Starting the planning of swapping out my 1999 CLK 230 engine & tranny for a M273 5.5 liter with 7 speed tranny... any suggestions on where to start? (I have the CLS engine / tranny / ecu & wiring harness)
I want to retrofit the paddle shifting steering column as well.
I have been thinking -
AMG suspension
AMG differential / axles / drive shaft
AMG brakes
just a little worried about chassis shimmy - being a cabriolet and all..
your comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated..

 

If you're serious, good luck with this serious job I'm excited to see if you actually follow through with this and it's not just an "idea".

In my mind it would be cheaper to just pick up an old 5.5L car... Maybe a CLK55, E55, or a CLS55

Regarding suspension, maybe you should look into lowering springs and some sport shocks to reduce wheel gap for that nice flush wheel to fender ratio. I think CLK's sit too high on stock or AMG suspension, but that's just my opinion

 

I second this. I want to do a similar conversion here when I finish school. While the E55 would be cheaper than the conversion, it wouldn't have the same presence my CLK does. It's hard to beat the styling of these CLKs in my opinion. I don't just want to go fast, I want to look damn good doing it

 

You want to talk to Ash. He took an early CLK320 (ME 2.0) and converted it to a CLK55 – complete with ALL ME 2.8 electronics, custom paddle shifters, and everything else including the kitchen sink. Ash’s car is the most involved Benz conversion I’ve ever seen.



Successfully installing an M273 would put you in the rare air of CLK Royalty. You’d be mentioned with the likes of J Williams, Ash, Betrezra, Kevwood, and dare I say it – the fastest 208 known to man – BlackBenzz.

Best wishes with the upgrade.

 

as always thank you MarcusF for the kind words.

let me start by saying anything is possible.

if your car is a 2001 or 2002 you have ME 2.8 which means you can convert the w208 55 parts as a plug and play if not then you have to do the full conversion of all modules, computers, body harness, Security system EIS and a tone more basically everything that I did. after that you have to go one of the following routes:


1. upgrade everything on your car from fuel pump to axels, drive shaft, diff, trans etc.. to the w208 55 because they are the same as the 600s which are the v12s. the w208 55 was very much solid and over built when it comes to drivetrain. then you will have to adapt the new engine to the w208 55 transmission and adapt the wiring harness to the w208 55 ME(ecu) and make custom hoses for the radiator and other parts such as AC, oil cooling etc... after you have done all that you will have to get a custom tune to allow the w208 55 ME(ecu) to run the new engine properly. this is not a simple task nore is it something companies like wistech and powerchip can do, this has to be done by an actual programmer/tunner with very very very extensive knowledge of benz and on a dyno which could run into months of tunning and a very hefty budget.

2. have a custom body harness made and use everything off of the CL such as the gauge cluster, all modules, window motors, cluster, climat control, basically everything in the car.

option one would be your best bet but even at that you still have to see if you can make or have a custom engine harness made to allow communication between the w208 55 ME(ecu) and the 273 engine or not. this is not as simple as just running wires, everything inside these carsfrom windows to lights to outside the car in the engine and trans is controlled by the ME(ecu) and canbus system. if you can figure all that stuff then you might have a shot at this but you are looking at a very hefty budget and I can tell you at the end is not gonna be a reliable carbecause there is a lot of custom and cutting and chopping work involved. and possibly many custom parts such as crank sensors, heat sensors, custom hoses etc...

my project took about a year of research and about 3 months to be competed. I am in no way a mechanic or have much knowledge of cars. I work in the financial industry and did this in my spare time at a friends shop. but for your project you have to set aside many many many months to get this to work because like I mentioned it will be fully custom with absolutely no point of refrence. but before you start do your research and talk to a tunner/programmer with benz knowledge. ive seen way to many people start a conversion and then you never hear from them again and months later you hear their car was parted out or sold t a junk yard. prime example is a few months ago that a member swapped the 32k motor in his clk and already had everything installed and just needed the wiring figured out, no one ever heard from that car or member again. the mechanical part is the easy part can be done in a few days, the wiring is the monster project! and one advice I can give you, don't for a second think that"its just wiring, they make a big deal about it" it is a big deal and the biggest deal and the only reason why none of these transplants ever get done. these cars are completely electrical driven and canbus controlled.

if you have a the time, money and patience do it, I would love to see this done.

P.S. if you want a fully reliable daily driver I don't recommend this project. I went my route because I wanted a fully reliable daily driver and I achieved just that.

 

Gentlemen -and fellow MB colleagues.. thank you so much for your valued input.. the donor vehicle is a 1999 CLK 230.. based on your comments this will be a more challenging conversion. For some background - just bought the CLK 3 weeks ago and the last owner mashed up everything - cutting and pasting all electrical systems, disabling the cabriolet top, disconnecting all position sensors, mounting an aftermarket stereo without the proper plug in adapter..and so on and so on.. so basically I have a 43K mile vehicle. I have removed the rear seat / headrest/rollback assemblies and now plan to replace with a high end stereo unit - anyone want a "never sat on" set of Cab seats / roll bar / rear door cards - grey leather?? looking for an AMG red/black front interior / dash as well.
Thanks for the comments on the final vehicle being in the upper echelon of world wide CLK's. besides the engine swap out here are the other planned modifications:
1) PriorDesigns Wide Body Kit with rear spoiler
2) custom built rear seat area high power stereo system
3) rear black led tail lights
4) front black ccfl projector headlights
5) custom extension of existing cabriolet storage top to extend with same lines to front seats (similar to the old ford thunderbirds)
does anyone have a link to a repair manual out there - as aforementioned - I need to start straightening out the electrical system to at least get the trunk switch to work (no key as well)..
Kindest Regards
Bruce - Trinidad & Tobago...

 

On the off chance that you didn't know, your existing seats, door panels and dash can be dyed. Here's a "how to" link. I've personally done at least a half-dozen leather seats. If you use Surflex, it won't peel, fade, or come off on your clothes.

 

just a heads up, you are starting with a 1999 model which is an ME 2.0 which everything is already against you because none of your modules would communicate with the w208 55 stuff and also your wiring doesn't work with it, so you need a full overhaul like I did and some more than I did, full electrical, drive train, cooling, engine management, and fuel system. at that point you might be able to adapt the M273 to a w208 55 trans and remap a w208 55 ME(ecu) to run that motor. other wise there is no shot of getting this done at all because you have a 1999 ME 2.0 and also the fact that its a 230 and its a convertible sets you back miles. the only way possible is to convert everything to w208 55 and work on adapting the trans to the M273 motor and remaping the w208 55 ME(ecu) to run the M273 engine with a custom engine harness. get ready to spend months and tones of money, but again if you take the above steps and figure out the adapting of the trans and the remapping of the ECU you will have a monster and I for one would love to see this done.