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  #1  
Old 05-30-2010, 07:50 PM
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 4
88 420 sel engine swap

I have an 88 420 sel that i've owned for about 3 yrs, the car is in excellent shape as i am 2nd owner. It was plagued with a radiator that split at the seams on top and was seeping water,but would run fine as long as you added water daily until my wife let our teenage sons drive it to work, any how they got it hot and to make a long story short it's got water in the oil, still runs though, rather than replace the MB engine 4.2v8 it would be more economical for me to swap in a small block chevy 400 and convert it to a 383 stroker motor for some added "sleeper" kick in the pants with quiet exhaust and granny looking decietful styling till i step on the gas!! Has any one done this swap and what are the problems involved i think it should be pretty straight forward since it already has a v8 in it, it will be carbed and eliminate the fuel injection, one wire alterntor from chevy which i have done on my bmw and audi and my earlier MB 240 d diesel i owned some time back. Will the MB auto trans fit to the chevy or can i get one from advance adapters or some one else?? any help would be appreciated I know a lot of you think i should keep it all MB but i am an excellent chevy mechanic and want the added reliability as i don't plan on getting rid of this car, Thanks in advance for any help available i dont know all the number designations on the mods i have seen here but have figured out mine is a w126 the rest of those are greek to me so keep it simple please.

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  #2  
Old 05-30-2010, 08:42 PM
Nothing Clever
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 289
would be much more economical and logical to swap it to a 560SEL engine, they are bolt-for-bolt compatible and will pull as hard as any panzy-ass iron OHV lump.

you have a M116 (late 4,2 liters)
you can swap in, directly, a M117 (5,5 liters (badged as 5.6 liters)) with no modification, upping your HP level by approximately 50 and the Tq number by more than that.

if you EFI that motor, you gain another 50hp.

a Fe S383 OHV weighs better part of 100lbs more than the Al M116/M117 so any potential of more HP, you lose immedately from the added weight and carburetion.

also, I think a chevy motor in an SEL is sacrilegious. I think its ok in a W201 or a W124, but there is no reason when the MB motors available are better than a SBC. and require no modification.
__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT
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  #3  
Old 05-30-2010, 08:46 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Amarillo, Texas
Posts: 24
You can buy a good used 420 engine for your car for as low as 500 bucks. Your conversion will run you closer to 10,000 by the time you are done. It is very difficult but has been done by a few.

If you want a hotrod, slap a Euro 500 or 560 engine in there and lower your rear end ratio (numeric rise). Way cheaper and more fun than putting a Chevy engine and transmission, and a Mustang suspension on the front of a 126.
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  #4  
Old 05-30-2010, 08:48 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 289
you can get a complete 560 engine for less than $500. even less without the CIS/wiring/trans/accessories.
__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT
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  #5  
Old 05-30-2010, 09:29 PM
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 4
what year 560 sel would i need and will it wire up the same as my 420 4.2 motor now? will i need my fuel injection? every thing still works on my car but the overhead cam motors aren't my specialty and i could only find one head gasket listed at some of the local parts stores where i live which was kind of deterring me from replacing the heads off of one i found(the only one in this area) in the wrecking yard,not knowing what shape the motor in that one is in, not running.I'm not opposed to keeping it all german if i can get the hp and torque up a lot more than it is now, top end has never been an issue but i've always ran big block chevy's in my hot rod so it's hard to compare a small block but i would like the extra put you in the back of your seat feel!! Thanks again.
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  #6  
Old 05-31-2010, 12:41 AM
Nothing Clever
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 289
I would pick the same year just to be 100% sure but 86+ should all be the same exact motor.

the 560 CIS is calibrated a little differently but most salvage yards give you the CIS/ injection equip for free when you buy the engine as its not commonly saught after once you have an engine. a 420 system will work on a 560 though, you just wont get 100% of the power.

you can pop the heads off, bring them to a good head shop to get them decked and redone, get some new head gaskets and probably go another 200k miles on it if you want.

I agree with not trusting salvage yard heads unless you can hear the car run.

the 5.5 really kicks you back, its a torquey monster and you are adding over a liter of displacement (mostly stroke, the 4.2 has big bores too but the 5.5 has pistons bigger than my fist.)

in realistic terms, I would bet that the MB 5.5 liter against a 383 carbed in that car, the 5,5 will push harder, faster and probably more reliably.

I swapped one of those monster 5,5s out of a 1989 560SEL (Which I paid $500 for because the paint was crap and it didnt have a radio) into my cherry 1976 240D and the motor blew up the 7.5" mercedes diff, its a strong motor and with the 9" 500SEL EURO differential, it hauls some serious ass. I can walk pretty much anything thats not an exotic in that thing and the looks on people faces. truly priceless.

I actually have a 560SL engine with SEL pan and oil filter housing sitting in my garage I'd sell you, but I dont really know how much shipping an engine would cost and I'm assuming a salvage yard could and would do it cheaper that I could.
__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT
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  #7  
Old 05-31-2010, 11:06 AM
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 4
yea i would be interested, i can probably pick it up depending on where you live, i have a small trucking company out of Mobile, Al. area. you can email me at jcarter8968@hotmail.com and let me know the price and address and may be some pics and any other details i might need to know, does yours have the injection on it still? thanks jeff.
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  #8  
Old 06-01-2010, 05:11 PM
Nothing Clever
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 289
I am in minneapolis.

the motor is perfect as far as I know minus 1 or 2 of the exhaust manifold studs were sheered
__________________
1992 850i 6 speed
1991 M3 S54B32 swap
2007 328iT/6 RWD sport wagon
1987 325E 330iZHP engine swap
2004 Vespa 200GT
1976 W115 240D getting a much bigger engine. 5.5L
1997 R129 SL600 5AT
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  #9  
Old 06-02-2010, 07:06 PM
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 4
It will be a couple of weeks before i could get a run up that way with my flatbed, do you have a truck and a hoist we can get it up on the trailer with, you would probably have to meet me some where to do this unless i can get my 18 wheeler down your street and get back out with no problems.Email me with a price and is the stud broken off flush with the manifold? if so i can just take off the manifold and back it out. let me know thanks.

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