Mercedes 190E 2.3-16 vintage racer build (pic heavy)

[prash]

But there's a reason why I've been pouring time and money into this project over the last 2 years or so...and it's not because I'm a crazed Merc fanboi who fails to see what a POS this thing is. I have my reasons.

Your thread is not only awesome but hilarious as well.

She shouldn't feel too lethargic once you've built the motor up a bit and are putting out ~200hp

[Emre]

Would you mind providing details on your diff rebuild? I just *happen* to have a spare, tired 3.23 diff in my storage unit that I intend to rebuild, but there's not a whole lot of info out there.

I wish I could! Basically, I dropped the diff off at DENT Sport Garage (DSG) in Norwood, Massachusetts. Alex Grabau did the work for me.

What itbs are you going with? Hyabusas? Also something on my list... Unfortunately my motor is losing quite a bit of compression past the piston rings and that needs to be addressed before any intake mods.

We've had a lot of dead ends. Started off with S14 throttles, then tried GSXR 1300 throttles. Neither worked. Now we're going with a custom intake manifold mated to DCOE-pattern throttles. We'll probably end up using Extrudabody. It's a work in progress.

[EThirtySicks]

this build rocks.

[Emre]

Your thread is not only awesome but hilarious as well.

Lol. Thanks.

She shouldn't feel too lethargic once you've built the motor up a bit and are putting out ~200hp

The car is seriously crippled by the intake/throttle/K-Jet. It's begging for more power. Now that the chassis is basically sorted and the major kinks have been worked out, the time has come to focus on getting more from the engine.

[Emre]

Just had the wheels refinished in GT3 orange and added some cheesy graphics. These were taken this past Sunday at GFest 2012, an annual car show held at the shop that's been doing most of the work on the car):




Equally ridiculous vanity plate:




Today, I got the car onto the track (NJMP--Lightning) with the NY BMW CCA. The car is FINALLY running right! We were able to pass most of the early M3's (E30 and E36) running in the instructor group...except for one guy with an insanely fast E30 M3 2.5L stroker. Not bad, considering I've got a bone stock (165 hp) engine under the hood. With twice the HP and 25% more rubber on the ground, the race-prepped E46 M3's were out of reach.

Found a fellow lunatic to play with:








Dicing with the Bimmers:








Look, ma ... no body roll!




Well, that's it for now. After two years of work, things have finally started coming together on this project. The suspension and tires are working beautifully. The engine is strong. The car feels great!

[284Shooter]

That's outstanding. Congratulations. I'm happy to see you rewarded for all the effort.

[284Shooter]

That's outstanding. Congratulations. I'm happy to see you rewarded for all the effort.

[284Shooter]

That's outstanding. Congratulations. I'm happy to see you rewarded for all the effort.

[alwaysinboost]

Emre, I didn't know that was you in the benz or I would have came up and said HI. I was in the Estroil Blue e36 M3 #112 in the instructor group. I remember staging behind your car for the second to last instructor session. Car looked good. You and the other benz were really holding your own against some of those pesky bimmers, lol.

[nondescript]

Thumbs up for completing the classic DTM theme with the mono-wiper conversion.

[Emre]

Thumbs up for completing the classic DTM theme with the mono-wiper conversion.

That's stock

[nondescript]

That's stock

Sorry, I guess it isn't a mono-conversion... Still, the erect position deserves credit.

[Emre]

Sorry...I didn't mean to come across as a dick. Using an iPhone, so I was keeping it brief.

[propcar]

I think the graphics and taped lights look really cool... very DTM looking! Looks like fun out there.

[Tulok]

When I first saw the post, I really didn't know what to expect. I've gotta say that I didn't expect such a sweet 190E, haha

[Emre]

I had the car up at Tremblant last weekend with the BMW Club of Quebec. It was Canadian Grand Prix weekend, so attendance was pretty light and everyone had plenty of track time. The weather was gorgeous: sunny, dry, and not too hot.

Anyway, here's the 16v in action at my favorite track:





















You'll notice in some shots it looks like the car is smoking a bit. That's because I hadn't seated the dipstick properly and some oil was splashing onto the headers in left-hand corners. Unfortunately, that session was the one where the track photographer took the coolest pics!

Also, in a few of the pics it looks like the car is squatting hard under acceleration and rolling quite a bit. It's funny, but it feels good from the driver's seat, so I was pretty surprised when I saw the pics. I'll have to check in with the guys from Ground Control to see what they think. May need to reconsider my spring rates.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I drove 450 miles to the track, did 7 or 8 hard sessions on the track over the course of 2 days, then drove the 450 miles back home. The car ran like a top, despite the oil leak for that one session (totally my fault).

