Hi, from the UK, it's not a Diesel, but...
Hi, from the UK, it's not a Diesel, but...
Hi all,
My name is Frank, and I'm(along with my dad) a complusive car/project buyer!! We have around 25 cars and projects, between us, ranging from a 1989 Bentley Turbo R, to a 850cc Mini Pick Up.
My current Mercedes project is a W123 280E, that I bought as a parts car for £50, the previous owner sold it after he had let it stand on his driveway for 2 years, after it broke a front coil spring. When I got it home, apart from the front wings (fenders) being rotten, it is in very good condition.
I am planning to enter it in Practical Performance Car Magazine's £999 Challenge.
My plan is to fit a Toyota Supra Turbocharger to the M110 gas engine, this should give me somewhere in the region of 300+bhp (I know because I've done the same thing to a 280GE that a friend used to race).
My signiture picture is my basic plan (except for the spoilers and ground effects)
Here are a few pictures of my car as I bought it:
It's not too bad for a £50 parts car, is it?
I don't know if this is allowed (if it's not, I'm really sorry, let me know and I'll remove it), Here's a link to my build thread on the PPC magazine forum: http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=6743
I will be picking your brains over the next few weeks, as I get on with the build.
Thanks for reading, Frank.
Cool project, although that's a pretty big budget! Here we have the "24 hours of LeMONS" which is similar, but only a $500 limit (about £300).
What's involved in putting the Jaguar LSD in a W123? Are the diff housings the same, or do you need to adapt everything (driveline, diff mounts, cv joints)?
Hi, I've heard about the 24 hours of LeMons race, we've been trying to start a similar thing over here, but have had real problems getting a circuit that will let a bunch of old heaps race round their track!! So the £999 is as good as it gets at the minute. The £999, started as an article on what was the most powerful/fastest car you could buy for under £1K, it then got picked up by a few of us who read the mag, and went from there. This is the 5th year of it, we have had some very inventive winners. For example it was won 3 years ago by a reliant kitten (a very small GRP bodied hatchback with a 850cc engine) that the owner had fitted 2 bike engines in the back of!!! It did 0-60mph in under 3 secs!!!(when it could get traction!!)
I'm not 100% sure what's going to be involved in fitting the Jag PowerLok, but I will soon!!
But from what I've looked at under the car, I'm looking at welding in a cross member to bolt the diff to (like any hotrod with IRS), and then making some driveshafts using the inner half of the Jag shafts, sleeved and welded to the Merc's outer shaft sections.
It has a 5-speed gearbox, but that is going to be replaced with a Getrag Dogleg box, out of a 2.3-16v 190E, because I know from past experience that the standard box is a weak point.
TBH, the body isn't that bad, it is mainly cosmetic, the worst parts are the front wings, drivers side door, jacking points, and rear arches. This is my first job on the list.
Pics of the micro-truck must be displayed on the hotrodcoffeeshop.com forums!
It's ok to link build threads afaik, at least I've never had issue.
Looks to be a good contest entry, going to re-paint, or leave oem?
(02-08-2011, 06:26 PM)fha772 It has a 5-speed gearbox, but that is going to be replaced with a Getrag Dogleg box, out of a 2.3-16v 190E, because I know from past experience that the standard box is a weak point.Wont fit without alot of work. If you do pull the 5 speed sell it to us please!
(02-08-2011, 06:26 PM)fha772 It has a 5-speed gearbox, but that is going to be replaced with a Getrag Dogleg box, out of a 2.3-16v 190E, because I know from past experience that the standard box is a weak point.Wont fit without alot of work. If you do pull the 5 speed sell it to us please!
The gearbox swap, isn't too much trouble, because on the M110 engine the backplate is bolted on, not cast as part of the block. I'm also using the 190E's flywheel, clutch, starter motor, and gear stick and linkages
So, my plan is, to make a new backplate for the engine, then simply bolting the flywheel onto the crank(it bolts straight on with no machining), then bolt the gearbox to it
So, once the the new backplate is made, it is a straight fit to the engine, not really a conversion.
That the great thing about the bolt-on backplate, basicly the outer part of the plate, will be the gearbox bellhousing pattern(along with the starter hole/mounting on the other side), and the center of the plate will be the hole for the crank, and bolt holes to fit it to the block.
So, the starter location isn't an issue, because there is nothing in the way of it fitting on that side,esspecially seeing as the exhaust manifolds are being flipped over, so they go up and forward, to where the turbo will sit. So the exhaust isn't even in the way
Heh I just spent 10 minutes looking at engine pics going, why cant I do that on a 617.... Looks like the oil filter and IP are in the way.... God that would be an easy fix....
(02-10-2011, 11:21 AM)winmutt Heh I just spent 10 minutes looking at engine pics going, why cant I do that on a 617.... Looks like the oil filter and IP are in the way.... God that would be an easy fix....
(02-10-2011, 11:21 AM)winmutt Heh I just spent 10 minutes looking at engine pics going, why cant I do that on a 617.... Looks like the oil filter and IP are in the way.... God that would be an easy fix....
I opened a new thread on it http://www.superturbodiesel.com/std/movi...-2260.html
I've not been on here in a while, but I thought I'd share a few random pictures of my project do far...
...and here's a picture of my Mercedes Atego tow vehicle!!!
Last year, I came 15th out of 26, so I was pretty pleased with that.
I hadn't done much to the engine then, it was still pretty much standard, I'd only uprated to W126 brakes, fitted a SPAX suspension kit, and stripped as much weight as possible.
The event got cancelled this year, but I've now stripped even more weight, and fitted the twin 50mm straight through exhaust.
Next on the list is stiffer springs (maybe coil overs), and it's getting turbocharged, which should push it from 185bhp to around 280-300bhp.
I've got 3 Mini pick ups, and 2 vans too!!!
Edit: Here's a picture of my daily driver Mini pick up, showing it's very effective security system;
(The yellow pick up under the grey car cover in the corner of the picture, is a 1969 with a rally spec 1380cc engine, box, and lsd.)
He's only 220lbs, just a baby really...