Project "G 500" 2003 Mercedes G-Class

[spencevans]

Over the past year I have been enjoying my 2003 G500. It has taken me on many adventures to the High Uintas, Moab, San Rafael Swell, and Yellowstone to name a few. It has preformed flawlessly both on and offroad over the past year and I have put just over 20K miles on it. The loan issue being the A/C quit working last fall and needed to be repaired. Because of the body on frame construction, solid axles, 3 select-able lockers and full coil suspension the G-500 is an excellent off-road vehicle. As with most vehicles, there is always room for improvement.


In stock form near Arches NP

Planned improvements and modifications:

-VTS Sliders and remove running boards
-Hutchison Beadlock Wheels
-BFG Rugged Terrain 235/85R/16
-Baja Roof Rack
-CVT Roof Top Tent
-Baja Rear Ladder
-VTS lockable spare tire cover
-I also plan to paint the bumpers, grill, and flares matte black while addressing a few rust spots under the flares


I have already started with some of the modifications and I will post up more picks as the work progresses. All the mods should be done in the next day or two as long as my garage stays warm.

 

[Greg]

That is an amazing vehicle, I can only imagine it will look & work that much better after the mods!

 

[spencevans]

After removing the flares, grill, headlight bezels and bumpers I was able to prep and paint them with Eastwood's new 2K Rat Rod Black 2 stage paint. It is the only 2 stage paint sold in a rattle can. It really left a great looking finish. Just remember to use a respirator because this is nasty stuff.

 

[TJDukit]

That thing is awesome. Gotta love the G-wagons.

 

[Marsh99]

I have always wanted a G-wagon

 

[spencevans]

Thanks for the complements. I am really pleased with how she has turned out. Over the past 2 weeks I put in about 60 hours tearing it down in my garage, repairing rust, painting parts and installing parts. This is the first time I have torn into a Mercedes. They are much different than American and Japanese made vehicles.



Here is a pic or two with the flares installed. I reconditioned the rubber gaskets that go between the flares and fenders with Mother's Vinyl and Rubber re-conditioner. It seemed to do a great job. I still need to install a few wheel liners, the RTT, awning, Hi-Jack lift, the lockable wheel cover, and a few other little touches. I plan to take it deer hunting this weekend with my 6 and 9 year old kids. I will take a few pics with the tent installed.






Eliminating the factory running boards and installing the VTS Sliders was a huge improvement to looks and functionality.

 

[Greg]

... This is the first time I have torn into a Mercedes. They are much different than American and Japanese made vehicles.

I repaired a wrecked late 90's Benz sedan and was VERY impressed with the engineering and simplicity of the German cars. Makes me want to own one eventually, but I'd be happy with a 90's turbo diesel 4 door sedan!

 

[JL Rockies]

I put 235/85R16 on my KJ and you commented that rigs that didn't have at least 33" tires on it were useless. Weird.

 

[spencevans]

I put 235/85R16 on my KJ and you commented that rigs that didn't have at least 33" tires on it were useless. Weird.

Hey it's good to see you're still around.

I was probably being sarcastic, I have never owned a rig with anything larger than about a 32" tire, so I guess all my rigs are useless as well. I really have no desire to even put a lift on my Mercedes at this point. While you can fit 35's on a G500 without a lift, I think I will keep with the 235/85R/16's. I hear the larger tires mess with the traction control and I like the tall, skinny look.

I remember I put some 31" tires on my KJ and they were just about perfect for that rig.

My little Mitsubishi pickup will have 28" tires. Now that's really small.

 

[spencevans]

I took the Mercedes out for an over-nighter this weekend. All went well and the kids had a great time.

 

[brandonlmb]

I drove past your house today and saw the g5000 in the driveway looks nice with the rtt.

 

[spencevans]

You should have banged on the front door. I could have given you the grand tour of the new penthouse. I had a great time getting out and going hunting with the kids this weekend.

 

[TurboMinivan]

Your black paint makes a dramatic improvement in the overall 'toughness' of the appearance IMO. Nice.

 

[spencevans]

Your black paint makes a dramatic improvement in the overall 'toughness' of the appearance IMO. Nice.

I agree, remove the running boards, add a little black paint and it looks like a completely different vehicle.

 

[spencevans]

Another step in making the vehicle look a little less urban. I removed the clear turn signal covers on top of the front fenders and replaced them with the amber colored lens. The old clear lenses were also starting to crack and turn yellow so they needed to go.

 

[spencevans]

To fight the heat I added a 99" awning from CVT. While the awning came with mounting brackets, I purchased awning mounting brackets from Baja Rack because they provide a more secure mounting system and they are compatible with my Baja Rack. It only took about 1 hour to install the awning. I can see this becoming one of my favorite mods.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Awnings do become a favored addition, I often use mine at lunch time to duck from the sun and they rock in wet weather so you can at least sit outside and enjoy the fresh air without getting soaked.

 

[TJDukit]

This thing is turning out awesome.

 

[jallen9]

those things are bad-A. I didn't know they had solid axles, pretty cool.

 

[spencevans]

Awnings do become a favored addition, I often use mine at lunch time to duck from the sun and they rock in wet weather so you can at least sit outside and enjoy the fresh air without getting soaked.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing, but more often than not it is the sun that gets me because I am a fair weather camper

I also plan to use it for tailgating.

This thing is turning out awesome.

It has been a fun project so far. I have really come to appreciate how well engineered and easy to work on these rigs are. Yesterday it dawned on me that I am going to want to paint it sometime in the near future. Now I just need to decide on a color.

those things are bad-A. I didn't know they had solid axles, pretty cool.

It's true, they have solid axles. The suspension is most similar to a FZJ80 Land Cruiser with the panhard bars and behaves very similar offroad. There is no air bags or electric suspension to worry about. It's simplicity at its finest.