[yunus21]

Sorry...I didn't mean to come across as a dick. Using an iPhone, so I was keeping it brief.

merhaba siz türkmüsünüz acaba by emre ?

merhaba siz türkmüsünüz

hi are you turk ?

merhaba siz türkmüsünüz

hi are you turk ?

[Emre]

merhaba siz türkmüsünüz acaba ?
hi are you turk ?

Evet ve hayir. My family is originally from Istanbul, but I was born and raised in America. I live in Manhattan.

I mentioned that the car felt a bit understeery at Tremblant last month. So I took it in to a local race shop that opened recently (Bulldog Motorsports in Clifton, NJ) for another alignment. After a lengthy discussion with a couple of guys who have experience on the track with the W201 chassis, my goal was to be able to dial in between 3 and 4 degrees of negative camber up front.







Turns out I had -3 degrees camber in the rear but only -2 degrees in the front. Plus, there was a massive amount of toe-in up front. The GC camber plates don't have a provision for caster adjustment, so we were stuck with whatever we had. Luckily, it was in the right ballpark.

We were able to dial in lots more negative camber up front, but really weren't sure what our goals should be in terms of toe. Considering the suspension design and weight are grossly in line with an E36 M3 on Ground Control suspension, we figured that would be a reasonable baseline. That meant a bit of toe-out.

This is what we ended up with:

FRONT CASTER: +10.2
FRONT CAMBER: -3.3
FRONT TOTAL TOE: +0.08

REAR CAMBER: -3.0
REAR TOTAL TOE: -0.23

I haven't tried it out on the track yet. But just driving around a few on-ramps and things you can definitely feel the front end is much, much sharper on turn-in (I'm sure the toe-out has a lot to do with this). And the car feels more neutral overall; the balance has shifted from gentle understeer to slightly tail-lead.

We'll see how it does on a real circuit: I'll be at Calabogie with the folks from BMW Club of Ottawa next weekend (July 20-22) and then at Summit Point with the BMW CCA NJ Chapter the following weekend (July 28-29).

Can't wait!

[Christopher11]

Hi guys i also like Mercedes cars since my childhood my father have a car but it is not Mercedes and vintage Mercedes its awesome and i like it very much there is naturally truth that if car have good auto parts and good engine the whole car perform excellent task.

lift kits

[seastone14]

I'd love a cozzie. Incredible build, keep up the good work.

[Massive Lee]

Hi Emre. Have you solved your stikcy throttle problem this weekend? If I were you, I would simplify all that intake system by purchasing a used independent throttle kit and airbox. Ditch that K-jetronic garbage. The BMW e21, VW Golf and Volvos had them and they are pure rubbish... ;-) What is the bore spacing on your engine (S14 is 100mm between cylinders) ?





Or do that to fit DCOE-spec throttle bodies (TWM, jenveys etc)

[Emre]

Hi, Lee. It was great seeing you again.

Have you solved your stikcy throttle problem this weekend?

Yes. There was a roller bearing in the throttle linkage that was seized. We took it apart, drenched everything in PB Blaster, lubed with white lithium grease, and put it all back together. The throttle release was smooth as silk after that.

If I were you, I would simplify all that intake system by purchasing a used independent throttle kit and airbox. Ditch that K-jetronic garbage. The BMW e21, VW Golf and Volvos had them and they are pure rubbish... ;-)

Tell me about it! The intake system and CIS injection has been a giant headache. We're scrapping it all. I've already gotten my hands on a DCOE adaptor taken off one of the Hartmann DTM cars. It's a nice solution that's also period-correct.

What is the bore spacing on your engine (S14 is 100mm between cylinders) ?

It's a disaster. We've tried a bunch of things, including S14 throttles and GSXR 1300 throttles. Nothing really works unless you ghetto-rig it.

In the end, the Hartman manifold with DCOE-pattern throttles or carbs makes the most sense. I'm goin to pull all the crap out of the car once and for all!

[Massive Lee]

Any link to this Hartman stuff?

This?

[Emre]

Any link to this Harman stuff?

They haven't made Benz parts since the '80s, but they used to build 190e touring cars. Now they make wheels and junk for VW.

[Massive Lee]

Maybe you could run this hybrid CF airbox

http://www.e30m3project.com/e30m3per...sium/page1.htm