Hammer 560E wheels refurbished and fitted

[talbir]

Another job off the day...Hammer, again bought in March last year, only now got round to refurbishing the wheels.

These were horrendous....pitted, bubbling....Spit and Polish just about managed to sort these. 2 of the wheels on the Hammer were the late 1992 Aero Is which have the '///AMG' logo and take the 70mm MB centre caps and 40mm shaft length bolts.

The original Aero Is on this car are now fitted, which take a 60mm metal centre cap retained from the rear with a butterfly plate and 10mm hex nut. These Aero Is also have the period 'AMG' logo and take bolts which have a 27mm shaft length.

Luckily i have 6 of the original centre caps, not fitted yet as they were fresh from their paint.

Again, full job done by Spit & Polish.

Still have work to do on the car - externally paintwork is done, just mouldings to fit. All mouldings, badges, headlamp wipers etc finished in Satin black. Fitted grille today, outer frame and garnish strips in Satin black, insert color coded 040 black same colour as car.

Rear AMG Exhaust to fit and interior to do. Then pretty much done.

Went on a 280 mile round trip a fortnight ago in this car and my word ,what a drive. I have not even serviced the car since i bought it, and drivetrain is simply unreal....at the end of the journey, oil pressure was exactly 2 bar on idle, pushing above 3 on acceleration ! Not a drop of oil consumed, and a sheer old skool driving buzz....pulls like a train ! That 360bhp Gen 2 DOHC m117 is mighty ! This car will run rings around my 500e !


talbir

 

[talbir]

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[talbir]

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[talbir]

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[talbir]

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[A210AMG]

I like that

Are you having the side trim resprayed?

Looks great, It that the same car that was in Fast car when new? Sure they had very similar one on the front cover.

 

[talbir]

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[Mudster]

That's my favourite car that you own, by a large margin.

I look at the W124 E500/500E's for sale every now and again and always think they would look nicer colour coded, this confirms it.

It's the colour coding and dechroming that makes this car look a lot newer than it actually is.

The centre caps are interesting, all the original AMG Aero I's I've had from japan had push fit centres (including the brand new boxed set I stumbled across) I'd say they've been spun up to solve a missing centre cap problem. That aside, I much prefer these blanks to the Mercedes caps.

 

[talbir]

That's my favourite car that you own, by a large margin.

I look at the W124 E500/500E's for sale every now and again and always think they would look nicer colour coded, this confirms it.

It's the colour coding and dechroming that makes this car look a lot newer than it actually is.

The centre caps are interesting, all the original AMG Aero I's I've had from japan had push fit centres (including the brand new boxed set I stumbled across) I'd say they've been spun up to solve a missing centre cap problem. That aside, I much prefer these blanks to the Mercedes caps.

Thanks Alan.

I think the Japan versions are different....every early Aero I wheel i've come across has these type of centre caps. Pain in the butt if you lose one as they ar nigh impossible to get hold off, unless you buy a wholse set of wheels from german ebay


Also note, these centre caps are metal and the original AMG Euro/NA version. I have 3 sets of Aero Is and all have and came with these centre caps. I have never seen Aero Is with push fit centre caps except the late 126 versions which take stock 70mm MB caps.

cheers
talbir

 

[stats007]

Any reason why you used Spit & Polish? They're quality is quite poor hence their prices.

 

[talbir]

Any reason why you used Spit & Polish? They're quality is quite poor hence their prices.

Poor quality ? Why ??

I have used them for 6 years and never had an issue. Just look at the refurb both in this thread and the Brabus wheel thread. Simply stunning finish, i cannot see how it could be better.

Please explain how the quality of these finishes is poor.


talbir

 

[stats007]

Previous experience - I don't know anyone that uses them for trade work unless they want a cheap job.

Your photos show an excess of orange-peel in the finish. I suppose it depends how fussy you are!

 

[A210AMG]

Heads for cover

 

[talbir]

Previous experience - I don't know anyone that uses them for trade work unless they want a cheap job.

Your photos show an excess of orange-peel in the finish. I suppose it depends how fussy you are!

Well, i'm not in the trade and i can't see excessive orange peel.

Levels of fussyiness seem to rise hugely when a chance to criticise a competitors work arises....


talbir

 

[del320]

Hey, Talbir - have you ever thought about doing doughnuts round that sun feature on your driveway .

Go on, man - you know you want to...

Your Hammer is just gorgeous!

 

[stats007]

Well, i'm not in the trade and i can't see excessive orange peel.

Levels of fussyiness seem to rise hugely when a chance to criticise a competitors work arises....


talbir

If you're happy, that's all that matters .

I have trade accounts with a number of the big companies for work that I need to sub-contract out - Spit & Polish don't make the grade - simple as that.

 

[talbir]

If you're happy, that's all that matters .

I have trade accounts with a number of the big companies for work that I need to sub-contract out - Spit & Polish don't make the grade - simple as that.

When's the last time you used Spit & Polish ?

I have been hugely satisfied having used them first hand for the past 6 years.

I'm still interested in detail on what actual defects/shortcomings they have in their work, rather than anecdotal evidence of them 'not making the grade'.


talbir

 

[stats007]

I see their work pretty much every week on cars I see at dealers - their quality control is inferior to the likes of Lepsons or Pristine hence their pricing. That is a fact.

Common problems:

Gassing in the powdercoat
Uneven finish
Excessive powder obscuring fine details
Wheels not fitting back on cars as excess powder in the wheel centres.

I did a polished rim recently on a set they had refurbed previously. Far too aggressive shot-blasting was evident that all had to be polished out.

I have a trade account with them - I don't use it - nor do others I know that have been in this business (in Sussex) for 15 years unless it's for the cheapest refurb possible where quality isn't issue. I know Ford main dealers use them for this reason. MB around here use Lepsons. Porsche Mid-Sussex use Porsche's own facility in Reading.

My query was why did you use them - after all you love your cars so why go with the cheap option?

Looking at your Brabus wheels, any reason why they didn't machine to the edge of the lip? The colour match is OK but obviously not Almandine.

I did a set of Borbets almost identical to yours but the guy wanted a high polished finish as opposed to a machined one:

Think I prefer the machined look to be honest!

 

[Howard]

Looking good Stats !!

 

[Mudster]

I've always used Lepsons, always found them reasonable and on the occasions I've had to return a single wheel they've redone it without question.