every exhaust pipe in the engine bay will be wrapped with fiberglass/titanium heat wrap. along with that, I'll be bending some aluminum heat shields for both the hood, and the tunnel between the dizzy and the firewall. Cant go melting my distributor cap!

And now for today... Finished the Y pipe, albeit not wrapped yet, but its routed to the point that I could fire the motor without choking to death, or going deaf.



its tight.. thats for sure, but its a 1/2" of clearance minimum to the heat shields, and once its wrapped, it shouldnt get hot enough to be an issue.



Went underneath the car and did some more measuring. 2" drop linkage for the center section of the steering and I'll be set. I'm also going to be pushing my luck with the driveshaft I think. I dont have it made yet, but from what I've got measure so far.. I'm looking at an angle of 4*. Happy zone is 2-3*, may have to go CV, or cardan joint to make up for it. The car isnt exactly on level ground though, and I havent finished the trans mount. But with where I want the trans to sit, thats where its looking like it will end up.

Bought the rest of the steel I need to make the radiator mount/new support, and I'm currently arguing with the "tech support" at the company I bought my thermal rad fan kit from. They seem to think that I don't have to wire in a temp sensor to trigger the fan to come on... they say it will just happen when it gets hot enough......

There is more than enough room in the MB bay for the cam in block SBC. Remember, all those merc v8's are DOHC.. heads are almost twice as big!

The merc v8s ARE still front sump oil pan, and the linkage isnt enough to make up the space that I need. because of the difference in length of the merc motor/trans and the vette one, The linkage actually resides now underneath the trans bellhousing, so the oil pan is only an issue for the crossmember, which I cut out and replaced anyways.

Unfortunately, for the reasons listed below, and adding in the fact that I would need custom knuckles etc.. it makes it unreasonable to do. Also, the intermediate shaft would have to go directly through the LCA mount LOL

If you have an LS.. do it! They make front sump oil pans for the LS that would most likely fit with the factory crossmember! I wanted to go manual as well.. but cant find a stupid pedal box.. grrr. So auto for now till I can gather the parts.

interesting read! thank you.

I am nothing if not stubborn and persistent. quite frankly, I don't understand how people give up on projects, or lose interest. when I was doing my research, I only found one person who had done this into a w124. Its a pretty viable power option for a beautiful car.. may as well try and encourage some other hooligans.

I considered doing a mustang II front end, as they are easy enough to come across and its a super common hot rod front end.. alas, too narrow and too pricey for what I was looking to accomplish. As far as racks go, I think the dodge dakota racks are the way to go. they offer manual and power version, and they are a similiar width to what the merc needs.. then you would just need some custom tie rod ends, which could easily be done with some Heim joints and proper strength threaded rod.

I am just curious why you decided to do away with the TPI in favor of old skool carb?

__________________
2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel 4x4
1994 GMC S-15 pickup 4.3 5MT
1985 300 SD
1978 300 CD
1962 220-S Fintail - awaiting restoration

simplicity, response, power gains, reliability, clearance.

The TPI system is a bunch of garbage, unstable voltage regulation out of the PCMs fry multiple sensors regularly, specifically coolant temp, oil pressure and MAF. they're also super tough to get to idle well and not easy to tune without going full standalone and replacing all the wiring. The fuel rails dont deliver fuel evenly across all 8 injectors and the throttle body is too narrow from the factory, largely due to the dual butterfly flaps.

slap a 600cfm carb and an intake that flows well, you're looking at a simpler system that yields much better engine response, is more reliable (no MAF or idle issues..) and you gain some good power right off the bat.

Anyone who says carbs arent reliable or potent, has never had a properly set up one

Alright, had another decent day yesterday.. actually had a huge stroke of luck!

this is probably going to be the most valuable piece of information donated to this thread yet.

For all future swappers.. a 1985 corvette power steering pump and remote resevoir will literally bolt right up to the mercedes system. lines are routed the exact proper length, with the proper bend and everything... I'm.... in shock actually. I figured, why the hell not, lets see if it fits.... behold!



I spilled power steering fluid everywhere.. so.. it was messy.. but seriously...



