Picked up the wheels yesterday. They were all repairable & balanced up fine

I have hit the seller up for half the repair bill so am now just awaiting an outcome? $490 they cost Part of this was for boring out wheel centres as AUDI wheels have a narrower hub centre.

Also picked up front brake upgrade parts. They were a steal & a half at least.

Car goes in for rego inspection on 15th Dec, then back to workshop for finish of everything. Still no idea on when it will be ready to bring home unfortunately.

 

The 18 x 8.5 wide, ET38 wheels fit with about 2-3mm clearance of strut As opposed to 17" rims, the 18's clear strut just a little more, as they move up & away from strut the greater (higher) the rim diameter. Obviously tyres will have to be stretched so I'm guessing, 235/40R18 max? I won't know til' I get car home & fit a tyre to one of the wheels & check both front/rear hubs for clearance. I'm advised the backs will be fine. I have seen some wide wheels on the rears of these 30e's. Don't now how they fitted them on

Concerning the front hubs fitment, you'd think they would rub on the guards but fitting just the wheel gives little indication of that. The biggest drama now is settling for the right 'ride height' so they don't rub on turns & bottom out.

I really would like to drop it 50mm but may be a little conservative in this area & drop it the 35mm as planned. My paranoia is due to fact that car in original pics showed 50mm drop & it rubbed guards, bottomed out you name it with just 18 x 8's with ET35

 

Just spoke to engineer shop @ Braeside. It's not that stand alones aren't allowed but that they pass the ADR emissions test. This is where the LPG would have shined.

I need to talk with VIPAC emissions mob now & will get back......

EDIT: Guys, will get back to you as it may help others going down this same path. A very effort-ful path. PRIOR to even considering an engineers cert' check. Vehicle MUST pass an ADR emissions test$$$$ The emissions test MUST pass with car running through entire rev range, not just idling. Interesting??????who knows After I talk to VIPAC guy when he calls back , I'll comment again.....

 

I am beginning touching up the aesthetics side of the wheels I purchased. The outer lip damage in particular that 2 of them suffered. I'd say they were damaged in a racing accident when looking more closely. I'm grinding then filing/sanding the outer beed surface of lip to try & blend in the lip edges & cover over chips & scrapes etc.
Not that easy with forged alloy I can tell you. Surprisingly hard metal.

 

For the OZ crowd contemplating FI'ing their particular Merc (with OR without LPG conversion as some beleve this "negates" the necessary EPA test) & want it 'engineer certified', here's some cold hard facts to consider carefully:

After speaking @ length with a prominent emissions testing site, VIPAR, here in VIC:

If you modify a car significantly. Alter the factory settings that effect the standard emission levels provided by manufacturer, IE: FI, regardless of whether you convert to LPG or not & therefore obtain the installers compliance plate for the engineer, you are still required to do the EPA designated ADR emissions test, prior to being provided with an engineers certificate. This is simply due to not being able to provide the engineer with appropriate vehicle manufacturer's specified emissions specs for the alteration/s (mods), as in an available factory turbo ECU, MAF, sensors etc etc,) for the car you are converting to FI (obviously the particular vehicle model was never manufactured & sold on the market with FI), you must have the emissions test performed to ensure emissions satisfy the particular standard specified by the EPA! This then gets handed to the engineer whereby he gives this part of the certifiaction the 'big tick"! Only if you FI a vehicle that was factory produced in the same model ie: you throw a turbo, ECU etc etc on a 323 Mazda that has a model in the same year sold with factory FI, can you avoid the EPA test.

Sorry for the long=winded right up but I wanted to clear the points up for any Aussie (VIC anyway) forum member who feels the urge to FI their non-turbo modeled car

How stringent the test depends on year of vehicle. Pre-June 88' test is ADR 27C = less stringent requirements to be met. Post June 88' & it is a ADR 3700 test which is harder to pass. Btw, test is $1600 a time. Takes 2 days due to 2 separate tests to pass. 1 in the morning when below certain environmental temp'. This is what makes for an extensive dynotune needed, PRIOR, to make sure AFR's are consistent across rev range or @ least on average when calculated together.

