1982 300td 4 speed swap - Printable Version +- STD (https://www.superturbodiesel.com/std) +-- Forum: Other (https://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/forumdisplay.php?fid=19) +--- Forum: Projects (https://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/forumdisplay.php?fid=14) +--- Thread: 1982 300td 4 speed swap (/showthread.php?tid=8316)

1982 300td 4 speed swap - H.Bohm - 02-22-2020 This is my 1982 300td that I got for $300 in December. This one was heading to the scrap yard when I picked it up.  After chasing around a weird issue of heavy black smoke (injection pump had something wrong so I swapped it out) I confirmed the engine was good so seemed like a good candidate for a 4 speed swap.  I already had the transmission, pedal assembly, and shifter from a wrecked 1983 240d that only had 73,000 on it when it was T-boned on the passenger side. Ive been sitting on it for a few years waiting for a good candidate.  Gathered everything up and bolted it up. For the driveshaft I used the spicer 1310 Ujoint adapters from JTR and had a custom one piece shaft made with a slip yoke. I asked about 8 different shops about simply cutting the stock shaft and lengthening it but due to the nature of the stock "friction welded" shaft no one wanted to do it, or wanted 600$-  Custom shaft and adapters =$500  For the crossmember I simply made a franken-member out of half the stock 300 and half the 240 that turned out fine.   A note on the flywheel: I read about 100 threads before starting this because I'm not a fan of long term projects so I wanted everything sorted first. A major issue I saw lots of posts about were this thing about balance matching flywheels. Maybe others have found these but both my 300d automatic and the 300d manual flywheel I bought off ebay for $150 were neutrally balanced. I drove 125 miles away to go to a shop that could "balance match" only to find they were both neutral and the people at the machine shop acted like I made this issue up. So I'd suggest spinning it first and just seeing if you have a neutrally balanced flywheel first before worrying about balance matching.   1000 Miles in and I wouldn't ever go back to automatic. This thing drives like I always wanted a 300d to, pulls pretty well yet still feels composed and comfortable to drive. My only real critique is that one spot from 37mph-45mph that seems too high for 3rd gear yet too low for 4th. on the highway this thing cruises great at 75mph at just over 3000rpm (checked by GPS). I'm running 15" rims and my speedometer is off by 4mph because of it.  RE: 1982 300td 4 speed swap - veg124 - 02-09-2022 Looks like an old post but my kind of project! I'm from Indiana so know how these things can just be rusted beyond use so nice to see one more saved. Still have it?