convert to gas? (blasphemy, i know)
 

Humor me, folks...

I've got a gorgeous '80 300TD, which had the unfortunate fate of having all the oil drop out of it on the freeway. Now it's been sitting in my garage for a few months while I do other things. I am very tempted to buy a junk 280E/CE (i live in the US, not many TEs around), and pull everything I'll need from that to transplant into the wagon to make my own 280TE. I only anticipate the following trickiness, but please let me know what I've missed:

1. pump for rear suspension? is there an m110 head that can fit the pump or will i have to convert to conventional rear suspension?

2. can i use the diesel tank to hold gasoline after a thorough purging or will i have to swap?

3. glow plug circuit and light on dash will be superfluous...

That's about it. What have I missed?

Also, it seems crazy but I cannot find any info anywhere of anyone BORING OUT the m110 to get 3 liters or more! Can't this be done? Does anyone have any experience with this? I would imagine 3 liters plus higher compression plus FI, would make a very decent power plant for the wagon.

I welcome your comments.

KenB
1980 300TD
1980 BMW 528i
1991 BMW 535i

where do you live... finding an om617 to put in it is easy. Only thing is you will need to swap heads since the TD head has the SLS pump mount cast onto it

I don't think I'll get much enthusiasm for this on the "diesel discussion" board but I'm thinking 100 more horses, cheaper fuel, quieter performance...fun project! :)

KenB

How bout rewiring the entire electrical system including the fuse box to accomodate m110 electronic ignition, fuel pump, cold start valve, fuel mix sensors, etc?

Yes, MB has done this on coupla occasions creating rod-bender and head-cracker engines. Notably the disastrous 4cyl 230 gasoline bored out version of the 220 back in '73.

Consider an M103 or M104 instead of an M110. The tandem pump is driven by the serpentine belt so you're not limited to wagon engines. The M104 goes all the way to 3.6 liters in the C36 application if you really want to go wild.

Sixto
87 300D

Ooooh...nice idea, Sixto...although I think this is where we hit the limiting factor of the budget. :( Perhaps m110 today, m104 somewhere down the road...

KenB

p.s. i'd love to hear from someone who has tuned a 110, how they did it, what they got out of it, etc. Maybe the diesel crowd is the wrong group to pursue this area of my question though.

I have an M110 vehicle, great motor but likes to drink oil and seep between the cam box and heads. (read not too reliable)

M103 would be your best bet.



Yes, do it. These Diesel vehicles don't get stellar economy by any means. Hell, you can get an M103/five speed in there for good fun and better economy yet.

Or, sell that 300TD and get a 300TE. You'll LOVE the updated suspension on the W124s, the better HVAC system, etc.

Bone up on the various Euro M110s. I think the ones in R107s were good for better than 180hp out of the box.

A local Euro 280E was sent to the crusher on Thursday when no one wanted it for the $650 California buy-back the owner was offered to get it off the road. Needed a windshield and water pump immediately and a few other things less urgently. Absolutely no rust.

You might be able to adapt a 300TE tandem pump to an M110 to keep your wagon's SLS.

Sixto
87 300D

I've seen a few mentions of an electric SLS pump. Search for it?

I'm planning to get rid of my Benz in the short- to medium-term future. It costs me about an extra $100/month vs. a car with the same fuel economy and size that takes regular.

This is my dieseler and this is my gasser. One is for riding and one is for driving. MPG is about the same but I'm saving on the cost of fuel:mad:. Oh well as it's been said "MBs? I'll take two please.":D

I think the best replacement for an OM617 is another OM617, particularly one with a turbo.

If you're going to go putting a non-standard engine in the car, you may as well make life easy and do a 302 Ford or 350 Chevy. Cheap, powerful, reliable, carbed models take only slightly more wiring than the diesel, and you can get parts anywhere.

Lots of folks always ask about this or bring up this topic, but very few if any ever follow through on it. A diesel SEC is about the only one I can remember ever following through.
Your results may vary....

As to the SLS pump. I had a TD that I used a "convertible top" hydraulic pump on. I sold the car before I actually got it running because I found a better rig to use for a road vehicle (Dodge/Cummins with canopy) but the guy that bought it reported back that the system worked fine. I had one hose made and a new filter set up was used. The pump does not need too run all the time.

head conversion
 

Since the biggest obstacle to overcome in terms of parts seemed to be keeping the SLS pump with the new non-wagon m110 gas head, i found this parts diagram:

http://pauldrayton.com/uploadfiles/merc/Service/W123/w123CD2/Program/Chassis/32-640.pdf

and was wondering if y'all didn't think i could convert a regular m110 head to drive a hydraulic pump off the exhaust cam using the driver and pump from my diesel head? Did all the cams come pre-threaded to accept this or just the SLS-ready ones?

Still, seems like it should be do-able. Anyone heard of it being done?

Thanks,
KenB