1999 G500 Pur edition

[otiswesty]

This G500 also came with jumpseats on both sides. They are covered in black leather and fairly comfortable for 1 adult under 6 feet table for a short period of time. I had jump seats in my 1985 300GD and it was great for hauling kids at birthday parties. "I can take 8 of the kids in the G" was my line. I added a jump seat in the 2002 and was happy to have it in the 1999 as well. There is a pin at the 2 hinges that I replaced with a longer hardened bolt that now also holds the seatbelts. The belts are out of a VW Vanagon from the rear seat.

I use the seat at the mountain all the time for putting on my ski boots. Out of the falling snow and easy reach to all of the rest of my things
Otherwise, it doesn't see alot of use as the kids are all grown now.

 

[otiswesty]

Adjacent to the jumpseat, I added a DIN 12v outlet. It is pretty easy to run a line to there as the battery is in the back on the opposite side and I just ran it up over the rear door. Both rear D pillar covers come off super easy and the top trim piece with the dome lights is easily removeable as well. There is an inline (+) fuse and the supply line is directly wired to the battery. I use this outlet for my ARB fridge when I am not using it in the van.

 

[otiswesty]

On the driver's side, I pulled the jumpseat and sold it off. Don't need the capacity and the $$$ came in handy for other accessories. I was lucky enough to find this used carpet covered ORC storage compartment on Ebay.de, as I had been planning on buying one for a while. Guido helped me with the purchase and shipping from Germany. It bolts directly into the mounting points for the jumpseat and tie down rings and is very secure.

 

[otiswesty]

I have taken all of the interior trim and panels off of the cargo door. The primary reason is to add a fold down table. I have had a table mount that utilizes the 2" receiver hitch, but it is just an extra step when setting up for a quick lunch on the trail that I feel can be eliminated. Unfortunately, this leaves the wiper motor and wiring to the motor and brake light exposed and not looking very tidy. It was interesting to see that the structure of the door is made to be compatible with all models. That means that there were holes already in the metal of the door for the wiper motor cover used in the 460/461. I ordered one up through the dealer and it fit right on. Yay!
Next is to get the table finished....

 

[otiswesty]

Having friends in Baja places, I managed to get in early on the new G-wagenaccesories rear steel bumper. Super stout and I got a decent bro price on a preproduction run.
https://g-wagenaccessories.com/products/RearBumper.htm
It just bolts right on with no mods as you would expect from Karl. The hole for the trailer plug socket is for 4 screw holes like on the US version socket. My G500 came with the Mercedes European 13 pin trailer socket which only has 3 mounting bolts, so a thin adaptor plate was used to mount the socket in the location designed into the bumper. My truck has the back up sensors, which I reinstalled after some consideration. Since I am in tall grass so often, I ended up disconnecting the buzzer on the rear D-pillar when I installed the 12v DIN plug back there. It would be easy to get it going at some point in the future. My plan is to eventually install a switched shut off on the dash to disable it at will and maintain the integrity of the system for other drivers.

On the rear bumper, I used an early Mercedes 460 series G-class cast aluminum step rather than the manufacturer supplied step. Just an appreciation for the older classic style. These are really hard to find and I finally got this one from Guido in Germany after much searching. The new version of the 460/461 step is a plastic design. Also high quality and robust, but I prefer the older aluminum version.

The rear light guards are original to the truck and made by Europa. The were just blasted and powdercoated for a nice fresh look. I may end up removing them once I figure out how to patch the holes and fix the paint without too much of a production. I pulled the front indicator covers earlier last year when doing the fender top tread plate. Nice look, but just not my style I guess.

Ladder is from ORC in Germany, it clamps to the gutter and attaches with 3M Dual Lock industrial "Velcro" style tape at the bottom. It removes in 5 minutes easy. It is WAY sturdy and a simple noninvasive attachment that has been copied since it came out by a couple of other suppliers.

The incredibly useful rear compartment is also a G-wagenaccessories product. Perfect for a small tire iron, jumper cables, tow strap, shackles, and a few other small bits.
The small round badge on the tire compartment is off of an extra 460 hood I had. It was rattle canned black and applied with VHB tape to the tire compartment. It looks like it was made to go there.
I finished off the back with a black military version of the 460/461 door badge. This came from Vlad at Fourbyfourclub.

