pics of the 220SL diesel

[waltklatt]

Finally have some pictures of my 1967 220SL diesel.
Download Attachment: P9180005.JPG
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Download Attachment: P9180001.JPG
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[gugel]

Walt:  
The car looks like it will be a nice one, but I do have trouble understanding your motivation for putting in a diesel.  Did I miss an explanation of why you wanted to do it?
Chris

[waltklatt]

Hello Chris,
I am a real diesel head when it comes to cars.  It atarted with my parents 1968 220Diesel, 1982/1983 240D's, 1985 300SD, 1989 300D and then a few diesel VW's.  Which I have as my daily driver- a 2000 golf tdi.
I used to have an early ex-showroom 280SL(1968) and had nothing but trouble wit hthe engine.  So much that I replaced the pump and then sold it.  I regretted doing it and then bought this abandoned 230SL that had been left out in the elements for 28 years.  So it was in very rough shape and motor and tranny were both locked up.  I removed the motor and tranny and seperated them to see if the engine or tranny would turn, but nope.  I didn't want to go through the whole scenario again with the spark plugs, tune-ups and etc.  So by chance I went to the local junkyard and found an immaculate 1985 190D with a heavy rear end dmaage.  Bought the engine and tranny from it for pennies.  Installed the setup into the SL and it is running smoothly now with a bit of driving back-n-forth in the garage.
MAny people would love to tar and feather me for this sacrilege.  It's the same as changing the paint color, or changing from Euro to USA or vice versa.
BTW: the mileage should be in the 28 - 35 mpg range.
Walter
1963, 1965, 1967 230SL's

[Cees Klumper]

Good for you Walter!
Cees Klumper in Amsterdam
'69 white 280 SL automatic

[German Dude]

I love the idea. What heresy! If I am ever in your neck of the woods, I will ask for a ride - two Diesel heads in a Diesel pagoda...
Good luck with the project!
Juergen
64 230 SL No Diesel
93 Citroen XM Station Wagon Turbo Diesel

[glennard]

quote:Originally posted by waltklatt

Finally have some pictures of my 1967 220SL diesel.
Download Attachment: P9180005.JPG
59.38
KB
Download Attachment: P9180001.JPG
59.65
KB

Can I see it in April?

[waltklatt]

Glennard,
If all goes well with the 1965 that I'm restoring at the moment for a friend, I will take it in to the shop for painting.  But it is highly unlikely as I need to re-install the chrome and trim, without chipping or scratching the paint.  I will then have a few modifications to solidify on the conversion.
Walter
Can I see it in April?

[waltklatt]

Juergen,
Sure you can drop by for a ride if you are in the area.
Drop me an email.
This was not my first conversion from gas to diesel.  I've done it successfully on a 1968 280SEL with a 1985 300D w/ automatic and it went so smoothly without a hitch for 8K miles before I sold it.  That one was a real heavyweight and it returned 24-30 mpg, depending on the driving style.
Walter
quote]Originally posted by German Dude

I love the idea. What heresy! If I am ever in your neck of the woods, I will ask for a ride - two Diesel heads in a Diesel pagoda...

[waltklatt]

Well Folks,
Today was the big day to finally drive the diesel SL to the paint shop.
All went well without a hitch except for a misadjusted gearshift linkage and a slightly wandering steering.
Car has lots of power and is raring to go.
Of course all the heavy items are removed for the painting.
Can't wait to pick it up with a fresh coat of platinum silver(slightly yellowed to match the original paint in the jambs and dash).
Will post pictures when I get it back.
Yeehaww!  Is this a symptom of pagodititis?
Walter Klatt
1967 230SL-diesel
1963 230SL-next for stripping.

[Jonny B]

I think this is great. Cars are meant to be an extension of the person in any case.
Curious though on the weight difference of the 190D engine over the SL motor?
Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[Chad]

Walter, I think it's admirable that you put a diesel into the Pagoda.  Diesel engines are heavy, but perhaps the 190D engine is similar in weight to the 6cylinder that can out of the car.  It is an interesting conversion.
Just sold my OM617 300TDT wagon and miss the diesel sounds already.  I was very surprised to see the tremendous interest in MBZ diesels right now.  I suppose that the possibility of using WVO (waste vegetable oil) as fuel is driving the market somewhat. Diesels just feel so remarkably solid on the road, but I fear an OM617 would run out of revs very early with the 230SL differential. Your 190D engine perhaps revs more like a gasser, I believe.
Your pagoda now has a vacuum pump, correct?
Do you run petrol diesel or biodiesel?  I assume this car doesn't have french fry smelling exhaust, that is.
-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10

[waltklatt]

Chad,
Yes the new motor is an OM601 4 cylinder with a 5 speed manual.
I haven't driven it on the highway yet, but from what it feels like on the sideroads to the paint shop and around the block, lotsa power and wants to go faster.  The motor is lighter than the original motor and autobox by a large margin.  I could pick up the new motor, but not the original motor as it is much heavier.
The motor has a vacuum shut off and I have cleverly placed it to a discreet location, but nothing on the dash is out of place except for the glow plug indicator light which sits above the cigarette lighter to be in view, might transfer it to the instrument cluster in the future.
Currently it runs on the diesel #2 from the gas station.
Will be picking it up either today or tomorrow.
Walter
1967 230SL-soon painted
1963 230SL-being stripped to bare metal now

[Chad]

