C320 Engine Transplant, Tranny Swap, or ???
Hey All,
I've got an '02 C320 wagon. Great little car. I've lowered it (H&R Cup Kit), C32 front calipers, clear headlights, funnel wheels, quad exhaust, and Eurocharged tune.
I want to step up the fun factor now. I've thought about transplanting a C32 motor in it, but was told by a shop who has done this before, that it would be in excess of $15k (and this did not include the donor car). Then I saw someone on MBWorld that said they did it for less than $2k. Anyone have thoughts on this and how involved this would be? Also, keep in mind that I'm in CA, so this would have to have CARB blessing. But then I thought, would someone doing a smog check on this really know if the motor was a transplant?
Second option is to swap the automatic transmission for a 6 speed manual. The Eurocharged tune helped with the shifting speed, but it still lags tremendously. The manual would provide a much more stirring experience.
Lastly, has anyone installed a later model steering wheel with paddle shifters to work with the slush box (automatic)? I was also thinking that a cheap and relatively easy mod would be to be able to use the buttons on the existing steering wheel to shift...has anyone done this?
Thanks in advance.
Henry
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