Monteverde posted this Mercedes W115 sporting something a bit more authoritative than the 60 hp 2.2 L diesel four it started life as. Yes, it’s….an SBC (Chevy Small Block, for those very unlikely to be not in the know). So does this make it a Mercedes 350 or 570? Or a 220D 5.7?
Here it is, just in case you don’t know what an SBC tucked into a mercedes engine bay looks like. And here’s a similar vintage coupe I shot in Eugene that has a Ford 302 in it. It was renamed 302C 5.0.
I like SBC 570, or perhaps 570 SBC. No offense to Mercedes fans but it sounds like something MB would name a car.
Yep, “570 SBC”. If someone just said that to me without explanation, I’d think it was the name of a new M.B. !
I am on board for re-engining (is that a word?) if it will keep a classic on the street. However, figure out how to put the roof back on.
This was very popular all through the 70’s & 80’s , find a dead Diesel Mercedes 114/115 and slap a 350 SBC into it , NO SMOG TEST ! .
-Nate
Did someone lower that car? It looks like it’s sitting down on the wheels.
It’s probably been bagged. Hope to run into the owner around town so I can ask him.
If nothing else, this illustrates a strength of small-blocks; they’re compact enough to fit in almost anything.
Does this have an adverse effect on weight distribution? I reckon the Benz Diesel may be on the heavy side for its size, but it may still be lighter than the SBC.
Those Benz four cylinder diesels were relatively light…for a cast iron diesel engine. I imagine with aluminum heads and intake manifold the SBC would probably be similar or lighter.
an all-aluminum LS motor would probably fit the bill.
Having owned a 220D this would be a very nice upgrade!
One of my favorite swaps ever is a 429/460 Ford in a ’70s 450SL. It is like they were made for each other. German luxury, Ford dependability. Not to mention cheap parts. A Mercedes Cobra if you will. Seen a few of these at car shows. You can rebuild about five big block Fords for what it costs to rebuild one 4.5L Mercedes V8.
Call it a Benzcayne. Benz Air?
Chevrolet used numbers for series names in the mid-50s. Two-Ten, One-Fifty.
Two-Ten SBC? Must be spelled out, though.
Don’t forget about Mercedes’ displacement-name shenanigans. These days, they would call it an “SBC 630 AMG”
Maybe this is an ignorant question, but how are you supposed to turn the wheels on this thing?
Yes, I’ve noticed only lately that Benz model digits may or may not imply engine displacement.
With a nod to the AMG numbering, call it an SBC 5.7. Too bad the air cleaner sits so high you need a cut-out in the hood for it. Otherwise it makes an awesome sleeper. You could also leave the 220D badge on it and surprise people at stop lights.
You could also surprise people by being able to accelerate up hills…. 🙂
At least it’s not a 570D. I wouldn’t wish an Olds diesel on anyone!
I think we need a more extensive period-Benzomerican pile of badges:
Mercedes II 570 Neue von Mercedes-Benz
The contrasting top shows that this is the fancier (“Nova”) submodel of the smaller, more rectilinear “Mercedes II” series…
I\d leave the badging alone, Ive seen a few of these the most noteable was a 351 Benz on fat wheels that was around Windsor NSW it went really well.
How about this:
I like this. Or, keep the 220D badge on the left side of the trunk and add a 5.7 badge to the right side, similar to the 6.9 treatment. Or, just have a 5.7 badge on the right side.
Mercedes OM 615 Diesel 447lbs
So that SBC probably add about 100lbs to the front end….
A friend dropped a Ford 302 in a Mercedes just like this one but a gasser. He didn’t do anything to the rear suspension and when he would step on it the torque would overwhelm those rear swing arms and instead of moving forward the rear would go into a spastic dance up and down. It was downright scary.
That’s what systems engineers get paid for; trying to fix that problem, say by adjusting spring rates, could induce other problems downstream such as NVH.
I had a MB 220D twenty years ago. Found it very slow and noisy too.
Nothing is safe from the 350 plague. 350 this, SBC that. It’s getting really old. Could’ve at least used a Benz V8 like the bulletproof M119.
Hmmm.
What about a 350 in, say, a Smart car? That would fill up the cabin nicely, I think.
Assuming it would even fit (being DOHC), what does an M119 crate motor cost these days? I assume they’re hand-built by knit-browed German craftsmen who’ve done it all their lives (and are paid with all those nice German worker benefits).
“Power to the People”: that’s what cheap American small-blocks have been all about, and what Mercedes never was.
I love this… BUT if you’re going to run hoodless you really need to dress up the engine compartment a bit more, and that edelbrock stickered air cleaner lid isn’t what I have in mind. One of my biggest gripes with 350 swaps is 95% of them look like they were pulled from a well worn C10 and swapped directly into the new doner without any thought given to tiding up the engine bay, rerouting wiring, hoses, ect. And relocate that damn hideously giant battery to the trunk for god sake! Not only would it look cleaner it’ll help offset some of the SBC’s additional weight over the diesel four.
I get bored of SBC swaps in hot rods, those by their very nature cars you’re supposed to use some creativity with but everyone picks that same engine, and more often than not it’s clearly exposed since every hot rod basically looks the same to boot. I think the recent popularity of rat rods is a result of that since there definitely was a more creative approach to them, at least there was. When I see something like a Jag XJS or something listed in an ad proclaiming “350 swap”, I don’t so much wince at the ubiquity like I do hot rods, I simply imagine the quality of the conversion and I’m usually right about my doubts. Plus, not to stay on this tangent, I generally detest Fuel injection to carb conversions in this day and age, EFI swaps are so easy and cheap now it’s just stubborn and lazy not to do it, and in the case of these V8 converted furrin cars it would be much more fitting to their roots as well since fuel injection was one of the big leg ups they had on American cars at the time, even if it was mechanical.
Hi guys! My friend told me he saw this on here. I’m glad that the ones that liked it, liked it! For the few questions I saw, here are my answers. The hood is currently off because I had switched from a two barrel carb to a four barrel. The bigger carb mixed with the bigger intake manifold made it so the hood wouldn’t close and I didn’t have the heart to butcher a perfectly good hood. The engine bay is in the process of being cleaned up, it is way better now then when I got it. As for the suspension, it is just cut springs but actually rides better then the full height suspension (in my opinion). Again, thanks for the compliments!
I would try finding different type of air filter unit. One that mounts lower or try a lower filter unit. Nice Benz though and nice job.