G'day Folks,

Some of you might know that I have a W123 300D saloon that has been stripped down to the smallest component part.

An absolutely naked shell has been sitting on my driveway for more years than I would like to admit. It needs a fair amount of rust remedy work and new paint. One of the reasons why it hasn't been fixed up sooner is that there was some question whether at the point of divorce the car would actually be mine...

...I felt pretty strongly (to say the least) that I was not going to fix it up before I was sure some little magpie wouldn't be able to walk past it and say "oh I'll have that as well"...

...anyway judge says I can keep it - so the car is mine!


Drum roll => introducing a slight road tax related 2nd problem


All "classic cars" in Holland that are older than 25 years old but younger than 40 years old are allowed to pay a reduced road tax of 120 euros a year if they are not powered by either LPG or diesel. If I put the car back together with my freshly rebuilt OM617 and my freshly rebuilt 722.118 transmission I'll have to pay the full road tax amount which will be in excess of 1500 euros a year.

I expect I will drive about 3 kilometers (yes that's a sarcastic 3 by itself without any thousand) a year in this car so diesel is no longer an option

To bugger up any ideas the Dutch government has regarding people using "clean" fuels instead of diesel, I am more than happy to put in a stupid powerful petrol engine that will give me about 2MPG just to say a big F-you to those bureaucratic cock heads

If they make things too difficult for me I'm even prepared to put in lots of poisonous rare metal batteries and a sodding great big electric motor!


SO ANYWAY...


...what MERCEDES petrol engine would you like to see me put in a 4 door W123 "sleeper"?

As explained it has to be petrol - so a diesel owner looking to be a bit antisocial which petrol engine would you choose?


Sleeper to me means => totally stock Manganese Brown (480) W123 with custom made 16 inch / 17 inch hub caps => looks totally original to Joe Public but under the hood something with Megasquirt and perhaps a turbo or two

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

No OM? Petrol? Ya mean them enginees that use them spark thingamajigs?

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I'd go for the light alloy V8 out of a W126

-J

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

IMHO, the M104 is the best technology in an inline 6 vs the M103. Kind of like the OM606 vs the OM603. However, at least visually, it's a big-arse engine and I feel like it would be a challenge to fit into the 123 body.

Still would be sweet to build a 600 HP beast with it.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I drove a 2.8l M104 W124... I was impressed with how much power it had.

-J

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

Yep - sad sad day - but even I have to face the freakonomics fact of life here in Holland.

M117 - has monster torque compared with the M104 but a similar power

Mercedes-Benz M117 engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mercedes-Benz M104 engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But the cost of the V8s here in Holland (and the cost of parts) does play a part. I should be able to get a M104 and a 722.3 for about 600 euros whereas I might struggle to get just the V8 engine for that amount of cash

I think it has been done before. There's a chap over on the performance section of tech help who has a M104 in a W201 so it must go in a W123 (fingers crossed).

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

If you want a good engine package then the M104 is a very good choice, even when you take it apart you see that MB made a gem of a machine.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

If you want to go fast, obviously you'll be putting an M113 in it.

__________________
CENSORED due to not family friendly words

It also came stock in the W202 C320 and C36 so there might be a source of conversion parts, radiators, fans, etc...

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Stretch, wow that's a major bummer after all the work you've done. Is this a recent law change in Holland? How about registering it in the UK?

__________________
85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Could you find an entire wrecked SE or SEC to nab parts from?

-J

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

Yeah I could probably do that but I've already got two Mercedes on the driveway with out wheels on them! I've been forced into selling the house so I have to calm down a bit on the automotive grave yard. The W201 is nearly done so that isn't a problem but there's a lot of work trying to save the W123. As it stands the chassis with registration documents is worth about 500 - 600 euros. As a 300D it might be worth as much as 2500 with luck - nobody wants a diesel in Holland at the moment! With a M110 in it in good condition it might fetch 5000 - 6000 but then it isn't original => with a bit of fun in it it might fetch more...

...not that I'm necessarily planning to sell - but you know the little "d" certainly kicks the arse out of your finances.

If I end up going back to England and the conversion isn't done then I'll definitely put it back to the original - the engine and transmission are ready to go. At the moment diesels aren't financially penalised in the UK - I don't think you're meant to drive them in certain cities anymore though...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

how about you install a quick change M103, get it inspected, yank the gasser, and put a proper diesel back in, then swap it back in each year for inspection?

__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

If I do that I'm sure I won't be the only one!

There's an added ball ache to the petrol engine in a classic thing though - you're not allowed to drive the car in December, January or February.

One plan might be to get the W123 with a cheap petrol engine and W201 going and see if I can trade them in for some 1950s American tin plus some cash - yank out (pun intended) the 1950s straight six or what ever and install the OM617 and the 722.118 => if this is done in a car that is older than 40 years old then I'm legal in a diesel again (and I can drive through the winter)...

...crazy eh? Bloody bureaucrats.

Plus older than 50 years old I don't pay any road tax and I don't need annual inspections...

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

That is Bureaucratic Insanity! Or inanity...



What about this 45 year old beauty?... I would love to put an OM617 in one of these!



Do you have many FJ40's around your area?

__________________
72% 1992 FJ80 + 17% 1983 OM617 + 10% 85/87/92 4Runner + *Eclipse/GMC = 100% Truck
(*<1%)
Build Thread: http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/a-humble-fj80-om617-r151f-swap.759554/