Medium Pimpin' - 1995 E300 diesel build

[hypetoday]

Don't you have the facelift tail lights on your ride? I've considered going clear on the turn signals, and if / when I do, you've got first dibs. I'll keep you informed

yes, i have... but a second pair is always good. but the turn signals are important first.

[CrackerTeg]

I hope these pics work...
[IMG]http://www.w124club.nl/download/file.php?id=4652[/IMG
[IMG]http://www.w124club.nl/download/file.php?id=4651[/IMG
[IMG]http://www.w124club.nl/download/file.php?id=4649[/IMG
[IMG]http://www.w124club.nl/download/file.php?id=4648[/IMG
[IMG]http://www.w124club.nl/download/file.php?id=4647[/IMG

I have read that it actually wasn't a factory option. This was made by some audio-brand that made this specifically for the w124. The guy who made these pictures found it in a parts car he bought.

Maybe its me but these pics don't work on my work PC, home PC or my phone.

[loekaaz]

maybe its me but these pics don't work on my work pc, home pc or my phone.

fixed

[CrackerTeg]

fixed

Awesome. I see them now.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

yes, i have... but a second pair is always good. but the turn signals are important first.

I just discovered one of mine has a crack . I'm going to try and get my hands on a replacement, and I'll let you know. I need to think up some cool Euro accessory I need in trade

fixed

That's actually really clever if you're just looking for some low-end fill, rather than big boom. It's right next to both the stereo and on the same side of the car as the battery, at least on the 6-cylinder models (I think V8s have the battery in the rear... I think).

[SD202]

your tank and comp setup is gonna be sick. But why do you have a butterfly valve or whatever at the end ? I understand the air dryer and drain and safety release but what is the valve and PTC fitting for ? air tools ? Never the less your trunk setup is coming along very nicely !

[Marsss]

This is looking veeeerrrrrry nice... do work man...

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

your tank and comp setup is gonna be sick. But why do you have a butterfly valve or whatever at the end ? I understand the air dryer and drain and safety release but what is the valve and PTC fitting for ? air tools ? Never the less your trunk setup is coming along very nicely !

Good eye! Onboard air is just too useful to not use for more than just air ride. My plan is to run a second line to a panel somewhere on the car with a quick connect for air tools and the like. I also might have a fun secret up my sleeve . Since the first job of the compressor is to keep the suspension aired up, I put a ball valve on the secondary line just incase it decides to start leaking.

Today's work:

Audio Build, Day 4

I spent the weekend helping my dad frame out a shed, so I haven't had a ton of time or energy to work on the car, but I did manage to make a little dent today.

I got the amplifiers wired up and ready to rock:


To keep the smaller wires more manageable, I twisted them all together. If you don't know this trick, it's totally awesome. First, tie off or otherwise attach your wires to something solid:


...then chuck up the other end of the wire in your drill:


Pull taut, hit go on the drill, and as soon as you feel the wire starting to pull the drill forward, you're done. You'll wind up with a nice, tight bundle of wire that won't easily come unraveled. It looks more impressive with a larger number of wires, but it's useful for any number:


I mounted the crossovers for the front components to the back of the sub box, and ran the rest of the wiring across the back of the amp rack. Between the fat cables for the amps, all the wires for the speakers, and the wiring for the compressor and such, this turned into a big donkey dick of wire hanging off the back:


It turned out you could see the wiring and compressor through the cutout for the trunk arm, so I made up a quickie little cover panel out of some aluminum:


I slid everybody in place, and mounted up the subwoofer. To bring the effective box volume closer to the middle of the sub's recommended specs, I filled the box with 24oz of PolyFill. The sub itself is sealed in place with more of that sticky black silicone:


For the air ride, I drilled the trunk's back wall and installed ten bulkhead fittings. I trimmed up the wall and installed it in place temporarily:


At this point, with the exception of the trim that will finish up the face of the box, the sub box itself is complete:


Tomorrow I plan to finish running wires for the audio install and get the materials to finish trimming out the box. Then, it will be time for the air ride install to begin in earnest

Thanks again for all the interest!

[schroedin]

big donkey dick of wire hanging off the back

[HuH]

Rad, love your attention to detail. Are you concerned about running the power and signal wires side by side like that? I've always been told to avoid it as much as possible since it causes buzzing and interference.

[skiierman]

looks good, I'll keep an eye out for you around town

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Rad, love your attention to detail. Are you concerned about running the power and signal wires side by side like that? I've always been told to avoid it as much as possible since it causes buzzing and interference.

Thank you! I really think that detail can make or break a build. It's amazing how many times I've seen a car with incredible modifications, but with cut corners and sloppy work.

I tend to be of the camp that running signal and power wires next to one another should be avoided as well. That said, as far as I understand the physics involved (and bear in mind, I'm a historian, not a physicist), the magnitude of the noise induced on the signal wires is proportional to the length they run side-by-side, so with a real short run, the noise should be minimal. In my truck, the signal and power wires shared a run for about three feet, as there just wasn't any other good way to get where they needed to go. It's hard to be sure with how deafeningly loud that truck was, but I don't recall ever hearing any alternator whine or anything else undesirable. In this case, the length of the shared run is only about 24", and I don't think that will cause enough noise to be noticeable. If it winds up being a problem, though, the solution is just a few snipped zipties away!

looks good, I'll keep an eye out for you around town

Likewise! What end of town do you call home? I'm up between Kenton and St. Johns, a.k.a, the 'hood.

[skiierman]

Likewise! What end of town do you call home? I'm up between Kenton and St. Johns, a.k.a, the 'hood.

Kenton by PIR right? I live off of skyline. people say I live in "the countryside" 20 min from downtown... if you ever need a hand with the build shoot a message my way, love to see these old Mercedes get some attention.

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

Yep yep, right by PIR. I'll let'cha know - I'm sure there will come a point in this build where I could use a second pair of hands.

Currently taking a lunch break from wiring. I'll tell ya, these cars are NOT easy to wire for amps. There is just absolutely MILES of crap you've got to remove to run RCAs to the trunk. The back of the dash is just completely crammed with vacuum lines, zillions of ground wires, and other miscellaneous bullshit. The other problem is that all the panels in the interior fit really tightly, and it's hard to put panels back in place with wiring underneath without it looking like you've hidden a dead body under there. It's a beautifully-built car, but jesus is it a pain in the ass to modify.

I did hear the first noise out of the sub this morning, and got to listen to the compressor fire up for the first time - started to get really excited about this

[mike-81-240d]

Mine is a single stage car as well, so MB stopping in the 70's isn't the truth. I know for a fact that in the W123 body style the non metallic cars were single stage, and the metallic cars had clear-coat.

She's looking great though! Gotta love the '95 E300 my buddy always gets over 30 mpg in his, even while driving like a douche.