Mercedes 230 ce w124 engine swap

[gbhho]

Hello

I have the above Mercedes 230 ce w124 and i want to replace the engine with something with more guts. I have looked at some forums at it says i could put in a brabus or amg. I found a few amg 6.3 m156 with gear box, would this be possible to fit with a decent mechanic. Or do you know anyone?

You may think its not worth it and to just buy a different car with the power but the car is sentermentle as it was my dads and im only the second owner.

Any help would be great

Thanks

 

[carat 3.6]

Welcome to the forum.

Anything can be done with enough money, but you will need deep pockets to make a m156 work in a w124.

 

[219]

If you want an increase in power , quite a few people have installed the M117 out if a W126 donor car , either the 500 or 560 engine - these at least don't require major electronic modification and complete donor cars can still be picked up cheaply , usually due to terminal rust with mechanical parts still good .

 

[gbhho]

Money is no real issue, i was after putting a modern engine in really or low mileage. I will look into the m117

 

[d w124]

Hi and welcome to the forum.Also look give the M120 engine a thought,it might not be as powerful as the 156 but it'll be a bit less trouble

 

[gbhho]

The m120 looks like a good option. I see it is a common engine to be used in w124. Does all the mounting points match up? Is it a good fit?

 

[Scott_F]

The brakes, suspension and chasis of your humble 230CE were never designed to cope with the huge amount of power and torque that a 6.3 litre AMG M156 engine would deliver. The car would therefore need extensive and expensive upgrades in these areas.

 

[gbhho]

I would up rate the suspension and brakes. Would the chassis cope with the m120 block.

 

[carat 3.6]

The body will cope with the stress of the v12 just fine, you will however need to spend over a grand on suspension and brakes.

Depending on how hard you drive the car, you may want to consider adapting the w140 diff and drive shafts to handle the power.

DO IT!

 

[krimat2005]

how about superturbodiesel?? om606 with a big turbo and modified pump should see 450 bhp+.

 

[carat 3.6]

how about superturbodiesel?? om606 with a big turbo and modified pump should see 450 bhp+.

The look on m3 drivers face's would be worth it.

 

[V12]

M119 would be a much easier fit than a M120 for obvious reasons. An early R129 500SL is the perfect donor car for complete drivetrain.

Twin turbo kits can be found for the inline 6 engines M103 or M104. Both are normally found in the W124 so very easy fitment.

 

[carat 3.6]

M119 in a non v8 w124 needs alot of metalwork to fit properly. m120 is easier to fit because it is narrower.

 

[V12]

Have you put a M120 in a W124?

 

[carat 3.6]

About to, next project in line after the kompressor. But in an estate rather than a coupe. If you use the v12 from the w140 the sump will clear the existing crossmember, the r129 sump wont. The v12 is also narrow enough that the heads clear the w124 firewall. The m119 heads are too wide, so you need to alter the metal work or buy the pannels from a 500e.

The sump on a m119 wont miss the w124 crossmember, again you will either need to cut and reweld it or fit the 500e crossmember.

The early version of the v12 which still had distributor caps needs alot less wiring that the later version, slightly more power too. You also wont get so much of a headache with the esp system in the later cars.

The funny thing is that the m117 will drop straight in a w124 with no alterations to the bodyshell, the 2v heads being that much narrower it will miss the fire wall.

The plan was to use the 560 engine and loom I have here, and interbreed it with an m119.960 to build my version of Amg Japans m117/9. The only thing that stoped me from doing that is I could only get it to a 5.0 with standard parts, to get 5.6 or 6.0 needs custom pistons. So I'm going to sell that and use the v12 instead, possibly with a manual box behind it If I can sort the flywheel out.

Harry k on this forum probably is best placed to advise on putting an m120 in a w124, though I'm not sure how far he's got yet.

 

[WDB124066]

I was under the impression a M119 wouldn't fit into a RHD 124 due to it clashing with the steering box - is this your understanding...??

 

[carat 3.6]

M119 exhaust will miss a rhd steering box, mercedes didn't build any rhd v8's simply due to the limited market. There were however 2 rhd hammers.

 

[V12]

Your optimism of getting a M120 in a W124 is great!
I think heat management will be an issue for you.

Next thing to worry about is weight distribution. The V12 in the W140 feels nose heavy, let alone in a W124.

 

[poormansporsche]

M120 has been done before, plenty of pics on the interweb

 

[carat 3.6]

The weight is the downside to the v12, it will feel nose heavy.

H and R springs with koni or bilstein dampers will help the problem, also spring perch reinforcement plates, a strutt brace, and the wishbone link bar will help tighten up the handling.

Sportline suspension is not man enough for the job, despite how good people think it is.

Mercedes Benz W124 Cupe V12 5 - YouTube