'62 220SE Coupe 5.0 Presentation

[GGR]

Hi all,

today Dimitri (dseretakis) came to visit and he shot some videos of my car with his I-phone. In the three first links I'm presenting an explaining what I did on the car, and on the three last links we're driving in it. The last one is a 0-100mph video. I did not go crazy on the clutch nor in the shifts as all this is still a bit new an I don't want to grenade anything. But basically I shift in 2nd at 40mph, in third a 60mph (7s) and third is taking us up to 100mph (17s). I guess I will do better when the car is finished tuning and when I'm more confident with the transmission to shift harsher. I still have two more gears and I have no idea of the top speed yet!

Dimitri is amazing with metal work and he helped me swap the bigger transmission tunnel to accomodate the new transmission.

Here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/user/stricht8#p/u/5/N_h3yTLapLE

http://www.youtube.com/user/stricht8#p/u/4/nuOeRekbJoc

http://www.youtube.com/user/stricht8#p/u/3/ShAdlPIZ4Dk

http://www.youtube.com/user/stricht8#p/u/2/ziYdRxeDxuI

http://www.youtube.com/user/stricht8#p/u/1/wmG_xcX62E0

http://www.youtube.com/user/stricht8#p/u/0/je5Fd6nzuK8

[stickandrudderman]

Nice job but why didn't you use a 117 engine?

[dseretakis]

Gael did use a M117 engine.  It is a 5.0 aluminum block from a 450SLC 5.0.

[GGR]

It is indeed a M117 engine. They started as 4.5s with iron blocks and ended as 5.6 with alloy blocks. Mine is an M117.960. It is the first version of the alloy blocks. It is basically a bored out 4.5 with alloy instead o iron. Bolt pattern is the back is very close to the iron M117 and M116, this is why it is easy to fit a manual transmission out of a 3.5.

[GGR]

Update:

The car works really well and is very fast. I was able to find some AMG technical info specifying that Their 5.0 needs Bosh W7DC spark plugs. My engine is close to theirs as I have used AMG replica camshafts and a tri-Y exhaust manifold system with no cats. So I fitted a set of these spark plugs and it works well.

I had to replace the 3.5 D-jet injectors by a set of 4.5 D-jet injectors so as to be able to use the vacuum actuated fuel pressure regulator and be able to tune Megasquirt a bit better. The system is now in its final configuration and ready for a Dyno tuning session. I will do that when I'm back from mission, may be sometime in December.

Unfortunately, the 3.27 LSD rear end that I had rebuilt has now developed some (a lot of) pinion backlash. I guess I did not sit the races properly and now it all needs to be readjusted. That was my first rear end rebuild, I guess this is how one learns and gains experience. The back U-joint of the prop shaft also has developed quite some play. The car still drives OK, but it's not pleasant. So I unearthed another 3.27 rear end I had (non LSD) and opened it. All bearings and races looked fine in the differential and the spider pin had no play in the diff carrier so I just cleaned everything, replaced all seals as well as the left wheel roller bearing, fitted new grease and a 6.3 sliding joint i had in reserve with a good sliding sleeve, i also replaced the center bearing on a spare prop shaft I had which has good U-joints. i'm now left with painting all this and fitting it in the car. I will then check my LSD 3.27 and may be use it in my Pagoda 5.6 project though I'm planning to go with a 2.85 on that one for now: http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=15521.0

At this occasion I will also replace the center heavy duty compesating spring with a normal/softer one as I feel the suspension is a bit too stiff in the back. i will also try to get a bit of negative camber. The compensating spring swap may take care of that. If not, I will have to see what I can do with the center mount: the one i is harder shore which is good to keep the center arm from moving around, but it also keeps it a bit higher than original. I alreasy have the thinnest shims on the suspension springs.

The good news is that the home-made reinforced hybrid 4speed V8/5speed L6 transmission is working really great and smooth, and is handling the power and torque with no problems.

That's all for now.

[m300cab]

Nice Job

[GGR]

Thanks. I,m right in the middle of swapping the rear ends.

[GGR]

Update:

I swapped the rear end and prop shaft and it all works fine now.

I also got the car running pretty well with the fuel & spark megasquirt set-up and I took it to a guy who is very good at fine tuning MS on a dyno. He was impressed by the torque curve in particular. Though I know it is torque that is moving a car, I was myself impressed by the power: 254 hp DIN at the wheels. As a reference, this engine is developing 240 hp at the crank in stock form. This is a stock euro 5.0 long block with AMG replica camshafts and Fuel & Spark Megasquirt management. Below is the dyno run file both in DIN and in SAE forms. New SAE gives lower figures at the wheel than DIN.

The car is running very well. Smooth and powerful. According to the link below, 254hp with a manual trans is equivalent to 300hp at the crank. If that's correct, it's really not bad:

http://www.mk5cortinaestate.co.uk/calculator4.php
     
I also attach a picture of the engine in the car.

[GGR]

Update:

So the car is now flying to the point that the tires have now become the weak point. I have to be careful when I start from a light not to smoke them on dry pavement. On wet I guess I would be spinning up to 3rd or 4th if I was not paying attention. But the main problem is more when I need to stop. The car is getting much faster everywhere so it also needs to stop much faster and I ended up skidding several times. My brakes are the same as on 6.3s fitted with carbon kevlar pads for street use, and they are not over powered yet. My problem is grip.

