Newbie---Aussie 250/USA 200 oil sump compatibility

[Anonymous]

Greetings,

The old M180 2.3L six in my '68 Mercedes W114 230/8 is finally dying and I am looking to replace the engine with a (temporarily stock) Ford 200/C3 combination. It would appear to me that the most difficult part of this swap will be the oil sump.

Castlemaine Rod Shop offers a "Ford 250 to Mercedes 280SE" oil sump (P/N SUMP13) which is probably a good place to start, but it would be good to know if the pan bolts directly to the bottom of my block, or if I need to adapt the CRS tin to a USA Ford pan flange.

I am currently in one-way communication with CRS and am hoping that the changes being made at their web page is keeping them busy, and that it is not my accent.

I am also interested in hearing from anyone with Car-nal knowledge of a Mercedes/Ford Six swap ( I know they occur because I just saw a Mercedes/x-flow car for sale on Ebay). I am not without previous swapping experience (though this is my first swap this century) but am always willing to listen to experts before I do as I darn please.

Thanks for any help.

 

[MustangSix]

You're in uncharted waters. From what I know of Mercedes chassis, most required a front sump pan, but the Merc pan is kind of extreme, at least on the V8's. They look a lot like the cast Cobra small block pans in shape.

Probably the best way to do this is to fit the engine in place and build a pan around the chassis. Lots of work, but I can't think of a bolt on solution.

The one thing to keep in mind on the Castlemaine stuff is that the Aussie 250 is distinctly different from the US 200 or 250. The pan will not fit.

All that said, if it were me, I'd be considering the 300 instead of the 200. It would be about the same amount of effort for considerably more power.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,MustangSix

Ha! I couldn't handle the power! A 300 CID would be the biggest engine I have owned in my 35 years of owning cars. Second biggest was a '61 Chevy 283 ( 2v and powerglide 2 speed automatic).

And as far as front sumps go, even Mercedes V8s are like I6s rolled up into the fetal position and tucked up next to the firewall. They would be sucking their thumbs if they had any. The inline sixes extend proudly, if not very far, in front of their bulging sumps, with their long timing chains singing.

Seriously, I chose the the small six because of the high starter, small bell housing, and relatively low stock output. The manifold, starter, and distributor/oil pump locations are all comparable to the Mercedes M180 engine. I am not sure if the 240/300 meet these criteria as well, but I am pretty certain I would have driveline durability problems even with a stock 240. By starting off with an engine with an output similar to the high-strung dual 2v Mercedes six I have a chance to easy into chassis upgrades. With the Ford install, and a final drive change from 3.92 to 3.27, I can eliminate the 3-piece drive shaft, but even the 3.27 is a light weight differential housing.

If the Castlemaine pan doesn't fit exactly, it may still be the same length and approximately the same width, lending itself to grafting onto a US 200 pan. The other option would be to modify a Mercedes sump with aluminum bits .

Larry

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

the US 200 pan is close to the xflow pan. but the xflow is a little wider and deeper. I am looking into adapting a rear sumped FOX ford chassis pan to an aussie 250 XFLOW motor for my fairlane (long story) looks like the rail can be mostly reused (might just go to some 1" strap though) it will take some sectioning and filling and welding to be done but is doable.

 

[xctasy]

I affirm what turbo_fairlane_200 says.

The US 200 is a narrower than the post 1971 Aussie 200 and 250.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks all,


Came to the conclusion that the oz250 was likely to be similar to the us250, which is a little wider. I went forward with making my own pan.

Two weeks ago, I found an '81 3.3L mustang with SROD and cable clutch, so I grabbed the pan and the blockplate, flywheel, clutch fork, and bellhousing for my T5.

(Yes, yes, yes. I originally talked about an automatic, but I talked my wife out of it and I had this T5 I was about 50% done fitting to the Mercedes engine.)

Finished most of the pan parts today. I only have to determine the fore and aft position of the Mercedes sump and I can start welding.

I have a plan for the mounts once I know where the pan is.

Turbo exhaust manifold is percolating too.

I am jazzed!

Larry