# teamSPB's New Project...Mercedes CLS...time to be PIMP



## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Hi everyone, thought we would introduce our new demo car...the Focus' replacement! 

Having had a VW Scirocco, Escort RS Turbo, Focus RS, Toyota Previa (still got), Vauxhall Corsa C (still got), it was time to buy something a bit more pimp and something I wouldnt mind adding miles to without worrying about depreciation...but the main thing was, it had to be more of a cruiser/pimpmobile lol! 

The main criteria for this car was;

We can get 4 people in without any issue
It is a fairly rare car in comparison to most big prestigious cars - i.e. not a BMW 3 or 5 series that everyone already has or have seen heavily modified already
Had to have a big boot
Had to have that 'pimp' status
Had to be nippy for a big car
Had to have plenty of scope for some BIG plans I have in my mind!
Had to be a decent colour with decent interior

After looking at endless cars including BMW 1-3-5 series which were ruled out straight away due to them being so popular and often looked at as 'mum and dads car' especially where I live! I started looking at Mercs and instantly took a liking to them...looked at the new A class, C class, S class, CLS, etc etc the A class looks SMART on the advert, but I specc'd one up and it was totalling to over 30k with the spec I wanted! The C class took my liking instantly, but again, they are far too popular....The S class was a good contender, but the CLS seemed to have ticked all the boxes for what we wanted and had that extra 'rare' appeal as most people opt for the S class...

Dont get me wrong, its not a rare car like my Focus RS was etc, but in my local area, there are probably only a handful of these cars and I like to try to be different if I can....besides, everyone I know who has a CLS is old lol!

Finally after looking at a few CLS', I found one I really liked, 320cdi, 78k on the clock, FSH, Black, Black leather interior, Airmatic suspension, really clean inside and out, Sat Nav, Bluetooth, DVD player, and didnt have the light walnut brown dash (instead it was dark brown lol)...a deal was struck and it was snapped up!!

Some pics of the car from the advert...





































We have some nice plans for the car...including...

20inch wheels
Full Rayvern Hydraulics installation with twin (or single, not decided yet) pumps
iPad mini installation
Mosconi 6to8 processor with bluetooth streaming from iPad mini or any phone
2 Ascendant Audio Havoc 18" subs custom built for infinite baffle applications
Mosconi amplifiers
8 pot (yes we had to go bigger than the Focus which was on 6 pot lol!!) AMG calipers on the front and 4pot AMG calipers on the rear
360mm disc conversion (next discs may possibly be 390-400mm) on the front and 330mm on the rear
An after market body kit or bumpers
etc etc

Welcome to the build thread!!!

teamSPB


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

For those who have not seen our other projects/cars...

















































































































































Just to name a few lol


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Nice find all the way across the board. I'm just surprised that you aren't going with the B2 amps again. Does his mean your going with an all Mosconi build as far as amps and DSP?


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## boom_squid_2 (Jan 29, 2008)

Wow! Suscribed fo sho!


Any build pics of the mini-van?


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## danno (Jan 25, 2009)

Love the slammed previa.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

First off was to give the car a clean...the car was in good condition when I bought it....but as usual, the more you look at things, the more you pick up!





































Eagle eyed of you will notice the single fin grill  This was purchased off ebay VERY cheap!









First up...Magifoam snowfoam


















You can see the dirt coming off on the floor



























Allowed to dwell for around 10mins and then jet washed off













































The wheels were covered in Wolf's chemicals de-ironizer...this is used to remove all tar and iron off the wheels and body...you can see where its working where its turning purple



























Then rinsed off with the jet wash


















The car was then clayed using a Megs clay bar - this was as dirty as it got









But the I did the underside of the sills









All done



























This was all we done to it...I didnt detail it as it was freezing! I also am waiting for my rotary to turn up so I can give it a proper detail!

teamSPB


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Coppertone said:


> Nice find all the way across the board. I'm just surprised that you aren't going with the B2 amps again. Does his mean your going with an all Mosconi build as far as amps and DSP?


I have a demo vehicle with B2 in already (the Previa), so with this one, I decided to go for Mosconi...The only other thing with B2 is they dont do many small 2 channel amps  

I LOVE the quality of the B2 amps though! Best sounding Class D amps I have heard ever!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

boom_squid_2 said:


> Wow! Suscribed fo sho!
> 
> 
> Any build pics of the mini-van?


Ill put up a build thread


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

Sub'd. Love the car!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Man, that car is gorgeous! Sub'd for the build!


