Hey everyone,
I think most of you will likely think I'm wrong in the head, but I have an '82 300sd which was recently in an accident. It is looking as though they will write it off. The car has about 300,000 miles on it and the body and interior are showing it. The motor and tranny however were factory rebuilds about 40,000 miles ago. I have also rebuilt most of the suspension and brakes. Is it reasonable to buy a real nice late 80's w126, buy back the written off diesel 126 and swap out the engine/transmission and any other nessessary parts? I would benifit from some upgrades made over the years, and keep the reliability and economy of my diesel?
Any thoughts would be great
Corey

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1982 300sd
1980 300cd (sold)

Yes, its easy to do if you have the cars side by side. Then you will have all the parts you need to do the swap. By easy I mean a ton of work, but completely do-able. All W126 bodies will accept any of the V8 engines or diesels of the era with the right parts. A real nice gasser one with a good-running V8 will probably cost a lot more than one with a "has issues" engine. Find one like that so the car is cheap but the body is good.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I did one a few years ago, and right now Im doing it to a 500 SEC and a 380 SEC.

Its pretty plug and play, no cutting, no welding, depending on bodystyle your exhaust might fit as it.

My first one was a 83 300 SD into a 85 500 SEL. Ill briefly outline what I did, and im sure you can do it, as stated its much easier if you have both cars, and not just an engine laying around.

For starters, I swapped the engine and trans, I changed the output yolk on the SD trans to accept the flexdisk and driveshaft from the 500 SEL, I had to have the exhaust lengthened, I swapped the ignition switch from the diesel to the gaser, tranfering the gasser lock tumbler, I rigged up a pushbutton to activate the glow relay, (originally a switch, but I drained the battery so I opted for the pushbutton),
I left the cluster from the gasser, and lived without a glow light, wireing was pretty easy, oil pressure, water temp, switch to the gasser alternator, since its 85 amp.

I had no problem getting it registered, and i dont need a etest for a vehicle 20 years old.

I put 60K miles on it before selling it.

Only one engine shock will mount up unless you make a custom braket.

you will prefer the gearing in the gasser the 2.47 rear gears make for an awesome cruiser and are not that slow around town with the 5cyl.

Ill try to follow your progress to help out if i can.

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1984 Euro 300SDC, (4spd standard)
1986 Toyota Landcruiser Diesel HJ60 5spd X2

Gone but not forgotten (some sold, some stripped)
1983 300 SD, 1985 300 SD, 1983 240D, 1986 300 SDL, 1985 300 SDL, 1983 300 D, 1984 300 D, 1985 300SD, 1987 300 SDL, 1983 300 SD, 1985 300 TD Euro, 1983 380SEC, 1990 300 D, 1987 300D, 1982 300D, 1982 300D, 1994 E420, 1987 300 TD, 1987 300 D, 1984 300 D

Could I go to a newer 126 - like a 1990 560sel? or a 1988 420sel?
I thought if I'm going to the trouble, I may as well get as new as I can?
Thanks for your expertise

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1982 300sd
1980 300cd (sold)

WOW, You are right...You are wrong, in the head...LOL.
So if you want to sell the gasser drivetrain, engine, parts, whatever, just get in touch with me. Especially if you land a 5.0, 5.6, or even a 6.0 engine. I'll buy everything from you, no questions, so P.M. me, when the stuff, is available.

And here's the perfect car for you.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=184463

That was my very plan but, I have way too many projects at the moment.

How well does the 420 engine still run?, I'd not mind having a black texas SEL body to use then put a diesel in when the gasser dies....that'd be awesome.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I'm looking at getting a 90 or 91 420sel or 560 sel to use my 82 617 motor and tranny in. Is there any problem with going that much newer? I thought I may as well take advantage of the upgrades over the years. I'm looking at importing one from Japan as they are low KM units for a very reasonable price. Generally speaking the motor and tranny will be in great shape and I will be very interested in selling it when I'm done the swap.

