'51 Mercedes-Benz 170S

In reply to Azryael :

Never seen this guy's videos before. Could only make it about 90 seconds in before I had to turn it off. His argument about European vs. American "motorsport culture" is completely inane and very rich coming from a benz enthusiast, the very company who released a number of cars with 6.0l and above displacement from the 70's through modern times. The video and the comments pretty much boil down to a bunch of people standing around yelling at the sky, then giving each other attaboys over it.

Agree 100% with your "head in the sand" comment. LS swaps are here to stay and for good reason. It's the most economical way by far to get modern power, economy, and driveability out of an engine that packages incredibly well. Aftermarket support, supply of donor parts, and knowledge are nearly infinite in supply and easy to come by. The architecture has absurd growth potential in displacement and power output, regardless of which spring board you pick on the LS menu, there is always an upgrade path available.

Also it's laughably hypocritical to rag on LS swapped MB's and then praise AMG swapped cars in the same breath. I think I became dumber from watching just 90 seconds of that video.

In reply to lateline :

You made it further than I did! I started about 15 seconds, and then decided to let the comments section do the talking, and it told me all I needed to know!

An LS in say, a 300SL may be sacrilige, but your run of the mill 126, 116, 108/109, etc.? Please... I HATE the styling of newer cars. I really do. The youngest vehicle I personally own is a '98 Durango, I may splurge on a newer truck at some point (something that still has a manual), but the 126 and 201 that I have are the perfect sedans for me. The 190E with the 2.3-16 can have plenty of work done to it to be more fun, so it'll probably keep the M102.983 for the remainder of either its life or my life. The 500SE, on the other hand, has a V8 that's getting to be a chore to maintain with CIS, a slushy 4-speed auto (swapping in a later 5-speed 722.6 is NOT an answer for me), but otherwise the perfect chassis. The ride is great, I actually LOVE the recirculating ball steering (would want to preserve that in a swap if clearance allows), and the styling is truly timeless. If an engine swap keeps it going for another 30-40 years, then so be it! I wanna drive and enjoy it, not lock it away as some low-mileage collector's piece.

Sure the M113 is a great choice, as mentioned in my other thread, keeps it MB, and there are kits out there to mate a manual to it. But at the end of the day, it's over-engineered and complex to a fault (I'm a born and raised German, I can say that with full confidence), and internals aren't likely to get any cheaper as time wears on.

It's just astounding to me how people can just have that mindset that he, and clearly many others, has.

Not much to report. New shop is still not outfitted correctly for 220V, so I'm stuck explaining to customers why orders have no yet shipped, and I myself am pretty much stuck at home doing to feeling like absolutely garbage these last few days. Not sure how since I haven't left the house in two weeks...

In reply to Azryael :

Because you haven't left the house in two weeks

In reply to yupididit :

My job is supposed to be IT and product development. The fulfillment of orders is someone else's job. It's not my facility to deal with the contractors either, but I may have to get involved to actually get things done. How an electrician can screw something up, and then not want to resolve the issue when its affecting our ability to complete orders. Of course, I and a colleague both advised against moving until everything was ready at the new location to begin with... but who listens to me?

Two stints with pneumonia apparently makes me high-risk, so the wife-figure has ordered I not leave the house.

As an aside, I did get the cab mounts done in the truck, so no more sagging cab. Poly bushings, so they'll likely never need touching again. The removal of the factory rubber ones was a huge pain in the ass, and a bit of a chore if you don't have someone to help, but still a doable one-man job.

Next up is to tear into the intake on the 190 and look for vacuum leaks, and I may go ahead and knock out the clutch and flex discs too.

If you havent picked an engine, my vote is for an olds Quad4 . The are long forgotten (so probably cheap), have passenger side exhaust ports, make 150-190hp, and look like an offie, especially if you rig up a pretty header and some ITBs. I dont know of any RWD applications, but there is an adapter available to mate them to a T5

In reply to Opti :

Wow, I'm seeing those putting out 900HP+, impressive. Looks like FWD only, but I'm sure a RWD application is possible. I may be missing an existing one.

engineswapdepot.com or someone like that makes a t5 adapter

Quad 4 Rods used to be a useful source for these kinds of things but it looks like they went out of business.  Probably some of their kits around.

S-10, Rangers, and Dakotas all seem like sources for RWD/manual trans/ 4-cylinder swap drivetrain donors. 

Focus has shifted for me with some new developments.

I've learned that my cousin (who is a Nurse Practitioner, or whatever the German equivalent is) is forced to quarantine after an OR patient tested positive; this is after she's already back at the family home around a large portion of what family I have left, including my elderly grandmother. Needless to say, there's not much I can do at all being across the ocean.

