docmatt

Here is my wiring diagram.

Ford V* swap into Mercedes 240dD W123 Wiring diagram. You can use the email on the picture to contact me with questions.
My email address is on the diagram if you want to contact me with questions about the swap. If you are this deep into the thread, I trust you are not a scammer. I am not a regular on the forum. I posted here so that others looking to do this can find it and get some info.

docmatt

Ford 5.0 going into Mercedes for (hopefully!) the last time.
shift lever reshaped to clear console.
No room for radio. Fabric temporarily covers wires. Note tach is a little off center.
second gear
final installation Ford V8 in Mercedes
Ford V8 in mercedes

wbrockstar

Well I'd much rather see a Mustang 5.0 going into a Mercedes vs a Mercedes engine going into a Mustang.My ex father in law done several Chevy V8 engine swaps into Jaguars.Being that its a Mercedes, I probably wouldve opted for fuel injection vs carb,but I still give props to anyone that tackles swaps like these,since it takes some ingenuity & out of the box thinking to create something different.

docmatt

looks good from 10 ft
custom console with Planet Audio marine stereo
It is hard to show size difference of diffs in picture, but 380 SL diff bolts in, except different input flange.
overlaying covers shows size difference
The car is pretty close to finished. I installed a new one-piece drive shaft, along with a 2.47:1 diff from a 1984 380SEL, and new half shafts. The diff bolted in without too much trouble. It is necessary to position the drive shaft before bolting the diff in. There isn't much clearance. The diff is physically larger and more robust than the original one. The new gearing is a little high. It takes some clutch slipping to start. 5th gear is only good for speeds over about 65 mph. It is a nice lazy cruise at higher speeds. I am guessing the gas mileage will be pretty good on the highway. I think a 2.65 or 2.88 diff would be the ideal choice with the T5 transmission. They are found on some 1985 diesels and W126 300SD and on the R107 450 SL and SLC.

While waiting for parts, I decided to fix the minor rust spots and give it a two-tone paint job with some good quality exterior satin enamel house paint I had left over from painting my van. I rolled it on with a good foam roller. It looks pretty good from 10 ft. The paint has held up great for several years on my van. Rolling is nice because there is no over-spray, clean up is easy and it requires almost no skill.

I also made a custom center console with a volt meter, very un-German cup holder, and a Planet Audio marine stereo. The stereo sounds good (but I am not an audiophile snob!) and gets great reception. It fits in a 3 inch round hole and is only about 3 inches deep. The buttons are intuitive to use. I think it is better than every aftermarket stereo I've had on other cars. It was about $90 on ebay. Highly recommended.

EDIT: after using the radio some more, the reception hasn't been that great. Maybe the antenna plug came out? I still need to try the blue tooth feature. Sound is as good as the fairly crappy speakers.

docmatt

No pretty pictures to post today. Here is a brief update: I had a custom exhaust made at a local shop. So far, it and the driveshaft are about the only things I had farmed out. It is a 2 into one exhaust with a muffler from summit racing. It fits in close to the stock location. It sounds good, but is just a little loud for my taste. There is no cat or resonators in the system. The car drives pretty well. The 2.47:1 diff is a little too high. It takes some clutch slipping to get going. 5th gear is really only useable over 65 MPH. So, effectively, it is a four speed with a very tall overdrive. Using a GPS speedo, 70 MPH in fifth gives about 1500 RPM.

At times, the temp gauge was reading high. I'm not sure if it is because of the Ford sending unit not being compatible with the MB gauge, or if it was really hot. I installed a mechanical temp gauge to monitor temps for a few test drives. So far, no overheating. I have had to add coolant after driving. Probably still air in the system. Heat works good. After I verify normal operating temperatures, I'll go back to the original gauge and calibrate with resistors if necessary.

The fuel level gauge is showing empty even with about 4 gallons in the tank. I pulled the sending unit. It seems to work fine. So, next test drive, I'll drive the ten miles to town to fill it up and see what it shows.

The speedometer is mostly not working. I think that I need to cut a little more off the end of the cable housing to make it engage in the speedo drive fully. Unfortunately, with the tall gearing, it won't be accurate anyway. The easiest and cheapest way to adjust the speedometer calibration in the T5 transmission is to get a different driven gear for the cable. They are available in a variety of sizes for about $15 each. The smallest gear would still make my speedo inaccurate by more than 10%. I really wanted to keep things looking as stock as possible, but I may just get a cheap GPS speedometer. I'd also need to install an hour meter to keep track of maintenance intervals. (I've done that on my other cars with broken VDO odometers.) There is a fix for the odometers, but you can find out about that elsewhere on the interweb. Incidentally, a 3.06 diff and a 16 tooth speedo cable gear would give a pretty accurate speed reading and would probably be a pleasant gearing to drive.

