Re: I'm a sucker for high displacement engines, this time it's a 6.9L benz
yeah, i'm not quite sure why they did that either. but it does. maybe to clear the steering column no matter which side it is on?
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Tech → I'm a sucker for high displacement engines, this time it's a 6.9L benz
yeah, i'm not quite sure why they did that either. but it does. maybe to clear the steering column no matter which side it is on?
Redundancy, always thinking those engineers at Mercedes.
Redundancy, always thinking those engineers at Mercedes.
so you're saying put two starters on it and stuff 25 batteries in the car. if the engine fails, continue on 10hp worth of starter power?
Really, it was either a left-hand right-hand steering thing or perhaps as the market for these cars were to the particularly well-off and world- leader types. perhaps a sure getaway was desired. Thus two starter option? I better go research... these cars sold for ~$50,000 in the late 70's My parents bought a nice house in 1972 for $19,000. Kinda amazing really. I can't help but wonder if any other Lemons car has been depreciated as far? A W-116 6.9 has got to be the record? What did the Rolls sell for new?
Brett85p wrote:Redundancy, always thinking those engineers at Mercedes.
so you're saying put two starters on it and stuff 25 batteries in the car. if the engine fails, continue on 10hp worth of starter power?
You are going to want to pull the plugs but yes then its basically a Hybrid.
You could probably lathe about 3 sheaves off the crank pulley. Or build a 6 V-belt PSRU to use this in a 3/4scale F.W.190.
I'm not sure how far you could scale it down. this motor is rather large
I have an olds 400ci motor from the same era in the garage and this thing makes it look small. i'm certainly happy i went with a large engine bay.
You could probably lathe about 3 sheaves off the crank pulley. Or build a 6 V-belt PSRU to use this in a 3/4scale F.W.190.
Somehow, the phrase "It's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky, than in the sky wishing you were on the ground" comes readily to mind.
The hanging scale came in today, i took a picture of it hanging on the scale, but you can't make out the numbers so no point posting it.
scale reads 315kg with the motor and 8kg with all the stuff used to suspend the motor.
so the final answer is 676lbs. there's some smog stuff on there that will get removed, but the alternator isn't on there right now. so i figure it's about a wash. i suspect the 540lbs number is for the shortblock, not the longblock.
so i have 500lbs left to put on the front axle before it weighs as much as the miata the suspension came from.
i'm doing some back and forth thinking on the transmission. the more i think about it, the more i think that the 016 Audi transmission is a bad idea.
I want to be able to drive this thing on the street, reliability is a big factor. also, the 016 would be really wound out on the highway and generally unpleasant.
After looking at the offerings out there, a T56 coupled with a 3.23 or 3.55 final drive would be perfect. that's what the C5 corvette runs.
I'll troll around e-bay for a while and see if i can find a vette trans, torque tube and diff for under $1k. I think it's doable:
here's all but the torque tube for $800. but the torque tube on it's own is about $300 at best.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/T56-6-SPEED-TRA … mp;vxp=mtr
so if i wait a bit, i should be able to make a better deal.
it also simplifies the clutch stuff greatly. the vette clutches can hold the torque from this motor so I'll just adapt the vette flywheel to the 6.9L V8 and be done with it.
if anyone has one of these sitting around in their shop, please speak up
sorry for the long delay, finally picked up the chassis:
the rear half of the frame is in worse shape than i pictured, but the body is actually better than i expected. it's mostly solid in all the spots that matter.
12hr day, lots of driving, some while wet. but it only cost me $15 for the FJ40 and it came with the rest of the parts necessary to make it mostly complete
My wife and neighbors say "Thanks!" for extricating that hulk from the yard.
LMK when I can take it for a test drive.
The red mr2 looks so sad without a giant engine in the back.
I'm curious if anyone from the columbus, oh area is planning on going to the Joliet race. there's an extra front fender that i should have grabbed from Jim and i'd really appreciate it if someone can grab it on the way.
Thanks!
The red mr2 looks so sad without a giant engine in the back.
*lol* i'm surprised someone recognized it. but yeah, that is *the* red MR2
Don't worry, it'll live another day with another giant engine of some kind.
Also, i've been going up and down this land cruiser with a tape measure. there will be some news within a few days as soon as i get it all detailed out.
Marc-
The Audi 016 you were contemplating using... do you actually have this, or were you planning to obtain one? If you have one, I'll buy it.
Reminds me- still need to put you in touch with my teammate who wants to take that Audi 4.2 off your hands.
Derek, I wish you were closer. I could dump a wheelbarrel full of 016 boxes on your front lawn. These are all 4.90 F/D from '81-'86 coupes, not Porsche 924/944. Probably cost prohibitive to ship from the northeast, but let me know if you want one.
Sorry for the hi-jack.
Alright guys, i owe everyone an update on this.
the FJ40 body is glorious. but the frame is really in pretty terrible shape structurally. there's no way i should take that on the track without making most of a new frame for it.
But that's ok, i had another chassis here that was waiting for a project and this looks like the project it was waiting for. about 2 years ago i ran across a rollover C5 vette, bought it and sold the drivetrain for a little more than i paid for the rollover car. with some parts already missing unfortunately including the fuel tanks.
here it is:
I was originally saving that chassis for a wankel swap, figured the reverse LS1 would be worth a chuckle. Unfortunately I sold the trans with the engine so i need to go find a new transmission for it. sometimes mistakes happen
So first order of business is to find a new transmission. the C5's T56 ratios are awesome for a low reving heavy grunt engine (go figure eh?)
second, i have to mate the 6.9L engine to the torque tube. I'll probably use the stock corvette clutch. it can handle the torque so why not.
I'll then get that mounted in the C5 chassis and regroup the to-do list from there.
Doing the math it looks like the best trans would be the base model C5 with the 3.42 final drive. That's good since it should be the cheapest option.
Really, it was either a left-hand right-hand steering thing or perhaps as the market for these cars were to the particularly well-off and world- leader types. perhaps a sure getaway was desired. Thus two starter option? I better go research... these cars sold for ~$50,000 in the late 70's My parents bought a nice house in 1972 for $19,000. Kinda amazing really. I can't help but wonder if any other Lemons car has been depreciated as far? A W-116 6.9 has got to be the record? What did the Rolls sell for new?
Nope, our S500 holds the record for stuff raced this year. List price $99,400 in 1994, paid a hella cheaty $800 in 2011 for it. Sold seats for $400, there ya go.
I say it holds the record for stuff raced this year, because the very similar S600 that Jay claimed was even more costly. Around $120,000 1995 dollars. That one hasn't been seen since 2009 or 2010 though...
got the trans in, it's time to make an adapter plate to bolt it to the mercedes engine. it came with a used but servicable clutch that should put up with the Mercedes 6.9L's torque.
someone here surely has a LS engine sitting in their garage. i need to know how far the crank rear face is relative to the rear of the block on an LS motor. clutches have some flexibility to them so i don't need an exact number, but as precise as possible would be best.
Thanks!
I have a dead LS engine in a car in my driveway, but unfortunately I have not yet removed it.
Roughly 1/4 -3/8 in, it was hard to measure and even harder to take a pic on a stand in the back of a friends shop
.25 to .375 is a good place to start. I'll make the adapter .375 and see if i need to shave it down from there.
there's quite a bit of wiggle room in that number anyways, the whole clutch assembly can usually move 50 thou one way or another without issues.
Thanks!
Now for the "that's why it was so cheap" news...
I got a C5 transmission someone was advertising for cheap, now i know why nobody bought it. it turns out the year was wrong, but in a sorta good way. it's a C6, not a C5 transmission. but best i can tell, it's still the base coupe model with the correct gears for what i need. the narrower Z06 gearing is not what i need for the low revving motor.
but it does mean that the differential i found does not bolt on:
from what i can tell, the new design is claimed to be much stronger, but these normally go for some serious coin. and i doubt i'll be overloading it (they seem to break with massive power builds, not the weenie 6.9L power i'm talking about)
I'm not sure how i'm going to solve this, but the parts at the right price came together too quickly the first time. so i guess it's time to do some searching for deals.
never-mind, the bolt pattern mismatch is no problem at all. there's a corvette trans shop a few hours away that will trade me the part for free. i think the newer extension housing is worth more to them than the part i need.
I've got a 18"x18"x1.25" plate of aluminium coming to make the bolt pattern adapter for the mercedes. i expect that within a week or two the whole drivetrain should be bolted together and i'll be able to get a finished weight on it.
Got the extension housing swapped. all the parts now bolt together except for the engine to the torque tube.
I put the torque tube, trans and rear end on the scale and got 325lbs all together. So right now we've got all the drivetrain for the car and we are at 1001lbs. there will be another 10lbs or so in the bellhousing and the crank adapter.
the crank adapter will be pretty easy since the bolt patterns do not overlap at all.
When will we see this glorious decision?
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