Here is the new look of the 190 with the Euro headlights and gray side markers installed.  You will also notice the addition of a advantgarde grill.  This grill is a cut down S600 grill purchased from www.bekkers.com.  To fit the 190E, you need to modify your existing grill clips to hold this new grill into your frame.  You also need to notch the rear of the grill so your hood pull handle can come out far enough for your hood to open.  In my case, there also was a bit of rubbing on the electric fans, so I also trimmed some in this area.  The first picture shows what the new grill looks like unpainted, in the 2nd picture you can see what it looks like painted body color.  I had www.towerpaint.com mix up the factory color and pressurize it into a aerosol can, all for only $14.95!  I prepped the grill by sanding with 400 grit wet/dry sand paper, then cleaning it with a wax/grease remover and then finally prepping the grill by spraying it with a adhesion promoter.  The paint flowed from the aerosol can very well and laid onto the grill very well.  No runs, drips, fish eyes or other problems.  Remember when painting to use even steady strokes, starting from one end and finishing at the other, don't start in the middle and make sure to keep your can 6-8 inches from the item your painting.  You will want to lay on multiple light coats, don't get too heavy or you run the risk of developing sags/runs. 
 

Well the advantgarde grill did not last long, as cutting off the ends compromises the integrity of structure, so it ended up breaking in several spots.  I did manage to pick up a Schatz grill frame and grill from a company in Germany.  The Schatz grill has a large MB star in the center and thats not really the look I was after, so I sold that on Ebay and kept the grill frame.  The grill frame is a replacement for the OE frame and it does not have any holes in it for the MB hood star or the other MB emblem.  The frame itself also is shaped a little better than the OE grill.  I had a local shop paint the grill frame body color and for a grill, I ended up using my OE grill painted the same color as my bumpers (to add a little contrast).  Not sure if I want to drop more cash down on another advantgarde grill just yet.






Since the grill frame was basically the last chromed item on my car, I finished off with painting my MB trunk star body color, ala AMG style.

Here we have the new Schatz grill frame painted and ready for install.  I had to ream out the mounting holes just a little for it to fit correctly, other than that, the install was very smooth.  Notice that the top of the frame slants directly down, it does not come out horizontal then slant down like the OE grill frame.  In my opinion, this provides a much smoother integration to the hood.




This is the hood with the OE grill removed.  I also removed the rubber gasket as it would of created a gap between the hood and the Schatz grill frame.





Here we see the Schatz grill frame installed and a bit of test fitting being done before the grill is installed.

Now the finished product.  OE grill painted with the darker contrasting green, mounted in the body colored Schatz grill frame.  I ran out of paint while shooting the grill, so the metal strips are not painted yet, so I left them off for now.






Another angle shot of the new grill frame and OE grill