Andrew280SEL
New Member
Hi all,
Haven't posted much lately (shock horror), though I have been lurking a bit.
Anyway, at the risk of being run off the forum
, I'm suddenly a bit bored and I've been toying with engine conversion ideas for that old yellow W114 280 some of you might remember I got as a freebie a couple years ago.
What I like about these W114/W115 types is they are remarkably simple for an MB car. I pulled the seats and carpets etc out so I could do some work on the whole floor and it literally took less than 10 minutes.
Yet ironically, I can't help but feel like putting a more modern engine under the hood. Sort of an old school car that runs more like a newer car. Bit more power, better fuel economy, smoother, that sort of thing. Retro modern.
I know it sounds counter intuitive but it's one old Merc I don't really mind not keeping too original, as I want to have a bit of fun with it and honestly, bringing the carby'd M110 up to scratch could be expensive in it's own right (a Holley conversion comes close to a $1000 last time I checked and EFI adaption like MegaSquirt would be on top of that), probably not that much less than a total engine/tranny swap that I would largely undertake myself.
From what I've read around the traps, non-MB engines (I know, I know) such as the 302 Windsor V8, Nissan RB30 and Toyota 2JZ engines should fit this body type with minimal fabrication work as far as getting the engine bolted in there. Not super keen on the Windsor, because even an EFI version wouldn't exactly be refined or great on fuel. The other two I'm open minded about. I was also thinking about a Barra 182 straight six from a BA Falcon, but the amount of electrics, wiring harness and what not needed just to get the engine to start kind of scares me, plus without a proper measure up I don't know if it would even fit.
As far as MB engines go, perhaps M103 or M104 sixes? M104 with the later model injection system and fancy electronics sounds a bit of a headache in a similar manner to that BA Falcon engine I mentioned though. I'm hoping quite a few MB engines could be interchanged with this body but I'm not terribly familiar with MB engines past the early 80's vintage.
I guess I'd like to try an engine swap with something more modern and efficient, but not so much more modern that it requires an entire car worth of wiring harness just to work In a nutshell I'd like an engine that makes this car go at least as well or better than the old M110, but better in most other ways.
Keen on any ideas anyway! It's just brainstorming at this point, nothing has happened yet besides me working on the interior. But the engine and drivetrain would be next and I have a hankering to do something different (have mercy )
Haven't posted much lately (shock horror), though I have been lurking a bit.
Anyway, at the risk of being run off the forum
, I'm suddenly a bit bored and I've been toying with engine conversion ideas for that old yellow W114 280 some of you might remember I got as a freebie a couple years ago.What I like about these W114/W115 types is they are remarkably simple for an MB car. I pulled the seats and carpets etc out so I could do some work on the whole floor and it literally took less than 10 minutes.
Yet ironically, I can't help but feel like putting a more modern engine under the hood. Sort of an old school car that runs more like a newer car. Bit more power, better fuel economy, smoother, that sort of thing. Retro modern.
I know it sounds counter intuitive but it's one old Merc I don't really mind not keeping too original, as I want to have a bit of fun with it and honestly, bringing the carby'd M110 up to scratch could be expensive in it's own right (a Holley conversion comes close to a $1000 last time I checked and EFI adaption like MegaSquirt would be on top of that), probably not that much less than a total engine/tranny swap that I would largely undertake myself.
From what I've read around the traps, non-MB engines (I know, I know) such as the 302 Windsor V8, Nissan RB30 and Toyota 2JZ engines should fit this body type with minimal fabrication work as far as getting the engine bolted in there. Not super keen on the Windsor, because even an EFI version wouldn't exactly be refined or great on fuel. The other two I'm open minded about. I was also thinking about a Barra 182 straight six from a BA Falcon, but the amount of electrics, wiring harness and what not needed just to get the engine to start kind of scares me, plus without a proper measure up I don't know if it would even fit.
As far as MB engines go, perhaps M103 or M104 sixes? M104 with the later model injection system and fancy electronics sounds a bit of a headache in a similar manner to that BA Falcon engine I mentioned though. I'm hoping quite a few MB engines could be interchanged with this body but I'm not terribly familiar with MB engines past the early 80's vintage.
I guess I'd like to try an engine swap with something more modern and efficient, but not so much more modern that it requires an entire car worth of wiring harness just to work
In a nutshell I'd like an engine that makes this car go at least as well or better than the old M110, but better in most other ways.Keen on any ideas anyway! It's just brainstorming at this point, nothing has happened yet besides me working on the interior. But the engine and drivetrain would be next and I have a hankering to do something different (have mercy
)
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