Manual Diesel Wagon

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercedes-Benz-300-Series-300td-1980-mercedes-benz-300-td-wagon-w-123-4-spd-amg-143-k-original-/181241104094?forcerrptr=true&hash=item2a32cfc6de&item=181241104094&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Wow, that is exactly what I want. Just needs a turbo.

cool

EvanB wrote: Wow, that is exactly what I want. Just needs a turbo.

And perhaps a fifth gear, based on guessing that era diesel doesn't have a powerband so much as a powerpoint...

Wonder what trans that is, where to get one, whether there's a five speed equivalent, and whether it's harder to get clutch linkage from a German wrecking yard (are there German wrecking yards?) or adapt/build something else...

Most likely a four speed from a 220/240D, that is the most common swap I have seen. I don't know if there are any 5-speeds that will bolt up, at least not any any available in the US.

EvanB wrote: Most likely a four speed from a 220/240D, that is the most common swap I have seen. I don't know if there are any 5-speeds that will bolt up, at least not any any available in the US.

I would assume the 240D donated the transmission. There are five-speeds but you need to go to Europe. IIRC the problem with adapting something else is the location of the shifter with most transmissions.

My German sucks, a lot, but at least the general trans prices on ebay.de don't look insane (I didn't manage to find anything I thought was correct for this application). Shipping (if you can find someone who'll ship) will suck; but the cars themselves are pretty reasonable (or can be). I could see sinking a fair chunk in a 5-speed swap and having it be worthwhile... If it turned out I liked the car half as much as I like they way they look.

The 5 speeds that fit are about $1800-$2k for just the transmission from what I have seen. Plus to do a turbo swap you need a wagon head if you want to keep the sls. I could see it costing $4k or more to swap that one to a turbo 5 speed, but it would certainly be a nice car.

In reply to Travis_K:

I would just dump the SLS. You are going to want the whole turbo engine though. The turbo OM617 is beefed up compared to the the non-turbo.

Or you could go with the OM606.

EvanB wrote: Or you could go with the OM606.

HELL YEAH!

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and ask the dumb question: Where do you even start digging to figure out how to swap such a modern diesel? Do you need something akin to a MegaSquirtForDiesels (TM)? Is their high-pressure stuff self-contained?

EDIT: Okay, haven't read much yet, but it's pretty clear Teh Googles can give me info all night long... Sorry for the Let Me Google That For You fodder...

93EXCivic wrote: In reply to Travis_K: I would just dump the SLS. You are going to want the whole turbo engine though. The turbo OM617 is beefed up compared to the the non-turbo.

That's true, I just meant that other than finding one in the self service junkyard, a wagon head is way harder to find than a normal om617.

Actually with W123s, the recommendation from the German car magazines at the time was to forget about the five speed as it didn't do much for fuel consumption and required changing gears down at the first sight of a hill in the distance.

IIRC, the five speed has similar gear ratios as the four with an overdrive fifth that is so tall that you can only use it if you're living in the Midwest.

BoxheadTim wrote: IIRC, the five speed has similar gear ratios as the four with an overdrive fifth that is so tall that you can only use it if you're living in the Midwest.

I live in the Midwest, sounds perfect!

Even though there are mountains around here, my most common highway slogs are damn near dead flat... Though four-with-a-TALL-fifth doesn't really do anything for the... I guess it's effectively peakiness, even if it happens between 2500 and 3000 rpm, huh?

As long as I'm thinking carried-away thoughts, the OM606 swap sounds like a bigger win (with a bigger workload).

My 300SD isnt really bad at all with an automatic on flat ground, it is slow going up hills in 4th gear though. I think most people who do OM606 swaps either swap the injection pump with an earlier mechanical one, or take the electronics from the donor car. VW tdis are the same way, the people I know who swap them into older VWs just use the wiring, computer, DBW throttle, etc from the donor car.

ransom wrote: Okay, I'm going to go ahead and ask the dumb question: Where do you even start digging to figure out how to swap such a modern diesel? Do you need something akin to a MegaSquirtForDiesels (TM)? Is their high-pressure stuff self-contained? EDIT: Okay, haven't read much yet, but it's pretty clear Teh Googles can give me info all night long... Sorry for the Let Me Google That For You fodder...

All self contained. Check out www.superturbodiesel.com and www.peachparts.com

I have seen a few grey market manual non turbo wagons like the one posted. I should have bought them!

EvanB wrote: Wow, that is exactly what I want. Just needs a LS.

FTFY

Scott