I used one of the EARLY Converse kits which left a lot to be desired. I ended up remaking the motor and tranny mounts, and had to do a lot of my own development work. He was kinda developing the kit as I was doing my car. I met Converse, and he's a nice guy, but has trouble with the "details". He was working on Letterman's car when I saw him. Nasty car... 9 series wagon with a supercharger, aluminum heads, different intake. Made about 400 HP. Newman's was identical, and a third car was also made that went to an undisclosed recipent.

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J.B. Hebert

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Current Vehicles:
'76 Ford Bronco
'78 Volvo 262C Bertone V8
'80 Alpina B7 Turbo Coupe (For Sale)
'94 Ford Explorer
'95 Mercedes E300D Sportline+

lietuviai: Yeah, people who think it's a violation call them that. I wouldn't have it any other way. Here's a couple of pix of it:

1

2

I had a chevy 350 in my 80 300SD(W116) for about 2 years before the rust bug got at a bit to much of it.. Was Fun to run around in.. Granted, I more or less slapped it in there, didn't hook much up except for heat and a temp gauge.. Did drop in nicely though.. Used some angle iron to drop the motor on the original engine mounts, made up an H frame to carry the tranny (th400) in the back.. Custom drive shaft was about the most expensive bit. Had a friend machine up some flex discs..this thing tore them up quite readily..

I eventually chopped the thing up and sold it all for parts..

Jonathan

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Blue Ridge Mercedes
Jonathan Hodgman
http://www.blueridgemb.com/
Enthusiast Service, Restoration & Tuning.
Follow Us on Facebook!
Located in the Atlanta area
Specializing in all pre and post merger AMG's including Hammers and DOHC M117 engines.
Mercedes Repair Atlanta

So, does anyone know of kits or companies doing a 123 Conversion? I spoke to Converse, and he's interested, but he's backed up all the way till next spring or thereabouts.

Anybody been able to get a response from the guy at www.badbenz.com?

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Gil

2004 ML350
1984 300CD; Ivory (sold)

Just noticed this thread and am wonderng if anyone knows of any similar swaps of Ford or Chevy into the older 114s? An few extra HP would sure be nice.

230/8

Just noticed this thread and am wonderng if anyone knows of any similar swaps of Ford or Chevy into the older 114s? An few extra HP would sure be nice.

230/8

Hello,
The engine bay is too narrow for a V-8, the firewall braces get in the way, the biggest/widest engine to go in was the M110 twin cam. If all you are looking for is power, a Mazda Rotary would slot in nicely, though I think you'll need the 78 litre fuel tank from the M130/M110 engined cars

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Nachi11744

Nice way to fly a truck!

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I`m doing a chevy swap into a 1978 - 450SL and its easier than I thought. Its a 383 stroker with a 700R4 trans and a reworked vette rear. drm184

Show us pics of how you did that rear end.....

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Gil,

I don't know how many people would actually be interested in this, that's why I haven't done anything yet. I've built a few V8 Volvos, not the 5.0 that Ross Converse uses but the good ol' 350 Chevy lump. I've considered the 123 swap. Have two 350's sitting...I wonder what people would be interested in if a swap kit were to be put together? Driveshaft, engine mounts, tranny crossmember...that stuff is easy. I just don't see anyone doing a kit because of demand. Anyway, if you'd like details on how I did the Volvos to help you along with your own swap, let me know. Perhaps you could talk me into converting the TD but I'd rather start with a gas powered car.

Good luck.
Mike

I was told by Mercedes Preformance Pros that the stock rear will fail when torque exceeds 300 #. The vette rear was the natural choise to keep the sports car feel. I started with an 89 all alum. vette rear assembly. My orig. plan was to install the complete vette rear but after layout, I find the orig. rear is close to the vette design. I have changed directions, I`m now bolting the vette chunk ( 3:73 posi ) with new bracket into the frame. I`m using vette half-shafts ( shortened ) and mating H. D. Mercedes end pieces to the vette shafts. Now I can bolt to the orig. brake assembly with new H.D. parts. Orig. springs can be reused but I will install coil-overs. The rear is almost finished. This iconversion has been easy and I`m doing a how-to manual for anyone else to use. drm184

Cool...one of these days when I have some extra money burning a hole in my pocket I may grab a clean gasser in need of a engine adn do a simmular swap...I grasp what you are doing for axels...with an overdrive and such it will make for a sweet running car that gets twice what its original gas milage was. With more power to boot. (assuming an EFI late model V-8)

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Sounds like Rimspoke approached the conversion a little different that I. Mine is a 78 - 450SL with a 383 stroker, 700R4 trans and vette rear. As for your question, when I first put the engine in, it was too far foward. Everything was a problem but the minute I started inching it back, things got a lot better. I`m putting in a new vintage air set-up so I was removing the old A/C eqpt. behind the firewall. This solves all your problems. I cut the center part of the firewall out and picked up about 3". Now I can use a stock oil pan and the shorty block hugger headers fit like a glove. The side mounts on the Chevy now line up with the stock mounts so hook-up is easy. Because the engine is back, I had to knotch the tunnel a little for the tranny pan which is no problem. Moving the engine back is the key to a sweet install. More info anytime ya need it. drm184 Also, I got a lot of pics.

There are front sump pans and pickups availible for the chevy engines also.....

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

When I did the first mock-up into the engine compartment, the best location was foward which made a front sump pan a must but I could never find one. This promped me to look for other options since the mounts and headers were a problem also. After cutting back the center part of the firewall I moved the engine back about 3". All your problems are gone, Chevy and stock mount points line up, header space opens up and you can now use a stock oil pan. With the engine now back 3" and a little lower I can now use a 3" cowl ind. hood scoop instead of a 4 1/2" unit. I`m putting all details into a how-to manual. For future ref. I would like to know where to get the front sump oil pan. drm184