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## soul786 (Feb 18, 2013)

Gorgeous car. Looking forward to seeing this one come along


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Next up was to spray the grill black...I wasnt overly keen on the silver grill so I bought some plastidip

This is a great spray which allows you to paint over any surface (no keying etc needed), and if you change your mind and want to remove it or change colour etc, it simply peels off like it was never there!

I painted the whole grill black but im not sure if I will peel back the logo itself just to add some colour to the front...I will decide on that later


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Shortly after this, I decided to change some parts on the engine...not for power or anything, just the troublesome seals that go onto the intake pipe for the turbo. There are 2 orange seals on this that are prone to leak over time, I knew about these well before buying the car and always used to check their condition when I used to look at CLS's. As a precautionary measure, I decided to change the seals...which was a bit of a blessing in disguise I guess!

I dont the seal change, but noticed the plastic intake pipe had a crack in it...someone previously had over tightened this jubilee clip and cracked it! I thought to myself if it tights and doesnt get any worse then happy days as the car didnt have any issues before. So I went to tighten it, and CRACK! The plastic pipe cracked all the way through and in such a way, that you could see the turbine when looking at the pipe! NOT GOOD! 

I tried to repair it by plastic welding it and glueing it for extra strength, but as my luck would have it...it crack again!

On the phone to Mercedes...Found out that part isnt available on its own and comes with 2 brand new MAF sensors at the lovely sum of £292+VAT!!! Oh the joys of owning a Merc!! Luckily I bought it at trade but still cost big money! But the car now runs new MAF's and intake pipe!














































Next up, came some interior mods! Well not mods so to speak...but interior tidy up!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

pics of scirocco! >_<

i want one so bad! stupid vwusa


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## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)

Those are some sick rides. Much nicer than what I will ever own!


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## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)

Oh yeah.....

The black grill on the 320 is a nice touch!


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## nickitp (Mar 14, 2013)

Just a tip, regular detergents like dish soap will strip away a car's wax and leave it unprotected against things that can stick to or damage the paint.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Absolutely hated the original interior bulbs! The yellow light is horrid IMO!









New Interior bulbs ready to go


















Missions getting the interior lights down









Fitted!












































At this point, the floor lights and under door lights still havent been changed hence the yellow light under the dash

I was bored one night so I ordered this...









I wasnt overly keen on the centre console on the car for some reason...it had worn down a little and I really didnt like the matt brown finish on the panels! Perfect excuse to replace with a fresh one! Luckily I found one out of a 2009/2010 CLS which fit the bill perfectly! Unfortunately it had even worse brown coloured finishing lol!

Stripped down the new rear console


















I then sprayed all the panels black



























For those interested...this was the original colour of the trim panels in the car (look past the LEDs lol)


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Next up was a centre console swap...there wasnt anything fundamentally wrong with the original one in the car, it just had too much 'sheen' on it and was a bit dirty...yes I could have cleaned it and been job done, but I dont do things by halves!...A new console was on the cards to be put in alongside my freshly painted black panels - slide covers, dash panels, gear surround etc etc










You can already see the dirt













































Old vs New...you can see the difference































































Cup holder installed


















See a Porsche GT3 lurking in the background which was in for some work


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

teamspb said:


> ...plastic intake pipe had a crack in it...someone previously had over tightened this jubilee clip and cracked it! I thought to myself if it tights and doesnt get any worse then happy days as the car didnt have any issues before. So I went to tighten it, and CRACK! The plastic pipe cracked all the way through and in such a way, that you could see the turbine when looking at the pipe! NOT GOOD!
> 
> I tried to repair it by plastic welding it and glueing it for extra strength, but as my luck would have it...it crack again!
> 
> On the phone to Mercedes...Found out that part isnt available on its own and comes with 2 brand new MAF sensors at the lovely sum of £292+VAT!!! Oh the joys of owning a Merc!! Luckily I bought it at trade but still cost big money! But the car now runs new MAF's and intake pipe!


Scumbag Mercedes:
Costs $80,000.00 USD
Has plastic engine parts

>:[


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Stripping the dash down to paint trim panels piano black


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

I will post pictures of the dash complete soon...

But moving on, it was time to address the front end some more...I wasnt keen on the silver headlights...they had to change!


