230SL Turbo Diesel

[dwilli3038]

At the recent MBCA Peactree meet there was a 230SL that had been modifed with a deisel

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Daryl
'64 230 SL Buckeye Benz Scarlet interior and Grey top Serial # 508
'77 280SE

[Jonny B]

I bet Walt Klatt did not know he had any competition in this arena. I assume this is not his car, since it has a Georgia plate...

Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[hauser]

I guess Walter's car isn't so unique afterall.

1969 280sl 5 spd
Gainesville, Fl.

[Mike Hughes]

I think Walt's car is a four cylinder Diesel out of a 220D. this one is a six cylinder Turbo-Diesel, probably out of a W124 300D 2.5. If so the owner could probably legitimately rename it a 250SL Turbo Diesel, if he could find a 250SL badge to replace the 230SL emblem on the bootlid.  That would certainly confound the originality police!

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[mdsalemi]

Aw, heck--why not put in a bulkhead, cut out the trunk (boot) and create a 250SL Turbo Diesel Convertible Pick-Up Truck?  Why stop with an engine transplant?

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[dwilli3038]

I never did find the owner...I was too busy picking the brains of George Murphy our feachered speaker and David Latham our host. All things considered maybe it is the Mechanical Engineer in me but there is nothing that matches the aethetics of the fuel lines wraped around the front of the Mercedes Benz 113 engine. I plan to keep mine as is

Daryl
'64 230 SL Buckeye Benz Scarlet interior and Grey top Serial # 508
'77 280SE

[waltklatt]

Thanks Mike, my car actually has a 190D 2.2L diesel with a 5 speed in it.  

Hauser: It's a lot of sweat and thinking to get this conversion to work, becoming green is what I like and strive to mimic the ease of not becoming frantic after every 300 miles or so in search of a gas station.  This one should give me about 600 out of the tankful. I've had a 1968 280SL #618 before, and it was awful at the pump.

Daryl: would Buds Benz be willing to pass my email to the owner of that 250TDSL?  I'm curious if you recall the transmission?  Manual or automatic?

Johnny: I'm not worried about competition, in fact I admire that others are thinking like me, with these gas prices....

Michael: I've already thought of doing a station wagon of the SL, but restored a fintail wagon instead to get it out of my system.

Walter
1967 220SL-diesel

[114015]

Here are my two cents...

Walter,
Seems to be stick shift, I cannot find a dipstick for the automatic transmission on the pics.
Like the idea of a 6 cylinder Diesel in the SLs engine bay since our cars have 6 cylinders too.   Can't see all the intake ports and fuel lines but the head looks long - so 6 cylinder. Thus, Mike, it must be a W124 300D 3.0 instead of 2.5 (which is a 5-cylinder). Therefore, the owner "had to/should get" a 300 SL badge instead of 250 SL.[:0]

250SL "aftermarket trunk signs" can be obtained by cutting down the "E" from the 250 SE badge into an "L" .
However, this is visible afterwards even with a lot of polishing.
 

Daryl,
Cannot personally agree with the "but there is nothing that matches the aethetics of the fuel lines wraped around the front of the Mercedes Benz 113 engine. I plan to keep mine as is".
I think the original valve cover with the right side indentations for the injection nozzles together with the intake manifold are unrivaled beautiful. Was for me one reason to buy a Pagoda!
I plan to keep my M127 II as well.

Just my 2 cents.

Achim
(parts & knowledge collector)

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by waltklatt

Johnny: I'm not worried about competition, in fact I admire that others are thinking like me, with these gas prices....

Walter,
Aren't diesel prices higher than gas prices??

Rodd
Pagoda Technical Manual
please contibute: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/pmwiki.php
1966 230SL
2006 C230 Sport Sedan

[DaveB]

But Rodd the mileage is so much greater that the diesel's still ahead on cost!

DaveB

[Peter van Es]

quote:Originally posted by rwmastel
Aren't diesel prices higher than gas prices??

Not in Europe they are (Feb 2008, Hilversum, Netherlands):

Code: [Select]

1 liter Super gas / benzine (98 octane): Eur 1,55
1 liter Diesel:                          Eur 1,14
Add to that the fuel economy of Diesel, and that explains the popularity of Diesel fuel on modern passenger cars in Europe also.

