Stealthtercel said:
As per Mr. Wallens's useful summary in the article, "Mercedes-Benz lowered the ride height, stiffened the suspension, and added flared fenders front and rear. These weren’t M3-style box flares, but subtle accents appropriate for a car bearing the three-pointed star. Only one gearbox was offered, a four-speed automatic, and standard tires were 225/55ZRl6–big for the day."
So assuming you could find the specs for the ride height and the suspension, you then have to do the flares. Subtly. Then you have to ask yourself, "Do I want a late-1980s V8, four-speed auto, and 16-inch tires, or do I want to take advantage of 30 years of technological progress?"
I fell in love with these beasts back in the day too, after reading what DEDjr wrote in Automobile, but quite honestly I think at this point it's either go original or go restomod, and if you're going restomod there may be better paths than starting with a W124.
Yeah, it's those flares that seal the deal--more E46 M3 than E30 M3.
Not a 500e - but have driven a 400e and would say that they are a nice ride with surprising good handling and perhaps moderate power - a great cruiser. I would also say it is blessed with needless complexity to provide same and am not so sure about its mid and long term reliability.
A local 400e for sale ( yes - mine and its sold)
https://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/cto/d/mercedes-benz-400e/6536927757.html
No flares.
te72
New Reader
4/11/18 12:23 a.m.
dean1484 said:
There is the feel that a Merc has the a Pontiac or a Chevrolet just can not duplicate. I really like it. It is almost like the car is more than the sum of its parts kind of thing.
I totally get that, and appreciate it. Was merely speaking from a performance mindset, if all you wanna do is go fast, and fly under the radar, there are better options. If you want to experience high level build quality and still enjoy solid performance? 500E would be hard to beat.
It's this very principle that caused me to build a Supra rather than buy a Corvette. Sure, the Vette would have been fast out of the box, and likely much less trouble than the Supra has been, but... it would be missing what made those golden era Toyotas so fantastic to drive. It's an experience thing...