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Those look really, really good!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

nice touch with the headlights there.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Considering the console was being changed, I stripped out the back of the car completely...this was for two reasons;

- To clean the seats and carpet thoroughly
- To sound deaden the rear bulk head properly as I will be installed subwoofers which will be mounted to it and ran as infinite baffle. This means they will not technically have a box and will use the boot space as the enclosure...however, I will try something a little different to see if it works 

Stock boot









Checking the battery/spare wheel area


















Rear panel about to be sound deadened and insulated



























Stock rear shelf area


















Im guessing the big foam bit is where the OEM subwoofer would have gone if it was specced from factory...neat idea!

All big holes covered in Gladen Audio Aero Extreme - this is a VERY stiff sheet with an adhesive backing to cover big holes and give NO flex!


















Stripping and deadening in Silent Coat 2mm and 4mm deadener


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Gladen Audio Neoprene 6mm closed cell foam to help stop airborne noise


















iPad mini build



























Gladen Audio Zero Pro 165 DC components


















Sneaky centre channel


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

This is what the panels were like before hand









18" subs are a TIGHT fit!!


























































































teamSPB


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

rad, but i bet it is not easy typing on that ipad mini lol.

how are you handling audio out? staying with analog? or are you using a backup headunit and using the ipads usb connection?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

I have been asked a good few times now how I am getting the audio to the speakers...I am using the iPad's built in speaker...sounds great!! LOL...im doing it as below;

iPad mini bluetooth streaming audio at full resolution
Mosconi 6to8 DSP processor with SP-DIF multi and AMAS modules added on to allow for bluetooth streaming
Mosconi amps
Gladen audio speakers

So the iPad mini sends through all audio signals via bluetooth to the Mosconi 6to8 DSP. The DSP then processes the sounds, splits up the signals and sends them to the amps via RCA's as per normal.
The amps then send signals as per normal into the speakers via speaker cables.

The Mosconi 6to8 had to be opened up to accept the extra modules
































































Hope this helps


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## mr.metoo (Feb 20, 2010)

Love this car, keep up the great work


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## raresvintea (Sep 17, 2010)

Intresting decision with bluetooth module! A clean way without distorsions, ground loops etc. And the Mosconi in my oppinion is a clever toy! 

Please continue to impress me


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

what's the quality like when streaming through bluetooth? 

say you were playing a lossless file... when it gets to the processor, is it still lossless or is the quality compressed at all?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

mattyjman said:


> what's the quality like when streaming through bluetooth?
> 
> say you were playing a lossless file... when it gets to the processor, is it still lossless or is the quality compressed at all?


With the addition of the SP-DIF multi and the AMAS unit (which together allow the addition of bluetooth streaming), you get FULL resolution of bluetooth streaming...and hand on heart, the quality is breath taking! I have heard things in recordings I have never heard before...little symbols, back ground noises etc!

Here are the features of the AMAS unit;

Features:
- SP-Dif Multi Board is required
- It supports A2DP in the high-resolution EDR specification by any source like
mobiles/pads/tabs with iOS/Android or…
- Data transfer also of uncompressed files and directly into the digital section of the DSP
so the best possible signal flow for absolute High-End Sound
- 3 simultaneous connections (control/handsfree-set/audio), but only one audio source
- Bit rate up to 2.1 Mbit/sec
- Supported codes: SBC, MP3, AAC, Flac, Loss-Less, Wave
- Including an antenna extension cable if the 6to8 location is e.g. in a closed trunk

These are the features of the SP-DIF multi;

Two SP‐Dif inputs (optical, digital)
One coaxial input (digital)
One SP‐Dif output (optical, digital)
One coaxial output (digital)
A connector for an optional BT Audio Steaming Module (support A2DP in High Resolution EDR)
Microphone connector to use (in the future) the 6to8 as a hands‐free‐set too

Heres an example of the bluetooth streaming...the iPad was actually around 5meters away from the car


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Loving the mods to the front end and the elegant Ipad audio connection scheme. Moar!!! Hehehe


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Some more pics for you;










My RCD controller for my Mosconi DSP is also here now...this will control the volume, presets, subwoofer level etc...It will be fitted into my ash tray area with some modifications...













































Ash tray cover still closes fine (ignore the cable, its just to test fit the RCD)









Also changed my orange front indicator bulbs


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

The audio is currently on hold until I sort a few bits out...but it is working

teamSPB Project CLS iPad mini install - bluetooth streaming on Mosconi 6to8 - YouTube - not sure if the link will work as YouTube are moaning about copyright!

