Well, finally got the parts for the triple K turbo and got it back together and installed.

After lingering thoughts about the worthless air intake on these 123 cars and seeing the various experiments along these same lines on the part of others here, here's what I can up with.

The K&N style filter on the turbo seems like a good idea, but too much hot air intake (not that the stock filter has anywhere NEAR cold air after going through the convoluted mess it has to transverse before seeing the compressor intake!), so here's what I did:

Bought one cone-style cotton-mesh filter and one of the Honda angled intake tubes that you buy at the chain stores. At home, I did a mock-up and wrangled things for fit, cutting the intake tube just after the bend (so the only thing I used was the bend with the vac nipple). The filter is made to have through-flow and they sell an adapter to hook a hose to the intake end. That adapter didn't work, BUT...., the stock MB air hose from the snorkle to the air cleaner snaps into the end of the filter nice and tight, couldn't ask for a better fit if you designed it that way. Just cut it down to about 1/3 of its orig length so it can make a gentle bend and stick tight to the intake snorkle, but not get too cramped up on it.

(Lost all images but one to a D/C'd web host - see the only pics I have below!)

Yes, it will draw most of the air from the OD of the filter, but it will ALSO have cold air intake directly into the compressor plenum, UNLIKE the stock filter housing which makes sure the tortuous route the air makes after coming in from the snorkle is well heated.

Only hitch is that I had to machine an adapter out of alum bar stock (7075-T6 was the only thing I had) and have an old swede who's a cert aircraft welder weld it onto the turbo plenum (while it was apart) to adapt to the rubber fitting for the intake pipe.

(Lost all images but one to a D/C'd web host - see the only pics I have below!)

Here's a better look at the end of the filter, you can see that quite a bit of air will flow through the end with the intake pipe hooked up:

(Lost all images but one to a D/C'd web host - see the only pics I have below!)

Here's a look with it pretty much buttoned up on the engine:

(Lost all images but one to a D/C'd web host - see the only pics I have below!)

Will finish hooking everything up tomorrow and post pics of my oil separator arrangement. Am thinking of pulling the whole unit off (Triple K screw-adjustable turbo and complete air intake) and selling it as an upgrade once I get it debugged. Might extend my having to sell the car by a month or so and give me enough time to get back to making an income so I can keep it.

Still need to figure a clean way to pre-screen the intake air to keep from clogging the end of the filter with bugs and cr*p, but that's a minor detail.

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol