G wagen transplant m117 engine rebuild

[nathan]

hi all,
a quick update on my 5 litre transplant into the 280ge.  the rebuilt engine now sits in the G with its custom engine brackets and many other mods.  its quite a difficult project!
i picked the car up from the exhaust shop the other day, and when i eventually get it running, 5 litres of m117 will be pumping through twin exhaust pipes now and custom extractors!
my next problem is the radiator, niether the existing G nor the m117 ones are suitable - may mean a genuine merc purchase which could hurt!
you can see in the pics the modification needed to fit the engine sump to prevent the diff from smashing it on its travels. also attached are pics of the custom engine brackets and mounts after cutting off the old ones!

[TJ 450]

There's certainly a bit involved with that project. I just remembered that there is the electric oil pressure sender on these as well. I can't remember what the 280 had.

The engine and exhaust are a work of art.

Tim

[s class]

Did the factory ever supply M117 equipped G-wagens?  My thoughts were that if so, surely there would be suitable mounts available from the dealer. 

[SELfor50]

Not sure if i've seen this project before mate.  Lookin' bloody great.

As an aside, do you have any affiliation with the MB Club in Perth??  Cause there's a 560 G wagen (formerly 280GD - i think) that's sitting at MB Spares.. and I was told it was the president?! of the MB Club in Perth..  It's a very tidy conversion to fit the 560 in there..  Is it for someone you know?

Back to topic - farkn hell that's a sexy 117!!!  Lookin' tops.  I can only imagine what the extractors are like.  Dude must have skills to fit em in there.

Cam.

[pompy]

Nice!

There is a guy with an engineering shop here in Harrismith with 3 G's - of which one is a genuine G 500, the second a 280 GE converted into a G 500 - all the way, incl interior and travertine paint - also a very neat conversion.

[WGB]

Looking great.

I assume those beautiful pictures were taken with a nice new D90.

Bill

[nathan]

i know the owner of the 560 conversion of MB spares. im assuming they have hit a brick wall and not much has occured in the last 6 months or so.  not quite sure what they are donig with it. regardless, my project has been directed by probably one of the only people in the country who actually know what they are doing which has helped direct me. without his inside word, this thing could not possibly happen. little things like the oel sump mod, requiring a left hand drive brake booster mount, adjusting the length of the driveshafts, remounting the drivers side engine mount - you would only discover these when you try and stick the engine in and it would be one hurdle after another!

i will get some good exhaust p[ics in the future and post (youtube here we come!)

WGB, this was with a regular crappy canon IXUS. didnt have my d90 when i took these shots. but damn do i love this camera!

[SELfor50]

i know the owner of the 560 conversion of MB spares. im assuming they have hit a brick wall and not much has occured in the last 6 months or so.  not quite sure what they are donig with it. regardless, my project has been directed by probably one of the only people in the country who actually know what they are doing which has helped direct me. without his inside word, this thing could not possibly happen. little things like the oel sump mod, requiring a left hand drive brake booster mount, adjusting the length of the driveshafts, remounting the drivers side engine mount - you would only discover these when you try and stick the engine in and it would be one hurdle after another!

i will get some good exhaust p[ics in the future and post (youtube here we come!)

WGB, this was with a regular crappy canon IXUS. didnt have my d90 when i took these shots. but damn do i love this camera!

I'm hearing you.  Fitting these M117's in are a pretty mammoth job.  The 560 job is one of the tidiest conversions i've seen.  John's done a top job.
From memory it's been sitting for about 6months due to workload in the workshop mainly.  But I think there was a problem with ignition.  It was going all fine and then I think something happened with the ignition / spark and that's where it's stopped.

I have to say though, from the looks of it - your double 0 conversion looks so damn sexy.  Seems like you've definitely accounted for all the difficult fit ancillarys etc.



Very keen to see the youtbue vids of the helis when you're done.

Cam.

[nathan]

S,
the 500ge was the first v8 G they made in 1993. they made a limited run of 500. they used left over m117s, however, it was in the new G w463 rather than our older w460 G so there are differences.  he 500ge wasnt published and was only offered to priveleged customers. the next year they went to the G500 nomenclature and it was a different car.  the limited nature means things like the engine brackets are no longer available and so on - making it all in all difficult to get info on the car!

[WGB]

WGB, this was with a regular crappy canon IXUS. didnt have my d90 when i took these shots. but damn do i love this camera!

I hope the quality is remembered long after the initial sticker shock.

Bill

[motec6.9]

Just a thought Nathan but have you tried calling Norm from Desert Coolers about a custom radiator or PWR both very high quality PWR all v8 supercar teams and desert coolers most dry lake racers also Norm will be at Motorvation in Jan

[nathan]

cheers motec,
one of our esteemed colleagues used PWR and his radiator is pretty sweet.  im in a bit of urgency to get it done so need it done asap. it looks like the 463 (more recent G) radiator fits so will likely be getting one of these!
regards
nathan

[pompy]

Nathan, this is the ivory 280 GE gone G 500 I was talking about. Took this @ 2 hrs ago.
Even has the proper badging...

[nathan]

Thanks Pompy,
next time you see it ask the guy if he will let you take a pic of the engine bay!
interestingly that guy has grafted the whole front end of w463 onto a w460. ie  the new bonnet and front quarters from the most recent model onto the old pre-90 model.  that would have cost a bit. yet strangely he has left the crappy steel wheels on! did he do any interior work (you can tell as if theres anything but plastic and more black plastic, its been updated!)

[pompy]

Nathan,

He has fitted ML seats (check the 3 rear head rests) and I'm not sure what else. It usually runs on more modern G Mags - maybe those steelies with tougher tyres he put on for launching his boat these past holidays...

I will take a closer look next time and ask if I can take an engine pic.

I think he is on the G forum