Next up I wanted to freshen up the bodywork a bit...a friend of mine wanted to use my car as his wedding car, and I HATED the amount of swirls all over the car etc...so I decided to wet sand the car 



















Unfortunately I didnt get too many pics of the paintwork before hand...but below are the ones I did get






















































You will have to tune in tomorrow to see the results


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Did you wetsand it by hand, or did you throw a really fine disc on a DA or something? Should look amazing when done.

Jay


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

I only managed to get the bonnet and the roof done as I ran out of time...but heres the results

As said, before it was like this all over






















































Wing shot - Before









During









After



























And ready for the wedding













































Randoms


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

wow.


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

Great thread.


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

sweet! i love seeing luxury cars done up on here. ive wanted to own one of these for a while now and im pretty darn jealous. a little bummed that the wood went black, but that's a personal thing and it still turned out great. the wetsanding really made that paint come to life; great job.

i may have missed it, but any plans to add the amg body package or change wheels?


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

nice thread! subbed!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Sneaky pics of the wheels 9 x 20 and 10.5 x 20, 235/35 on the front and 255/35 on the rear...this is subject to change to 235/30 and 255/30 when they need changing...for a reason I shall disclose later  lol



















For those who follow us on instagram (teamspb) and facebook (teamspb), keep quiet LOL! You get a special insight as to what we are upto!!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I had to go like your FB page just because of this. You guys are doing some great work!

And Vossens are the sh*t on cars big enough for them. lol

Jay


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## chiragh (Aug 19, 2009)

Amazing build log ... 

can't wait to see Vossen


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Proper pics...













































































































[img[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/bassboy/Merc%20CLS/Wheels/DSC06478_zpsfadc95fa.jpg[/img]


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Here is the last one.

Jay


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Got lows??









LOL!


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## RNBRAD (Oct 30, 2012)

All looks really good. Those rims will look sweet!!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

RNBRAD said:


> All looks really good. Those rims will look sweet!!


Cheers mate! My brakes will look awesome behind the spokes I reckon!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

should have powder coated the rims to something other than boring aluminum that every car has. 

assuming the BT streaming is that good, it really makes me jealous. my carPC does not have that kind of thing ... yet.

awesome job with the wetsanding though. i need to do that to my car this summer. any specific tips on your process?


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## jeeptian (Feb 9, 2013)

nice car


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

req said:


> should have powder coated the rims to something other than boring aluminum that every car has.
> 
> assuming the BT streaming is that good, it really makes me jealous. my carPC does not have that kind of thing ... yet.
> 
> awesome job with the wetsanding though. i need to do that to my car this summer. any specific tips on your process?


These are machine polished to  with hyper silver paint

Yes the BT streaming really is that good! I love it! 

Wet sanding, start off with the highest grit paper you have...my process went from 2000grit to 2500 to 3000 before using a wool pad, then cutting pad, then finishing pad...

on the roof I had to start with 1500grit as 2000 did nothing lol, on the wing, I started with 2500grit...

Just dont go too mad with it, keep it gentle and take off minimal amounts...

Maybe try using a wool pad first and see if it corrects enough?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Some AMG 8pot brakes for the front, and 4pots for the rears!

These have been painted rather badly by the previous owner...for now ill be painting them silver...if they dont turn out so bad, ill keep them, otherwise ill powder coat them at some point...

I ordered some AMG decals from eBay in a carbon lettering...they turned up and looked great! A simple discrete mod!

The 8pots are off most of the AMG ranges and are interchangeable....these have come off an SL. 8 Pads in total for the front calipers! This should mean some AWESOME stopping power! 

Some of you may remember my 6pot AMGs on the Focus...well they look tiny in comparison!



















Heres the manky new brakes! They even came with OEM Mercedes pads, virtually brand new!




































Stripping the paint









The discs are Pagid 360mm x 34mm drilled on the front, and 330mm x 26mm on the rear...the originals were 312mm x 28mm on the front and 300mm x 22mm on the rear! I swear by these discs and they seem to out perform the likes of EBC, Brembo, ATE etc that I have tried in the past!


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## RNBRAD (Oct 30, 2012)

Did you check clearance issues with your aftermarket rims? I couldn't fit the AMG's with my rims. Spokes would hit the caliper. I only have about 1/16 clearance with my regular calipers. Very tight fit.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

LOL, I thought with 20inch rims, 360mm discs (14inch, and another 1-2inch for the caliper), they would fit in fine...but when I saw the inside design of the rim, I noticed the valve was on the inside of the barrel rather than the outside as normal! I measured and it had 17" of clearance...still had me worried!

