repowering a 240D W/ a 5cyl

[JDmills]

I am playing with the idea of repowering a 240D with a 617 turbo engine I have sitting around... what would be involved?

Looking to have a bit of a sports sedan type results:

I anticipate changing the rear transmission crossmember,

radiator,
driveshaft,

would the front motor mounts be a exchange type situation, or is it a completly different mounting set up?

How about electrical issues? most should be a unplug and reattach situation, except the glow plug relay?

also is transmission the same for the 240/300 series cars? (automatic) may be that will be the biggest challange.
what are your thoughts on such a project?
Thanks
Jason

[t walgamuth]

a 123 and a 115 chassis five into four conversion. i am assuming you are talking about a 123. best to find a donor car with cosmetic issues or crash damage.

you will need to change the following to do it right. the radiator, the engine, the speedo, the tranny is the same if a stick and prob the same if auto but i dont know for sure, the shift linkage, the driveshaft, (this can be shortened), and the rear diff. you also will ahve to change the glow plug relay. there is a engine mount on the four that fits into the back of the deep pan... remove that. there are two engine shocks on the 617 and one bracket to hold the other end of that will have to be fabricated from angle iron. oh yeah, the exhaust system too. it all bolts in except the bracket.

my transplants both are non turbo

the five cyl transforms the 240 into a very nice car. the turbo will make it fast. it is a little lighter than a 300 so it will be a little quicker. the ac controls in the 240 are bulletproof.

good luck.

tom w

[t walgamuth]

on this site have done the turbo engines into 240s. one is called cannonball. i havent heard from him for a while. i think he went back to college.

tom w

[JDmills]

Thanks for the information, sounds like it is fairly easy to do with nothing really being a show stopper!! I will keep at it and see what turns out.

[Johnhef]

The only problem I ran into was having to fabricate new throttle linkages since I was putting a 80 engine into a 78 body. I believe they were changed before the 1980 MY? The earlier style has the linkage run behind the engine, under the manifolds and up and over the valve cover. The newer style has everything on the left side of the engine.

You pretty much got it all, trans crossmember, glow relay and harness, radiator and hoses should do it.

[t walgamuth]

to change the rear diff unless you are planning an assault on the drag races.

tom w

[Johnhef]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

to change the rear diff unless you are planning an assault on the drag races.

tom w

then he'll end up with a 123 that will lay rubber and top out at 80mph

[t walgamuth]

righto.

tom w

[JDmills]

Is 80 MPH about all a 240 will do??

this is starting to sound some what easy... Now I just got to get started on it.

[Wes Bender]

Just wondering ...... why not sell the 240D and buy a 300d turbo? Seems a lot simpler (unless you are looking for the challenge in doing the mod).

[JDmills]

the challange. And to see if I can keep another car on the road..

[FineOlBenz]

I plan on doing the same swap some day. I just haven't found the right 240 body yet. I checked into putting a 300 turbo radiator in the 240 already. The oil cooler and hoses are different configurations so that did not work. The turbo motor also has a fan switch on the thermostate housing that will also need to be put into the 240 wiring harnes. The 300 turbo auto trans is different than the 240 completely so you will need a 300 turbo auto tranny to go with your motor. The best way is to have a crashed 300 turbo donor available. Like having a Pick n Pull in your own drive way.

Anyone have a nice 240 Donor in Central California for me?

[JDmills]

More information to add to the :to do list. getting to be a nice challange

[Angel]

There is a thread started by "TomJ" (?) called "auto -> manual transmission has begun" it details a lot of the swap and has LOTS of pictures and background info. It'll take a while to read, but worth the time spent.

-John

[t walgamuth]

a fan of doing the stick too.

it is straightforward but not a weekend job. my indy charged me about $1200 for labor i believe. at 60/hr this is 20 hours, and that is with a lift and all the proper tools in hand. also it is with two cars to start and not having to chase any parts.

the reason a 240/300 is better than a 300sd or 300dt is that the 240 is much simpler all around. simpler ac is the best part. and it is a little lighter. and it is fun to have something that didnt come from the factory that you "created".

tom w