Yep, i too would like to see detail pics of the engine compartment including engine mounts.

And if it's amazing coachwork and handling you want then it's amazing coachwork and handling you've got in the 108. The Chevy conversion sounds perfect for you, lacking a nearby mechanic who knows anything about the MB engine. Nice touch adding Chevy wheels too...... that's traditional, eh? Can remember seeing a California deluxe VW Bus equipped with Porsche engine AND Porsche hubcaps as a kid back in the early 1970's.

BTW, seek "Kinpin Suspension" through the excellent search feature here. There are 16 grease fittings you've gotta hit every few thousand miles or so - to best maintain the MB ride in dusty desert environment. Kinpins can last forever if maintained, otherwise they are likely to be your next head-ache. Few and far between are garages qualified or competent to locate every grease fitting, I suggest you buy your own grease gun and do it yourself.

Otherwise dude, if you found this board a few years ago prior to rebuild #1 we could have saved you alot of pain and anquish before your "best mechanic" failed at the rebuild again and again.

Most common mistake is planing the cylinder head beyond spec which will raise compression beyond tolerances and gobble up the short block by spinning crank or rod bearings as you have seen. Chopping the cyl head is ONE mistake from the git-go that would follow every rebuild thereafter. You say the mechanic hit everything with the micrometer huh? But did he also measure thickness of the cyl head before putting it on the planer and walking away or smoking a cigarette while the soft alloy head got shaved to smitherines?

Did he also bore out the engine? Ooops, the original engine had tapered bores permanently mated to thick high nickel content sleeves which are heat treated to the bores so that they just cant be knocked out and replaced. What often happens is the original permanently fixed "sleeve" itself gets cut up to accomodate whatever straight sleeve replacement comes off the shelf.

And were the largest oversize high compression pistons used? Add this to cyl head chopped beyond tolerances and unless you've got tungsten bearings in the bottom end, the shortblock just wont survive. And the original pistons were perfectly ballanced/matched to the crankshaft with varying piston weights in the same set at the factory, to again insure longevity. Did your mechanic bother to interpret the letterings and identifying marks on piston crowns that tell their individual weights before ordering a replacement set.... probably not.

But dont feel bad - there are some who believe the Vintage MB shortblock is not rebuildable at all. Others have reportedly managed to pull another 100,000 miles or so out of an old longblock thats already got say, 250K miles, by NOT shaving the head and merely buzzing the existing sleeves as little as possible, if they are not out of round, to accomodate a nearly exact match of minimal oversize ballanced replacement pistons marked by their weights on the piston crown.

Hell, the only person I'd trust to build an MB engine would be someone who has done it several times successfully already. Key is to remove as little metal as possible, i think.

But speaking of hybrid cars, there are rumors of somebody in Texas who specialized in 108 conversions to fit the 5 cylinder diesel. Have you heard of this fellow?