So how does it drive? I have about 20 miles on it. Mostly, I have been driving gently and watching the gauges. The power seems adequate for what I want it for. Not dragster fast, but not slow. It vibrates a little more than I was hoping, but it does smooth out around 1500-2500 RPMs, right in the cruising range. It definitely has a 70's muscly feel, more than a luxury feel. Handling and braking are about the same as before the swap. I believe weight is about the same too. I didn't measure, but ride-height looks unchanged. I'll give more impressions after I feel confident that nothing is going to fall off or explode.

I am thinking about putting some kind of badge on the trunk lid. Maybe just a 5.0 or a 302. Or, maybe come up with a fake Mercedes model like, "495F". Or maybe just leave it blank and let people wonder.

docmatt

Been a while since I posted an update. The car is as finished as a project like this gets. I am driving it daily. I trust it to get me to work, even without my cell phone along. There are a few things I plan to add here to help anybody who may be attempting the swap. Today, for my good buddy, Rabee from San Diego, I will describe the oil pan modification.

The engine fits with just some hammering of the pan, but after driving a bit, the engine mounts compressed a little and there was very little clearance between the pan and the crossmember. I needed to pull the engine once more to correct an oil leak, so I decided to do a more drastic mod to the pan.

You may recall that I modified the oil pump pickup. It worked, but I don't think it was perfectly parallel to the bottom of the pan. So, when my rather severe oil leak made the level low enough, the oil pressure would drop. I decided to spend 10 bucks on a new pick up. At the same time, I installed a high volume oil pump. Between the new pump, pick up and fixing the leak, low oil pressure was cured.

On to the Pan mod:

Before cutting the pan, measure the clearance between the oil pump pick up and the rear of the sump. An easy way to do it is, with the pump and pick up installed, put a ball of clay or loosely packed aluminum foil into the sump and put the pan in place. The pick up will leave an impression in the foil ball and you will have a solid form that matches the space. You can then measure the clearance with a caliper. Do not cut more off the rear of the sump than the clearance between the rear of the sump and the pick up.

Mark the pan where you plan to cut.




Use a 1/8" cut off wheel on an angle grinder to cut the pan. Smooth the edges with a file. Hammer a little to straiten things out.
Make a pattern for the patch using a piece of chipboard from a cereal box or the back of a notepad. I like to use the "grubby finger" method for marking the cardboard. Just press the cardboard into place and rub your grubby fingers over the edge. It makes a perfect line matching the hole. It also works pretty well for placing holes for drilling and the like.




chipboard pattern in place



Cut a steel patch with snips after tracing the pattern onto the sheet metal. I like to cut it slightly large and finish it with a bench grinder.

steel patch in place


Hammer a little to close the gaps.

fit after minor hammering



Tack in place and hammer more to close gaps.







Finish welding it in place. I used oxy-acetylene and a Meco torch with almost no filler rod. No leaks first try! I tested for leaks using a little isopropyl alcohol stained with water-based red paint.






Clearance is much better now!

docmatt

I didn't really trust the readings I was getting using the Ford water temperature sender with the Mercedes gauge, so I decided to adapt a Mercedes sender to fit the Ford 302.

The Ford sender uses a NPT (National pipe thread). The Mercedes uses a regular metric thread. Ask the Helpful Hardware Man at Mathys in Darlington, WI for a brass pipe plug. (don't forget to spend a few bucks more and maybe look at some guns while you are there. You need them to stay in business so you don't have to run all the way to Platteville to buy a screw or a pipe plug.)

Drill the plug to size for the Mercedes sender.

I didn't have a tap of the correct size, so I ground a taper on a bolt of the same size from my bolt bucket. Then cut 2-3 flutes into the bolt threads with a triangular file to make a cutting edge and catch the chips. With plenty of lubricant, it worked as a one-time use tap. Put teflon tape on the pipe threads and screw it all together. Reliable temperature readings!



Ford temp sending unit, Mercedes sender with brass pipe plug adapter, Ho-made tap.

docmatt

The local exhaust shop made this for me. It is a good idea to attach the front pipe with clamps instead of welding. It makes it much easier to remove for access to the oil pan and for engine removal.

MariosKITT

Awesome project, Docmatt. Thanks for reviving this thread - very cool to see what you've done. Next project, think about getting a simple video camera and starting a YouTube channel. I'm pretty certain folks would enjoy watching the progress.

Let her rip!
Mario

docmatt

Thanks for the kind words Mario! Unfortunately, where I live in rural Wisconsin, the internet that is available is marginal, at best. Uploading even short videos would take hours. The up side is that I waste less time looking at stuff on the computer and more time in the shop! If I really need to look at stuff, I use my down time at work, where the internet service is better.

doc matt