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Restomod 404

23K views 77 replies 21 participants last post by  Earl Mitchell 
#1 ·
so here's some pics of my 404 that I decided to restore instead of repair every time I toke it out mudding.At first it was just a leaking axle seal and next thing I know I'm down to the bare frame being sent to the sandblaster.The plan is to keep the scissor lift but fab a new bed and a turbo for a little more umpf .The new bed will be kinda like my bronze 406 I'll post pics whenever my son helps me cause I'm good with metal but bad with computers.
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/members/1161530-albums19561.html
 
#7 ·
Update 3-11-18

I have been slacking on updates, but here is some pictures from about a month ago when I got the frame back from the blaster and finished most of the fab on the new bed. The bed still has the scissor lift, but I wanted a more civilized look since I’m going to drive it on the street and the party deck and coolers would probably be a cop magnet. The spare tire stays with the chassis, but the deck and the tube work rises. I still need to cut the polished aluminum diamond plate for
the floor and sides to cover the lift.





 
#8 ·
Turbo Install

So here are some progress pics of the chassis all painted and back together. I put new seals and boots on the trans and all new seals on the front axle. I also added a power brake booster and a 1” bore dual master cylinder. The turbo is a T25, nice and small so hopefully it spools quick. The turbo is water cooled so it still needs to pipe that and I used a turbowerks EVC. pump piped to a fitting welded to the pan. So now that the chassis is almost done, I’m starting on the cab, which needs a total rebuild, and this is going to be a big challenge.






 
#10 ·
That pic is from this time last year at ******* yacht club spring break down in florida were in nj but its worth the 24 hour drive to get there.I dont know how to post links but youtube '******* yacht club spring break.We do have some mudding spots in nj but most arent legal so I dont like taking chances if caught off road with an uninsured motor vehicle you can lose your DL for 6 months.So thats part of the reason im converting this to on road and insured i'll just cruise the local trails and do car shows.
 
#12 ·
So I got the adapter plate back today and tried it out.It fits great but I think it needs a little more than the 11 degree tilt I have now,the big problem is the injector pump hitting the driver side footwell.I knew that his was going to be a trial and error thing so today I just bought a 24 x36 mill/router to fab the next plate myself.The plate is now a 1/2 thick but I’m going to go 3/4 on the next one because the trans input shaft almost bottoms out in the crank , I also found a pilot bearing that fits the mog input and the vw crank.Once this is worked out I’ll start on front motor mount and accessories drives I’m thinking I may have to put a 12 and 24 volt alternator cause now I need 12 volt for the computer and will probably convert everything else to 12 volt but the lift pump for the scissor lift is 24 volt so I’m not sure yet.The other option is to run 4 -6 volt deep cycle battery’s like the original lift hand and just plug into a charger when it’s parked.
 

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#13 ·
So Friday night I was trying to figure out how to do the accessory drives but got dicouraged with the whole thing.The damn injector pump and drive is just too cumbersome and I don’t really want to cut up the body to clear anything.So the next logical step was to get another vw diesel I found out that the “BEW” series motor doesn’t use the rotary pump,so off to craigslist I went.I picked up a nice motor with a warranty and everything this morning and tried it today,it looks much better and I think I can use the vw factory power steering pump to.After thinking about my electrical issues I figured I’m going to have to use the two alternators because both my front and rear winch are 24 volt.
 

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#15 ·
Not to sure about flow and pressure but I have built a few rock crawlers useing a honda motor and their stock ps pump and ran full hydro with it.Now this is a vw not honda but still small cars so for now Ill give the stock pump a chance and if it doesnt work ill install a mog one or aftermarket one.Right now I have an electric assist unit from a saturn on it from when I was turboing the stock motor I was trying to relieve as much drag from the 80 something horse power I could.I am planing on doing a 406 box unless someone has a better solution. thanks Earl
 
#16 ·
So I trial fir the body to the chassis tonight and it just fits,I may take 2 degrees out of the tilt I built into the adapter plate.I don’t see any way the ALH motor with its injection pump on the driver side will fit with out Major surgery to the cab and it’s right where the throttle pedal would be.I have a 2 1/2 inch lift which helps I think still a ton of work to do this motor better be worth it as this is going to be a long journey with a ton of custom fabrication.
 

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#17 ·
So I revised the adapter plate and sent the new file to the machine shop and this is how everything fits now.Its been a lot of trial and error trying to get everything to work heres the list in case you want to try this and if anyone wants the file for the plate let me know and I’ll have my son email it to you.So as I said in the last post I think only the bew motor will fit because of the injection pump unless you want to do major surgery to the foot box .The next issue was that I bought a brand new Vw flywheel,pressure plate and disc but found out that the flywheel was too large of diameter.So off to the internet I went to search for a smaller diameter something,I found a company that sold ring gears and searched to find there smallest one which happened to be a type 1 vw so I ordered that. Then I had to find a starter with the same tooth spacing as the ring gear ,what I choose was a 70s ford gear reduction unit because it turned the correct direction and would be easy to face mount to the adapter plate oh and it was clockable which was important.My next hurdle will be drawing up the flywheel to be machined as I’d like to use the vw pressure plate since I think it has far more clamping force than the mpg one.After that I’m going to start on accessories drives ,I bought a 406 setup from a good friend of mine so umm waiting on that to get here so I can dab a mount for the pump and alternator .Then I’ll start on the front motor mount which I think is also going to be a challenge as I think it needs to be a pendulum design like the stock one so no side load are introduced into the mount when the frame flexes.So was hats it for now any comments are welcome thanks Earl
 

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#19 ·
Update of the last couple weeks progress,I finished the accessory drives and started the 406 box install made the clamps to weld onto the new cross member and started the new front motor mount here’s some pics
 

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#20 ·
Today’s progress,had half day at work so we got some things done on the mog.I found an almost perfect size tube at the steel yard for the 406 box to mount its 2 3/4 of if anyone is doing a swap the factory tube is a 70 mm so I think it works out only a few thousands off.So got that built and welded in then did some mods to the front motor mount I started ,tomorrow I should be able to finish the mount then it’s time to start on the radiator and intercooler mounts.
 

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#21 ·
The motor is mounted and hanging on its own 3points no more chain fall.The pendulum front hanger was a challenge but I think it will work,I can’t remember if any of the other swaps I’ve seen did this or not but I did see a cracked bellhouseing on a swap which is what made me rethink my original plan.My thought is that when the chassis flex’s the front mounting point moves horizontally and if restrained somethings either going to break or the motor, trans unit will keep the chassis from flexing.So right or wrong it’s done now on to radiator and intercooler .
 

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#24 ·
Following this thread, when it comes time to change belts he'll probably just swap to a different engine (this is a compliment, very nice work!).

I've done the serpentine belt on a few "modern" vehicles with transverse mounted engines, removing a motormount, taking off covers and having special jigs to hold the engine while the change is done is required on many. To do the rear spark plugs on some engines is a 6hr book job.
 
#25 ·
First thanks for the comments/compliments this was the only way I could think of to mount the engine from the front of the block.It will only take supporting the engine and 7 bolts removed to change the belt maybe 1 hour or so ,so im not too worried about it,but it was a concern.I put a new belt on so that should last for as long as ill own it ,I get tired of vehicles and need to sell to fund the next build,but this one I kinda like so may keep for a while.The worst part of any of these builds is waiting for parts,I try to think ahead to order what I think ill need next but theres always something i forget ,which slows me way down.So I should have some pics tomorrow of the radiator and intercooler mounts and maybe some pipeing,thanks for looking Earl.
 
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