In my case, I therefore need to satisfy the guidelines layed out in the ADR 27C emissions test. obviously due to no original manufacturers specifications being met (there is no specs haha)

So. In a nutshell. As long as the tune meets acceptable emissions levels on all 3 points. It's $1600 you coff up. Also, no matter what ECU you use, factory or stand alone, it still is all in the tune when it comes to EPA acceptance & passing that part of the VASS signature that you have to obtain for registration purposes!

P.S. WORLDWIDE:"HAVE A GREAT CHRISSIE BREAK ALL"

 

Rear screens in

I will be finishing off re-sculpturing the damaged outer lips on rims today. Never did get anything from the bassad who sold me them damaged. He still denies they'd been in any kind of accident etc

Anyway, has anyone down under had mandrel bent intercooler piping work done? I am having this as part of the workshop fabrication work but it is friggin expensive Not unlike mandrel bent exhaust. I figure the aluminium bends are more difficult or perhaps involve more careful/tedious work than simple mild steel?

Any comments from anyone ever having this kind of aluminium work done??

 

After reading the IM/intercooler "kit" pricing this link below & consdiering I have no welding experience at all, yet alone mig/tig. Not sure I am necessarily getting ripped off. Especially since this is a 1 off custom job!?

Having a reality check on the workmanship I am getting done & comparing it to the Ford XR6 kits along with considering they still have be installed = labour, coupled with fact the workshop prices are always less!

Maybe this is what is charged if you don't/can't DIY?

http://www.bptmotorsport.com/xr6_tur...ler-piping.htm

 

check your PM

 

PM replied to

 

Had it out with workshop yesterday afternoon. Finally the running gear is in & they've given me an official costing per item/labour for the work including work already done. Every part on the list was now more expensive than first quoted at the end of last year, which was already more than initial quoting back around mid year. Put simply. They want approx $1k more for the parts!

What this amounts to is too much for the job @ hand. But the main point here is inconsistency with quotes anyway. There obviously getting @ me. After all the fark around now this.......well, this was the straw that broke the camels back!

Imho there aint no way this car is worth this much hassle & expense! So, I am now awaiting another quote just to get the friggin car running on LPG, as was originally but, NA. Turboless!!! The inlet plenum will be utilised with the mixer as I'm already committed to it's build (yeah $1200 for nothing). LPG re-configured to work reliably. New exhaust system. 2" I suppose? Whatever it takes to get the ***** on the road & registered.

In the end I guess at least I have a low mileage 300E on LPG with recent paintwork, low mileage engine, rebuilt & modified running gear & all engine bay parts etc. Not my dream build, but hassle-free for the unforeseeable future...........not alot for the over $15k it will have cost me by the time I bring it home, although this includes $6500 being original vehicle purchase price so, $8500 I guess for all the work to get this sucker back on the road! Then I have the wheels/tyres or brake upgrade to do but I'll sort all that.

Considering the Merc's I can land nowdays for similar money as what I will have spent on this 300E, this has definitely been a low point in my life & one I want closure with.

Can't blame the car when, it arrived in the condition it did & a choice was forced onto me to either dump it or try & salvage it. Then, ideas op up & you trust it to a loser of a workshop.......rest is history!

thanks guys for all the support & I wish it had ended on a more positive note with a HP Merc on the road. Now it's a **** machine & I gotta move on from here........

Tim

 

Well. Had a small win today. Just got off phone from workshop & they are going to use the turbo I'd payed $2100 for back many months ago so, that's back to me as credit!

The problem now is the $4k I payed them months back ($2100 for the turbo was included in that) in progress payments to keep the ball rolling. So with just a quick recap on work done:

a) Engine block tapped (turbo oil return), then fitted along with engine access' & also running gear fitted = $1k tops?

& work to be done in the next month (hopefully) to get it registered:

b) New full exhaust system = $5-600?
c) LPG set up including new mixer & condenser = $1k tops?
d) Custom inlet manifold & fitting with mixer etc = $1.4k tops?
e) Tune = $?

