Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

Pictures of my SEC

6K views 43 replies 31 participants last post by  bob393 
#1 ·
Nice weather again today (miracles do happen it seems [:)]), and I thought it was time to get off my to-do list and have a look at the progress made so far.

Engine has been running smoothly since the weather turned and we don't se 80-90 degrees anymore.







I still have some clearance issues on the left side as the engine hits the sidewall in reverse and on rough bumps.


The paint looks OK for now and the Euro headlamps looks a lot better than the US DOT headlamps.


I think the white paint looks good with the clear corners.







The car has been lowered with H&R springs and Satish gave it a nice rake, using thinner shims up front.



The car is wearing her 15", 195/65 winter wheels and they don't fill out the wheel well as good as the summer tires.



I got tired of the black steering wheel and airbag so I bought a used wheel on ebay and used some Leatherique dye to paint it gray. Took about 4 coats to change the color. The steering wheel was from a sedan so it is 42 cm in diameter. The SEC's is a smaller 40 cm wheel. Also, the color is a shade or two too light. I'll use it for a while to see how I like it.



I put some chrome mirror covers on to cover the dull and scratched gray plastic. I would like to simply paint the back of the mirrors white to match the car, but these will do for now.




Here are two of my 3-piece rims. I plan to have the centers painted white to match my car.









Aluminium pedals brightens up the foot-well.



Enjoy!
I know I do.[:D]
 
See less See more
16
#27 ·
Axel, we have similar tastes when it comes to modding our cars. One thing I strongly advice you to rethink is not having the centers painted white. The best color choice would be the stock silver alloy look center with a highly polished lip. Just as Talbir has/had on his 560SEC. White is one of those colors that when clean and waxed looks really good, but when it comes to matching wheel colors look out of place. The matching wheel color to body is best suited for darker colored cars. White, Ivory or any light shade of yellow look out of place with matching wheel colors.
 
#28 ·
white500se - 1/25/2006 2:19 AM

If it was me I'd do a couple more things to it. First switch out the headlight wipers with Euro, or get rid of them. Then monochrome the car and get rid of the chrome mirror backs. With the wheels you are putting on I think it'd look much better without the grey lower panels. But hey, that's just me and I do love what you have done. I'd be tempted to do a M119 conversion since it would still fit with my 5.0 badging but I have no idea if anyone around here even has a clue as to how to do it.
Switching to Euro headlamp wipers is on the to-do list.[:)]
It is a bit more involved on the Coupe than on the sedan though.[xx(]
In addition to switching the motor, bracket, wiper arms and washer nozzles, the valence panel below the headlamps stretch all the way to the middle of the car. Whereas on the sedan it is a simple 2" by 8" panel, the SEC's is about 24" long.

I agree with getting the back of the mirrors painted. Right now the chrome covers do a good job of covering up the unsightly gray plastic (with plenty of scratches..).

When I get around to having the car repainted I'm thinking about getting a Wald body-kit, like the one Cyberdrakon has on his car.
If I were to do that, I'd get the lower body panels painted white, but I'd still shy away from the "dipped" look by leaving the chrome trim in place.

I'm still not totally convinced the Wald kit is the way to go with a white car. It looks great on dark cars (like Cyberdrakon's), but it might be a bit over the top on a white car.

As for the M119 conversion; I'd leave it to the experts at MotorWerks. They have done three SEC by now and they were doing a 300 CE conversion while my car was in their shop.
There is no point in you paying someone to figure out how to do it.[;)]
 
#29 ·
Dennis,

The engine conversion and the transmission swap was $12,000, but bear in mind that Satish already had all of the components available and modified for the SEC.

My engine and transmission came out of his personal vehicle, a black '89 SEC, so it is the same engine and trasmission you see in his write-up on the MB Coupes website.

Satish decided to put a V-12 engine from an S600 in his car.[:0]

He gave me a ride in his monster, and I was immediately possesed with V-12 envy.[:p]
 
#30 ·
Michael Pillay - 1/25/2006 7:17 AM

Alex,
Looks great. I will second that Satish really knows his stuff. His workshop is like a car lovers heaven-mercedes, bmw, lambo, ferrari. Not to mention it is the cleanest workshop I have ever seen.
Mike
Yeah, no kidding Mike.[:)]

When I was in his shop, the following vehicles were on the floor:
* 1968 (?) Lamborghini 400GT 2+2
* Ferrari Testarossa
* Mercedes-Benz 220S Cabriolet (late 50's or early 60's)
* Lamborghini Diablo
* Ferrari 328
* Mercedes-Benz 300 CE, M119 conversion (w124)
* Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC, Black '87 (?)
* Mercedes-Benz r129s, w220s, w210, etc.
* Porches, BMWs, etc.

A secretary (sorry, Administrative Assistant) brought in her boss' CL600 when I was waiting for my car and it was revolting to see how badly the car had been negleted; it was dirty inside and out, scratches everywhere on bumpers and rims, the FRONT tires were down to the metal (yes, no thread left and the steel belts exposed[:0]), no service records (how about an oil change?). No one wanted to touch the car. Sad to see how some will treat a $150k vehicle.
 
