Oakes Detailed: Mercedes E55 AMG - Story Time!

[OakesDetail]

This project was a little different from the norm for me, which made it very cool. This Mercedes E55 AMG was purchased by it`s owner while he was deployed overseas, sight unseen. After purchase he had the vehicle shipped straight to me so I could thoroughly check it over and prepare the car for his arrival back to the states.



Here is a photo of the car when it arrived to my location here in PA...



http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/1.jpg



With the car here, I started my visual and mechanical inspection and combed over the car, we also agreed to have me drive the vehicle to make sure everything was working properly and that she was riding right. Having a few Benzes in the family, AMG models included as well as some good friends with the same model E55 we had a good idea of what to look for with the car. Regardless of my personal experience with various Mercedes models to start!



Only a few things needed attention, one being the front brakes and some generic stuff like oil and paint touch up. Here`s all the parts on the stairs waiting to install.



http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/2.jpg



These rotors could be used to stop a train!



After install and initial inspection it was time to really get to work, the car came in "clean" from the dealer, so the before pictures wont speak much aside from the paint condition...which you can see in the following pictures that i certainly had my work cut out...



http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E6.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E7.jpg

5. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E10.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E24.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E13.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E17.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E45.jpg



Cringing a little bit, I geared up and went to town, spent a total of approximately 15 hours on the paint correction, taking various passes of 105/wool or 95/wool, following up with SIP/Orange and 203/Orange and then finishing with 106/Crimson. Here`s a 50/50 demonstration of the quarter panel.



Also, consistent paint readings throughout the vehicle served as extra reassurance, a range of 115 to 198 microns



10. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E29.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E32.jpg



*there is a signficant strikethrough scratch in this 50/50 that was improved but even after sanding remained, cant win em all unfortunately. However, the vehicle received at least a 98% correction in my eyes.



With that said, the rest of the vehicle certainly faired well in the correction as the following photos will reveal of the finished paint without any LSP.



http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E31.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E122.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E125.jpg

15. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E126.jpg



Unfortunately the weather here in the northeast lately meant we only got sunlight when it was going down or a break between clouds, so I couldnt get any direct sunlight photos, even over the course of a few days which was aggravating, so I decided to snap some pics of the car finished outside and inside when the sun was going down, hoping to catch some rays! This is where I get jealous of you Cali and Florida guys!



Here are some reflection shots...



http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E74.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E81.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E95.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E107.jpg

20. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E54.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E61.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E71.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E27.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E112.jpg

25. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E135.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E141.jpg



Now for the finished overall shots of the car outside and in...



http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E55.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E51.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E77.jpg

30. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E79.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E87.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E110.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E103.jpg

http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E127.jpg

35. http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E139.jpg

[OakesDetail]

The car was completely ceramic coated after the correction to ensure the protection and lasting results!



Here she is on her way home to California, after I picked up the owner at Philadelphia International Airport and brought him to his new car for the first time ever! Was a pretty cool thing to do, even compared to some of the rarest cars I get to work on! An owner this nice deserves to see his car at its best for the first time.



http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt90/oakesdetail/Mercedes/E143.jpg



Hope you enjoyed the writeup! Thanks for looking and any feedback is always welcome!



Nick Oakes

[Barry Theal]

NIce work Nic, car looks spectacular

[C. Charles Hahn]

Very cool, Nick!



So you did the oil change and brake install yourself at your shop? Does your state require you to have a special certification or license of any kind to do mechanical work, or are you able to do it without needing any official documentation? I know I can`t get away with that here in Michigan -- to do mechanical repairs (for customers) I`d have to be a licensed mechanic and have a certification for my shop to be a repair facility. Only time I manage to do that sort of stuff is with friends or family as an under the table deal.

[OakesDetail]

The only thing you need licensing for in PA for mechanical work is Alignments and Official Inspections, other than that work / business license which is already obtained. Other than that, written agreements with the owner of the vehicle will suffice! Thanks guys!

[kakeuter]

Fantastic work! The owner must have been very happy to come home to that.



-Kody-

[AudiOn19s]

Great turn around Nick!, reminds me I`ve got to do the brakes on our E55 soon :-( Been sitting there for a month with no time to get them on.

[C. Charles Hahn]

The only thing you need licensing for in PA for mechanical work is Alignments and Official Inspections, other than that work / business license which is already obtained. Other than that, written agreements with the owner of the vehicle will suffice! Thanks guys!



