Not sure if he was able to get 1 pair or several pair.

Craig

__________________
1994 E420, Pearl Black/Black. 2.82 rear diff., AMG front spoiler, painted lower half. SOLD

1972 & 1974 BMW 2002tii's.