617 Question
 

Slower than a 300SDL?

I had an 84 300sd. 126 body 617 turbo. very nice performing car imho.

if you swap one into one of those bodies though, you will need to swap the rear end too or it will be very very high geared and very sluggish off the line.

Tom W

The SEL chassis is going to be a bit heavier. Also, most SD's had aluminum hood and boot lids.
Should make a good hiway cruiser once it's up to speed. NG in town.

Front engine shock mount on one side (left I think) is on the wrong side of the crossmember for the 617. It will need to be cut and rewelded.
Then there's the glow plug circuit, driveshaft...

Its easier to find a nice SD.

If the 617 is in excellent tune..........you'll get a 0-60 time of about 14 seconds with the 2.88 axle. If it's an older engine that's not in perfect tune, the time will extend accordingly.

beware the air conditioner....
 

it will get a lot slower in hot weather with the air on....when I have to move out I turn mine off for a minute or two, then back on when I'm up to speed. Freeway entrances can be a real thrill when there are 18 wheelers in the near lane.

lol... this is nothing like an auto 240d... thats when you turn off the ac. with even a NA 617 you have plenty of tourque and hp to make up for the comporessor. its not that bad you just have to play your cards right.

Some (euro models) 500sel's had a LSD, 2.24 ratio diff, US spec cars had a 2.47.

With the 2.24 I'd think the 617 may be turning too slow to be efficient. In other words, it may take more pedal to make enough torque to push her at normal hwy speed.
Not only would mileage suffer but lugging really heats up the oil fast.

I thought of using a 2.47 diff and shorter profile (smaller od) tires to compensate.

Here's a useful site for comparisons:

http://www.drivetraindirect.com/t_gear_calculator.htm