Thank God when I test fitted the calliper and disc inside the rim, it went in no problem! Thank all thats holy for that or that would have been one big mistake LOL!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Time to upgrade the brakes!!

The standard rear setup - 300mm x 22mm discs and single pot calipers, the new AMG setup - 330mm x 26mm discs and 4-pot calipers with OEM Merc pads!










Dirty rear arch lining


















strut









Time for a clean!









Old vs New






























































































































Test fitting the rims...bit of a teaser!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Onto the fronts! Now these were not as straight forward as the rears! Alot of work involved! 1 thing I didnt mention is the brake fluid was changed as well to DOT 5.1 throughout the whole braking system!




























14inch discs!













































You can see the AMG Carbon decals properly









[imghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/bassboy/Merc%20CLS/Brakes/DSC06687_zpsdd9811df.jpg[/img]

Oh and yes, the hydros are now on!!!









Thats the lowest setting, and its now laying frame - the bottom of the chassis (the plastic covers), are touching the floor!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Pictures of the hydro setup in the boot...it all fits in the spare wheel area so no boot space whatsoever is lost...




























High setting









Medium height









Low




































Laying frame!!!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

When the wheels first went on...























































Then we spaced the rears out as I wanted a wider stance...think we done well with the spacers! This is with HEAVY camber on the rear...































































Just higher than normal driving height (I have it around 15mm lower all round)


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## JP Fabrication (Feb 20, 2008)

Love it. Great job!


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## metz (Feb 1, 2007)

Sick!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Are you using accumulators? I'm not real familiar with hydros, but one guy I was talking to says he uses accumulators so they hydros don't ride all bouncy.
Diggin the car, for sure.

Jay


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

This thing is just all around bad ass!



JayinMI said:


> Are you using accumulators? I'm not real familiar with hydros, but one guy I was talking to says he uses accumulators so they hydros don't ride all bouncy.


I was thinking the same thing. I assume that's what these are?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Some more pics


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## bardo (Oct 12, 2011)

excellent choice in wheel style--i used the same on my A7, but did the matte grey + machined hoping that i wouldnt have to clean brake dust every other day 

the backs look like 10.5 wide, what are the fronts? it loses some of the concave on it --9's?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

bardo said:


> excellent choice in wheel style--i used the same on my A7, but did the matte grey + machined hoping that i wouldnt have to clean brake dust every other day
> 
> the backs look like 10.5 wide, what are the fronts? it loses some of the concave on it --9's?


Ah yeah the brake dust is a pain, but I have sealed the rims with CQuartz dlux twice 48hours apart and then added 9 layers of wax per rim before they went on...then they had another 3 layers of wax since lol! I plan on taking them off again tomorrow to clean them properly again as I have a show on the weekend

Yes 9's on the front as the silly front suspension layout wont allow for anything wider  The 10.5's will poke out around 30mm past the arch  Im happy with the staggered look though


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Bit of an update...

The car was at PassionFords nights at Ace Cafe (one of its first outings) and got some GREAT feedback! Namely people could not believe how low and how close the wheels are to the arch on the rear lol! Its always a great feeling when you go to a different make of show and people are taking lots of pics and giving another car lots of attention!

We went on from Ace Cafe to Wembley and took some random photos on my phone (not great)























































The next outing for the Merc was Modified Nationals the other week. The car was on the Scene:Status stand in the arena! I was only told 2 days before the event that it will definitely be there so I had to rush and clean the car and get some form of install in the boot!...Regardless....we made it!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Right, time for some updates...not much has really happened with the car to be honest as im still waiting on some audio bits so I can crack on with that side of the project...

A few weeks ago was Players Classic and DC13 and we went along to both! AWESOME weekend for sure and the drive to Goodwood was certainly interesting! Even mixed it up with some hot hatches on the twistys which even suprised me LOADS! Was good watching the usual hot hatch jap crew blazing it with a 2.5ton Merc right behind them lol! 

The car was due a wash...so we had it looking like this;




























Some of my best pics throughout the weekend;


























































































































































I also took away Best Mercedes of Show at DC13!! Well chuffed!!!


















HUGE thanks to all involved!!!


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## chiragh (Aug 19, 2009)

can we see few pics of speaker installation ?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Need to update this Big time! But while I get the updates in order...some of my best pics of the year!




























Be back tomorrow with some more updates!


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

The car has an interesting look to it. I am probably just ignorant of something here that everybody else already knows, but I'm curious - why aren't the windows tinted? It appears that almost all of the cars in the background don't have tint either.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Right, where do I begin!!!

