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 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.
a1rak said:
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.
Probably a good analogy this one. Years ago everyone put a Rover V8 in when the original failed and now, as said, its gone back to the start. However, I would still try and find a Rover V8 one.As far as this conversion goes, the complete Merc engine is fitted so no issues with servicing and the original gearbox and clutch are retained which, in my mind, may be the only weak point. I was hoping that a different arrangement would be used to avoid slave seal issues.
While probably the majority on here would not consider the car with this engine, I am fairly confident many others would be happy to have something different and with/without this conversion it is essentially a 'kit' car. The choice of engines in a Westfield for example does not seriously detract from the overall car. But I do understand the feeling that a lot prefer a TVR original engine.
2 years ago I could not sell an old Ford P100 pick up with its original 2 litre Pinto engine. Local scrappy had an XR4i complete so I fitted that engine with its loom (yes, I know, a simple job compared to this or an LS) and sold it within 24 hours parked on the road with a For Sale sign in it. The lad who bought it wanted a pick up that was a bit different. Maybe this is the attraction.
gruffalo said:
I thought the Aston V8 was a Jag engine modified by a German tuning company.
Yes sort of. Wiki can explain it better than me."Though based loosely on Jaguar's AJ-V8 engine architecture, this engine was unique to Aston Martin and featured race-style dry-sump lubrication, which enabled it to be mounted low in the chassis for an improved center of gravity. The cylinder block and heads, crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, camshafts, inlet and exhaust manifolds, lubrication system, and engine management were all Aston Martin designs and the V8 engine was assembled by hand at the AM facility in Cologne, Germany, which also built the V12 engine for the DB9 and Vanquish."
The days of each manufacturer producing their own in-house engines have long gone, unfortunately. The modern day costs are just way too expensive, hence why AM have aligned themselves with AMG.
They simply could not afford to replace the very old V12 to meet today's emissions. The only way forward is by boosting although there has been a delay, called for by manufacturers, to postpone the next round of EU emissions targets.
Any new TVR is going to be powered by an available off the shelf unit be it an LS, or who knows, even possibly an AMG derived one.
V8 GRF said:
N7GTX said:
Any new TVR is going to be powered by an available off the shelf unit be it an LS, or who knows, even possibly an AMG derived one.
Never say never 
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