So now that that is fantastic, I have to mount the reservoir somewhere on the frame rail, out of the way of everything else, which should be quite simple.

Now for something a little more complicated. If you go back to the first picture, I wanted to use as much of the factory drive components as possible for the accessory system. More factory stuff = better chance of being able to run a common belt. Hell, if I can run all of it, a Belt for a 1985 Vette is the same serp belt used across a half dozen GM 350 platforms.

So, my thinking was, I really dont want to run the factory air pump. At all. I dont want to make anything custom. Maybe I'll just turn it into an idler. (for what its worth.. yes they do make a "delete kit" for it. Yes it is just an idler pulley and a piece of polished aluminum, and yes it costs $150, so no, I was not buying it.)

never yanked one apart, but how hard could it be. air pump right?



answer is; not hard at all.

Welp, those things need to come out of there.



Its a stupid simple system actually. Fixed shaft off center drives eccentric lobes that extend flaps in the housing outside the drum. Flaps pressurize air through the outlet elbow and into the exhaust. Less emissions or something.

At this point, I figured remove all resistance causing components and be left with a free wheeling idler that looks stock.



two hammers, some vicegrips, a chisel and a long screwdriver later...

wrong. I did greatly reduce the amount of torque necessary to drive the thing, but its not nearly where I wanted it to be.

So I ditched that for plan b. Make my own. Since the factory bracket that holds the top of the alternator is ridiculously shaped (has at least four different off angle bends...) and I was using the rest of the factory stuff, I figured I'd just incorporate it into the rest of the drive belt system and add my own idler. Wouldn't you know.. The mercedes exhaust hanger that mounts to the trans and suspends the mid pipes happens to have the perfect slotted holes for idler adjustment.



I got the top radius of the pulley as close as I could to where the air pump would normally rest as to ensure the belt stayed the same length. The corvette belt was long shot and in the garbage, So I used the Merc belt to double check pulley angle and depth. Its strangely only a couple inches longer.

I was going to create a system of bracketry to run the merc alternator as it would be a direct bolt in with the system, but after a little digging, the one that was on my car was either a 70 or 80 amp (still cant figure out which..) and the Vette one is an internally regulated 110. I'll take the free extra amps for whatever I chose to tackle down the road (truth be told.. I have considered air ride.)

Last thing I got done was finding the final resting place for the radiator. It's mounted at a slightly forward leaning angle, as I need the additional clearance from the top hose as I am now running the power steering I was previously planning on not doing. I started to make the upper mount brackets out of some flat stock, and welded in a new piece of angle steel for the "radiator support"



The picture makes the brackets look like they are not at the same angle, but I assure you they are. My OCD wouldn't let me mount them any other way. I'll end up tying the two uppers together across, then going up and over the radiator to the "radiator support" angle steel. The result will leave me with a radiator that will only be able to be removed through the bottom, but will return some of the structural rigidity back to what I had compromised, and there is plenty of clearance to sneak it out the bottom without having to even jack the car up. worst case scenario, I have to remove the crank pulley.. which is actually quite simple, and still easier than removing the radiator on some modern cars I've dealt with.

On the short list of things keeping it from moving under its own power is:

Fuel system
Wiring
Driveshaft
Trans mount/ shift arm
Steering linkage (just have to order parts..)

I need to figure out which of the pins on the GM alternator will match up with the merc wiring. B+ is obvious, I'm sure one is for the gauge on the dash, and the other.. not sure.

Also still have not figured out tach or speedo. I may end up pulling the cluster and making my own custom one.. Though I cant find a speedo that will read the electric output of the 700r4.

Lastly.. I figured out my steering dilemma, it was right infront of me the whole time. bump steer correction bolts.



I can literally put a bolt in the pitman and idler arm, they wont interfere with anything else, and then connect them with heim joints and a swaged rod. I've got my measurements, just have to order. If my measuring is correct, I'll need to run a 2.5" drop, which I should be able to get out of the bolts. I'm also going to have to go at it with no steering dampener.. SO I guess we shall find out how that plays out.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1984 280E

__________________
1984 280E

not sure what youre circling here? The falling down insulation of the firewall? The starter wire that needs to be re routed?

alright, been a while, but I have been making progress.

