Hey Guys, I thought I read somewhere that Porsche used a MB tranny in the auto version of the 928. So would it be safe to assume that the bell housing could be the same and possibly the Porsche tranny could mate up to the MB engine?????
Might be something to look into

although the auto trans used in the 928 is the same unit as the other m117 engined MB's of that era, the manual 5 is sadly not. It is a transaxle unit (unlike the auto, which just bolts up to an adapter on the axle) and cannot be separated. Good out of the box thinking though....

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1999 C43 AMG ~~~ 744 on black, mostly stock
1991 190e 2.6 ~~~ m117 5.6 project car

That's funny, I went down that same path about a year ago:-P

There is a fellow in Clearwater, FL who has all the neccesary bits to make a conversion in his 560.
126 280 SE Manual for pedals/lines etc
early M117 bell housing off a manual SL

His feeling is to go w/ the richmond 6sp which I'm partial to.

I hope to get down there to pay a visit and brain storm some time in the not so distant future..Hopefully this time w/o getting taged @ 105 :-/

Jonathan

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Blue Ridge Mercedes
Jonathan Hodgman
http://www.blueridgemb.com/
Enthusiast Service, Restoration & Tuning.
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Located in the Atlanta area
Specializing in all pre and post merger AMG's including Hammers and DOHC M117 engines.
Mercedes Repair Atlanta

This is an update to let those interested know that we are keeping the dream alive here!
I'm having a little trouble here in Oz sourcing bits and pieces required to create the conversion whilst doing "real" work, but we're on it. I have the right casting people lined up.
I don't want to take my car of the road for an extended period of time unless I really have to. So if anybody has a pedal box, a dud transmission case, and an trashed engine block with a crankshaft they want to sell, I can get most of the hard work done on the bench. Same if anybody has a 124 chassis manual pedal box they can loan or sell to me for replication.
Has anybody taken any W124 V8 measurements yet to compare with the SL dimensions? What about the 6cylinder varieties? If we are going to make a kit, it has to fit both 124 & 129 V8 cars to make it worthwhile, but if anything can be done for the 6 pot junkies it would be even better.
Does a 6 cylinder share the same gearbox bolt pattern as the V8?
Has anybody else gone any further putting their own kit together, or has anybody got any useful facts they can add to help this effort?
Crank

PS:As a separate issue for after the gearbox conversion, I am keeping my eyes out for a V8 intake manifold (if anybody has one lying about!).

Hello,

Regarding bolt patterns on the W124 6s and 8s. I did a bit of digging and found that they are indeed the same. The cases are actually pretty much dimensionally identical, at least the bits that bolt to the block and the frame. I have a 87 300D and a 95 E420. I measured from some key chassis components that are common on both cars, to the bolts, and the numbers matched. Granted, I didn't dismount the tranny's but I'm willing to bet that they share common dimensions. Looking at pics of trannys on the internet, I can't find any differences in the castings.

In a previous post someone asked about the trans tunnel dims being wider on the V6, and the V8 having a narrower footwell, making the addition of a clutch pedal tricky. I measured every possible interior part of the foorwells of both my cars, the V8 is actually 11mm wider at the firewall than the V8. Can't figure that one out! Might be more insulation on the diesel?

Please, keep me posted on any progress, I am planning on getting the conversion done by someone who A) has the parts and B) knows that cars well enough to do it. Feel free to contact me off thread at any time.

Sincerest regards,

Aaron

aaronjwarren@sbcglobal.net

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Aaron Warren
Palatine, IL
1987 300D Turbo (W124) 230K any offers?
1995 E420 (W12) 190K

Aaron,
That's great if they are in fact the same dimensionally. A difference in the castings that I have seen is the V8 gearbox has provision for LH & RH starter motor, but the 6 pot gearboxes I have seen do not.
As you have implied, it is difficult to see the interface properly in a vehicle, so we'll not know for sure until somebody has one on the bench where the bolt centres and other influencing points can be measured with certainty.
We also need to know about differences in the crank flange dimensions.
Crank
PS: Still looking for parts.

I'll be getting a 16V trans. here pretty soon, if you want me to post some pics of the bellhouse, etc.

Yes please! Any information you can provide will be appreciated.