Curious on w110 engine swaps.. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

zbethem · #1 07-13-2013, 10:32 PM

For those knowledgeable in Mercedes engines through the years.. I began to wonder.

What engine(s) choices would be be fairly easy swapping in place of a OM615 in a w110? I was thinking a M102 from a 190E would be a good compromise of efficiency + power. The downside are the resulting impacts..

* Can the diff handle the extra power from the M102?
* What tranny options would I have? I like to keep it manual.

I love the car, but just want more power in these modern times to make it more livable. That and I'm tired of warming glow plugs

Feel free to add your own thoughts. Thanks all!

wbain5280 · #2 07-14-2013, 08:19 AM

Mercedes came up with the 230 which had an M180 6 cyl. Several modifications were done, the radiator was moved forward and an expansion tank used. As for you performing an engine swap, a modern day V6 or V8 would probably fit. You would then have to use the rear axle from a 280SE 4.5. Your idea of an M102 is a good one if you want to keep it all Mercedes.

zbethem · #3 07-14-2013, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbain5280

Mercedes came up with the 230 which had an M180 6 cyl. Several modifications were done, the radiator was moved forward and an expansion tank used. As for you performing an engine swap, a modern day V6 or V8 would probably fit. You would then have to use the rear axle from a 280SE 4.5. Your idea of an M102 is a good one if you want to keep it all Mercedes.

Definitely think keeping it all Mercedes would be the way to go. Would the M102 still require an upgraded rear axle? I'm thinking it would since I'd be doubling HP and torque.

Thanks for entertaining the question.

1960mog · #4 07-14-2013, 01:11 PM

Any M 180 family engine will bolt up to your transmission, including the M110.
The M121 and M115 4 cylinder engines will to.

If the engine in your car is original, it is a OM 621 with 55 HP.
Consider a 1980 on OM 616 with 72 HP.
By far the most easy swap, and if you use the 1980 on pre glow system, your glow time will be cut to 1/10th of what it is right now.
The OM 617 will also bolt right up, just some more modifications.

Coolvibes · #5 07-15-2013, 11:46 AM

Hi Zbetham (ck sp). I have a W110 with a L6 (2.3L) gas motor and 4 speed gearbox, and it's a tight fit up front. As someone said in a previous post, due to the length of the engine and the short nose of the car, the radiator is moved forward and under the bonnet latch / slam panel. The shape of the radiator looks unique to me, to fit in the given space, so I don't think one from another MB will fit. The fan is very close to the radiator, about an inch from it.

I have also been contemplating an engine swap, because no matter how much power we have (about 105 hp in my case), it never feels like enough. I have looked at the M110 motor, but it seems longer than what I now have due to the mounting of the distributor and the crankshaft pulley (balancer / dampner plus 3 grooves). As it now stands, I had to remove the radiator to be able to put a socket on the crankshaft nut to turn the engine. There's just no room up front fot a L6.

Incredibly, old MB V8 (3.5L / 4.5L) from the late 1960s / early 1970s are longer than the L6, so forget those as well. The engine bays are wide though, so a newer, shorter V8, V6, or 4 cylinder MB motor should fit but may not bolt up to your gear box.

Another thread somewhere had mentioned a place called transmission adapters. I called the guy, and he said he had adapters for the OM615 and OM616. PM me if you need his number. I'm not sure if I am allowed to write it here.

zbethem · #6 07-16-2013, 01:42 PM

Thanks Coolvibes.

I was thinking a newer 4 cylinder MB motor would be the way to go. Your comment about the newer motors being shorter is promising. Sounds like a trip to the local junkyard is in order to get rough engine dimensions. It would be cool to get one of those supercharged 4 bangers, but could be a headache.

The part I'm most unsure about is the limits of rear axle. At what point do I have to worry about sourcing a new rear.

All just pie-in-the-sky dreaming at the moment.. but it's sounding do-able.

Coolvibes · #7 07-17-2013, 12:01 PM

The axle in your car (and mine) probably has a 4.1:1 ratio diffential in there now. My car has about 100 hp, so knowing MB, I think it should be strong enough to take up to 150 hp. That being said, I don't feel this axle would live long behind a 150 hp V8 with lots of torque, and many jack rabbit starts.

Depending on the engine you are putting in, you may want to consider a stronger "bolt in" rear end from a W108 bodied 4.5L V8 car. Those come with a 3.27:1 ratio diff and disc brakes. You would need to upgrade to 14" rims to use this rear end though.

zbethem · #8 07-17-2013, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coolvibes

The axle in your car (and mine) probably has a 4.1:1 ratio diffential in there now. My car has about 100 hp, so knowing MB, I think it should be strong enough to take up to 150 hp. That being said, I don't feel this axle would live long behind a 150 hp V8 with lots of torque, and many jack rabbit starts.

Depending on the engine you are putting in, you may want to consider a stronger "bolt in" rear end from a W108 bodied 4.5L V8 car. Those come with a 3.27:1 ratio diff and disc brakes. You would need to upgrade to 14" rims to use this rear end though.

My service manual shows a 3.92:1 for the 200D. This is where the $$$ really start to add up. I'm thinking that finding a w108 rear would be hard as my local junkyards usually only have mid80s-late90s era models.

zbethem · #9 08-19-2013, 09:14 PM

I think I got the donor car match. To the knowledgeable masters on all things Mercedes, here's my thought.

Donor car: 1995ish c220

I'm not sure on engine dimensions just yet, but the wheelbase and track is almost perfect! It makes me think that I could take the body of the w110 and put it on the newer frame. The only downside would be going from a manual to an auto.

c220: wheelbase (inches): 105.9, front track (inches): 58.8, rear track (inches): 57.6

w110: wheelbase (inches): 106.3, front track (inches): 58.3, rear track (inches): 58.5

Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

pedrocamp · #10 08-19-2013, 09:54 PM

I am not a master but both cars are unibody, the body's are the frame. There is a front subframe but it would be easier to adapt the motor and trans to the existing body/frame. The rear end designs are quite different so to fit the newer rear would require designing and fabricating mounts.

cth350 · #11 08-20-2013, 10:39 PM

if you are an ace welder with time on your hands, you can regraft the bottom of one car into the other most likely.

Ron has pointed out many times that the multi-link rear suspension for a W124 or W201 car can be grafted into any of the 60s cars.

For a swap that doesn't involve welding of the car, stick with a 4 or 5 cylinder motor and a rear end from a slightly newer W108/W111 car if the current rear ratio isn't good enough. Don't worry about the torque rating unless you're going to stuff a 6.3 or 6.9 in there.

-CTH