I realized after I made all the radiator support bits, I forgot the fan was going in the front >

so back to the drawing board. I improvised everything, and will have to tie it all back into each other.. but nothing that a little welding and some more metal cant fix. Also visible is my oops of the day. I pulled the radiator out to notch the lower support a little more for the fan and managed to bang into it while pulling myself out from under the car. bent fins and a little twisted upper tie. OH WELL! car isn't going to be a show car.



I also came to realize that my first air pump delete system was not going to work. when I fabricated the trans mount, I was able to get the transmission higher than i initially anticipated. This brought the pulley up to high and interfered with the hood slope. I like round two much better.



installed.. also visible is the trans cooler. Mounted it behind the radiator in some dead space so I could give myself just a bit more clearance with the grill.



heres a shot of the trans cooler. I tried several different locations, but none could get the airflow, or space, I needed. This thing is quite large after all. Also, the clearance to the accessory drives isn't nearly as tight as it seems. the radiator outlet is actually situated above the power steering pulley. I will need two 90" 1.5" radiator elbows to make it to the water neck, but it will work.

next up... I modified the stock trans cross member to fit with the 700r4. I was going to make a new one from scratch, but with the way the factory holes are, and the fact that the vette uses a torque arm instead of a traditional mount, this was a. much easier, b. much more convienient. c. it works and gave me the ability to adjust the arms around where it needs to be.



I was worried about this not being able to hold up, as it appears to not be the most highly engineered piece I've ever made.. but 500lbs of dynamic force later, it held up and didn't bend.. so I'll take it. I think people underestimate the strength of geometry and triangles far too often.

no pictures of it mounted because that's under the car and a pain in the dick.

next up! Steering linkage! kind of... mostly... another issue... godammit.



First, 5/8 swedged tube, with two 5/8 heim joints and two bump steer adjustment studs. As it would turn out, the mercedes uses a 5* ball joint taper, if anyone was curious. Luckily for me, I found some in 7* and with a little lathe work, fit em right in there. They aren't moving. Still waiting on Jam nuts.. because apparently a 5/8-18 LH and RH thread nut is impossible to find in a brick and mortar store, and I refused to pay 7.99 A PIECE when buying the rod ends. found them at a place half the state away for $.25/ piece.

now for the test fit..

My measurements work perfectly! 1/8 of clearance to the drain plug and 1/2" to the flexplate. its not much, but its enough.. and it works.. kind of.

(also in the background of this picture, you can see where the Y pipe exits next to the transmission)

now it hits the starter and the oil filter..... >.

well, if its not one thing.. its another. So time to order a mini starter, and an oil filter relocation kit. still haven't figured out the stupid fuel pressure regulator fittings.

Nor has anyone provided me with an answer as to what signal keeps the fuel pumps running. I'm almost thinking it would be beneficial for me to just run an auxiliary electric pump.

Looks great! Good luck!

When you wrap the exhaust wrap it twice, and put wire or band clamps every ^" or so. After a while the wrap gets brittle and will crack. It's the best time ever spent on my DD.

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

I experienced this twice on a motorcycle before learning. it doesnt take long for it to shred exposed to all those elements!

Luckily I have about 300' of the stuff in 2" strips and metal cable ties from my side business. So this should be an easy project. going to spray down the headers with some high temp paint as well to prevent any sort of moisture build up under the wrap as well. I should just pull it all out and do it now, But I've been leaving it in so I can check clearance for other items.

Sorry, I haven't updated this thread because of lack of attention on this particular site.. I've been current with updates on benzworld. not to draw traffic.. just a bit of work to keep up with both.

Hope this is still an active thread! I'm planning an LS swap into my 59 w180. Expecting to replace front suspension with mustang II and complete rear end with T bird independent suspension or better yet, a Lincoln mark 8 unit. Both are fully contained systems and can be modified in width. But first, I am wondering if the stock mb rear end is possibly strong enough for the LS power?