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Performance Products Wood Upgrade Problem
Hi --
I ordered some interior burl wood from Performance Products for my C43 AMG based on their catalogue pictures. The first piece I received looks great and matches the existing burl exactly but there does not seem to be any satisfactorily professional way to install the piece. Any help or shared experience would be greatly appreciated. The specifics: I recieved the Performance Products burl wood armrest cover this Thursday. It consits solely of a piece of burl wood shaped and contoured to fit on the 1999 C43 (202 chasis) armrest. It did not come with any installation instructions any screws, a platic base, etc. When I called them, their verbal instructions were incomplete and simply wrong. After I finally removed the entire armrest cover from the center console assembly by removing the the two screws holding its hinge onto the console assembly and removing the pin attaching the closing mechanism to the hinge, I found the black MBTex armrest to be attached to a metal retaining plate by 7 small screws. When I removed those screws, the MBTex armrest cover separated from the metal plate by two thirds, but remained attached at its end at the hinge. After further inspection, it seemed that the hinge pin went through plastic rings moulded onto the plastic backing that the MBTex is glued to. Consequently, there does not seem to be any way to remove the MBTex and replace it with the Performance Products burl wood armrest short of physically stripping the glued MBTex from its plastic backing and replacing it with the burl wood. After speaking to Performace Products its seems that they expect their customers to simply glue that piece of burl wood over the existing MBTex armrest and be done with it. That method is simply unacceptable and will not look like an OE intallation. Am I missing something, or does any one know how to install such a replacement armrest cover? It would look great if it could be installed like the OE piece. Thanks
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Marc C55: Evosport headers & UDP's; AMS crank; TVT thermo; phenolic spacers; Denso IK16's; EuroTech ECU; RennTech cf airbox w/ Green filters; Z06 catch can; Sprintbooster; Optima RedTop; Quaife LSD; AMG: shift paddles, 030 rear calipers & rotors; Rotera brake lines; Euroteck CF lip; "C63" rear diffuser; 18" SLK AMG Turbines (summer); 18" OZ Superleggera's (winter); K40 dual f&r radar w/ laser jammers; MB: digital climate control, iPod kit & mp3 CD changer; iTronic B/T for MOST. Last edited by Tump; 01-12-2003 at 09:09 PM. |
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Answer
Well I finally took the car to an auto upolstry shop I know and they explained that with these pieces and all other aftermarket upgrades available for armrests, they must be glued onto the existing armrest. One cannot dissassemble the existing armrest cover and replace it with an aftermarket piece that does not have the exact same shape and dimensions as the original armrest cover. The Performance Products piece was large enough to and designed to fit over the existing cover. Oh Well.
I glued it on. It does look great -- its a beautiful piece of burl wood and matches exactly but, if you are really picky you may see traces of the old cover from the side. I could always go back to OE if I like.
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Marc C55: Evosport headers & UDP's; AMS crank; TVT thermo; phenolic spacers; Denso IK16's; EuroTech ECU; RennTech cf airbox w/ Green filters; Z06 catch can; Sprintbooster; Optima RedTop; Quaife LSD; AMG: shift paddles, 030 rear calipers & rotors; Rotera brake lines; Euroteck CF lip; "C63" rear diffuser; 18" SLK AMG Turbines (summer); 18" OZ Superleggera's (winter); K40 dual f&r radar w/ laser jammers; MB: digital climate control, iPod kit & mp3 CD changer; iTronic B/T for MOST. |
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