We’ve been covering Arthur Tussik’s repair projects for many years, but this wrecked CLS 63 AMG has to be its most impressive work to date. Terrible things must have happened to the original Mercedes “four-door coupe” to lose its roof and damage virtually all of the other body panels. Getting the sleek sedan into shape was a major undertaking, but the skilled body repair technician successfully brought the CLS back to life.
Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Body Rebuilding
Although the time and work invested in reviving the CLS are undoubtedly impressive, it does give us trust issues. Seeing a car with no roof getting its pillars sliced off is worrisome. The horrible accident it must have gone through inflicted damages just about everywhere you look. As a matter of fact, Arthur discovered the vehicle had been involved in a prior crash before losing its roof as the structural integrity of the front end had to suffer. In other words, this CLS has had a rough life, to say the least.
Using his trusty welding machine, Arthur gave the car a roof again after pushing the B-pillars outwards to their original position. The new top was taken from a donor car and the rear quarter panel also had to be replaced. He used official Mercedes documents showing the exact dimensions to make sure the CLS would be as close to the original as possible following the major body repair.
You can tell it took a lot of work considering even the time-lapse video is quite long, at nearly 20 minutes, and it doesn’t even include putting the lights, side mirrors, and the front grille back on. In addition, the 500-horsepower-plus CLS still needs to be painted and fitted with the exterior trim pieces as well as the interior bits before it gets back on the road.
A follow-up video will show the complete car, likely looking as if nothing happened. We’ll be honest and admit we still wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole if we were in the market for a first-gen CLS 63 AMG. That being said, the video does go to show how a seemingly totaled car can live again if the right person with the right tools rescues it from almost certain death.