 

[otiswesty]

In the post at the bottom of page 4, I mentioned the set of obsidian black fender flares I picked up off of Craigslist in Los Angeles. They were a bit of a production getting them installed. Not that the fenders were difficult to mount, but once the originals were off, I found that many of the steel brackets holding them in place were rusted and thinned. No time like the present to replace those! A price check at the dealer was a real eye opener at over $20 each, I needed 16 of them. I ordered a one new one from MB and took it with a rusty one down to a local fab shop that laser cut 100 of them for me out of 304 16 guage stainless.

I sold a few of the extras and still have one full extra set remaining if anyone is interested.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...nless-463-Fender-brackets?highlight=stainless

I installed the stainless brackets with new plastic screw retainers and got the like new fender flares on. The old ones were pretty pitted in the rear position, these were like new and I had some Clear Bra top sheet put on the leading edge of the rears to protect them from future rock and gravel chipping.

Around this time I also pulled off all of the 463 belt line trim. Since 1990, the 463 waist trim is a extruded plastic tube with end plugs. Since 2002 there have also been an additional adhesive decorative stip in the waist trim. The 460 had a solid dense foam rubber waist trim, ansd this was continued in the 461 series vehicles up to the present year. Not cheap stuff, but really looks great and fits with the Pur Edition look I was going for. The rubber is very dense and robust, unlike the old plastic trim which dramatically softens in the sun and will eventually warp. All G-class are equipped for this with holes behind the waist trim, even present behind the adhesive attached 463 trim.

 

[otiswesty]

A few pictures of the fender clips and the old 463 trim I pulled off along with the prep for the 461 Pur Edition waist trim.

 

[burquedoka]

Looking good brotha!

 

[chris505]

I love all the 460 touches.

If you plan on selling the old 463 belt trim drop me a line, Im on the hunt for the front fender and front door pieces.

 

[otiswesty]

I love all the 460 touches.

If you plan on selling the old 463 belt trim drop me a line, I'm on the hunt for the front fender and front door pieces.

Sorry Chris, these already went to a Club G member in the SE USA a couple of months ago.

 

[ILIAN]

Plastic or rubber the waist trim would not prevent damage to the sheet metal. It's too hard to take the fall without the sheet metal bending. Not sure what the purpose is other than looks. The plastic ones on my 2000 G500 still look like new but when the time comes I may choose the rubber ones. Does the rubber seal water from getting to the holes used for mounting? If not it may be better for us in the rust belt to use tape for mounting.

 

[otiswesty]

Factoring in the cost of a replacement piece that was damaged plus the money from the sale of the old trim, it was practically a wash cost wise to buy the new 461 trim versus keep the 463 trim. I prefer the look of the 461 solid rubber trim and it just feels and looks more substantial. The rubber trim was also more in keeping with the Pur Edition styling. Even though the new 461 and 463 differ greatly in trim level and styling, functionally they are very similar. Electronic differential controls, electronically controlled forced induction power plants... The 461 will get you crank windows and a single din radio in addition to a very nice aesthestic overall.

 

[safariguy]

What about doing what Alu-Cab did with their Icarus project a while back? Look at the video and go to 26 seconds in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7dlgbXOVY4

Much more functional, as you can hang tables and other things from it. As a side topic, what do you call this kind of pin system?

 

[otiswesty]

What about doing what Alu-Cab did with their Icarus project a while back? Look at the video and go to 26 seconds in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7dlgbXOVY4

Much more functional, as you can hang tables and other things from it. As a side topic, what do you call this kind of pin system?

I was just looking at the Alu-Cab Icarus tops yesterday. I see they have done the Defender and Toyota 78series trooper. Probably would be a direct fit and make it more like my nice Westfalias. I wonder how much it would cost to ship a top over, I have seen install info for Aus and RSA, it shouldn't be too hard to get it done in the US.

 

[ILIAN]

That track is sold by Front Runner.

What about doing what Alu-Cab did with their Icarus project a while back? Look at the video and go to 26 seconds in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7dlgbXOVY4

Much more functional, as you can hang tables and other things from it. As a side topic, what do you call this kind of pin system?