Mutt The Race Truck

[Beagle]

Dan, I think those tires are shorter than that. I ran the numbers last time. I was in town. With the 4500 rpm red line it should run right over 100 as it sits. Assumeing its making the power taller tires will pick up mph.

guys are running 5700 for 2-3 minutes with enough boost and fuel and they are staying together - apparently the little benz is built like a brick *house.

(see that musical allusion Dan? )

btw, it was Aerosmith, from Toys in the Attic I believe.

[tardis454]

I think it's a Big 10 Inch (remember that tune?). J Giles I think. Anyhow, step 1 is to run it and get to the end of the track!

Dan

Just tryin to help Dan.

And that's Aerosmith...

[DanStokes]

Back from Musicland (always a fun trip though).

Time for current pics:

First pic is back at the bellhousing. The length of tubing is where the scattershield will go. As you can see, the one furthest from the camera just hits the tunnel. If I can drop the engine a bit all that will clear.

Second pic just lets you see where the first one was taken.

Third shot shows the turbo. A little more to do there.

Fourth is the sway bar and pan. It does fit but I have to keep the engine higher than I want it.

Five is how I set the engine up to pull the pan. It's still on the shop crane but pretty well supported by the table. Everything's pretty stable that way.

Last shot is the pan with scallop #1 in place. Tomorrow I plan to do the same scoop to the front, which is opposite of the one already in place.

Thinking of having the pan powercoated. Seems like it would be easier to keep clean. Also got a box from Penguin Parts today. Nice assortment of beaks and feet. But seriously, they seem to be one of the better sources for M-B parts. The dealer wanted $160 for the gaskets to remount the turbo (there are several little gaskets as well as the turbo base gasket and the intake gasket) - Penguin was under $30 and their stuff is German made quality stuff.

Later
Dan

[silver_bullet]

Lookin Great Dan!!

[silver_bullet]

and you thought I was needing to hide from the tribe?? I know that this is a diesel on a budget, but...The bowtie brigade is watching as well....

[DanStokes]

Yer right - this WILL be a lot of power for a Chevrolet. I may get beat up for chassis abuse.

Just teasing, of course. Really, I like 'em all but I want to see engines from the original manufacturer in the chassis where possible. Chevy never offered a 3 liter Diesel as far as I can find out, hence the off-brand engine swap. The Benz had two big advantages - it was available and it was cheap. Oh, and it had the displacement I was looking for. Annoyingly over-engineered, though!

Dan

[Beagle]

2.2 liter Isuzu oil burner was as big as they got in an S10 ...

The pan looked good, what is that, exhaust pipe? Fit okay?

I looked at that benz motor a while back , maybe 2008 or so when gas prices fubar'd my budget. I still see them in decent shape around here but got sidetracked. Yah, I know, say it aint so, right? haha. Anyway, good progress on the build!

[silver_bullet]

Dan...just a little rant...I really didn'tmean any harm...I really dig this build, but as i was trying to explain, a friend of mine that ran 455 ponchos blew out the #8cylinder lifter bore while racing at cordova a few years back, and if I recall it correctly it was the second time,,,maybe just bad luck,,,I believe that anything goes in anything as long as it is what he wants...I seem to like over engineered at times after someone explains it to a hillbilly like me...

[milner351]

great work Dan!

will you check for leaks in the modified pan with water? lacquer thinner?

[Deaf Bob]

great work Dan!

will you check for leaks in the modified pan with water? lacquer thinner?

Colored rubbing alcohol?

If it leaks..slather this wonderous stuff called JBWeld. They got quik now

Digging this thread/project!

[Fordplay0621]

I love it when High tech goes low tech, And it works better.

[DanStokes]

I'll fill it with naptha from my parts washer - works great. If I have leakage I'll probably braze the seam from the inside. Brazing stays put really well and flows into every nook and cranny. I've done a bunch of gas welding and brazing over the years so I'm very comfortable with the process. My real worry is keeping the pan rail straight - so far so good. If I was cleaver I'd have a TIG and weld the whole deal with about one candle power of heat - but I'm not cleaver nor do I seem to have enough vision left to actually see while TIGging. Or a TIG. Bummer.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

This is when I love my 110v wire feed with 0.023 wire and Argon...
Do a bit.. Stop, start again.. Plus 110 doesnt put out a bunch of heat..

[DanStokes]

I'm using my little Lincoln 110VAC 100 amp MIG. Also have the Eastwood 175 amp unit but not needed for this job.

Dan

[dieselgeek]

Holy cow, how did I miss this thread until now! this is a neat project Dan.

My only question is, how set are you on the MB diesel? For the money, there are much less expensive-to-build engines, someone mentioned the 4BT which can be turned up to 550 ft-lbs with a few hundred dollars of stuff... or the later model VW diesel that can also be turned way up with almost all stock parts. Maybe if the MB engine doesn't work out...?

Meanhwile, I have some good experience with the OM617. Check the timing chain slack, sometimes they need replaced at 400,000+ miles lol. These engines last *forever* (I put over 300,000 on one with literally NO maintenance).

it sounds like you figured out the vacuum shutoff. Those cars actually have a vacuum actuator *in the ignition switch* to switch vacuum to the stop valve. They fail very, very often and the car won't shut off. For safety, I'd try a cable shutdown to the manual valve under the hood, or a cable-driven remote shutdown with about 2" of vacuum hose (right near the shutoff valve under the hood) - minimize relying on vacuum as much as possible for shutdown. I also like the idea of a runaway valve because those engines are prone to runaway due to burning holes in pistons or broken turbo seals, *especially* if you plan on running much higher than stock boost with the stock turbo.

To get a ton of power out of that engine I believe you'd need serious upgrades to the injector pump. You can do that but it has to be very pricey. Have you considered running a supplemental fuel for your extra power?

This has the potential to be the coolest low buck diesel project, anywhere IMO.