Mercedes 5.4 litre conversion - Thoughts?
Discussion
Having just got my copy of Sprint, I read the front cover article on the E55, 5.4 SOHC, Merc conversion at Kendall Engineering. Surprised no one else has commented yet?
This one makes a change from an LS although the 354 bhp and 510 nm torque from the Merc is down on the LS. But, swapping to this from a 4.2 with the claimed 360 bhp and 430 nm torque, while maybe not much power/performance gain, will likely result in a more reliable engine (many E55s with 170,000 miles for sale).
Would this conversion increase/decrease the value of the car do you think? The pursists would not touch it, I imagine, but Joe Public might like the idea?
I have looked at the LS but the fitted price shown is too high for me and I cannot see a way of recouping the outlay.
Just bouncing this around for any thoughts or views chaps. Thanks.
This one makes a change from an LS although the 354 bhp and 510 nm torque from the Merc is down on the LS. But, swapping to this from a 4.2 with the claimed 360 bhp and 430 nm torque, while maybe not much power/performance gain, will likely result in a more reliable engine (many E55s with 170,000 miles for sale).
Would this conversion increase/decrease the value of the car do you think? The pursists would not touch it, I imagine, but Joe Public might like the idea?
I have looked at the LS but the fitted price shown is too high for me and I cannot see a way of recouping the outlay.
Just bouncing this around for any thoughts or views chaps. Thanks.
I read the article and what surprised/disappointed me was the lack of details on how it was done.OK I appreciate the Guy who did it doesn't want to give too much information away but it seemed a case of 'look what I have done' without telling anyone how it was done and the degree of difficulty.The purists won't like it but it's no different to sticking an LS in the car in that respect.
I read the article and thought there was a page missing! Seemed to be lacking quite a bit of the detail.
Regarding how the Merc engine feels in the Cerb. I suspect a lot of the smoothness in its original home will come from an immense amount of NVH work. Bolted into a Cerb chassis it might feel a bit coarser.
Regarding how the Merc engine feels in the Cerb. I suspect a lot of the smoothness in its original home will come from an immense amount of NVH work. Bolted into a Cerb chassis it might feel a bit coarser.
GadgeS3C said:
I read the article and thought there was a page missing! Seemed to be lacking quite a bit of the detail.
Regarding how the Merc engine feels in the Cerb. I suspect a lot of the smoothness in its original home will come from an immense amount of NVH work. Bolted into a Cerb chassis it might feel a bit coarser.
I agree. I replaced (in my youth) a Metro with A-series engine 72bhp; with a Honda vtec B16 @ 160bhp. The feedback, noise and vibrations didn’t change.Regarding how the Merc engine feels in the Cerb. I suspect a lot of the smoothness in its original home will come from an immense amount of NVH work. Bolted into a Cerb chassis it might feel a bit coarser.
I have read articles with the same conversion done to minis, the same NVH is noted.
I would like very much to be a passenger in cerb with an alternative power plant.
However for me the AJP8 & AJP6 are quite special, even though they burn holes in our pockets!
In answer to the question, I think any engine other than a supercar engine would detract in value for the car. How about a Aston or Ferrari engine?
I have emailed the nice chap at Kendall for info and he has supplied a detailed list of the parts needed plus the parts to be fabricated. I don't think he was trying to hold things back in the article as he has given me a full rundown on cost etc.
You can either supply your own engine or he will obtain one for you. Roughly £1,000 for an 80,000 miles example. There are a lot of E55s on Autotrader with 170,000 miles so they do last well. The ECU is the pricey part at around £1,000. A new sump is made and the exhaust in stainless too.
A make up plate for the gearbox plus countless smaller items and he used an electric power steering pump from a Saxo, similar to the Tuscan (I think)which can be had cheaply at a scrappy.
The cost is around £7,000 plus vat but this can be reduced if you supply the engine, power steering pump etc etc. The work takes 2 weeks.
I am looking at a conversion, not because the AJP is unreliable (haven't done any miles in it so cannot say otherwise) but it will be due a rebuild in the future and at what cost?
I have to be realistic as to what my car will be worth when I complete the work and with 60,000 miles currently on it and some expense already spent, this may/may not be an opportunity to cut any probable losses and make the car more attractive to some people.
Selling the old AJP may also reduce the overall outlay but I have to do some figures to see if it is viable for me. Must not forget the additional insurance costs too.
You can either supply your own engine or he will obtain one for you. Roughly £1,000 for an 80,000 miles example. There are a lot of E55s on Autotrader with 170,000 miles so they do last well. The ECU is the pricey part at around £1,000. A new sump is made and the exhaust in stainless too.
A make up plate for the gearbox plus countless smaller items and he used an electric power steering pump from a Saxo, similar to the Tuscan (I think)which can be had cheaply at a scrappy.
The cost is around £7,000 plus vat but this can be reduced if you supply the engine, power steering pump etc etc. The work takes 2 weeks.
I am looking at a conversion, not because the AJP is unreliable (haven't done any miles in it so cannot say otherwise) but it will be due a rebuild in the future and at what cost?
I have to be realistic as to what my car will be worth when I complete the work and with 60,000 miles currently on it and some expense already spent, this may/may not be an opportunity to cut any probable losses and make the car more attractive to some people.
Selling the old AJP may also reduce the overall outlay but I have to do some figures to see if it is viable for me. Must not forget the additional insurance costs too.
I suspect anything other than an AJP or Speed Six may put people off. Perhaps I'm just reflecting my own thoughts onto what I expect others to think like. Leaving aside the emotive and subjective topics of TVR engines in TVR engined TVRs (which is something important to me also, by the way) the big unknown in any engine conversion is who did it, exactly how and whether they've written a maintenance manual for it or bodged it together.
I shudder to think what a pain in the arse it could potentially be to work out what parts were needed to even service the car. Have oil filters from the donor engine been used or was it too big and the filter from a Mk6 Fiesta is used instead. What about the clutch drive plate? What coil packs are used etc etc.
TVRs use lots of donor parts but at least everyone knows what they are. Buying in to someone elses' conversion then really, who knows what the f**k is under the bonnet?
I shudder to think what a pain in the arse it could potentially be to work out what parts were needed to even service the car. Have oil filters from the donor engine been used or was it too big and the filter from a Mk6 Fiesta is used instead. What about the clutch drive plate? What coil packs are used etc etc.
TVRs use lots of donor parts but at least everyone knows what they are. Buying in to someone elses' conversion then really, who knows what the f**k is under the bonnet?
PuffsBack said:
It's future parts supply I think that's worrying people with the AJP
Not a issue as long as the main Indy's are still about, as much as a issue with the sp6 if those Indy's go we are all up the river with no paddle. The the auxiliary components on a ajp are from something else common, just the main guts and they are strong, out live the car o would think.Maybe looking at a Triumph stag as a comparison would be similar. When made the Stag had terrible issues with the engine and many were replaced with either the ford V6 or the Triumph straight 6 or the Rover V8. When a car comes up for sale now all anybody wants now is the original 3ltr V8.
Vee8ight said:
I can't understand why people think the AJP is unreliable. I think if it's looked after and used regularly, it should last years
Indeed, in almost 11 years of ownership the engine has been the least problem. It's mainly things like cheap electrical connectors or the inability to stem water leaks into the interior that cause hassle. The AJP is relatively expensive to service due to the valves, but it would take a long time to recoup any savings there. Sounds like an interesting conversion at a reasonable cost, but I would say you could rebuild an AJP twice for that money - if it ever needed it.
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