I'M BACK! Now what to do? Engine or Interior swap?
 

For those who don't know/remeber my 87 300D was stolen late last year. When I got it back after it was stolen it just didn't feel like it was MY car any more. But now my diesel love affair is back so I'm prowling the forums again.

I found this car on craigs

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/car/147059139.html (1990 Mercedes 300E)

and I'm thinking.... could I move my engine and side pannels to this car? Or should I move the interior and aftermarket parts of that car to my car?
The thieves did a good job slashing up my interior and knocking things loose. Even the sunroof which wasn't working to begin with is worse.

What would be the easiest and/or cheapest route to take? I figure the engine swap is the best, being that the engine and pannels is the all i need to change while going vice versa will have to move a lot of things that are not easy to remove in the first place.

Thanks all!

Swap the drivetrain, its a heck of alot easier to do than all the interior stuff. Messy job, but I dont like interior stuff myself.

yeah stripping out carpet et al sounds scary time consuming and expensive compared to dropping in an engine.


Any known issues/differences between the two cars?

personally
 

i would think that changing the interior would be a lot easier than the motor etc.

cleaner too.

tom w

Interior. I can have seats in and out in less than one hour.

OK

decided on the interior switch. Going to call the ad tomorrow. I'll update as it goes!

Having moved powertrain several times and most but not all of the interior, I'd say powertrain, hands down. The interior parts sure look easy to move, don't they? But there's a big difference between just taking them out and having them all fit back together RIGHT, even on exactly the same car. The panels develop a bit of a warp or internal tension that changes their fit. Yes you can do it, but it's a lot more fiddling than the straightforward powertrain swap.

well
 

yeah, and it depends too on how much of the interior you actually are going to switch, too.

i was thinking seats and door panels.

headliner i have never done and i bet the dash is a lot of work.

tom w

aww man... i figure it wouldn't be an easy answer. Yeah I'm planning to move even the sunroof over.

So comparing a complete interior swap (even the ac vents!) to an engine swap I suppose drivetrain is easier.

Now I just need the guy to call me back! I hope its not sold!