C63 AMG 507 edition wide arch project

[LeeJV]

Collection today was so worth the wait....
When I picked the car up from GBG I was over the moon with the quality, Now its been detailed and paint corrected by a pro its taken the finish to another level!!! It won't matter how many shots I get of this car with my crappy camera, none of the pics will do it any justice.. The Colours just explode in the sun, The Modesta Coating adds even more of a candy finish to the paint, like nothing I have ever seen before.
After my initial shock I then started to probe Darren ( the detailer) about how much clearcoat I have on the car, he said that a standard new car has approx. 150mircons of clearcoat, the standard amount from most bodyshops is about 3/400, My car was getting average readings of 850/1000 microns!!!! That's enough for about 10 full body paint corrections with plenty of clearcoat left.

We then spoke in in more detail about the paint colour as he had so many enquiry's from his previous customers about it, 1 of them owns a Lambo Huracan and wanted to know if I would sell the car to add to his car collection... you should have seen the look on my wife's face..

I won't add my pics yet as they just don't show anything, so will post the pics taken by the Detailer instead.

Some of you remember that earlier in the thread I was going to install a set of KW V3 Inox coilovers?
But due to the amount of time it was taking to get them I was initially happy to stick with OEM shocks and springs, well, I was told by some more experienced members that these would be needed, and it turns out that they were right. As the rear tyres are now so much wider its changed the profile height by about 5.5mm, This has now made the chassis unbalanced as its now more front biased, This explains why the car turns in so fast and needs more input from the steering to counter balance it.. So I will be having the KW's fitted.. just not sure how long delivery will take due to possible Covid restrictions..

I have also received the new OEM Black/Chrome bonnet badge and matching Wheel centre caps, I just have to separate the Works ones from the clips to mount the new ones then refit them in a few weeks time as I can't wash the car for 4 weeks!!! Yes, 4 WEEKS!! this is because Modesta has to cure and Gas off for that amount of time before any Chemicals can be used for washing and I don't want to risk fitting them onto a dirty surface.

Thanks again for all your interest guys, I'll be back soon with some worthy pics

[LeeJV]

Thanks buddy, much appreciated, as said tho The pics don't shoe the true colour untill its in the sun 😊
I cant stop looking at it

[LeeJV]

Thanks for replies guys..

I had some free time today.. and needed a distraction, so I went against my original plan of adding the new badges after its first wash.

1st was the bonnet.. well this was very simple, just popped the old one out via its clips on the underside and replaced the new one.. really was a simple as that so I didn't have to touch any paintwork anyway..





Wheels next.
I didn't want to take them off and risk scratching them while dirty, so I used a suction cup to pull them out, removed the Works badges from the backing clips. wiped them down with IPA then replaced them with these, they have a foil backed adhesive to ensure a better bond for hi temp applications, and should be fully bonded by the time it has its first wheel wash in a week.





I'm very happy with the quality and the look of these items, my only little niggle is that despite my searching for months I couldn't find a 3 pointed star to fit the centre caps so gave these a whirl, TBH, Now they are on the wheels they look far better than I thought and are an exact match to the bonnet.

Whats Next?? Kw V3's I've not ordered these yet as still unsure if I should just for the DDC option or not, most of my driving is just cruising with odd blast through the twisty's so it may be better to have the best of both worlds.

[LeeJV]

Hey guys, yup, sure was me, however, the car has home some further little bits done now in the way of a partial dechrome, yes I know I wanted to keep all the chrome, , I guess curiosity got the better of me..

[LeeJV]

Still not finished yet.. as the I've still not managed to sort the coilovers due to KW being an absolute pain, they cancelled my order again due to covid.. so moving on, I'm now going down a completely bespoke route with Ohlins.. can't wait to get these fitted..

In the meantime, thanks again for all the interest guys, it's really appreciated

[LeeJV]

Hey guys, thanks again for the comments.

