V8 Conversion (I) ...

It's all totally easy, I was told ...

Well, that's the truth ... I was told, a W115-V8-conversion is just a piece of cake. Also the company I planned the project with told me "No problem, been there, done that".

Because the Pick-Up body was in such a bad condition, I could source a California donor car (sedan) in February. Motor not working, inside rotten, but a really good body.

So I started the project with them and they actually managed to lift the V8 into the donor car. Well, it didn't fit and their statement - without a lot of trying - was "We don't know how it works".

To cut a long story short, after they told me "You're a difficult customer" (obviously it was my fault), I terminated the collaboration with that company. Learned my lesson.

So after a "mild form of pressure" (you make a lot of money with my cars - Style), I could actually convince my local Mercedes Dealer to take over that project. Especially one guy, 57 years old, VERY experienced, would work on this.

Here's the two cars arriving at the Workshop ...

Starting to work with Mercedes ...

One of the amazing facts was, that they actually allowed me to work with them in their Workshop (!). So after many days of trying and trying (it is NOT easy to put that Motor in that car), we finally came to an optimal position:

• Clearing the steering incl. steering box
• Solving the starter problem
• Getting the drive shaft into an angle that works
• Finding room for the exhaust
• Having enough room for the motor to move when in Operation

In this case, 3D-printing was helpful again, as I have designed new motor holders in 3D and printed them in plastic. They of course don't hold the motor, but as long as it's on the crane, you can at least see if it works!

We also put in the rear axle of the SL to have the correct distances for the drive shaft. The brake booster had to be moved towards the left and Juergen from Mercedes found a pretty good solution for that.

At the moment we're waiting for the motor holders, which are currently milled professionally in steel for me.

V8 Conversion (II) ...

The Motor is in place ...

As mentioned before, we spent a lot of time, trying to get the motor in a position that works. I've designed motor holders in 3D, which I printed out in plastic first. These prototypes were used to see at the vehicle, if it works or not. Of course plastic samples don't hold the motor (they break), but as long as the motor is supported by the crane, we could see how the motor would fit.

Finally we had those holders made professionally in steel, based on my 3D-drawing. They arrived here, we put them in and .... trara .... the motor is in a position, like Mercedes had designed it!

Now the car goes to the exhaust specialist, where a custom-built exhaust from manifolds to the rear muffler will be done in stainless steel!

V8 Conversion (III) ... the exhaust system

The Exhaust is finally finished ...

Unfortunately the guy who manufactured the exhaust system incl. manifolds took much longer than expected. The "3-4 weeks" turned into a full 3 months, but the work is outstanding. Basically there's just NO space anywhere.

He managed to create two manifolds left and right. Somehow he also found a way on the left side to put two 40mm pipes downwards. So a 4->2 system, with two 45mm pipes going all the way to the end of the car.

V8 Conversion (IV): Finished Prototype ...

V8 Conversion (V): Final outcome ...