I had these two pictures I found on the net a good while ago, don't ask me where because I don't remember, a short write up about this guy who adapted a Ford 300 6cyl in line.
I almost bought a 404 from a guy that was close to me, (like if I needed another mog, I am so full of projects right now) anyway while kicking tires we talked about mogs a lot, I expressed my opinion to him that a 300 Ford engine would be ideal, I had one in an 85 Ford pick up and it had lots of torque at low rpm's, it could take off in 3rd gear hardly riding the clutch, we were talking about the problems of installation, physically the engine seemed ideal, I observed the bell housing, the way is designed allowed for tinkering and mating the ford bell housing in a half and half situation.
The topic came about because my ideas of big tires like Tyson Pfennenberg, (hope is right) I seen his mog on videos and liked the idea, he happened to know him and the mog, he told me he had problems on high gear on the road, but since he stayed off the road most of the time it was fine with him, I thought more reason to look into a 300 conversion if I did buy it, at the end nothing came out of it as I decided I had too many other things to do.
But I always thought it would be the most elegant solution and keep most of the integrity of the mog.
Last long discussion on saw on this seemed to point out that this swap in the long run made no difference except that US domestic parts were more available. Infact in Canada there was a guy who did this swap as a business. He went out of business too, but I think it was cause he retired.
Anyway.. power wise, my memory seems to say from what I read, that the power band of that engine was different than the Mog engine buttt.... it was a trade off. YOu gained in one part of the band over the Mog engine but lost in another spot so ..... it all washed out. So in the end it figured to be not much of a value when compared to cost of conversion for wahsed out gain/loss.
The Ford inline 6 is a great motor. It is a very durable long lived motor that has a pretty decent sized following. It can be built to adjust its powerband just like any other motor. Ford Six Performance: The Web's Leading Resource for Ford Inline Six-Cylinder Engines and Cars! On this forumn you can find alot of info about performance building of the inline fords of all sizes. There are even a few vendors who are starting to build aluminum performance heads. One of my best friends got a little involved in building a hipo 300 a few years back but it got pushed aside for other projects. If I was going to repower my mog I would go with the 300. Considering the cost of Mercedes parts I think you can get alot more bang for your buck with the Ford.
The ford 300 is a great option, it can produce 4 times the power of the stock mog motor if not more. People claim more than 500+ hp. I have seen a 300 swapped truck, and I got a chance to torch it up for scrap too. It makes since to do it. I really want to swap in a Mazda Rotory though.
I drove the wee out of a ford f250 that an old employer owned, and it pulled the truck just fine and at speed even when way overloaded. That truck had way more grunt than either of the v8 ford trucks of the same late 80's vintage. I have no doubt that it could push the mog along better than the 180. Plus they are plentiful with stock efi. Any swap is alot of work, but you have to admit, there are 300/ sixes in probably every junkyard from coast to coast. I guess in the end it all comes down to how much of a purist you are. Cool idea in my opinion.
The mazda rotory can produce over 1000HP with a bit of money. Ok, maybe alot of money. But in stock form, they have quite a bit more power than the M180. The power band is a bit high though. With minor mods, you could bump one up over 300HP, and the big plus is that they can run upside down all day long, as they are either 2 stroke or oil injected depending on how you set them up. That means no oil in the case to hydro lock when your wheeling upside down, which I do a fair amount of. PLus the rotory is very small and will give you more room in the engine bay for coil overs or what ever else you can imagine.
I remember driving a mid 80s rx7, it didn't have much for low torque, but lots of acceleration. Any idea what the stock torque # is for those engines? I also recall that the mileage was TERRIBLE, but man that thing was fun to drive.
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