Peter

1970 280SL. Also known as 'admin@sl113.org' and organiser of the Technical Manual.

[Mike Hughes]

quote:Originally posted by 114015


Like the idea of a 6 cylinder Diesel in the SLs engine bay since our cars have 6 cylinders too.   Can't see all the intake ports and fuel lines but the head looks long - so 6 cylinder. Thus, Mike, it must be a W124 300D 3.0 instead of 2.5 (which is a 5-cylinder). Therefore, the owner "had to/should get" a 300 SL badge instead of 250 SL.[:0]

My ignorance is revealed! [:0] I have a 1986 Euro model non-turbo W124 300D.  It is a six cylinder.  The Euro owner's manual covers three different Diesel versions including a 2.5L model that seemed to be a smaller displacement version of my 3.0L six, at least in the diagrams.  The smallest displacement model was a four.  I have seen later model W124 300D 2.5 Turbos on the road and always assumed that they were that same six, boosted.  A 300SL trunk emblem should be a little easier to find, since there was such a model produced in the '90s.

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[Mike Hughes]

quote:Originally posted by rwmastel

Aren't diesel prices higher than gas prices??

Perhaps only in the U.S. in winter, when demand for Diesel has to compete with seasonally much higher demand for home heating oil.  Diesel prices always seem to come down below regular gas prices in the spring, summer, and early fall before they start diverting production to stockpile home heating oil for the winter, when Diesel starts to go up again.

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[rwmastel]

quote:Originally posted by Mike Hughes

Perhaps only in the U.S. in winter, when demand for Diesel has to compete with seasonally much higher demand for home heating oil.  Diesel prices always seem to come down below regular gas prices in the spring, summer, and early fall before they start diverting production to stockpile home heating oil for the winter, when Diesel starts to go up again.

I've been a diesel fan since learning the basic benefits about the engine.  So, I watched as diesel prices rose above gas a few years ago, but then went back down (or did gas go up??).  Then, hurricane Katrina and the second one just after that hit the Gulf Coast.  All fuel prices went up, but I was surprised to see diesel go so high.  It has stayed above the price of gasoline since then, over two years.  Of course, we are also recently dealing with low sulfer diesel fuel, so that may be some of the reason.  If the price would go down $.50 or so per gallon, to get near premium gas prices, then this diesel thing would really take off in the USA.

Rodd
Pagoda Technical Manual
please contibute: http://www.sl113.org/wiki/pmwiki.php
1966 230SL
2006 C230 Sport Sedan

[Mike Hughes]

quote:Originally posted by rwmastel
Katrina and the second one just after that hit the Gulf Coast.  All fuel prices went up, but I was surprised to see diesel go so high.  It has stayed above the price of gasoline since then, over two years.  Of course, we are also recently dealing with low sulfer diesel fuel, so that may be some of the reason.  If the price would go down $.50 or so per gallon, to get near premium gas prices, then this diesel thing would really take off in the USA.

I had quite forgotten about the low-sulfer component of current Diesel fuel pricing.  Last winter Diesel was about 20-25 cets higher than regular - so on par with or just a bit higher than premium here in the Virginia suburbs of Washington DC, which is usually about 20 cents higher than regular.  Out in the Shenandoah Valley prices were still on par with premium, but all fuel prices were as much as 35 cents cheaper than here.  This winter Diesel is as much as 60 cents higher than regular in northern Virginia, where premium is still just 20 cents higher than regular!  Is this because all the Diesel pumps are now dispensing low-sulfer fuel?  Will Diesel prices return to a reasonable level once the winter heating season is over?  Only time will tell!  In the meantime it is still less expensive to run my 300D than my regular gas Isuzu Trooper SUV, but only just!  30+ mpg still trumps 17+ mpg even if the fuel is 20% more.  But it is no longer less expensive to run than my premium gas Merkur XR4Ti, which gets 27+ mpg, as long as I don't get "turbo happy!"

- Mike Hughes  -ô¿ô-
  1966 230SL Auto P/S
  Havanna Brown (408)
  Light Beige (181)
  Cream M-B Tex (121)

[Bob G ✝︎]

Cool conversion. Very well done.
Bob Geco