The Fluid MotorUnion 500SL Build Thread (56k, no bloody way)

[Stringbean]

I have a secret obsession with weld porn as well! great work guys! Nice a friend has vibrant stuff on his car! cant wait to see more!

[Oxer]

Those welds..

[boostAbear]

I will be watching this for sure. Awesome work as usual guys!

[hi its me alec]

bananas. that is all.

[matchbox]

I can't wait to see where this goes, been wanting to see one of these done right for a while now.

[1badg35]

nice to see thinking outside the box here. cant wait to see how the car progresses

[Federico]

Wish I still had my W124....I could really use a set of those arms and maybe an exhaust from you guys! Keep it comin!

[Topazkd]

looks legit!!!!

[JPE16]

First build im actually subscribing to in the history of me being on the internet. I've wanted to do an old SL for a while!

Ps coming from a guy who welded aluminum intercoolers for bombardier that were pressure tested to 45 psi....those welds are sexy. Always loved FMU's work. Major whore of your blog right hurr.

[HWY HNTR]

aw man, wish I still had my w124, this is sick stuff guys. Maybe in the future...

[FluidMotorUnion]

Update time!

For the longest time, we were stuck waiting for the Vibrant mufflers to arrive, so we could finish the rear section of the SL's exhaust. Well, that wait is over; the mufflers arrived yesterday, and Craig went to work on fitting the two mufflers into the exhaust system. Again, we're not going for crazy overt loudness with this project (as we did with, say, the X5), but given the inherent aggressive tone in Craig + Tom's exhausts, the sound shouldn't suffer a single bit with these mufflers attached. Here are some pictures of the exhaust build:








Also, we finished our first hub adapter for the SL. We know exactly which wheels we're putting on the SL, but since the wheels' bolt pattern was different from the SL's, something had to change. We're not the biggest fan of redrilling wheels (there's usually a better way, especially when it comes down to altering the connection point between the wheel and the car), so we went with another route; instead of changing the wheels to limited success, why don't we change the car itself?

Well, that's what we did. Our new hub adapters move the SL's lug pattern to one that matches the wheels we intend on using for the vehicle. Here's some pictures of Eastway's product, which AJ designed:




The control arms are currently being sent out for powdercoating before we slap 'em back on, so more updates should be forthcoming! Enjoy your snow day (if you're in the Midwest). If you're from the east coast, well, the next few days should be exciting.

[kartikeya]

Question:

Your control arm work + shorter springs and shocks = moar low?

[Oxer]

Andrew, Who did the welds on that exhaust? Craig or Tom? Or both?


Can I marry them?

[FluidMotorUnion]

Question:

Your control arm work + shorter springs and shocks = moar low?

Yep. There are a very small amount of options available for dropping the SL, and none are able to produce the drop we want, so we went with the next best step.

Andrew, Who did the welds on that exhaust? Craig or Tom? Or both?


Can I marry them?

Both, and since it's both, my answer to your second question is no. Not in Illinois. Maybe Utah.

[hi its me alec]

Both, and since it's both, my answer to your second question is no. Not in Illinois. Maybe Utah.

"Fluid Male Union"