Great!  
So, you can pick up a MBZ diesel engine?  You must be pretty big yourself.
My OM617 was 400+ pounds, I believe. (Not counting the soot and 8qts Delvac synthetic.)
-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10

[waltklatt]

Well, not that big, but a hulk to some eyes.
Yes the motor was devoid of all the ancilliaries and transmission.  I then had to move it around in the engine bay to get a good fit before taking it back out and hooking up the tranny and then reinstalling it in place permenently(done with a borrowed engine lift).
If you want to know the brute strength, several times I have snapped off the wheel lug bolts on other cars, those at the junkyard are most popular.  Sometimes when I need to turn a wheel and the steering lock is in place, it's just a matter of twisting the steering wheel to and fro to snap it. Also regularly snap the screws in half as they are not match to my tightening motion.  As a result my garage floor is oftentimes littered with broken bolts and screws that are no good.
Ahh a fun job to do everynight before retiring to bed is to sweep up all the carcasses and toss them in the trash.
I'll stop here as everyone is becoming afraid to hear anymore.
Walter 'not afraid; Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel-almost done.
1963 230SL-stripping to bare metal

[Jonny B]

Walt,
You are truly a man ahead of your time! I just got the December issue of Automobile magazine, and on page 40, we see pictures of the SL400CDI and the SLK320CDI!! The SLK is a TRI turbo, 282 hp, 465 lb-ft of torque, with a 0-60mph of 5.3 sec! For now however they are listed as MB "studies" but the speculation is the SLK will make it to production sometime in 2006 (for Europe only). For the SL to quote the article "Mercedes feels that diesels are not yet appropriate for the SL's brand image"
Jonny B
1967 250SL Auto

[waltklatt]

Ahh, so now the newest rage in having a car with the ease of diesel maintennance and economy combined with the comfort of a drop top is catching on.  
So does this mean you will all accept my 'frankensteinian' conversion as one of yours?
Thanks for the notice about the automobile magazine.
Walter Klatt
1967 230SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas

[Ben]

Deisel conversion on older Mercs were very common in Ireland in the 70's and 80's with a lot of 60's car converted fairly succesfully.
There are still quite a few Fintails and W111 Coupes with the 5 and 6 cylinder deisel engines !  Havent seen a Pagoda yet but I'm sure somebody else has copied Walter !
Regards,
Ben in Ireland.
'64 230SL 4sp.

[Chad]

I just talked a buddy out of an OM617 conversion into a BMW 2002 roundie, I think 1970.
Thought the OM617 being much heavier than the BMW gasser whould spoil the good handling of that 2002.
The 2002 is relatively very light compared to the MBZ SL's. Personally, I think the SL, being a heavy car and made to handle well being a heavy car, would accept a diesel conversion very well, the only thing I still have concerns about is running out of rpms with the diesel engine, but your 190 engine is probably much better suited to this application than the older MBZ diesels I am familiar with.
-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10

[waltklatt]

Perhaps he should try looking into a OM602(5 cylinder diesel) or 603 motor(5 cylinder turbodiesel).  As both of those motors have a good power advantage over the OM601 which I am using.  Should be better suited to the '02's handling.
The OM601 is considerably lighter and smaller than the OM617 as it uses more aluminum parts.
I had a OM617(300CD) with an auto installed in a 1968 280SEL and the car originally had 185 tires.  After taking on the first test drive the tires squealed badly on slight turns, so I upgraded to 195's and then to 205's which eliminated the squeal.  The suspension was left alone as it was more than adequate for the extra weight, but on that car I swapped out the 4:08 rear to a 3:23? rear from a 4.5 and that helped increase the mileage.
Walter Klatt
1967 230SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas being stripped

[Chad]

So, how did the 220SL turn out??
How is the motoring. and the sporting clatta-clatta?
-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10

[waltklatt]

Chad,
It runs just fine, just needs a bit of tweaking here and there.  Just took it out for a spin around the block.  New windshield seal and the trim is almost all back on.  Only snag I hit now is how to get the windshield washer hose from the engine bay through the 'ahem' firewall to the small nozzle.  Has me scratching my head, might someone be kind to tell me how they did it?
Rubber flex disc has not been checked yet as a bolt fell out a few weeks ago, but that's next on my shrinking list of theings to do.
Thanks for asking,
Walter 'Klatta' Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel
1953 230SL-gas nearly stripped

[Chad]

Great to hear it, Walter! It's a fascinating project that took vision and I would enjoy to see some day.  Good luck with ironing out the few remaining wrinkles over the winter tinkering season.
-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10

[Mike Hughes]

quote:Originally posted by waltklatt


Only snag I hit now is how to get the windshield washer hose from the engine bay through the 'ahem' firewall to the small nozzle.  Has me scratching my head, might someone be kind to tell me how they did it?

Didn't they start with the screen washer hose and build the entire car around it?  ;^)
- Mike Hughes  -
-
 1966 230SL Auto P/S
 Havanna Brown (408)
 Light Beige (181)
 Cream M-B Tex (121)

[Chad]

I thought the consensus was that these cars were built around the windshield wiper transmission assemblies??
-CD-
1967 230SL, 113.042 10

[waltklatt]

Here's some updated pictures of my pride and joy.
Platinum Silver color, matched closely to the original color found under the trim and door jambs.
Walter Klatt
1967 220SL-diesel
1963 230SL-gas
Download Attachment: sl1.jpg
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Download Attachment: sl2.jpg
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