Gen3Benz

removed steering box and linkage
cut out crossmember and cut holes in trans tunnel
mounted steering rack on new cross member (w210 rack)


dropped motor in....motor is a "16 valve"...LS1 GM V8, alum block and heads, C6 exhaust manifolds, GTO motor mounts/brackets and front sump pan



ac compressor fits nicely


patched up the trans tunnel.


cut rear lower control arm pivots and patch them up(for extra exhaust clearance)
added crossmember to framerail supports


added some seamsealer and undercoating


made a pcm(powertrain control module) mount



finished painting underhood


made a fusebox mount....powers all the engine/transmission stuff


made radiator lower support crossmember....radiator is 26X19



about 4 1/2 inches....radiator to waterpump

more to come...

Gen3Benz

53 views and no comments?

slk230red

Looking good Gen3Benz,

Keep posting updates as you go along....I have the head off of my 2.3 due to a bad head gasket and took it to the machine shop to have it checked out. As I was looking at the engine bay, I was thinking how nice it would be to have a V6 or small V8 in there. My first thought was the cross-member and wondering if it could come out to allow for oil pan clearance...you answered my question.
Looking forward to seeing more photos.

Dave

Kynyption

All of us who have looked, see it on the forums :p

Gen3Benz

yeah, your right.....I have it on every one I can find.....Maybe I'll start a thread on the russian 190 site.

coupeluva

Hey you should post this on
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=28,
they'd love it. Cool *** swap BTW!

Rouven036

wow great job,looks nice.
and i'm sure that is a lot of work.awesome!
want to see more pics...

coupeluva

Hey what trans and rear end are you using. Details man details!

schoona

looks good mate

that power in such a car will make it a weapon

a couple of questions

Why such a "low tech" v8?

Why a v8 in the first place?

I hope it all comes together for you...

Oh, good to seethere is an acre of space left in there...my C32 conversion should go very well then in a couple of years.

coupeluva

That low tech V8 is lighter that any inline 6 and makes amazing power while getting great fuel economy. Try to argue your point with your fellow Aussie LS1 fanatics and see how far you get.

Gen3Benz

More compact, lighter, cheaper parts, more power.

What "high tech" V8 would be an alternative?
Be sure to find one this small and light, makes 350 crank horsepower(stock), unlimited aftermarket parts, with a transmission/wiring harness/PCM/accy's for $2000.
I'll be glad to check it out.

The LS series engine(generation 3 chevy smallblock.....hence Gen3Benz) are light years ahead of the gen 2 chevy smallblocks.
'08 L92(same architecture but gen 4) escalade motors are running VVT technology and the aftermarket is going to explode with it.

Why a V8? They sound the best.

yeah, thats my home page.
I'm going to post up after its running.
Transmission is a 4L60e with a 3600 stall converter.
Diff is going to be stock until I lunch it, then a 8.8 ford explorer diff on a modded subframe is going in.

Lots of Holden fans for sure.

schoona

[QUOTE=coupeluva;2407290]Im not denying that the LS1/LS2 engines are great. Monstrous torque and as you say great aftermarket support. I have no clue about the weight.

A merc V8 wouldnt have sufficed? Or a C200K / C32 AMG conversion was not on the cards. I suppose putting a GM V8 in an MB doenst do it for me.

I personally hate the LS1 bogan culture. It exists everywhere in Australia. The culture in Oz is jap turbo stuff, euro style/class and the bogan aussie V8 driver.

Im all for your conversion. Its unique and going to be reliable/cheap with the aftermarket support available (CAPA, walkinshaw, Harrop etc.)

I think i covered the 2 posts above.

Gen3Benz

Which benz V8?....M119? no thanks...larger and heavier.
M113?....DAS-2....would need the key to make the engine run......along with the C32 M112. Lots of work...or aftermarket EFI.
How much do C32 engines cost with harness/computer/accy's?
More than $1500?