So that's $4k already really........@ least I owe them nothing if this is about right for costing

I will be speaking with them again end of next week so I'll know better how it's all coming along

 

aarrrrrgggggg!!!!

couldn't take it anymore Spoke again with workshop. Discussed another option to get this car BOOSTED!!!! Seriously, I can't handle the turd NA! I would sell it to a gay boy & buy a friggin worked Ford XR6 actually in all honesty I have a sore friekin neck from sitting on both Carsales & EGay searching out Aussie muscle BA XR6's & XR8's .....................then..........I had to go to workshop to pick up some screws I need for my MX6 interior (mistakenly taken along with nuts/washers/bolts for the Merc) &.......looked HARD @ the ol' beast one last time before contemplating pissin it off to a new owner :o I'd had enough of the workshop expense bull****!

So, says I, what can be done to get the bassad boosted, forgetting the insane expense of the EFI & just going with the already installed LPG? Even a 2nd hand Garrett for now? I don't care! Use the old intercooler & piping etc...

So. Here it is! A couple of weeks & hopefully the little bugger will be ready to take down & register. Then, either I have the turbo work completed or I do it myself. Either way it will be boosted haha I'll work out the details after it's on the road legally. First things first!

Basically it will come home stock LPG (all refurbished up & nice) with the custom plenum & TB (this will be used later for boosting = no waste of $$$'s) & just a 2nd hand zorst system & whatever bull****'s needed to get it on the road, @ least it'll be economical & different again
sigh*.................

 

Love it! have you ever thought of putting a 94-95 E320 hood?

 

Never..it wouldn't be period correct.
This is not a random build it's as close as humanly possible of a repro/tribute to one of the rarest builds ever by AMG !

 

Anyone know if a Ford XR6T diff will fit our w124's, 300E to be specific. Even a Commodore diff as they use Opel stuff, ie: German stuff. Explains the similar rear ends & tailshafts/flex plates too. I can get my hands on a serviced Ford one right now is the reason I'm keen for info.

Heres a link below. Looks bloody close? What if you used the Ford axle shafts? Or tailshaft too?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Left the XR6T diff for the moment. Money better spent for immediate needs. Will be looking more into it though when the time comes that's for sure.

Looks like car won't be too long now before I can retrieve it from the infamous workshop Throttle body is being fitted to custom inlet plenum then, off to the powder-coaters for a nice matt/satin black, to give it a stealth look from the jerks in blue here. This will go for all go-fast bits inc IC piping I should here from them in about a week, prolly longer with their track record lol. Anyway, progress all the same!

Been looking into twin scroll hot sides & zorst mani's yesterday & today. As long as the workshop takes back the GT35R that they said they had a buyer for, I will most likely be getting the smaller, better adapted for my driving needs, GT3071R. This turbo has a smaller comp wheel but good turbine efficiency (basically the size ratio between the comp wheel diameter & turbine wheel diameter). I've got a supplier emailing the states for a twin scroll t3 or 4 flange zorst housing to mate to the GT30 guts. Will prolly go with the billet wheel & ceramic bearings, as with the previous GT35R I bought. Will be using the smaller hotside trim to to aid in spooling. The billet wheel will spool better too & being twin scroll, along with the twin scroll manifold, will make use of the pulse cycle of the exhaust valves = very Also, using a twin scroll, because you split the hotside flange diameter in half (split pulse), you can go bigger on the hotside A/R hehe

I kinda envisage mating the older twin turbo philosophy with a modern single turbo. Gain the low-end pick up whilst still having good mid to top power using the twin scroll design. This allows better scavenging of zorst gases & better efficiency/economy. Something I've always been about from the start!

I'm determined to get this 300E up & off it's *** swiftly. Doing all work myself except for fabrication work. Spending $$$'s on low-down performance rather than HP figures. I want the best 0-60 time I can possibly get on this dinosaur LPG set up. WHo knows, may be a fun thing when it's finished?

My only dilemma timewise is I may have to shelve the actual fitment til' I move in about a year or so up to Queensland, where I'll have to get another RWC see? I may do the fab work & stuff in the meantime to keep the project going along @ some pace.

May even position the turbo 'underneath' the zorst manifold to hide it from view as opposed to on top as before? Hmmmmm........

 

well............just under a month & a half to finish the custom inlet manifold, hone out & re-jet the throttle body and re-route the cable & make a custom bracket etc///////.....not bad for an a-hole workshop ha?

