[mcbear]

There are really only two ways to make a 300E faster. First is to spend about $5000 or so dropping a Twin Turbo system in it. That will get it up to about 300 HP and good torque. The second way is to trade the car for a 400E or 500E. The 400E/E420 will get you about 275HP and pretty strong torque. You can buy into a good car for under $8K, sometimes way under $8K. The step up is to go with a 500E. You should expect to pay between $13,000 and 16,000 for a GOOD 500E.

The 500E is the 325HP monster torque limited edition car [only 1504 brought to US from 1992-1994]. That will be the one car that, when you buy it, you will never sell. It costs no more to maintain than any other W124 Benz of the era. There are plenty of posts on this board that give the history. Basics are it was a project between Benz and Porsche, built at the Porsche plant. Pretty bulletproof engine.

I am rebuilding a motor in one right now simply due to a leak in a small gasket. Since I had to take the motor out I decided to to the heads and bottom end since the car had 235K miles. Only thing that "really" needed done after all was said and done was replacement of exhaust valve guides which showed some wear. EVERYTHING ELSE was to spec. Had the upper oil pan gasket not had an annoying little leak that motor could have stayed together for another 150K miles. And it has been run.