I think ROYAIII is mistaken all around about the manual transmission availability. M-B unfortunately understands its owner demographics pretty well. On average, this group notwithstanding, M-B owners are take a back seat only to Cadillac and Lincoln on average age. It is a lazy, cruiser group on the whole not as "involved" with driving their cars as the average BMW driver. I would be embarrassed to say that I wasn't proficient with shifting. Having gone to driving school, there is NO substitute for the right gear at the right moment.

M-B misses out on this point to BMW. Anyone driven a Five series with a manual???? I like the 124 better than a 540i but surely would put the money down for a 5- or 6-speed.

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Charles Cleaver
1975 350SE + 1992 300CE-24 SportLine 5-speed + 2002 SLK320 6-speed + 1974 W114 280
1986 190E 2.3-16 (Decomm rear self-leveling suspension; Euro-code headlamps) sold
2004 Audi S4 6-spd - sold
1969 (2) and 1980 Porsche 911T, S, and SC - alas gone
1987 300SDL - Graf Spee; Euro-code headlamps; 16-inch 8-hole wheels - sold
1994 E420+(E500 suspension/E-code headlamps/PAD chip) sold
1968 250SE 4-speed (NICE car) - long gone
1962 220S 4-speed/column mount - long gone

Royaiii,

Where can I find a $5000 supercharger kit for a '97 E420? All of the supercharging kits I have found exceed my budget at $10,000+.

Thanks,
Cliff

Someone on benzsport.com was talking about doing it. I think they did do it. It caught my eye, but I dont have that car.

Austin

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Current Stable:
1994 S500 v140, 210k miles, white with grey.

Former Mercedes in the Stable:
1983 300CD Turbo diesel 515k mi sold (rumor has it, that it has 750k miles on it now)
1984 300CD Turbo Diesel 150 k mi sold
1982 300D Turbo Diesel 225 sold
1987 300D Turbo Diesel 255k mi sold
1988 300 CE AMG Hammer 15k mi sold
1986 "300E" Amg Hammer 88k mi sold (it was really a 200, not even an E (124.020)
1992 500E 156k mi sold
etc.

I have been following the formula one series and it seems to me that the automatic technology with the paddles on the steering wheel is the way to go. Hey if schumi uses it ??????? when in ROME ?????????

Koenig, I think 4k + 1k install. Get the RennTech trans cooler so the trans will be beefed up. I think you will get about 75-100hp. Before you do these mods, I would suggest having a comprehensive tuneup. The M119 in W124 is 10:1, so the engine will be moderately-highly stressed. Its better to fix all the problems now then later w/ the supercharger. 1st of all it is easier to diagnose and 2nd of all the mechanic won't bleed you once they see your supercharger. I would reccomend changing both head gaskets, timing chain and check each cylinder's compression. Also you might want to change your oil pump's spring and have a couple of oil changes to insure that all the crap is out. Of coarse, service life is reduced so dont plan on keeping the car for more than 200k miles unless you enjoy spending thousands on rebuilds. A good idea is to get a thicker head gaskets to reduce compression or having some new pistons (Mahle or Kolbenschmidt) thrown in. So most likely, to effectively supercharge your car it will most likely approach 10k dollars. Unless, you have a pristine 420 that has been pampered since day 1,