Firstly, I havent been overly active with the CLS over the last months, just simply getting on with little bits here and there mainly down to continual growth of the business etc so getting more and more cars coming in all the time. 

The main bits that I have done, is just get it to a better standard! Changing bits that weren't up to my standard or I felt can be better.

On the whole, the car is pretty much the same!

Lets catch up with show season...

Shows attended this year were;

DC (Best Mercedes)
Players Classic
Modified Nationals
Westside
Ace Cafe German and Passionford Meets
All Dubs

Cant remember any others!

So some pics through the season...













































































































So thats show season done! We were meant to go to Show and Glow, but after hearing the weather was meant to be bad, I decided to give it a miss and had a nice day off instead!

Now, onto the bits that I have changed!

Due to the EXCESSIVE camber I run (was measured at over 4degrees!) and the Toe settings being out, my front tyres shredding themselves in around 1500 miles!! Painful especially on a set of Bridgestones! I wanted to change them regardless however due to wanted to trim down the tyre size a tad as I couldnt drive the car as low as I wanted on the front. 

Tyre size has now gone from 235/35 to 225/35. Im MUCH happier with the new toe settings and the 225's as the steering is like a feather now! 

Check the insides of the tyre!!!









Next up was a service! I havent serviced the car since I bought it and felt like doing it just to keep on top of it...The previous owner/garage said they had just serviced it before I got it....all I can say is LIARS!!!! I dont think this is the state of an air filter after less than 5000miles!









Other side









Right...dinners ready now lol!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Chaos said:


> The car has an interesting look to it. I am probably just ignorant of something here that everybody else already knows, but I'm curious - why aren't the windows tinted? It appears that almost all of the cars in the background don't have tint either.


Tinting isnt really a big thing in the UK...im guessing places like the states etc lots of people have windows tinted due to the extreme summers that can occur......that DEFINITELY doesnt happen in the UK LOL! 

Saying that however, I have considered it...but I also like the OEM blue tint...I may do it...I may not...jury is still out on that one


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## decibelle (Feb 17, 2011)

Midway through browsing your thread I knocked a drink over on myself. Couldn't take my eyes off the pics though so I kept scrolling through the entire build with lemonade dripping off my hands. Priorities.

Car looks stunning, build looks gorgeous. In for more updates. Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:


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## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)

Where did I miss the audio install?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

For those interested in regular updates on the Merc/R32/Previa as well as other cars, follow me on;

Instagram : teamspb
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-SPB-Godfathers-of-Sound/176971358993901


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Since I had bought the car, I periodically had an error message saying Battery or something, so it was about time I did something about it as it started to come on more frequently. 

As I have 2 batteries in the rear of the vehicle, one OEM battery and another XS Power D2400 battery to help spread the load, I knew it wouldn't be showing an error from the rear batteries, which only left the front aux battery.

When I removed all the bits to access the front battery, I noticed it was the original MB battery from new. Not bad considering these are meant to have 3-4 years life in them. 

As per my normal actions, once the battery etc had been removed, I cleaned EVERYTHING out and got rid of any leaves, dirt and grime from the area and then waxed it all!










As per the instructions, I had to fill the battery up with the supplied distilled water and let it settle for 20minutes before giving the battery a full charge. In its charge state, the battery now floated at around 12.9v. Perfect!

Then as I went to fit it, as normal, the terminals would not fit! So after a few modifications, I got everything to fit and was on my way to finish the installation. 




























All back to normal with a new pollen filter to









Next up, I bought a set of AMG stainless door pins as I didn't really like the look of the plastic ones.




























The big change in the interior was the addition of a brand new Genuine AMG steering wheel and AMG paddle shift conversion




































I also got a custom Carbon AMG gear lever which I have not seen many if any about. Apparently it was made in Sweden according to the guy I bought it off









Ill get some better photos of it later. 

Im just downloading some more pics so ill be back with an update shortly


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Next up was time to clean the seats…now, anyone who has seen the interior of the car will know its relatively clean. However, most people associate 'shiny' leather with 'clean' leather, you couldn't be more wrong! 

Leather in its natural colour, will have a matt like finish to it and not feel slippery etc. 

Now, I'm guessing the previous owners of the vehicle looked after it quite well but fell under the category of people thinking shiny leather is great.