My wife has stated she's not been feeling well these last few days. She's been staying at her mom's to take care of the dogs since she's LE. There's not much I can do, and two bouts of pneumonia when I was 17 left me with a rather shaky foundation for an immune system.

At the cost of a higher electric bill, I've set up every single PC I have and begun participating in Folding@Home once more. For those who are unfamiliar, you are folding proteins in simulations to test for vulnerabilities and drugable parts to inhibit or destroy the virus. So far, we've exceeded the computational power of over SEVEN super computers. I've been trying to get all of my IT friends in on it because every little bit truly helps.

I've been at it for the last week, and this is the progress on my primary rig. It's a longshot, but if anyone is interested and has the computing power to spare, and don't mind a slightly higher electric bill, I'd be happy to get anyone set up.

Had to move it to its new temporary home. We put a small trailer axle underneath the rear, and just secured it... using methods... It was fine, that's all that matters.

But I did have to go get some wheels/tires, and these were all that were in stock at tractor supply that would fit... I had the other ronals, but the hubs were too thick, and that lathe isn't there anymore for me to have turned them down a bit, that would have been the best... but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Offer on a house fell through, so I'm still looking. More will be able to be done when I have this at "home". Anyway, photos from today's adventure.

Doing this all by yourself is a pain in the ass, especially when the trailer winch decides it doesn't want to work.

Where you keeping it? 

In reply to yupididit :

The new shop. Can't even get it inside because berkeleying Miatas everywhere. It'll get pushed into the old horse stalls for now and I'll throw a cover on it.

The 300SEL I picked up recently is looking like more work than I can stand to deal with right now. To make it a solid driver, I need to get a core support, radiator, and a few other bits. Valve stem seals need replacing too, I'm sure.

I've been toying with the idea of pulling everything usable from the car (some as parts for the 500SE) and looking at adapting the front brakes, and rear axle into the 170. The M103 would be an awfully tight fit lengthwise, and any cutting into the firewall is basically cutting into the dash/cabin. The stock intake also makes the motor ridiculously wide, which would prove troublesome toward the front where the fenders taper inward.

Part of me wants to just look for a better condition W136 shell that still has the full suspension and better body, and pull the salvageable bits from this one and combine the two as needed. The history of the car is cool, the fact that it's exactly 40 years my senior is neat, but as time drags on these factors become less important.

Zero progress has been made on either of these two vehicles, and I'm looking at terminating my involvement with the folks where these cars are stored, and where I would source Miata parts.

Put in an offer on a house a while back, but the offer fell through due to the seller not addressing a few issues.

The black car may find itself the victim of a part-out, while I keep the motor and trans for myself for whatever, and I may just have to kick a car out of the garage and into the driveway to bring home the 170.

Until then, I'll just keep sitting on the fence post while I sort out the nightmare that is my life!

In reply to Azryael :

I figured you been dropped those dudes and moved your cars. 

In reply to yupididit :

No, the shop was moved to his home property, killing off a nice stream of walk-in customers from the surrounding hangers at the airpark. A shortsighted decision that was ultimately bad for business.

I reduced my involvement to just doing stuff on the website here and there, just to maintain the storage for the cars, but I'm over the poor business decisions. I'm honestly about to just add on some additional garage space to this house and call it a day, since we can't have separate structures here...

In reply to Azryael :

If you'd move a bit further south you'd be able to find exactly what you want house/shop wise but I feel like you're boxing yourself in up there lol

In reply to yupididit :

Too damn flat down there lol. I like my variable terrain.

In reply to Azryael :

Well go ahead and pay an extra 250k just for some little Texas hills lmao

In reply to yupididit :

More like an extra million, I really don't understand it.

I could move back to CO and get so much more for less, but the job market just isn't there for me.

Sometimes I think staying overseas would have been best.

In reply to Azryael :

All you gotta do is head 30 mins south 

It ain't looking all that much better, and that's at a 20 acre minimum size, and immaterial of house or no house.

More options pop up if I go down to 5 acres.

LMAO 20 acres and you want hill country?  Lol yes give up those millions. 

I've been looking at 15-20 acres and finding it for a lot less. But, obviously that's without a house on it. It comes to a point when you're super particular, you'll just have to find a lot and build on it. Bulverde and Spring Branch has lots with utilities and some restrictions for "not so bad" prices lol

I want MORE than 20 acres, that's the real problem. Prices aren't as bad if you go out West toward Kerr County; you can get way more for your money out there than going straight up north. Here's 20 acres out beyond Kerrville:

I'm not a huge city guy, so being super close to SA is not a must for me at all. I'm fine with the boonies if it gets me away from these posh E36 M3heads around here lmao.