Hello all,I have an89 300ce with over 200k on the clock.I have a full buick grand national engine with harness I am in the process of droping in.I am really new to these fine machines.Is there a stronger rear end I can through out back to handle 500 + horsepower that will practically be a bolt in with minor fab.

Thanx in advance.

there are some pretty stout mb rear ends available.

have you checked the weight of your engine? i bet it is heavier than the mb engine. the heaviest engine in the 124 line is the 603 turbodiesel. around 585 pounds i think. so you will have some options available for your situation. i would look for a wrecked 500e or one with a blown engine. the springs and rear end might be pretty good for your car. actually the suspension and brakes but with perhaps diesel front springs.

personally, i would sell the buick motor and buy a 500e. a truly high performance car with mb and porsche pedigree. a long term blue chip collectable. with the buick motor it will be very fast but not accpeted by the buick or mb crowds. and by the time you are done you will have just as much money in it and it will be about saleproof.

good luck in whatever you decide.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

yeah, I agree.....you should think about restoring a Grand National if you really want to do something w/ that engine. They are pretty cool cars, and are appreciated slightly from what I have read lately. If I had a 300CE shell, I would try and find a 6.0 m117 AMG motor, or an m119 (from 500E) 5.0 and throw that in.

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1999 C43 AMG ~~~ 744 on black, mostly stock
1991 190e 2.6 ~~~ m117 5.6 project car

I actually pontificated the idea of dropping in a 500e engine 4 months ago.It is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.It took me 2 months to locate one.The car was a 91 500e that was hit hard on the pass side.unfortunatly the guys at the yard refused to part it out.Thats when frustration kicked in and I then decided to go with this setup.Is there a specific place I can source used or wrecked 500e parts for a conversion like this.I really like the idea of a 500ce.

how much did they want for the wrecked 500e? and what mileage did it have?

a 500ce would rule!

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

if I am correct it had 98k on the clock,they were asking 11,000 car was in new jersey off exit 12.I havent been able to locate 500e parts since,even the fenders.

theres a c36 engine on ebay for 3k right now. And an eng./ trans combo from a 2001 cl500.

I know what you mean.....I searched for a good deal on a decent m119 for several months and never really found anything. The m104 3.6L (from C36) would be a great engine though, and would bolt up too....that, and you could use a 5-spd getrag transmission from a 300E/CE. Not quite the power output of the big 5.0, but 276 HP (or 268 from pre-1997 cars) would not be too shabby. And, the HFM could be more easily used for turbocharging than the older CIS-E from your original 3.0 m103 motor. Think about it

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1999 C43 AMG ~~~ 744 on black, mostly stock
1991 190e 2.6 ~~~ m117 5.6 project car

you could find the engine from an early 90's 500sl as well which is virtually identical to the 500e engine, only tuned a little bit differently.

If you had a 500e and could transfer the entire drivetrain to a 300ce, you would have a fabulous car that would definately be a treat to drive.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

both ideas are excellent. a good euro 500 engine has excellent power too but might be too old. you would want the engine to be as close to the year of your car as possible to make less interface problems, imho.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

If you have access to a euro m117, it would likely be cheaper and there would be a few parts in the w124C that you could save and use again. W/ more than 300 HP on the ECE euro motor, it would be more than enough to get your CE going. I'm beginning a NA m117 swap into my 190e (2.6) and I'm guessing that the swap into your 3.0 m103 powered 124 would be largely the same from a technical standpoint. Personally, I wouldn't say that the m117 is too old, although the m119 looks nicer and has more power (and a more advanced engine design). Either way, you would have a pretty killer car. The 500SL would definitely be the best route to look at, and I know that is where one of the guys on mbcoupes.com sourced his m119 for swapping into his 560SEC. I wasn't able to find a good one, but I was only looking kind of half-heartedly, so I'm sure that they are out there......and for a smaller premium than from a "sacred" 500E.

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1999 C43 AMG ~~~ 744 on black, mostly stock
1991 190e 2.6 ~~~ m117 5.6 project car