My rear seats out and ready to clean…before









After









Clean on the left vs untouched on the right































































Front seats













































A quick reflection shot of the CLS with my Previa (Project DFN U) in the background










Some more of the gear knob


















teamSPB


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Recently I have noticed my headlights bulbs have been pretty poor at lighting up the road so I have been looking into getting replacements. I LOVE the Ring Sportz Blue bulbs I had in there, but thinking they have trouble with projector style lamps (As we have had this issue on a Corsa with projector style headlights), I decided to update the car further more. I wanted the bi-xenons but can't find them for the love of God!

I decided instead to use some 55w HID's in 6000k temperature/colour. Looks very OEM and looks exactly like the Xenon equipped cars. Further more, no error lights at all!

55w HID vs 80w Ring Sportz Blue


















Next up, I wanted to change the wing mirror for later spec items, I found a set on offer and snapped them up!

Big thanks to 'television' for sending me the instructions on the wing mirrors!

Old vs New


















Wing mirror covers removed and looking dirty









It was all washed down and given two layers of Poor Boys Bare Bones for protection

New mirrors on









LED lights on the bottom to fully working




































teamSPB


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

I'm glad to see that you don't just strictly concentrate on improving just the audio. To me improvement involves touching upon things that aren't quite where you want them to be, yet you know that they can be.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Coppertone said:


> I'm glad to see that you don't just strictly concentrate on improving just the audio. To me improvement involves touching upon things that aren't quite where you want them to be, yet you know that they can be.


Thank you, I have always been a fan of sorting an overall package rather than just one aspect of a 'picture'

And apologies to all on this forum as I have not really touched upon the audio side of this project, mainly because I have not decided whats going on with it properly yet!

But as things progress...ill definitely update!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

As someone noticed, the number plate has been changed also…The new plate which spells out 'DROPPED' was bought as a birthday present and the plates themselves were sourced from a company in Northern Ireland. 

However, when I received the plated, the rear one was off centre so I got a replacement sent out. FANTASTIC service when I initially ordered the plates (Ordered on friday or thursday and were were on saturday)…not so great when I wanted a replacement as it took around 7 working days to turn up!










Its only very slight but you did notice it on a small plate


















Size comparison between stock plate and shortened plate


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

^^^. Lovely, just so so lovely makes you want to just buy her dinner lol


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## diy.phil (May 23, 2011)

+1 on excessive drooling!! 

That car, all the all the upgrades/mods/info/pictures/everything... beautiful!!


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## estione (Jul 24, 2009)

Everything but ..........................



Where's the audio ??


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## NealfromNZ (Sep 3, 2013)

How do you get around all MB modules ? Are you using autologic or similar for your abs modules / charging system / ride height / DSC etc ?


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Its amazing where I started…










And where I am now!!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Sneak peak of the new front bumper


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Subscribed again as I want to know what happened to the last bumper.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Sorry for not updating in such a long time!

Inside the packaging was this...



















The car actually hasnt been with me since around February/March time hence the lack of updates.

Lets go back to Feb time. I was driving on the motorway when the dash started beeping at me telling me I had a loss of brakes and to pull over, obviously freaked out at this, I immediately pulled into the hard shoulder and slammed the brake pedal as per instructed on the dash. The car had already selected a lower gear to help engine brake the car! Truely impressed! I switched the car off and then on again and it was perfect! No warning light and brakes were perfect! Strange I thought, but as I was in the middle of no where, I proceeded the journey with care and the car never had a problem ever since. 

Once I was back home, I booked the car in with Mercedes to diagnose the problem with the brakes and although the problem was a one off occurrence, fault codes were logged in the ECU and indicated the SBC pump was on its way out. Mercedes performed the necessary check on the SBC pump and it was reaching the end of its service life...this is when things were looking harsh on the wallet!

Mercedes actually recalled these units and covered them under warranty as they were prone to going wrong. There was also a recall to provide a solution for another problem with the pump which my car had already been for some time in its past. However, due to my car having non-original brakes, they would not cover me for the part or the labour required to change this part although many people have been able to get their units changed FOC. 
The price of the bill would be around £2000.

Obviously not happy with this, I pulled a few strings and got Mercedes to email the headoffice in Germany and told them that its a recall and despite the brakes being non original, they were still off the same Mercedes but just happened to be AMG versions. In the end, they gave me a 50% discount off the total bill which I was more than happy to pay

The car was left with Mercedes with employees taking lots of pics and generally loving the car lol! It came to the date when the car was booked in for fitting, had a call from the technician 'sorry sir, we are showing 1 SBC pump on the shelf but it has gone missing so we will have to order you another one'....great! NOT! So we had to wait 7-days for it to turn up from Germany, and then find another slot to book me in!

