Mercedes 280 Four Door W114 with 4.8
10-17-2012, 03:55 PM
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Mercedes 280 Four Door W114 with 4.8 I'm working on putting a 99 4.8 in a 1975 Mercedes 280. This is in Northern California. 1975 and older vehicles are smog exempt here, which is a requirement for everything I build. So far I've got most of the front cross member cut out and some of the trans tunnel. I might have to cut out all of the tunnel. I've done a couple of tries at test fitting and I'm kind of close. I am using a truck 4L60e. I put a Camaro pan on the motor already. I used the stock 4.8 windage tray which I modified by cutting the front off it and pounding it flat for the pickup tube mount. I think the pictures kind of speak for themselves, including the one where I dropped the cherry picker. Luckily I still had the truck pan on the motor and it landed right on a 2x4.
10-17-2012, 03:56 PM
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All work is being done at my cabin in Pollock Pines, which is 4000 feet elevation near Tahoe. It's going to get cold up there soon so I doubt this will be done before next summer.
Last edited by 914turboford; 10-23-2012 at 11:53 AM.
10-17-2012, 03:58 PM
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Picked up some rims and tires yesterday. They are off of a 2006 C230. 17's. I hope they don't have too much positive offset. I don't mind some spacers. If too much negative I might go with flares. I only paid $200 for the set and they have pretty good tires so I felt it was worth the risk.
Then I ordered a pair of these. $250 including shipping brand new.
10-17-2012, 05:32 PM
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Thats awesome, ive been wanting to do a 190 or 300 ls swap for a while. Either that or a 300d duramax allison swap.
The ride quality on those old benz's are just unbeatable. Just had crap for power.
The ride quality on those old benz's are just unbeatable. Just had crap for power.
10-22-2012, 03:31 PM
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Thanks. Lots of cutting so far. I've got it sitting in pretty level so far. But still more cutting to go. I also need to do a lot of cutting for the Camaro radiator. I havn't done any measuring for that yet. The wheels seem to fit!
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10-22-2012, 08:32 PM
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Oh, and why tear up a perfectly good truck? A good body man could tap those dents out in a jiffy.
10-25-2012, 10:24 AM
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One issue I have is that I am pretty sure I am going to need to go to front steer. The oil pan sump starts right at the front of the trans. Both the Camaro and truck pan are this way. I guess I could look for a front sump pan for the motor. If I go front steer then I am probably going to have to modify the lower control arms. I have a set of tubular arms off an old circle track car that I might use, but I'll have to swap over the MB ball joint mounts because I want to keep the MB spindles, now that I know you can get cheap 5x112 wheels and brakes.
11-13-2012, 02:58 PM
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I reached the conclusion that I could not keep the AC compressor in the stock location on the LR4 (poor man's LS1) without modifying the suspension. Since AC is more important to me than handling and safety I moved the passenger side inboard upper control arm mount and shortened the arm itself. First I welded some bars to lock the upper a arm in place. Then I cut the arm and the mount off the subframe. Then I shortened the arm and relocated the mount. I realize this will affect suspension geometry. If it is noticeable I will move the rear mount to return to pivots that are parallel to the centerline of the car. The mod is done. This picture shows the middle of the job. I also put a big notch in the body inside the engine compartment for the compressor and AC lines. I have also finished notching for the radiator and AC condensor. No pic for that yet.
11-13-2012, 06:45 PM
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thats really dumb.
you can just move/replace the a/c compressor with one that fits better.
http://www.maliburacing.com/forum/vi...p?f=34&t=79059
you can just move/replace the a/c compressor with one that fits better.
http://www.maliburacing.com/forum/vi...p?f=34&t=79059