ericpd

I have a friend who's thinking of buying a C55 with approx. 22k miles on it. As a C32 owner, he called to ask what I generally thought of the car and the seller's asking price. He swears that it is supercharged. I told him that the only supercharged AMG 5.5 litre I know of is the E55,... and I think Merc ended production of that somewhere around 2005 I believe. All V8 C Class AMG's to my knowledge were naturally aspirated.

Just checking with the group here: Was there ever a SC'ed C55, or any V8 C Class that AMG might have put out in limited numbers, never meant to reach these shores of ours, or as a special production model,... like say, the Black series?

Thanks guys!

V12Godspeed

Nope, only supercharged C class I remember is the C32. After that C55 is naturally aspirated V8. Maybe he added a Kleeman blower or other sort?

kindafast

Some dealers are uninformed and might confuse the E55 with the C55 and tell you its supercharged. There was some dumbass announcer at the dragstrip calling my C32 a bimmer...
So unless it pulls and screams like a **** it's not a sced C55. Go with him, you will feel it cuz a sced C55 is way faster than a C32.

hooleyboy

There has never been a V8 SC C55 in standard production. Not only is the E55 supercharged all other 55's are as well after 2002 (I think.... I might be wrong though) that also includes 65AMG's as well. Tell him to lift the hood there is no hiding a Supercharger on a C55 let alone anything else for that matter. A C55 with a S/C with 22k would be going for big bucks. IDK 38k 40K your talking about 400+ wheel horsepower. There are 3 companies that i know of that make S/C for this car Kleemann, Renntech, and, HPS,. to see any of those on a C55 is rare and if there not on this board thats even more rare. Tell him to take a pic of the engine bay and send it to you. If your unsure if its S/C post the pic here and we will let you know. C55 is bad@ss and he will love it no matter how he gets it.

c32used

+1

ericpd

OK guys,... just got back in. We drove down to Silver Spring, MD this morning to take a look at the beast. It is SuperCharged, but not with a 3rd party kit. It's a 2005 and the owner says the engine was straight out of an 2005 E Class AMG,... signature and everything sitting atop the blower. He wasn't sure of the model year for the E55. I did see an upgraded cooling radiator for the SC and I spotted a Johnson tucked in there too.

Here's the owner's story. He blew the original 5.5 on some High School parking lot in West Virginia,... at a meet or something last summer. The price of a new C55 replacement was prohibitive so he looked to find one at elsewhere. Ran across a wrecked E55 and bought the engine, transmission and the electronics, and then found a mechanic to do the swap. I saw a AMG transmission sitting in his garage,... not sure whether it was the one that came out of the E or whether he decided to keep the E 5.5 and tranny mated and removed his tranny. They're the same I believe,... both 5 speed and AMG modfied. Right?

Didn't get the chance to drive it. Did hear it fire up though. Sounds nice but stock. No res delete, no 3rd party exhaust,... just sounds like any other C55. He did stand on it a little driving up and down his block, but neither of us drove the thing. I did notice right and left patches so there's an LSD back there. Other than that, the thing appears completely stock. I even looked closely at the hood to see if there were any clues of fitment issues with the swap,... none from looking at the hood. But I don't have a lot of history in the engine bay of a C55,... just the 32! To me it just looked a C55 with a longer C32 engine in the bay. Looking at it from the front it was easy to see the beefier SC cooling radiator. Not a bad looking car,... just the first I've ever hear of someone doing this!

Oh,... he's asking 35k for it.

c32used

Wow! We have a forum member here doing a E55 into a C32 swap but he's not done yet...I say talk to him and get all the swap process out and see if car has been wrecked and a clear title and go for it...that engine is 469hp and 500 torque so it has to haul a$$!

RW C55

Ask your friend to take a picture of the engine bay!

D_Star

Good Find!

1qikctr

1) i would look in to engine mounts, how it is done.
2) look for anything unusuall habits of the car during high speed.
3) look and hear for unusuall noise from the engine.
4) get a compression test on the 55k motor, since you dont know whats the yr of the motor......
5) take on some turns see if its safe as far as the balanced of the body and motor GL.
6) is the price 35k obo

ericpd

I hear what you're saying,... but if you think about it, mounts, handling and balance shouldn't be any different than a normal C55. It's the same engine as what was originally in it. Only difference is the intake. I do understand those may be considerations if you're pulling out a 3.2 and replacing it with a 5.5, but that would be only the beginning of considerations. Firstly, the front end of the C55 is way different than the C32. The C55's actually sports a longer and wider nose,... I believe it's shared with the CLK. Not sure! Bottom line,.. thrownig the E55 guts under the bonnet of a C55 should be rather easy if you think about.

Now here's the real question. Like with the 3.2 plant, is the blown 5.5 significantly enhanced and reinforced when compared with the naturally aspirated 5.5? Cause from what I understand, the NA 3.2 and the SC 3.5 plants are as different as night and day. If so, yanking the blower from in between the banks of an E55 and bolting it between the banks of a C55 ain't nothing but a train wreck waiting to happen.

We're going back tomorrow afternoon. Gonna try and drive and take some pics.

ericpd

I hear what you're saying,... but if you think about it, mounts, handling and balance shouldn't be any different than a normal C55. It's the same engine as what was originally in it. Only difference is the intake. I do understand those may be considerations if you're pulling out a 3.2 and replacing it with a 5.5, but that would be only the beginning of considerations. Firstly, the front end of the C55 is way different than the C32. The C55's actually sports a longer and wider nose,... I believe it's shared with the CLK. Not sure! Bottom line,.. thrownig the E55 guts under the bonnet of a C55 should be rather easy if you think about.

Now here's the real question. Like with the 3.2 plant, is the blown 5.5 significantly enhanced and reinforced when compared with the naturally aspirated 5.5? Cause from what I understand, the NA 3.2 and the SC 3.2 plants are as different as night and day. If so, yanking the blower from in between the banks of an E55 and bolting it between the banks of a C55 ain't nothing but a train wreck waiting to happen.

We're going back tomorrow afternoon. Gonna try and drive it and take some pics.

splinter

While any such swap is obviously within the realm of possibilities, it’s clearly not a task for the faint of heart...


photo credit SUNILP

ericpd

Wow,... is that a blown 5.5 going in a C32 or C55? Hard to tell!

whoover

The E55 engine is quite a bit heavier than the C55 engine. The supercharger, intercoolers and plumbing will possibly throw the suspension balance off and will certainly increase understeer. I'd make sure to throw that baby into some curves and see how she responds. You might want to consider coilovers if you do go with it.

sick430

thats a 32 with a clk or 55 front clip i believe

crazeazn

its a C320, with 55K motor and CLK front end.

blackbenzz

Silver Spring MD? Pm me the info and I'll come out and look at the car. I'll tell you exactly what it is

SUNILP

the photo above is my c320 with a blown 55k motor inside it.

bendup

Hi guys, new to your site. Just to let you know I am installing vortex super charger to my c55. I expect about 650 hp and will update when complete. check out rgmotorsport in SA and see what I do.
Ben

alumar

picks or ban!

hooleyboy

Old thread...

I cant even thing about what to say..

c32used

Very interesting please keep us updated