Finally the car went in and the brakes felt great!
Some pics we found of the car up on instagram and facebook etc!


















Luckily a friend of mine was working on the station next to where the CLS was so he was keeping an eye on it!

While the car was away, we changed a few other bits - Lambda sensor, glow plugs and a few other little bits. Big thanks to Sanj for sorting these!!

Check the state of the old glow plugs! 









A sneak peak on the front bumper...









And the new logos we recently had made up


















With that, the car was packed up and sent to the bodyshop!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Wonderful read as usual, but of course we want to know the skinny on the audio part please.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Coppertone said:


> Wonderful read as usual, but of course we want to know the skinny on the audio part please.


I know Coppertone...and im really sorry for not going too much into the audio build at the moment...the main reason behind that is because I havent really done much with it audio wise, just removed the OEM deck, put in the iPad, chucked in a 4 channel amp, and for a weekend, chucked in the subs to make sure they would work how I intended to install them.

Fingers crossed the car will be back with me in the next week or two, then I really have to press on and sort the audio system out!

Sorry again :blush: :blush: :blush:


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Lol no need to apologize as you've done more in a year, then it have in 5.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Coppertone said:


> Lol no need to apologize as you've done more in a year, then it have in 5.


Haha! Well hopefully the car is back with me soon...and I can crack on with the audio build...im currently debating whether to add a front sub or just leave the Ascendant Audio Havoc IB 18s to do the bass duties solely! Will mean adding another processor if I add the front sub and rear comps to!


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## TheDavel (Sep 8, 2006)

I've held back from commenting in this thread, but I'd like to see some audio too! I've played around extensively with regards to audio in a CLS63 AMG and have been waiting a year to see what you'll do... The car is nice and I like seeing the upgrades, but this is a audio forum, so hit us with the audio!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

TheDavel said:


> I've held back from commenting in this thread, but I'd like to see some audio too! I've played around extensively with regards to audio in a CLS63 AMG and have been waiting a year to see what you'll do... The car is nice and I like seeing the upgrades, but this is a audio forum, so hit us with the audio!


Thats a tad bit difficult when I dont have the car to work on the audio lol


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Its back!


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Another update….in preparation for MIVW, we thought we would throw out some more pics for you all...

Everyone following us on instagram (add us on teamspb) and Facebook would have seen these pictures already…but for those who haven't…here you go...

Some of you may have heard the rumours…new wheels were on the way….yes they were! But in the guise of Vossen CV7 10.5"x20 for the fronts to!










A quick reflection shot of the paint…


















And finally, a better shot of the new front wheel setup









Stay tuned tomorrow for MIVW prep pics!


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## low4ever (Apr 27, 2013)

What brand buffing cream do you use? Did you seal it, if so what brand of sealer you use?

Never new that model CLS had turbo's


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## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)




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## Stookie (Aug 9, 2012)

am looking for a decent installer in London - PM'd


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

I think its about time I updated this thread!! Quite a bit has changed since this thread was last updated...mainly with a few interior touches and the audio install (which I'm planning to change YET again LOL...well that's if I don't sell the car!)

Heres some pics of my photoshoot with SoScene magazine a few months back...ill update shortly with all of the other things that have been going on inbetween working on other cars...

Just thought I would share some pictures with you all of my SoScene magazine photoshoot a few months ago...it was great working with Smuj Singh, Jordan (photographer) and Jamie (writer)! Cracking little magazine that is available for free download at http://issues.soscene.co.uk/3


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

bassboy said:


> Bit of an update...
> 
> The car was at PassionFords nights at Ace Cafe (one of its first outings) and got some GREAT feedback! Namely people could not believe how low and how close the wheels are to the arch on the rear lol! Its always a great feeling when you go to a different make of show and people are taking lots of pics and giving another car lots of attention!
> 
> ...


I rarely comment on actual cars but. God Damn. That is beautiful. Just enough stance to look nice.


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## bassboy (Nov 14, 2012)

Thank you buddy, its not changed much on the outside too much to be honest but Im currently in two minds, either sell it, or as the audio was stripped out some time ago, I am thinking to redo it and use other brands that I sell - Adire Audio, Zapco and Hybrid Audio...

I have recently also spent 6 days machining the paint and used Kamikaze ISM and Miyabi ceramic protectants...I will post up videos/pictures soon...but the gloss has to be seen to be believed!!


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Beautiful car! Can we see more trunk pics?


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