I currently have Vederstein classics 205/70-VR14 on it. They really made a huge difference compared to the Khumo solus 195/75-R14 I had on it before: more grip, quieter etc. They were excellent with the 3.5 engine. But I guess now they're having too much on their plate.

I brought back a set of four of these W126 15x7 steel rims from Europe last time I went there and I'm thinking of fitting some 225/60-VR15 tires. I had a set on a 3.5 Coupe I have in Europe and they clear the W111 Coupe chassis. I hope this is also true for earlier cars, but I don't see any difference in the chassis/wheel wells areas all along the Coupe production.

Tirerack is listing three of them: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?customSizeSearch=&width=225%2F&ratio=60&diameter=15

Two are all seasons, one is summer. I've been reading around the net and summer tires are preferred to all seasons when it comes to performance. This was also mentioned to us by a tire guy who came to do a presentation at an MBCA starfest. So I'm now leaning towards the BFGoodrich g-Force Sport rahter than Kumho Ecsta ASX or LX Platinium, also because I read the BFGoodrich had a better side wall rigidity in curves. Also in DC, we only have a few weeks of cold weather round the year.

Opinions are welcome, keeping in mind that performance is more important than comfort in my case, up to some extent.

Thanks all in advance.

[GGR]

Update: So I painted the 15x7 wheels the color of the car and fixed three studs on each to fit the dog dish style hubcaps. I then got a set of 15" beauty rings for cheap on eBay. The BFGoodrich were on back order on the Trerack website and were not available on the other websites I've been using. So I went for the Khumo Ecsta LX Platinium and I'm quite pleased with the result. The 225/60-15 is the absolute biggest tires one can fit on a W111 Coupe without modifying the body and clearance is quite tight. The look with the dog dish hubcaps and beaty rings is really nice and fits the '62 year quite well. The tires are really good, quieter than the Vedersteins. Grip is superb, and the car tracks srtaight on the highway. The feeling is much more securing compared with before. I can feel the difference in weight compared to the alloy 123 diesel wheels I had before, as it adds a bit of inertia. But it makes the car more driveable.   

[GGR]

I did a bit of work on the coupe lately. Engine oil change and greasing. All looked good. I also went to a friend's place to put the car on a lift and check the prop shaft alignement. It appeared that the trans was too high and the flex disk was not workinng properly, creating some vibrations at low speed. So I took a shim out between the trans and the valance which greatly improved things. I also corrrected toe as I had none and the car was wandering on the highway. I also reworked a bit the AFR and ignition tables and now the car is a real pleasure to drive.

Next project on that car are big brakes. I have the 6.3 ones with carbon kevlar brake pads but the other day brakes ended up smokinng after a spirited drive. They won't be up to the taks on a track for sure. So I have someone sending me some 300mm front Mercedes Vito rotors from europe as they're not available in the US. They will need some machining to fit some r107 hubs. I will then need to use 10mm spacers for the wheels as the r107 hub off-set is not the same. i willl be using some W126 Gen II callipers.

[GGR]

This week end we went to visit my mother in law in Cleveland. That's a 750 miles round trip through the Appalachians Mountains on a twisty highway and turnpikes with lots of going up and down. Quite a pleasant drive across these green mountain forests. The Coupe was very heavily loaded with all kind of stuff my wife wanted to store into her parents’ basement and.... parts of rear axles I took with me to keep me busy while my wife and mother in law went for their looooooong shopping sessions. This way everybody was kept happy (see my rear end Franken session here :  http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=15521.msg114894#msg114894).

Despite the heavy load the car drove superbly. This twisty road is a perfect for comparing with before the transplant as I drove along that road quite a number of times before the transplant. First observation is that all the work done on the chassis and suspension makes it a very precise and well balanced as the car was always where I wanted it to be. It is now a very securing car. Second observation is that the engine/transmission/rear end combination gives it that famous endless push and easy power I was missing since I sold my 6.3. I'm ready to bet this Coupe is now outperforming any well sorted euro 6.3, though I still need to test that in real life. I may show up at the next gathering of my M100 friends for that.

Gas mileage on mountain highway at a steady 80mph all along and a heavily loaded car was 18-19 mpg, which was a pleasant surprise given the 15-16 mpg I was getting on the same trip with the 3.5 engine. I'm sure the car can return 20+ mpg on a flat highway with a normal load at a stable 80mph.

This was the first long trip with this car since the transplant and I must say I am very, very pleased with the result. That car is quite a weapon though it kept all its MB refinement. I'm taking good notes for my Pagoda project! 

[cynewan]

Nice work ! I had the honor of riding in it while on a trip to DC. It is a BEAST ... Thanks Gael !

[GGR]

Thanks !

I fiddled with the camshafts timing the other day and the car is now even easier to drive as lower rev. Just like a normal car, really.

[GGR]

Update: I have further improved the tuning and the car drives excellent. I have also fitted the 300mm front rotors, some W126 front calipers and some stiffer front suspension springs. It really made a huge difference in handling. The car is not diving as much as before under hard braking and is also leaning quite less in the corners. The car is now where I want it to be. Next steps will be to do some cosmetic work, including a new paint. But I still want to enjoy it the way it is for a while. It's a very addictive car!