Rosewoodbenz

Hi guys, I stumbled across a w202 c200/220? AMG at the wrecking yard today, and it's a 5 speed manual. I was wondering if i take all the things necessary for the swap such as pedals, tailshafts etc, would it be a straight bolt on to the 220E W124 chassis? Or will I have problems with the tailshaft length and transmission cross member? I figured that they both have the same engine block and has the same shifting pattern as a manual w124 it might work but I really need a reply urgent from someone who knows a lot about these chassis so i can make a move on it before someone else takes it lol. These manual transmissions only come around once in a million here in au, so any input will help! Cheers.

Rosewoodbenz

Bump. Anyone?

QVHK

There is a thread on Benz World talking about similar project involving W123 and W202, but as W124 and W123 have similar bell housing layout, I would think your project is possible. There are also many successful projects dropping W124's manual gearbox on C36.

Rosewoodbenz

Oh great, thanks for the reply! I guess i'll just have to modify some bits. I already have the w202 gear shifter assembly and the pedal box (clutch and brake) also found out that the manual shifter assembly used in the w202 is from the 124. All i need to worry about is the crossmember, tailshaft and on how to get a speedo reading. Fingers crossed that the w202 c180 uses the exact same manual transmission as the w124 E220 does and that it has an output for the speedo cable. Might be getting the actual transmission, clutch slave. Master and lines next week, will keep this thread updated.

Rosewoodbenz

Quick mock up of the e28 speedo
Thought i'd update this thread, so i got all the bits necessary last week, me and my uncle had the manual transmission down on the ground within two hours from the wreckers and now I am finding ways on how am i gonna get a bloody speedo reading now. Since the w202 c180 does not use a cable, i decided to head to the wreckers today and get a speedo from a E28(just the speedo alone). Since it uses a stepper motor/ is an electronic speedo, i think i have better chances with this. i was planning to use a w126 speedo but someone had already taken it. Now my problem is, can i just tap in to the rear abs speed sensor and get signal from that, and use a dakota digital speed corrector to correct the reading? Or am i missing something for this mechanical to electrical speedo conversion? I need help with wiring the speedo, i already know which wire goes to which connector on the speedo, i just haven't figured out how to get pulse reading transmitted on to the e28 speedo. By the way, the e28 speedo is a 3 wire connection speedo (12v positive, ground - and speed signal)

QVHK

The speedometer would be tricky if there is a mismatch between the hardware. Speedometers of all W124's except the V8 models (E400/420/500) are driven by mechanical speedo-cable drawn from differential. Speedometers of V8's are electronic, with the speedometer working in tandem with, I guess, the ABS sensor. I doubt if one could retrofit a speed sensor onto a lower model, but there are many resources on the web about W124 speedometers and calibration. The electronic/ digital speedometers can be adjusted by adding a little device that can "correct" the speedo reading, ditto for the mechanical speedometer, although the device would be different. Good luck to your project!

Rosewoodbenz

Thanks for the reply and thanks. I heard about dakota digital speedo corrector/ adjuster i might give it a shot. I also have another option and that's by using dakota digital mechanical speedo to electric converter but i heard they aren't that reliable and they're pricey as well. My second problem is the ecu, because my ecu was programed for the auto transmission, i think i will be having problems, like the 4k rev limit with the manual box installed. Is there anyway to by-pass this?

QVHK

My conversion was done a few years ago, and most 1980's and early 1990's W124 models are predominantly mechanically-driven and have very few electronics. In my case, I did not have to change the ECU. A few buddies trying to put a bigger or more powerful engine into earlier or later model-year car will have to decide which ECU to use, not just because of the manual-auto converted platform, but to match the major "organs" and the inter-connections through the engine harness. These are beyond my depth but there are many gurus out there who have done similar projects before and are aware of the major issues to be overcome in such projects. The speedometer calibration is of lesser importance which can be dealt with at a later date. Good luck to your project. Figuring out how to get there is half the fun.