Today I was alerted of an '88 300CE with a blown motor. It's red with black interior. Body/interior mint, but a rod is punched through the block. They're asking $1,400 for the car as is. Don't think I can stand to let this one pass! I'd say that if we do some modification, a 560 or European 500 motor should be a nice conversion. Kind of a homemade Hammer! Set it on some Momoblocks and a set of Pilots and hmm, maybe even a 5-speeder for the throws? Will have trailer in tow tomorrow!

I can't see a reason not to offer 1,000$ in cash on hand.

-CTH

Aaron,
Let me know if you change your mind. I might be interested.

Ken

How about a 4.3LV6??
 

Hey Aaron,
How about a little free thinking here? I suggest a 4.3LV6 installation! I finally let my wife drive mine, and her first question when she got home was "Is the speedometer correct on your car?" When I assured her it is, she commented that it must be hard to hold it down to 60... (which it is, it likes to run about 75 or 80... around 2150rpm - 60 is only 1750rpm) Since the car has very little wind noise and the engine is absolutely silent, it's hard to notice just how fast it's going. I must say that the combination of superior German body craftmanship and GM power makes for a terrific machine! You can view my swap at:

http://pages.prodigy.net/rwooldridge/mercedes.htm

My car was also very, very inexpensive to put together! Under $1K total...
Go for it!
Richard Wooldridge
'82 Mercedes 300TD/4.3L V6
'77 Jag XJ6L
'77 280Z
'74 Mercedes 280C

Aaron, I say GO FOR IT! :) hehe 300CE is one of my all time favorite benzes, in fact I have one. :)

I can just imagine seeing that thing when its done. DROOL CITY! :) It sounds like a great deal. a new motor shouldn't be too hard to find. maybe you could squeeze in a 500E engine, I think I saw one recently for like $6 or $7k in the local classifieds.

Alon

4.3L V-6?
 

Richard,

PLEASE tell us you left the stock badges on this car. It would make for a major surprise for anyone thinking they were dealing with a poky TD diesel...VVVRRRROOOOMMMM. Oops, very sorry about blowing your doors off! :D :D :D

One question though, I thought the TD was a wagen, not a sedan...

4.3...
 

Hi there,
Yes, I did leave all the badges on, so it still looks completely normal except that the front of the car sits a couple inches higher than it should due to the lesser weight. I'm sorry, I'm not up on all my M-B nomenclature, so I was using "TD" to refer to "turbodiesel"... I suppose it should be "300D"? I think it does surprise people, because they seem to start to pass the car, then drop by the wayside at freeway on ramps, etc. Lots of fun to drive!

Regards,
Richard Wooldridge

REMEMBER, I HAVE A 3.2 LITER EFI 104 ENGINE SITTING IN MY GARAGE. I know were some turbo cast iron manifolds are for it as well.

You could send this one my way and it could be the first MercedesShop turbo project car!