That`s awesome.... wish Michigan wasn`t so up-tight about that stuff, but then again we don`t have to deal with state inspections so I shouldn`t complain too loud.

[imported_OverTimeDetail]

Driving and Looking proper now! great job!

[OakesDetail]

Thanks everyone! As much as I`d like to wish we didnt have inspection, the amount of neglect that I see go into some cars I`m glad we do!

[white gecko]

E55 AMG........drool. Those car sound SOOO not like any other Merc! Its just wicked. Love it!



Great job on the correction. I did one almost identical just recently with a similar combo. Awesome pics and cool story. Was fun to read!

[Junebug]

Looks great! Hope he gave you a big tip, you certainly deserved one.

[OakesDetail]

Thank you!! I was certainly compensated well for the job, regardless I couldnt as for a better review from the owner as well as his thoughts on the car itself quoted from another forum here..




Thank you everyone and a huge thank you to Mr. Oakes, paint correctionist extraordinaire. Actually, in this case, you were much more than that. I knew from your previous threads that I`d be getting some good service, but all of my expectations were far exceeded. You truly treated the car as if it were your own and saved me a lot of time and money taking care of the details. You are the consummate professional and I can`t recommend your services highly enough. To anyone considering entrusting your car to Nick... go for it. Worth the effort and every cent. Plus, it will increase the value of your car.



Anyhow, I had been lining this up for months. Once I found out I was coming back to the US, I began searching for a car. I had my heart set on and really was about to pull the trigger on an IS-F, but dropping $40k on a used car was just more than I really wanted to spend. After getting depressed and researching some "boring" cars for a while, I started researching the E55. I`ve always liked these things, but never considered them because of the price. Of all the AMG models, I`ve always thought these looked the best and that engine just can`t be argued with. Determining that I could handle the repairs myself, I began the search and came upon my 2006 black/black nearly-fully-loaded E55 with 36k miles. I sent the dealer an offer, they counter-offered and I accepted. I knew that Nick`s shop was in PA and this car was for sale in... PA! As it turns out, only 45 minutes away. The dealer said they would transport it for free and I began making arrangements with Nick. We were both super excited about this project, but I think I was just a little more excited. He received the car and did an excellent job keeping me informed of everything he found and sending me teaser photos every few days. After examining some photos, it was found that I had an aftermarket steering wheel (off of an E63 with paddle shifters), lowering links, and a crank pulley. Score! I had a lot going on with a move from Japan to San Diego, but I couldn`t stop thinking about the car. It was automotive blue-balls. I finally received release on Friday night after six hours of travel. I got to Nick`s shop at around 8:00pm and got to see this beauty sitting there in his garage. I was so happy I didn`t know what to say. She`s a beaut! I wish I had more time to hang out at the shop and shoot the poop, but it was already late and I had an 11-hour drive in front of me.



Off I went from the Eastern side of PA (which is a really long state) all the way to northern KY; approximately a 650 mile drive. This gave me time to get to know the car a little and figure out where all the different buttons are. Also, merging onto the interstate on the on-ramp was the first time I really got on it. Oh man, the power and torque blew me away. I was pointed straight at 40mph when I opened it up and before I knew it, I was nearly at 100mph. Wow, it`s addicting. Up to this point, the fastest car I had been in was my Supra (at about 400hp). This thing totally kicks my Supra`s *** and takes its lunch money. Stock they`re rated at 469hp, but that is a very conservative rating. I`m still unsure of the pulley size or if there is a tune to go with the pulley, or even if there are different air filters in it, so it could be considerably more than 500bhp. I`ll get the car on a dyno soon (hopefully tomorrow) to help determine if there is a tune. The stupid rain has been raining since right after I got here, which just sucks.



Bottom line: I looooove the car. It drives great, sounds great, and thanks to Nick, looks even better. It is great for bombing around the country roads where speeds stay between 40 and 80mph because the torque means 3rd gear is the business. Passing power, especially when dropping to second gear, is just ridiculous. I passed my brother in his `83 Crown Vic and another car (from 50mph) and ended up at 110mph by the end of the pass. This was in Mexico. My brother said all he heard was this crazy high-pitched sound from the supercharger. The car reverts to comfortable, luxurious highway cruiser immediately, complete with massaging seats, distronic cruise control, and satellite radio with surround sound. Love it!



Another week here and then I`ll be driving to San Diego. Depending on the weather, I`ll be going through Colorado, Utah, and Vegas or heading south through Texas, NM, and AZ.



Anyhow, thanks for reading. Feedback and replies welcome.