Re coilovers. I'm only planning on dropping the car about 5mm on the front and 11mm on the rear to get the initial balance back, get it corner weighted and really dialled in. Once they weigh the car well see just how much it needs to be dropped.

I have no intention of dropping the car anymore than needed, this has been the biggest factor in deciding what coilover kit to go for.. most have a minimum drop of 20/30 mm and that's a little too much for me.

[LeeJV]

Bright Halo said:

I think you will end up with better coilovers going the Ohlins route.
They are excellent quality and superb in performance.
Would be my choice every time if it were not down to cost.

Edited by Bright Halo on Sunday 13th September 20:18

My only experience with Ohlins has been through super bike and super stock in the bsb, and I know how well they work, but was a little out of reach cost wise before, but now further down the line I've had some time to save some more funds.. and working with this company to develop a custom kit for the C63 is really exciting stuff.

[LeeJV]

Hey Guys, some Small Updates
1st Coilovers
these are now being produced and should be with me in around 8 weeks or so.. I won't go into the details just yet, as i'll do a full write up on them when they are delivered.. but progress is being made

Next up Decals
I produce OEM grade 507 decals, and have now started doing them in Carbon Fibre 2x2 textured weave Vinyl, I picked up the 1st batch today and OMG!!!!! this really is amazing stuff and seriously considering replacing my existing set with these.. what do you guys Think??

[LeeJV]

Thanks buddy, at this rate I dont think it will ever be finished.
Thanks for asking about My Dad, unfortunately I lost him at the end of June

[LeeJV]

Hey buddy, tbh I thought their prices were a little high at first compared to others, but the main reason for this is the quality materials they use, warranty on the paintwork and the workmanship speaks for itself.

If I were to have another car painted, or another project, I wouldn't hesitate using them again

[LeeJV]

Hey buddy, thanks for the compliments, yes it was a bold choice of colour, I too had my concerns it would be too much, but now it's all back together it looks fantastic.

Sorry I've not been on here an updated the thread, sorting out my dads house, will, care for my Mum etc has been my main priority, all is well now thankfully.

As for the car, I've been working on some new things of late over the winter period, I had the Carbon weave decals fitted, they really popped in the sunlight, the texture is fantastic too it gives a little more customisation to the build without going too far.










I've also had some major services done to the car including new injectors, mainly for piece of mind that they don't fail and kill my engine.

As for coilovers.. its taken some time with Ohlins to get all the parts we needed, and Covid restrictions have slowed this considerably due to lack of staff, loads of testing, geometry measurements, spring rates, also had to have some custom machined top mounts, and new rear top mounts.
All the parts are finally here, they are being dyno'd as we speak to get the valve adjustment ratio spot on.
All being well I should have them in the next month.


Whilst looking back through the build myself I found some old shots of the car.
How's this for a comparison


Before


After



Also now having a custom made badge that sits alongside the /////AMG.
had some massive fails, so went back to drawing board with a fellow forum member.

Here's the latest designs.




Thanks again for all the input guys

[LeeJV]

Another thing I also forget to mention was the wheel, I had them powder coated as they were sent with the wrong finish, well the coating itself reacted with the Ceramic coating, so I bad them dipped, and some again in a a satin black paint, now they look much better, intricate design of the spokes is more defined now.

[LeeJV]

BadBull said:

I don't think you should have Black Series written on the badges, personally.

Hey buddy, I won't be having Black series, that was just for a comparison. I don't want to try and make out it's a Black.

[LeeJV]

jonamv8 said:

Yep you’ve only and made the wheels look EVEN BETTER!! Attention to detail on this build is brilliant. You’ve inspired me into a 4 hour detail today

Thanks man, that's a stunning blue, looks like a great example for sure

[LeeJV]

Paul S4 said:

Amazing thread, fascinating read.
I am not really into projects like this, but your car now looks amazing.

