Mercs as kit car donors

[Ian McB]

I've been into kit cars for a while now and can't help but notice that traditional roadster manufacturers are bemoaning the lack of rear wheel drive donors(ienly Sierras,B*Ws and Jags).Why are they overlooking the 190/124 series of Mercs?

It seems to me that a good 190 2 litre motor puts out about 135bhp as standard with scope for more yet the 2.0 Pinto needs a bit of tuning to get to 135bhp. The 190 also has decent independent rear suspension. I for one would rather use a 190 as a kit donor than a Sierra. Is there some technical/financial reason that kit makers won't entertain the 190 or 124? The range of engines is good as well 1.8/2.0 fours and the 2.6 six in the 190 and the 2.0/2.3 fours,2.6/2.8/3.0/3.2 sixes from the 124. The sixes maybe not suited to the likes of the 'Lotus 7' type of kit car,but 40's/50's style roadsters would be great to drive fitted with the Merc six and autobox. Not to mention the massive reduction in weight compared to a 6 cylinder 124.

Give an old Merc a new lease of life maybe? What do you all think?

Cheers
Ian

 

[mike4444244]

hi ian,
i build kit cars too, basically it comes down to parts availability and interchangeability, ford bits will fit most other fords and are cheap as chips from any scrappy, there is also a massive amount of aftermarket bits for fords. I personally love mercs and hate fords but my kit is ford based for the very reasons outlined above... I think the other reason people are put off mercs is due to their complexity, particularly when it comes to engine management systems and abs etc, also as you said they aren't really suited to 7 type vehicles due to their size and weight, and these are by far the most popular type of kit.
Having said all of that 190s are pretty easy to come by... why dont you design a kit specifically using a 190 as a donor? keep you busy for a bit
Mike

 

[Ian McB]

I have seen a Marlin roadster fitted with a 2.0 190 motor and manual box. The owner said he chose the merc gear because he got the whole car for £200 with 5 months MOT. He used the 190 till the MOT ran out to make sure the mechanicals were all ok then swapped his 1.8 MGB motor and box(which he sold for more than he paid for the 190!!) for the Merc gear.He said it wasn't too difficult a job to get the injection set up after a bit of trial and error (He is a retired Marine engineer) and reckons it puts out 160bhp after he 'tweaked' it! He reckons that anyone could do it if they take thier time and be methodical about it and use the appropriate manuals and tools.

Marlins often run the BMW 6 so theres no reason why the Merc 6 should be overlooked.Just curious, what's the standard bhp/torque output of the 3 litre-24 valve motor?