I'm stuck with the GT35 turbo for now. They never sold it off.....:o

So......as it stands, car will be arriving home on flatbed somewhere around lunchtime here today. The beast comes back haha

So now begins the pita work here @ home for me. Alot of niggling things to sort from here. Basically I want to do things step by step. First gimee an exhaust system up using stock manifolds. Next, purchase & fit a new LPG evaporator. Then, re-connect all the gas lines same as they were prior to going to shop. Re-wire stuff in bay & sort the ignition system out. Replace any lines, vac etc. Basically get it running!

Once it's up & running next is to swap out the front brake assemblies. Fit new springs & maybe shocks if they're stuffed?

Then move on to powder-coating the wheels & fitting new tyres. Then gimee guards, fit spacers, whatever it needs to get them to fit.

Fit the sound system and then go from there..........

 

Got the car back eventually @ around 3 yesterday so, whole day was wasted waiting around for toe truck Anyway what's new huh?

Now that I am stuck with the new Garrett I need to rethink how I am putting her back together........due to turbo supposedly being sold off for me @ workshop (hat's new?) I was going to simply fix LPG set up for now & get it going stock for RWC & rego. Now I have to rethink plans again.

If I do end up turboing it now, I don't want to waste time/money having to redo it again later for boosting. May be better to do it now & get it over & done with. Gather up bits & pieces I still have here & piece it back together :o Yeah fun

At least I have it away from the work shop! & they didn't even bother to make up a throttle cable bracket for me as they stated they would (what's new?) as I also need a new cable fabricated somehow???????? No idea @ this stage how to do this

 

Until I find my camera:

This Ford below uses a very similar inlet plenum to the one I had custom made only, mine has longer runners as I have more room in my bay:




This 2nd pic shows runners similar to mine:

 

Whoa. Those look gorgeous.

 

My runners aren't as pretty haha as the original manifold flange & part runners were used in fabrication but the same workmanship applies. Mine will be powder-coated so I didn't need the polish

 

The polish is one thing, but I was referring to the overall quality of the part. Those things really do look awesome!

 

Lubed up the turbo bearings last night. Jockstraps @ old workshop aid turbo can sit for years with no worries. Bullshat! The shaft was just beginning to stick when turning it so I sprayed WD40 down the oil return hole, swishing it around the whole case, upside down you name it. Repeated this about 6 times. Spins freely now for few revolutions by hand. Phew!!!!

God you gotta luv these workshop experts don't you?????? Why do they breathe our air

Transmission guy that rebuilt mine said it'll be OK sitting around.

New LPG workshop guy said engine should be OK so will comment back once I've turn it over a few times. The first time in 10 months Off to Autobarn this morning to grab some cheap engine oil to put in engine. I may pull the rocker cover off to oil the valve seals (if I can get to them properly). Gez this engine is clean. No sludge or burnt oil marks anywhere. I remember seeing condition of the bottom end when sump was off when they tapped the turbo drain line in the block. Very clean! Looking through intake ports the valves are nice & black. Plugs where clean as. A strange normal steel colour actually Wierd!

Also grabbing some degreaser & metho to flush the crap out of the intercooler.

Next will be to scrape the head manifold surfaces ready for new gaskets when time comes.

 

Well engine turns by hand fine. Nice & smooth. I pulled the rocker cover & syringed oil all over the rocker gear. Couldn't help myself

My main concern is the water jackets & general cooling system. The water pump is a bit tighter than it should be. May change this?

Can't get over the awesome condition of the engine. Clean as a whistle. Just hope the valve seals are OK Bit hard to tell until it starts up & rns for the first time. That's a while off yet.
__________________

 

Decided to relocate battery to the boot. So I have removed the battery stand & will re-rout ground lead under engine bay & back toward boot. The positive cable can run straight from Starter Motor back to boot making for a neat mod This works out perfectly due to the location of original copper LPG line site is right behind where battery sat With battery removed I can hide the twin LPG converters in it's place, tucked away out of sight. I think I will be running a 2nd copper gas line beside the original one so all the LPG gear can sit in the old battery compartment. Looking from front of car all you'll basically see is the engine, turbo & intake manifold, minus ugly wiring etc