Just finally taking some vacation time and hope to make some progress. Too busy with work and Christmas recently to do much.

 

um, I think the V8 Crossfire is a little more important than work or Christmas, godamn slacker!

 

Im gonna guess this is gonna take about six more months. It is a HUGE project to be the first at doing ANYTHING, let alone something of this magnitude.

 

I give him 1-2 years, using the OEM computer. Go Lantana GO!!!

 

Making some progress. I have finally worked out the cooling system. Brabus/Startech seems to use a lot of C43/C430 parts. The early C43/C430 used a belt driven fan /fan clutch with two small auxillary fans in front of the radiator. I belive this is what Startech did as well whe they make their V8 Crossfire. If you look at the Startech pictures you can see the shroud is offset to the left side of the engine which puts the shroud in line with the water pump.

Running the fan off the engine can use up to 20HP so I was looking for a differenct solution, but also had to keep in mind the Texas heat here. I removed the the stock electric fan and took a bunch of measurments of the radiator. I worked with two different experts who both said the stock radiator would do the job (hope they are right). I was thinking I could use a single 16" fan. Zirgo and F.F. Dynamics make the most powerful fans I could find. The problem with the Crossfire radiator is that the radiator core where you would mount the fan is 16" x 24" and with the extra length of the V8 you can't use a fan that is much over 3" thick.

I was advided against a single 16" fan as this would not give enough coverage to the core. I was told that two 12 " fans would do the job and have ordered two 12" F.F. Dynamics fans.

Today I am going to try to get to the Mercedes dealer for some various small parts and to the mufler shop to weld the O2 sensor bungs into the exhaust manifolds.

After that there really isn't anything else to do except do the acutaul swap. The only thing holding me back is the shop that is doing the programing gave me a best case and worst case price estimate. I can cover best case, but need to save a little more money to cover the worst case estimate.

 

don't laugh but the mid 90s ford taurus fan is used by many custom builders ... i've seen it used on v8s pushing 600hp and ls1 powered jeeps alike ... pushing 4500 CFM and has two speed settings ... shroud it comes with is 22x18x4.5 and i have seen many mounted on custom brackets to make it not as deep.


i used this fan when rebuilding my Jeep YJ in anticipation of changing engines in near future so i used it knowing it can handle whatever i throw at it ...


gotta applaud you for attempting this with MB parts ... premium price but am sure the end product will justify it.

 

regarding the mechanical fan, you might be able to use the older E-class model 124 with viscous clutch, as I've read in a mercedes manual that you can adjust the temperature at which it engages. The book is printed by Bently press, it's a buyers guid for 90's model 124

 

I seriosly wanted the Taurus fan, but it would not fit.

 

The fan/clutch and shroud from any C43/C430 will work, but I didn't want to waste HP running that kind of fan. I am going to try these F.F. Dynamics 12" fans and see what happens. If needed I can go with the C430 C43 set up latter.

 

Posting for an update on this project. Thanks.

 

Lantana,

You have any contact info you can give out for your MB tech? I'm interested to see if he can get an SRT6 ecu/electronics to work in my car. I was really thinking about a v8 but the SRT engine was just allowed on a base/limited in SCCA Solo II BSP racing. The SRT engine really isn't too expensive so I would be willing to do this during the summer if he can do the electronics.

BTW, I'm in the DFW area too so he is local to me (Plano)

 

Wow TX , can't wait to see it all come together!! I've been reading along so far , looks like everything is going well. I am definitely interested in this conversion and am taking notes on the specs and all , keep up the great work. Can't wait to hear a sound clip when it's done!!


Motor Head

 

Where are the updates?!

 

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My job has kept me traveling all this month and I have to travel overseas on business in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I am building up my bank account to make sure I can handle worst case senerios regarding the electronics working out.

 

Can't wait to hear the latest in the ongoin saga of the V8 XFire ! I'd be curious to hear if you are keepin an expense diary as work progresses.

 

Can't wait to hear the latest in the ongoin saga of the V8 XFire ! I'd be curious to hear if you are keepin an expense diary as work progresses.


Just my Dos Centavos

 

Hey Lantana.....Just checking in from the MB board to see how your swap is progressing. Can't wait to see it done.

 

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the girl in lantana's avatar. [drooool] LOL

 

I have really enjoyed the log of your efforts to make this swap. Have you ever thught about a manual transmission. I drive a standard with the stock (mostly) 3.2. I know that he stock manual is lame in the 1st-2nd area, but if you didin't need to burn from a start, do you think it would take the higher torque load. I talked to the Starlight people a couple of years back, and they said that for $15K they would fit a stronger manual.

Good luck on the engine swap. Your open book reaseach will be valuable to others who have considered this swap.
Jack

 

1st-2nd is fine if you know how to drive a stick, also some 04 models have had problems with synchros. 2-1st gear shifts are flawless if you can double clutch and blip the throttle to get the cones and synchros up to speed. like silk baby!
there are technical upgrade to the 6 speed that can make it handle 480hp, requires some machine work. the good thing is the jeep guys use the same trans, so maybe in a few years some one will come out with a heavy duty kit.