When the car was finally finished, the shots of the interior made me think that the silver trims etc on the inside looked a bit out of place.... boring even!!
.....but have you considered carrying the green paint theme on to the 'silver' parts of the interior trim...?
It may be a bit OTT, but that was honestly my first thought when I saw the interior after all the bodywork photos...!

Great work all the way, so well done you.

By the way, I am not into Mercs really, I was into Alfas for a few years, but I am sure you know of the guy on Legitstreetcars on Youtube ?
I watch Hoovies garage regularly, and then followed the sale of his CarTrek AMG Merc to the guy on legitstreetcars, who is a Merc tech by day and has done some amazing work in his own garage to transform high mileage top end cars, mainly Merc c63s/C65s.
If you have not seen them the videos are 'awesome' to use one of his catchphrases...!!
And how he puts those massive engines back together so they actually work is beyond me....!! I have removed an engine on a classic lotus Elan a few years ago, but these modern 'super car' saloons are so very complex it amazes me how the techs can work on them !

Edited by Paul S4 on Monday 22 March 13:51

Hey Paul.

Thanks for the compliment buddy, its only a small amount of silver, decided to leave them as is, I'm having the seat belts changed to lime green, the floor mats are being trimmed with Green edges, I was going to have the steering wheel re trimmed with Green stitching, but its pristine condition so left it for now.


Not only that, the total build cost has almost doubled from my original budget esp given the development of the coilovers, then with lockdown having a financial impact I've had to slow down on card bashing😀😀

As for you tube, yes, I follow them quite a bit, not been on much of late tho.

[LeeJV]

Megaflow said:

Not sure how I missed this, but that looks superb. What I really like is the subtle-ness of the arches, you need to park a standard car next to it to really spot the difference.

That was another aim, trying to modify a car without going too far from oem, I think the paint choice is borderline, its close too the legacy edition viper green, only difference is that mine's gloss with some added pearl.

[LeeJV]

Bright Halo said:

Looking excellent!
We had a 12 reg C63 saloon in fireopel. The W204 really was a sweet spot with that glorious 6.2 V8.
Your mods are really tasteful and have just turned everything up to 11.
Any engine mods planned? (Not that it needs any)

Hey fella, thanks again, no engine plans, I was thinking about charging it, but I know from previous experience, as a road car anything over 500bhp is wasted really. So going to leave it stock, just enjoy the car NA V8 and the new chassis setup

[LeeJV]

Hey guys, so sorry for not updating the thread, it's been crazy busy.
.
I've sold the car........



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Moving on from the last post, no coilovers yet, mainly due to Covid and brexit etc causing huge delays on parts and fabrication.

I do have some other updates.
Since the build started I've been on the fence about Side skirt extensions and front lip,
1. I didn't want carbon fibre parts.
2. Having the kit could make the car look like something out of Maxpower.
3. Styling, all kits I have found extend so far out from the arches and look as if they need to be inline
..
.

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Well, moving on, I looked even further and have been considering something slightly bespoke to get the best look I can, after what seemed endless decision making, looking at pics etc I finally thought "F###k it, just do it " worst case I don't like it and I'll sell the kit on.

After several purchases being delivered to check on quality, fitment and style I ended up with a full kit from Unit 17.
This kit is only available in Carbon Fibre but quality was top notch.

after some calls to Golding Barn Garage and several trips down, we came up with a plan.

The rear bumper skirts and front lip were an exact fit, but the skirts were too wide and didn't fit the profile of my sills due to the custom arches, so 15mm needed to be cut out and scribed into the profile to get an exact fit.
Still adamant that I didn't want carbon fibre I decided to have the kit painted in Gloss Black to match all the other trims.

Then once fitted I removed the front stone deflectors to modify them in the same profile as the skirts so that it all tied together.




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I've got loads more to add guys, so bear with me

[LeeJV]

[LeeJV]

Now fitted, I made some new templates out of cardboard for the stone deflectors, cut them out from Black ABS Plastic bonded them on with 3M tape and some very small Stainless steel fixing with black caps.