m113 v8 minitruck swap

[Danth3man13]

First off I thought I'd start the build thread for my swap here because I ended using mostly Mercedes parts.

Anyways, I bought a 1989 Mazda B2200 two years ago, the engine was blown and it didn't have much power. Last year my brother and i finished rebuilding the carbed 4 cyl. engine it had. I didn't like the highway cruising RPM's and the measly 90hp. Recently(December 2016) my dad bought a parts benz for his 2001 s430.The parts car was a 2002 s500 and he only wanted the headlights, grille and hood. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to do a v8 swap to my truck as I couldn't sell it. I also love Mercedes and the sound of the M113 v8 is incredible. Plus my friends and many others said it couldn't be done because Mercedes engines are so electrical and complicated. I wanted prove them wrong. The build started immediately. My brother and I stripped the w220 completely. The car was left down to the bare uni-body. after that we cut the the w220 to bits and scrapped it. The plan was to use the engine, transmission and rear subframe from the Mercedes. We also made sure not to cut a single wire so the computers don't lock up.

I was able to remove the mazda engine in a couple of hours and continued stripping the mazda. We ended up using mostly Mercedes parts. We used the brake booster, throttle pedal, parking brake, instrument cluster, key, shifter, fuel system, emission system, abs computer, radiator, even some of the speakers. First up was the engine mounts. iIdidn't want to have to fabricate new mounts so we welded plates on the chassis and bolted the engine mounts through the chassis. The transmission mount was custom made and bolted straight to where the old mount was. And because we placed the engine slightly forward we didn't have to trim the firewall,the exhaust fit well and the steering column only needed a little bit of massaging to fit. That reminds me that we also used the rack and pinion steering from the Mercedes.
Then the bed came off along with the old solid axle. The subframe installation took more time to install due to some miscalculations but it was well worth it as the truck now has camber and handles much better. after that my brother welded two 3x2x1/8in beams on both sides of the chassis rails for reinforcement.
We mocked up the engine and made the steering column from the Mercedes fit along with the steering rack and exhaust. When the engine was ready to bolt in I took apart the whole interior to fit the Mercedes wires through the cab and made the computers fit in the engine bay. I put it all together and ran the fuel lines along with the EVAP system. We cranked it for the first time about a month into the build. We had cut the single wire that connected the ECU and EIS to all the accessories. The car would crank and give fuel but no spark. The next day I remembered about the wire and after connecting it the truck fired right up. We knew the truck started, revved and idles well so we cut and welded the driveshaft ourselves because there aren't any friction welding shops near me.

We only had to doth annoying little things, lights, sound, seal any holes we made. I also had the issue of the water pump and alternator breaking at the same time but after that was fixed the truck drove well.

that is in summary the build of my Mazda B2200 with a Mercedes v8.

The build took a total of just under 3 months and the biggest livesaver was my dads benz because the internet didn't have any diagrams or useful info. My brother is borrowing my truck and she runs great. We drove it for 200 miles for its first test run and the next day my brother drove it 300 miles. This is all i could remember about the build even though it hasn't been that long. I'm sure I'm missing a lot of details so feel free to ask and post your opinion. I have made a youtube channel for it and I'm hoping to have a photographer get some vids and pics soon

Thanks
-Daniel

[gatorblue92]

This is the biggest tease ever... Not even a link to the you tube channel?

[Danth3man13]

Originally Posted by gatorblue92

This is the biggest tease ever... Not even a link to the you tube channel?

youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBLo0qO-q3FydK-PRHTSbSg

Instagram: Mercedesb2200

i forgot to include that

[Danth3man13]

The YouTube link: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCBLo0qO-q3FydK-PRHTSbSg

Instagram: @mercedesb2200

[Danth3man13]

I finally go to posting pics of th eswap and getting them onto the forum. i uploaded them on FLickr and im putting th elink here. i think its the easiest way to do it. Link: https://flic.kr/s/aHskTUhZE3

more pics will be posted there

[Danth3man13]

[97 SL320]

I finally got to a good internet connection and viewed the u tube vids. Pretty generic and short. However, the out of the driveway vid shows the MB dash in operation so the conversion looks more real.

Using everything to do a swap is a valid strategy. A question, what did you do for front wheel speed sensors?

[Danth3man13]

I only connected the rear speed sensors. I plan on putting w203 front suspension,hubs with the w220 speed sensors,brake rotor and calipers

[Danth3man13]

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

I finally got to a good internet connection and viewed the u tube vids. Pretty generic and short. However, the out of the driveway vid shows the MB dash in operation so the conversion looks more real.

Using everything to do a swap is a valid strategy. A question, what did you do for front wheel speed sensors?

also you should check out the tunnel run video. i tried to upload pics to the forum and it didn't work. any advice would be helpful

[Stretch]

This forum has a very small size limit for the pictures. Re-size to 800 X 600 max (I think) and then you have a chance.

If you are using an off site hosting place make sure you have the privacy set so the pictures can be seen externally

[benzguy300]

Excellent job. I'm curious will the Mazda p/u now power by a Mercedes V8 engine will pass smog check in your state?

[party]

Some states have a rolling 25 year exemption, others don't test trucks, others have no emissions testing at all.

[benzguy300]

I know every state has different smog laws. I was hoping for the original poster to answer my question to find how did it go or if he's lucky and live in a state that doesn't require smog inspection. I'm not lucky I live in California and I own a 27 year old 300CE that still requires a smog test and it's hard to pass it

[97 SL320]

Originally Posted by Danth3man13

I only connected the rear speed sensors. I plan on putting w203 front suspension,hubs with the w220 speed sensors,brake rotor and calipers

Something to think about when doing the front suspension conversion.

Find a donor , strip off the suspension. ( normal stuff I know. )

Build a jig that attaches to all the suspension pickup points / steering rack of the donor shell. Make sure the jig has some reference to the rockers / rear suspension height and level. The goal is to establish where the new suspension should be relative to the rear and at what angle the jig should be tilted when looking from the side.

Place the jig under the truck, level it and starting making brackets to the frame.

[Danth3man13]

Originally Posted by benzguy300

Excellent job. I'm curious will the Mazda p/u now power by a Mercedes V8 engine will pass smog check in your state?

my truck is older than 25 years old so it doesnt need to do any smog/emission test