advice on buying a used merc with a bootleg engine

[JayD]

HEy, pls PM member peevee for help. He's the best guide for this. Matador engine swaps are very common here in kerala.I would never recommend one if u are a perfectionist but if u just want a drivable car, its okay. If the body, trims, etc are in excellent condition, u can consider it, but pls try to source an original engine before that. Driving around in a tractor that looks like a merc is sick! Also, what price are u getting it for?? Pls do not pay anything more than 50k max for it!

115's with original engines are very hard to find. I've been looking for one for the past 7 months with no luck! Btw, there was no 230D. It was either the 114 230.6 or the 115 230.4. or 230. PLs check the engine plate to see what the car is supposed to be.

P.S:I see that not a single regular from the classic car section has replied here! MODS pls move this into the vintage and classic car section.

[.anshuman]

Matador engines were very popular swaps for ambassadors and contessa's in late 80's and early 90's.

Why would you want to buy a merc with that engine?go for one with gasoline engine.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Matador engines are good for matadors...
I wouldnt suggest it to be in the bay of a Merc.

Surprise ! surprise ! it was the same engine that powered the Mercs that was in the earlier Matador (F305) vans running in India. It was one of the smoothest diesel engines in commercial vehicles in India at that time. The reason it is difficult to believe that it is a Merc engine is that the noise insulation was hardly done in the Matador van ; there would be holes for the gearbox lever, and other stuff that would let all the engine sound and heat come into the passenger cabin.


The later model engines were not the same OM616, they were OM616 "derived", i guess, and these were popular for fitting on Ambassadors. These were less powerful, more noisier.

Originally Posted by GTO

Wasn't it the Bajaj Tempo that used the OM 616 engine?

Erstwhile Bajaj Tempo were the ones who also produced the Matador vans in India.


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Originally Posted by amitabhnanda

...I have been looking for a vintage merc (w111/112/113) for a while but have not come up with a satisfactory vehicle.
...

hey , amitabhnanda, any updates? Were you able to get a good car?

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[greenhorn]

Heck, even the current M-B's sold in india have engines assembled by Bajaj Tempo

I remember dad saying that the Amby chassis wasnt exactly suited for the heavy diesel engine , and started to fall apart after a while. Wonder how the old Benz will hold up...

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Surprise ! surprise ! it was the same engine that powered the Mercs that was in the earlier Matador (F305) vans running in India.

Are you sure? I thought the later OM616s used in the Traveller and later in the Trax were the Merc engines used by Bajaj Tempo - in fact they got the OM616 courtesy the Traveller.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Are you sure? I thought the later OM616s used in the Traveller and later in the Trax were the Merc engines used by Bajaj Tempo - in fact they got the OM616 courtesy the Traveller.

Yes, I am sure about that : the Matador vans (at some point in time at least) came with the Merc engines. They used to have a characteristically smooth sound (they were probably chain-driven OHC engines ). Probably the same that were in the earlier (Tempo ) Travellers.
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Of course, the current Trax and Travellers have a DI derived version of the OM616 (so it is not the same engine, even though the Force dealers will highlight the fact that it is "based on " the OM616).

I think they got into a technical collaboration/license arrangement for the engines much earlier : the Traveller was launched later. I am not sure about these timelines, though.