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  • Lost Spurs

    Active Member
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    3   0   0
    Sep 24, 2011
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    Lost Spurs,

    I LIKE. = Handsome van. And fairly rare, isn't it??

    yours, satx
    Never really that popular. The ultra rare one is the R63 AMG
    only 30 or so in the states. That has all the go fast engine and brakes. I have only ever seen one 2 or 3 times.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
     

    TheDan

    deplorable malcontent scofflaw
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    8   0   0
    Nov 11, 2008
    27,536
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    Austin - Rockdale
    Got it for a steal at $1750. ... I put $1300 in parts at my cost and a weeks labor every night after work by me at no charge to me. ... All said it was probably 10k worth of work at full shop rate.
    It's amazing what cars get abandoned because repairs exceed the value of the car. If you can work on your own stuff you'll always have a nice car.

    I posted this in the "what have you done lately" thread, but this is my most recent acquisition. I've spent practically no money on it so far. Just sweat.
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    birddog

    bullshit meter
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    0   0   0
    Mar 4, 2008
    3,599
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    nunya

    birddog

    bullshit meter
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    Mar 4, 2008
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    nunya
    Here’s my Gen 3 with the old wheels. I had them replaced with HRE C103 18x10 f and 19x13’s r. Black centers with polished lips, there’s a pic in this thread of it sitting in the garage with my other Viper and my Porsche just outside in the driveway.

    Mods were done by Hennessy. Belanger Headers, Corsa Exhaust, engine work and full Moton racing suspension. It’s a beast.

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    Davetex

    TGT Addict
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    6   0   0
    Mar 27, 2010
    8,451
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    Greers Ferry Lake
    Would definitely enjoy a build thread on you outfitting it for camping. You going to insulate it?

    Not sure yet, I've seen the pre-cut kits for that. Just got a cheap center console for it today. It''s a 2014 with 94,000 miles. 3.6L Pentastar motor that makes about 300 hp. It was used by a snack vending machine guy, so it had very light use.
     

    birddog

    bullshit meter
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    Mar 4, 2008
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    nunya
    There’s a guy in my neighborhood I got to know that used to bring his custom 4x4 van to the Cars & Coffee meet at Whole Foods. I forgot who made it but it was built by a company that specializes in 4x4 vans for utility companies, gov, etc. He’d picked it up at an auction for penny’s on the dollar and installed a camping interior with insulated paneled walls. It had huge tires, locking diff, and would literally float over mud due to the size of the tires. We hunted ducks up on the red river out of it and he pulled his airboat with it no prob. I was shocked at how well it performed.
     

    Lost Spurs

    Active Member
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    3   0   0
    Sep 24, 2011
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    Here’s an interesting article on a guy who bought a used R63 AMG, no warranty...

    View attachment 172743


    https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cu...ebuilding-his-engine-to-avoid-a-57000-repair/
    Techy nerd alert, if you dont like boring engine stuff, move on.

    So I will comment on this with experience. As stated, I am a Mercedes guy through and through. The particular 63 engine as shown here had some early design flaws due to material composition. I have pulled and rebuilt under a dozen of them.

    Early on there was a issue with the head bolts having been ran through the cooling jacket causing corrosion that resulted in head bolt failure. An updated head bolt was designed and implemented. If caught early, no harm done. If not, coolant was prone to enter the oil / combustion chamber. Sludging resulted in accelerated wear.

    Later in life, a material failure was noted in limited cases (in my non official opinion, it was related to not changing oil). This had to do with the cams wearing on the valve tappets. In 2 or 3 cases of personal experience, the camshaft wore through the tappet causing a hard stop and breakage of the camshaft.

    These particular engines have no hard connection of the cam gear and the cam. They are secured with a diamond impregnated disc that holds the gear and cam in alignment. Upon hard failure this will shear loose and prevent major damage. In the several cases of failure I have seen the damage is limited to a new set of 4 cams, new tappets, maybe a head and a couple valves.

    After all material issues were addressed, the later engines are rock solid. They can be noted by black plastic valve covers. The early grey magnesium ones will indicate a earlier engine with potential for issues.

    The real issue would be cost. Labor ain't cheap and the correct special tools are needed for assembly (all timing of cams, gears and crank are floating) parts are also expensive. It is a Mercedes after all.

    There are other issues that have come up with time regardless of hard part design and composition. As with any engine using rubber seals, oil leaks are prone to surface. These have been a couple cases of the oil pressure valve for the oil cooler leaking up top near the power steering pump. Usually mis-diagnosed as a valve cover or front cover gasket. This particular repair requires removal of the engine. Remove sub and lower pan (deck plate design actually has 3 layers to get to crank bearings). With the lower pan removed, you pull the front cover. There is a o-ring under a 2 inch plate that gets hard as a rock. A 10 dollar part will warrant a multi thousand dollar repair bill.

    This 63 engine, given all its issues early on it still one of my favorite. Paired with long tubes and a tune is a 500hp all motor monster. I have had the pleasure of driving a couple with a supercharger. You are now talking of a 650 or 700hp machine that will kill most anything on the road.

    In closing I have a quick snap of a gt3 race car I have the pleasure of staring at for a couple weeks. #33 if you do a quick Google of the number and mercedes. It would be the latest version of our 63 engine. (Last year's car, this years is more better of the same) nothing of the same engine wise, all in the nomenclature.

    AdamT
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    FireInTheWire

    Caprock Crusader
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Here’s my Gen 3 with the old wheels. I had them replaced with HRE C103 18x10 f and 19x13’s r. Black centers with polished lips, there’s a pic in this thread of it sitting in the garage with my other Viper and my Porsche just outside in the driveway.

    Mods were done by Hennessy. Belanger Headers, Corsa Exhaust, engine work and full Moton racing suspension. It’s a beast.

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