#32 ·
AxelWulff - 1/25/2006 7:16 AM

white500se - 1/25/2006 2:19 AM

If it was me I'd do a couple more things to it. First switch out the headlight wipers with Euro, or get rid of them. Then monochrome the car and get rid of the chrome mirror backs. With the wheels you are putting on I think it'd look much better without the grey lower panels. But hey, that's just me and I do love what you have done. I'd be tempted to do a M119 conversion since it would still fit with my 5.0 badging but I have no idea if anyone around here even has a clue as to how to do it.
Switching to Euro headlamp wipers is on the to-do list.[:)]
It is a bit more involved on the Coupe than on the sedan though.[xx(]
In addition to switching the motor, bracket, wiper arms and washer nozzles, the valence panel below the headlamps stretch all the way to the middle of the car. Whereas on the sedan it is a simple 2" by 8" panel, the SEC's is about 24" long.

I agree with getting the back of the mirrors painted. Right now the chrome covers do a good job of covering up the unsightly gray plastic (with plenty of scratches..).

When I get around to having the car repainted I'm thinking about getting a Wald body-kit, like the one Cyberdrakon has on his car.
If I were to do that, I'd get the lower body panels painted white, but I'd still shy away from the "dipped" look by leaving the chrome trim in place.

I'm still not totally convinced the Wald kit is the way to go with a white car. It looks great on dark cars (like Cyberdrakon's), but it might be a bit over the top on a white car.

As for the M119 conversion; I'd leave it to the experts at MotorWerks. They have done three SEC by now and they were doing a 300 CE conversion while my car was in their shop.
There is no point in you paying someone to figure out how to do it.[;)]
Considering Motrworks is accross the country from me that would be a bit difficult.

As for the body kit, obviously I have nothing against them on white cars but I like the idea of keeping yours a sleeper. Just paint thel;ower panels and maybe the mirror backs white and leave it like that. It'll still look really hot.
 
#34 ·
AxelWulff - 1/25/2006 4:24 PM

Dennis,

The engine conversion and the transmission swap was $12,000, but bear in mind that Satish already had all of the components available and modified for the SEC.

My engine and transmission came out of his personal vehicle, a black '89 SEC, so it is the same engine and trasmission you see in his write-up on the MB Coupes website.

Satish decided to put a V-12 engine from an S600 in his car.[:0]

He gave me a ride in his monster, and I was immediately possesed with V-12 envy.[:p]
woh! I'd love to see/hear more about that V12 conversion...[:0] That must be a really tight fit.
 
#35 ·
matteus - 1/29/2006 5:39 AM

AxelWulff - 1/25/2006 4:24 PM

Dennis,

The engine conversion and the transmission swap was $12,000, but bear in mind that Satish already had all of the components available and modified for the SEC.

My engine and transmission came out of his personal vehicle, a black '89 SEC, so it is the same engine and trasmission you see in his write-up on the MB Coupes website.

Satish decided to put a V-12 engine from an S600 in his car.[:0]

He gave me a ride in his monster, and I was immediately possesed with V-12 envy.[:p]
woh! I'd love to see/hear more about that V12 conversion...[:0] That must be a really tight fit.
http://www.mbcoupes.com/memberscars/T/satishtummala/satishtummala.htm

Mike
 
#36 ·
Michael Pillay - 1/29/2006 12:56 PM

matteus - 1/29/2006 5:39 AM

AxelWulff - 1/25/2006 4:24 PM

Dennis,

The engine conversion and the transmission swap was $12,000, but bear in mind that Satish already had all of the components available and modified for the SEC.

My engine and transmission came out of his personal vehicle, a black '89 SEC, so it is the same engine and trasmission you see in his write-up on the MB Coupes website.

Satish decided to put a V-12 engine from an S600 in his car.[:0]

He gave me a ride in his monster, and I was immediately possesed with V-12 envy.[:p]
woh! I'd love to see/hear more about that V12 conversion...[:0] That must be a really tight fit.
http://www.mbcoupes.com/memberscars/T/satishtummala/satishtummala.htm

Mike
I've read that one before, but that features the conversion to the 32valver. I would like to see something on the V12 conversion...

thanks anyway, Michael![;)]
 
#37 ·
I have M119 envy now!!
 
#38 ·
Are you trying to make us all jealous or something? ;)

Nice job. Wish I could do that to my car.
 
#41 ·
Does anybody know Axel personally?
I have been trying to make contact with him for the past 2 months without any luck.
Tried his PM but he has not logged onto BW for some time.
If anybody knows Axel please see if you can make contact for me
Need to discuss further his engine mounts on his M119 engine
I even emailed Satish direct on his workshop email but got no response from him at all?
My email address is kimrh1@gmail.com
Thanks Kim
 
#43 ·
I sent Axel a message on Facebook and sent you an email with Axel's email address.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top