hello all!

I am in the process of installing a late model (10:1 compression) 5.5L M117 V8 with 722.350 slushbox in my 1976 W115 240D, but I am going to have to do a couple of modifications (A shock, I know!) and am looking for some pointers.

1.) the drivers side valve cover binds on the brake booster, I have to have the motor where it is, but I dont know what do do about the brake booster since thats obviously very important as well.

2.) the transmission is a considerable increase size-wise from that old iron 4-speed manual, I need to 'expand' my trans tunnel, what tools, methods would you use for this?

3.)I asked this one in vintage Mercedes as well, but the oil filter canister will not clear the side of the engine bay as it is now without either modifying the filter assy or the car, so I am curious to know whether or not a different orientation ir available, or if a relocation kit is available for this engine!

Thanks much! with your help I will have the fastest /8 on the planet!

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT

Regarding the booster clearance issue, I once swapped a 351C into an early Mercury Capri. I simply replaced the booster and master cyl. with a manual master cylinder. This just meant pressing harder on the pedal.

In most cases, you can't just get rid of the booster because the power boosted MC has different presure ratios and it'll be a ***** to stop.

Another choice is something like this:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-760121K/?image=large

Or, possibly adapting one from a '70's Ford as they are a little smaller in diameter. You can also look into a hydro boost that uses your power steering pump for energy.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I have a couple of brake boosters out of other cars too, but none are direct bolt-ons -- one out of a toyota MR2 spyder, one out of a 190E 2.3 8V (non ABS) and one out of a 560 SEL (which is waay too big)

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT

Some cars use a remote booster. On my Lancia Scorpion, it's somewhere under the car! Also might consider using a wilwood pedal set to make it easier. They have dual master cylinder setups to basically remove the need for a booster, and everything is right on the floor in some cases.
From what I understand about remote oil filter kits, they're universal for the most part. I've seen people use the same kit on a MKIII Supra, and a Chevy 3.8 V6.

interesting... I am not sure if I could even move the pedal and the booster an inch or so to the left of the car, that would solve my problem - and the master cylinder is just enormous on this car too.

I know the oil filter relocation kits for the screw-on type are easy to come by and are for the most part universal, but this is a proprietary type of caister filter;http://picasaweb.google.com/EMTtech/8V8Swap#5360355304592818434

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT

Talk to whipple_m104 about the filter relocation, he moved the canister style housing on a M104 to the other side of the car with a custom machined block of some sort.

__________________
1997 Mercedes E320 Turbo
Garrett T3/60-1 Turbocharger
Custom Water Intercooler Setup
352rwhp/366rwtq @ 8.6psi in '08

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/1051/log7smallay9.jpghttp://img66.imageshack.us/img66/740...s3smallox0.jpg

PM'd him thanks!

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT

I pulled the brake booster from my /8 and compared it to a couple of others I have, the 1985 190E 2.3 8V seems to be a good contender... much smaller in diameter, but the bolt holes are closer together on the 8V booster, and its the newer style where two of the bolts are on the booster, and two are on the car, if I were to modify my /8 would 2 be strong enough? is the 8V booster close to as strong as the /8's was?

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT

At some point an engineer figured that the 2 bolts would be sufficient to hold the load. I'm sure that if you looked up the tensile strength of an 8mm bolt or whatever it is, you'll find that it's more than sufficient to hold the force applied to it by the pedal/booster.

The only place I can think that 2 bolts would be an issue versus 4 is that it spreads the load over a greater area of whatever it's attached to. 2 bolts may create a concentrated load on the sheetmetal of the firewall and eventually fatigue and tear it.

It may be necissary to fab up a 'spreader plate' to distribute the force from the 2 bolts back to the original 4 mounting locations.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

woo, welding time!

Thanks much!

is it ok to have the brake booster tilted about 10 degreed clockwise looking at it from the engine bay - I think it would be much stronger this way...

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT

Will lifting one side or the other of the engine, or moving it a bit to the passenger side add clearance ? Many cars have this from the factory and it's so slight no one ever notices...Can you notch the valve cover a la big block Corvette ? As far as the tunnel goes, either slit it lengthwise at the top and spread it,or slit it at both sides and add material. Nice swap !

__________________
There's no substitute for cubic inches

I think I read on some board that some MB V8's are actually installed a little off-center from the factory.

Also, be careful with the trans tunnel, because it is probably structural as part of the strength of the unitized body.

__________________
86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

Yes the V8 in the 560SL is 19mm to the right.

__________________
To see my 129 parts for sale visit:
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Mercedes-SL-Store
John Roncallo

I'll have to look, it seems like we have more clearance on the passenger side , but we will have to get this trans tunnel sorted first

I probably could notch the valve cover, but I would prefer modify the car instead, especially if I can get a newer part in place.

so, either way, the dash comes out to modify the transmission tunnel then... I kinda figured as much, well its nice to have confirmation on that at least.

Thanks! when I'm done, I'll get to a more detailed write-up on the whole process

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT

really? 19mm towards the passenger side? would that cause awkward stress on the driveshaft flex discs on the /8 having it off-center as I'm sure the L4 diesel was quite well centered in there before...

I know the R107 bay is actually pretty similar to the W115

__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT