Thinking of Buying: 1980 230G in UAE
Greetings all - hope to soon be a regular on this forum.
I'm looking at a beautiful 1980 230G cabrio. It's an old lady, but with a great body. My plan is to replace the I4 engine with the 5.0 V8 Merc engine, since I would need the power in the sand dunes I would normally drive.
I'd appreciate any comments, advice, warnings, that you may have as I still have not bought it.
The body is in great shape, and the drivetrain appears to also be in very good condition. Speedometer does not work, and the original canvas top is long gone although the metal frame is still available.
Engine runs fine, but stutters badly at idle. Mounts are also not tight and it shudders something horrible. In any case the 4-cylinder does not serve my purposes with an output of 105 HP, 172 Nm @ 3000 torque, so it would have to be replaced.
If it helps, here's the VIN: WDB46021017001558
The plan is to make it into a dune machine, installing the V8 engine, wide rims and 33" tires. I'll have a new canvas top made, too.
What do you think? Any specific things I should check for before buying?
looks a fun motor for the sun
Twodogs
selam aleykum prossett!!
i like your cabrio,very clean and no rust.thats how my G started,but i went for a diesel conversion because of petrol prices!!you are a lucky man.
why is the front cabin roof like that??does it come off,or was it fitted solid?
anyway,good luck and go for it! you have a great rust free base to work on. MASHALLAH...!
it is a bit like a heart transplant in a ninety year old body.....you would have all the usual aggravation of the wiring for the engine management.fuel delivery..exhaust rerouting plus wheel bearings and probably diff wear...check out the play on the front wheel bearings by rocking the wheels at the top...drop the drain plugs on the diffs and check for grey paste or fine metal deposits..assume it is four speed manual ..again drain the oils and check for metal particles in both gearbox and transfer box ..springs you can see. shocks will be tired unless they have been changed..oh and you will need more cores in the radiator....
Hi I cannot source a Merc V8 that is not mated to an automatic G box.or you might look at going auto as well.by the way your G was originally suppled new to a MB dealer in Qatar.rgds
Prossett, lose the manual gearbox, if its in good nick and four speed you will get a good price for it, overseas. Mate an early 5.0 ltr complete with auto box, it will take up alot of torque that would normally destroy the manual, also auto is better for sand, trying to change gear up a sand dune with a manual will lose you momentum, with auto the car will keep going forward, as you can change down manually.
You can use the 560 engine as well, which has another 30 BHP, I have a 560 in mine. Dont worry about diffs or the transfer box, the auto box will take up most of the strain. The downside is the engine will rev very high at 60-70mph due to the diff ratios. It wont be a high speed car but a very capable off roader. you can use the manifolds of the saloon car or make new ones and you can either fabricate engine mounts or buy the G500 mounts, which are expensive. As long as you have the ecu from the saloon your fine.
Hi what ever you do you are going to B'''stdize it. why not find some Yank lump with a manual box that fits in the available hole. you can cut and shunt the prop shaft to the transfer box. if the fans in the way fit electric.you could make it into quite an angry beast...you don't have the rust gremlin but you do have the sand ..bad for bearings and worse for cylinder wear.. best of luck with project
Skip the yank lump... Lexus V8 .. heaps over in Sharjah for £2-300 I could show you but they all come with auto box.. that is the hard bit.. manual box + V8 is a rare beast in any brand .. Toyota Supra/Landcruiser gearbox + Lexus would work and the box is 500hp proof. In fact a Landcruiser combo would be the easiest and there are a few out there on Dune bashing duty (and then hard to keep up with on roads!); know of a Russian in Dubai who could source one... Staying pure with Benz would be hard unless you can find a panel van manual box that fits a V8 bellhousing.. and then find the flywheel/clutch to match... doable but a little more head scratching.
(spend 18mths in Dubai planning car building.. so I know that patch)
why do you have to ask the police for permission ?
Is Dubai not where a lot of the organised crime car "ringing" goes on, there was an expose on TV, tax free compounds at the docks/official intrangisance etc.mostly to do with high end British stuff going to Japan and visa-versa.
So why so sticky about a wee engine change ?
Marcus
Abu Dhabi are obviously more strict than Dubai (both seperate Emirates in UAE ... thing sort of Scotland/England/Wales/N.Ireland with their own head families who cooperate in a sucessful way.)
I was thinking of a V8 into a 4 cylinder.. and I had not come up against the police in my investigations. You either need local contacts or the easy route would be Fujairah (another Emirate, poorer and more um .. flexible!) but I think you need it to be registered by a local Fujairian and insurance gets odd... I do know of someone doing this with a RHD converted to LHD Subaru which is strictly a no no in Dubai.
And Dubai does have interesting bits going on .. go look at number of RHD ex Japan cars with driver door locks missing in the second hand market and then ask about importing them into Europe .. not all but 20-30% will not be clean enough as the chassis number will turn up on police records in Euroland. Likewise the Russian was stuffing 3 full sized Landcruisers into a 20' container by cutting them into 3 .. then rewelding together and converting to LHD for export to his motherland .. very very well done but scary strength afterwards!
Oh and head of Dubai has 3 black lwb G's as his top transport .. do not want no locals driving "our" car do we!!
Alternatives.. turbocharge that engine.. easy enough to double the power and that does keep inside the UAE system, Nitrous was available but again seems a locals only ... but off road who cares.
Yup, rust is not a problem out here. I'm more concerned about the drivetrain or axles. And I need to make sure the engine conversion is feasible and done right.
Any advice or things I should check for?
Right now I'm waiting on permission to change the engine; when/if that comes through I can start in earnest.
Here's the kind of terrain I drive on, and I live right on the edge of the desert.