OM617 in a W111 230s Body?

[warmblood58]

Hey All, I have a chance to pick up both a dirt cheap OM617 engine and a W111 230S in excellent cosmetic condition with a bad motor. Anyone ever drop a SD motor in a finnie? Would gasser AT work or would i be better offer finding a diesel spec trans? Thanks!

Its been done before. Search, you'll find the thread.

[Squiggle Dog]

I have a 1967 230S that I put a 1979 300SD engine in. It bolted up to the standard transmission perfectly without needing to slide the transmission forward or backward. I got a flywheel/clutch/pressure plate from a 220D and it fits the engine (look for a 200D, 220D, 240D, or 300D for the flywheel). You have to have the flywheel match balanced to the flexplate that comes off the 617 engine if you are using a manual transmission and be sure to mark the flexplate in relation to the crank on the engine before you pull the flexplate. If you do not have it match balanced there is a chance it will vibrate, so better to be safe then sorry. I still have to make the 617 engine mounts and shocks attach to the frame and hook up the throttle linkage. One thing about the oil tower is it will have to be moved because it gets in the way of the brake booster and transmission shift rods in the fintail.

[bgkast]

OK squiggle, let's see some pictures!

[Squiggle Dog]

Okay, here is my 1967 300SD. What?! Car was a 1967 230S W111 and engine is from a 1979 300SD W116. I believe the original 6 cylinder gasoline engine was rated around 125 horsepower, and the 5 cylinder turbo diesel engine is rated at the same (though it has much more torque). Both engines are about the same size. The newer 617 5 cylinder diesel engine bolts right up to the original 4 speed manual transmission like it was meant to be (of course you will need a W115 or W123 200D, 220D, 240D, or 300D 12 bolt flywheel/clutch/pressure plate unless you are going to use the automatic transmission that comes with the 617 engine).

[Squiggle Dog]

The alignment of engine support arms to crossmember is very close. The mounts and shocks will need to be taken from the donor car and placed on the fintail. If the engine ends up being too far forward I will probably use the support arms from a W123 OM617 engine because they kick back.

As you can see, the power steering bracket (which also holds the main fuel filter) hits the battery tray, which is welded to the body and needs to be relocated to the other side since it is a more logical place for it to be [next to starter, away from most other devices]). The oil tower in back hits the brake booster and shift linkage, so it will need to be removed and I will have to relocate it possibly up onto the power steering pump bracket or elsewhere. Once these two parts are clear the engine can be aligned with the transmission and body (at the moment it is slightly angled toward the right side of the car).

If I remove the power steering pump bracket I believe the main fuel filter can be positioned in its place utilizing the two mounting bolts. The automatic transmission linkage on top of the valve cover can be done away with in my case. I will need to fabricate (using Mercedes parts) a throttle linkage and I will need to figure out what body style radiator and oil cooler I should use. The opening for the stock radiator is very narrow and it does not seem that I can make an oil cooler fit in there practically. Also, I will need to install an exhaust system, but I will work on it a little at a time.

[Squiggle Dog]

I have been wanting to do this conversion for a long time. I was not much into cars until I visited a museum in Germany when I was young. I saw some vintage Mercedes and I liked the styling and wondered why they were not still built in that way. I would sometimes see Syrian Mercedes fintail taxis driving around and they really caught my eye. I told myself that one day I would have one.

A few years ago I needed a car and bought a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300SD for $400. It was a great car that rode nicely and got great fuel mileage, but started having electrical issues (windows not working, lights shorting, heater not working), so I sold it for $600 on eBay.

I thought to myself how nice it would be to have an older, simpler fintail with that simple 5 cylinder diesel engine in it. I thought the idea too unrealistic at the time until I discovered how inexpensively fintails can be bought, and I saw someone on the internet who had done a conversion: http://fatfranz.wordpress.com/

A couple years ago I picked up mine for free on craigslist. It had had an amateur restoration and new brakes and tires. The owner had the head rebuilt, only to set the timing wrong and destroy it. He was moving that weekend and I was the only one to actually look at it, so it was given to me. I towed it home with my 1965 International-Harvester Travelall.

I ended up buying a parts car for my 1979 300SD (another free craigslist find) and decided to use the engine from the parts car (I have all paperwork for it and a compression check showing near 400PSI for each cylinder) for the 230S which was in need of an engine. I knew the 300SD engine would work in the 230S with the automatic transmission, but I wanted to keep my 4 speed on-the-column manual transmission. So I did some research and figured out how to make it work.

Now I am in the slow process of putting it together as I have time and money to (rainy Washington weather permitting). I have plans to run it on B99 biodiesel as I do my 1979 300SD. I am going to rebadge the trunk of the 230S to say 300SD TURBODIESEL. It will, after all, be a 300 now with a 3 liter engine. It is still an S class. It is now a diesel, so thus the D at the end. And it is a turbo diesel, so there it is.