HP per dollar is alot in my book.

phxtravis

A chevy V8? are you kidding me? Should've put a Rotary in it

85Cosworth

A rotary? No torque and no reliability. Especially the turbo engines. Plus poor fuel mileage. I had an 85 RX7 w/ the fuel injected 13B. I didn't keep it long. Rotary is a bad idea.

Gen3Benz

Boosting a 1.3 rotary to the 400HP level would require gas blended with race fuel....would get expensive.

I'd also like to mention that no NAPA auto parts were used in this entire build.
That too would make the car un-reliable.

phxtravis

A little turbo 20B would be nice...

Oh well, you live and you learn.

djhon

Correct me if im wrong , but is this the same variation low tech v8 thats been eating BMW M3'S 911's and a few other exotics to the point where they banned them from 2 race events in japan and belgum?

Hakk403

Awesome swap! I've been thinking about doing a swap in my car for a few years, but I'm back in school and don't have the cash now.

How much is the swap running you? Pm me if you don't want everybody to know. Thanks.

Gen3Benz

$2300 car w/ evo2 kit
$2000 motor/trans/harness/pcm
$2000 cam/upgrades/tuner/torque converter(optional, not need to run)
$1400 wheels/tires
freebie: sweet trans cooler with electric fan
add ~$1000 for misc stuff to get it finished
still going to buy shocks and lightweight seats.

everyone needs a money pit right?

Gen3Benz

It runs!
Makes some loud alternator squeal when I rev it up, need to mess with that later.
My aluminum expansion tank didn't come yet so I rigged up my coolant fill funnel.
Also need to bump up the idle a little with this cam.....all in good time.
heres the link....
LS-190 runs!

I mounted a ford t-bird/lincoln mk vIII cooling fan to my radiator....fits like it was made for it.
Found some radiator hoses that fit perfect.
I'll take some more pics tommorow.

Barada

Sounds nice! I have always thought my 190 was a slug, would be cool to see how it acts with 350 hp.

Firemane

Dude, that's brilliant!! I'd be lying if I said I didn't have dreams of putting an LSx in my '02 C240. What cam did you go with? It sounds suspiciously like my old '99 Z28, which had a Thunder Racing 224° single-pattern, .561" lift, 114° LSA bumpstick.

I see you went with a '97/'98 engine; bear in mind if you ever feel like you need more displacement (say going to a 383, 408, etc.), that particular block has thin-wall cylinder sleeves and cannot be overbored without resleeving the block.

If you haven't tuned the PCM yet, I strongly recommend HP Tuners. It's a highly flexible and user-friendly tuning package that beats the snot out of LS1Edit IMHO. But you say you're a regular over at LS1Tech.com (I'm Nightclaw over there, but haven't posted in over a year), so you probably already knew everything I just wrote...

Great job so far!

Gen3Benz

Yep, 224/224 .563 114LSA

Went with the '98 because it was a good deal.
This motor will see plenty of nitrous, so displacement is of little concern.
It I feel the need for more power in the future I might build a L92 derivative.

I use EFIlive.
I have use it since it was scanner only and have upgraded to the latest.
I have tuned a few customer cars with it and it's very powerful.

Im Gen3Benz on LS1tech.
I will start a thread in the conversion forum there soon.

BTW, converting your W203 to an LS1 would be a snap.
Already has rack and pinion and a V motor.
I have looked under a few and have been looking for one with a cooked engine, just for that purpose.

Firemane

Damn I'm good! Nice choice of cam - it's an excellent all-around performer. It'll also pass CA emissions no problem with a good street tune (if that's a concern for you; oh wait, you're in AZ; nevermind! ), and loves 1-5/8" long-tubes. My Z28 (M6) made 330 RWHP and 382 RWTQ untuned with that cam and FLP long-tubes.

I always forget EFIlive will flash a PCM now; guess I've been something of an HPT nutswinger for a while...

Fitment wouldn't be a problem I expect; body controls though would be a royal beyotch, getting the anti-theft, smartkey, yadda yadda all working with the LSx. Unless I went with an LS2 and GM E40 PCM which talks to the body and sensors via CANbus - which the C-class also uses -and figured out how to get the Benz body electronics talking to the E40. Hmmmm.....