I would like advise on the 82-91 differences to be sure it will work
Corey

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1982 300sd
1980 300cd (sold)

BE SURE YOU DO NOT LET ON TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY THAT YOU HAVE 10K IN THE MOTOR/TRANNY. YOU WILL NEVER GET IT FROM THEM!
I see that this thread was started over a month ago. I hope you got the car back!
John

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

How much is that going to cost? I wouldn't do that to a nice low mileage W126 the resale value is going to be very low after such a swap.

Spend $1,500 on a 420 like the one posted above. Why spend like $10k on a mint low mileage W126 only to pull it apart?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

It appears as though I can get a real nice candidate from Japan for around $4000. I only paid $3600 for the car I have with the new engine/tranny, so if I can have my drivetrain and the 90-91 upgrades in one unit for like $7600 plus my labour - plus maybe sell a couple of parts (like the gasser engine and tranny) I think I will make out all right. Just want to be sure that the 617 will fit in the 90-91 car?

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1982 300sd
1980 300cd (sold)

Well I havent done a 2nd Gen Swap, but it will fit into a 300 SDL so it should fit into a 90's SEL or SE.

All I can say is it should work, I went first gen so I could get cheaper vehicles, 500 SEC and 380 SEC are usually much cheaper than a 560 SEC, Also all cars in canada are emissions exempt after 20 years,

Good luck, PM or email me if you get stuck doing the swap.

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1984 Euro 300SDC, (4spd standard)
1986 Toyota Landcruiser Diesel HJ60 5spd X2

Gone but not forgotten (some sold, some stripped)
1983 300 SD, 1985 300 SD, 1983 240D, 1986 300 SDL, 1985 300 SDL, 1983 300 D, 1984 300 D, 1985 300SD, 1987 300 SDL, 1983 300 SD, 1985 300 TD Euro, 1983 380SEC, 1990 300 D, 1987 300D, 1982 300D, 1982 300D, 1994 E420, 1987 300 TD, 1987 300 D, 1984 300 D

How about a diesel swap into an R107? Is this even more wrong in the head?

Seriously though, this is a swap I've been having a little daydream about. Any reason it would be less feasible?

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Jim Meehan
Oakland, CA
'89 Toyota XtraCab 4x4 2.4L turbo diesel
'02 VW Golf GLS TDI

I'm thinking of a W108 diesel conversion. Will document the progress as I go if I decide to do so.

I still have the 420SEL if anyone wants a 126 to convert otherwise, I'm parting her out. Gasers are impossible to sell these days.

I'd certainly want to be the last to rain on your parade, but those Japanese cars, most likely are going to be
be a real pain, and expensive, to import. (Unless it is 25 years old or more, then you are home free, just get it through shipping and customs)

They are subject to DOT/EPA regulations, and customs, so you need to do a little bit of investigating, here.

It would cost around $2000 probably, to ship the car to the west coast, and then several hundred more to your home, if you live back east.

If you are going to import it, you will need to get it bonded through customs, and then,
you'll need to hook up with a registered importer, who will need to convert it to conforming DOT/EPA standards; bumpers, lights, emissions, seat belt buzzers, side impact beams in the doors, mph speedometer, and have it photographed, and tested and the package sent back east for review. Depending on their workload, or if the package gets kicked back for some reason, the delays could take quite a few months.

That part of the process will cost, I am guessing, about $6,000 to $15,000,
probably worth more than your budget or the cost of a similar car bought in the United States.

Unless, of course the car in Japan, happened to be one of a few that were already in full US specification, unlikely but possible, there were a few.

There is one member here, Bruce Mendel, though, user name "BruceM105" I believe, who has contacts in Japan and has brought in some W126 cars from there, and gotten them through the process to legality in Pennsylvania, so you could contact him for more information.

But his cars are usually ultra low mile rare mint examples, or rare exotic ones like AMG widebody conversions, that sell for around $,18,000 and up, if I recall.

So, it's doable, but there are a lot of rocks in the road.

Maybe scout the American wrecking yards for a mint one with a rotten drivetrain, and get that might be more plausible. Good luck whatever you do, they are cars well worth owning.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)