Oh, one thing I must do is change the rear swing axle gears because I have a 4.09 ratio, where a 2.88 is what the 300SD has. It will be zippy around town, but slow on the freeway.

[bgkast]

Sweet!

[Mister Byrnzoil]

Most excellent, love that old finnie look. If theres a thread on this already please point me to it... b/c I'd hate to hassle you with duplicate questions.

What did the weight of the 617.952 do to the front springs?

Wow a 4.09!! do you think you can change the gears or will it be the entire rear end?

Does the '67 have drum brakes on all 4 corners?

Do you know if the bolt pattern for the wheels is 5x112 ?

Apologies if my questions are ig'nant, I know nothing about those models.

Again, nice job, you've got some work ahead of you, but its lookin good.

[Squiggle Dog]

I haven't noticed any difference in the way the vehicle sets with the OM617 in it. I have heard that the rear end gears aren't really removable, but haven't researched it much. I think the 280SE 4.5 had a 3.27 rear swing axle that will bolt up, but they are sought after and expensive. The 230S has disc brakes up front and drum in the back. I think it is the standard 5 lug Mercedes bolt pattern that they have always used, so I could possibly put some 14" or 15" bundts on it (has the original 13" wheels on it now) until I swapped the rear axle, but I really like the stock wheels.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Originally Posted by Squiggle Dog

The alignment of engine support arms to crossmember is very close. The mounts and shocks will need to be taken from the donor car and placed on the fintail. If the engine ends up being too far forward I will probably use the support arms from a W123 OM617 engine because they kick back.

As you can see, the power steering bracket (which also holds the main fuel filter) hits the battery tray, which is welded to the body and needs to be relocated to the other side since it is a more logical place for it to be [next to starter, away from most other devices]). The oil tower in back hits the brake booster and shift linkage, so it will need to be removed and I will have to relocate it possibly up onto the power steering pump bracket or elsewhere. Once these two parts are clear the engine can be aligned with the transmission and body (at the moment it is slightly angled toward the right side of the car).

If I remove the power steering pump bracket I believe the main fuel filter can be positioned in its place utilizing the two mounting bolts. The automatic transmission linkage on top of the valve cover can be done away with in my case. I will need to fabricate (using Mercedes parts) a throttle linkage and I will need to figure out what body style radiator and oil cooler I should use. The opening for the stock radiator is very narrow and it does not seem that I can make an oil cooler fit in there practically. Also, I will need to install an exhaust system, but I will work on it a little at a time.

How do you relocate the oil-filter housing? Is there an adapter kit availble for this?

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Squiggle Dog]

Oh, I don't know... probably make a block-off plate on the engine with some threaded holes and use some hard lines from there over to the oil tower in its new location--unless it goes on the body--in which case I would need flexible lines, but I trust hard lines more.

[bgkast]

Originally Posted by Mark DiSilvestro

How do you relocate the oil-filter housing? Is there an adapter kit availble for this?

Happy Motoring, Mark

There is a memeber here that sells a kit for this. User Mercedesrover I think.

[warmblood58]

Hey Squggle, thank you for the pics and narrative, I am inspired by your work. I hope to pic up the 230s for 300.00 and I can get the running sd motor for the same . . the rest is all time, sweat and dollars! Wish me luck! Love those hechflosse!

[tompaah7503]

Squiggle, nice to see your conversion!
If you can find a 3.27 rear end, buy it and use it! My 4.09 is unbearably slow, tops about 56mph with the auto tranny in fourth! Quick on the red lights though Did a 3000 mile trip last year with the converted W111 and you know it's time to change the rear axle when even large semi-trucks and motor homes queue behind on single lane roads trying to pass.. LOL Got some sour looks, middle fingers etc but hey it was my vacation, I wasn't in a hurry..
I have a spare 3-something axle out of a 69 W108 that I intend to swap in sometime but right now I have another W108 (71) 617-conversion (5 speed manual!) that needs some attention.
About the engine.. do a compression test first, a lot of these old 617's are now well worn.. I didn't do that, and measured compression just a couple of weeks ago, came out fair on first 4 cyls at 22-24, but fifth was a disappointment at 16, explains the sourness on cold mornings, cough cough!
If you have larger diameter wheels, please use them, it also helps with the top speed. I also have the 13's, it's a quite odd dimension today and one tire shop asked me if it was a trailer when I called to check availability.. needless to say I hung up and called the next shop.. don't insult my Benz by calling it a trailer. 14 Bundts will fit (probably 15's also), but imho these look horrible on the fintails.
The oil filter can be easily relocated to wherever you want it by building an adapter plate, you'd probably have to do this your self though.. Or if you are lucky you can find a OM617.910-block (from the W115-chassis) that has the filter already at the front. Also worth exploring is if you can use the adapter from a 307D/309D-truck that tilts the whole housing downwards, maybe it'll fit that way?
Good luck, and drop a PM if you have specific questions..

ps. Love the red interior!