[W126 Coupe] W126 Engine ideas

[David Fatovic]

Josh and Axel,

Thanks for the starting point.  I have some friends who are in the hot rodding 
world up here in Denver, so I am sure I will be leaning on them when it comes to 
tuning and fine tuning.  A little different for them, but we shall see how it 
goes.  This will be a major undertaking, and I don't plan on being done any time 
soon.  I am just looking to build a one of a kind SEC that is to my tastes.  I 
have also been toying with the idea of a roots type blower and building a custom 
intake manifold.  Like I said, I am just in the begining stages and I will be 
playing with this as I go.

Josh, as far as just swapping the engine out, that might be the easiest part of 
this.  I still have the whole interior out and a black one ready to go in with 
some mods, and I am also toying with paint.  Going to be a long project.  Maybe 
my son will get to drive it one day, it might be ready.  (he is 2 now!)

David


----- Original Message ----
From: Josh Allen <heyallen at null-ptr.net>
To: Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists <mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com>
Sent: Wed, September 8, 2010 12:08:08 AM
Subject: Re: [W126 Coupe] W126 Engine ideas

David,

As Axel mentioned, tuning any replacement ECM is a major undertaking.

If you can find one that someone else has already done the majority of the work 
tuning, and that you can get a copy of their tune, you can get a large head 
start though.

I've been playing with a Megasquirt ECU, and there are a few people who have 
installed them on m116 and m117 engines, most have also shared their tune data.
That being said, you have to take any tune with a bit of caution, as you don't 
know exactly how it'll behave with your car.  It's just a jumping off point to 
fine tune it to your vehicle.

Also, if you're not personally going to be doing the tuning, you need to find 
out what a local tuner is willing to work with.
For me, the closest tuner that has a decent reputation detests Megasquirt, 
saying it's for hacks and shade tree mechanics only.  (It also doesn't make him 
a good bit of money on the sale of the hardware, or the tuning lock in due to 
the expensive tuning software...)

Any which way, do a good bit of reading and research first.

As to the existing 5.6l engine, I would think that since you have the engine 
sitting there you could easily build the wiring harness for it without needing 
to 'break' the running car, and when ready to install the engine just swap the 
whole thing in, make the required connections to the new wiring, and be up and 
running in fairly short order.


Some reading for the MegaSquirt ECU:
http://www.megamanual.com/mtabcon.htm <===  THE book of MegaSquirt
http://www.msefi.com/index.php
http://www.msruns.com/viewforum.php?f=106&sid=e1bd3f54846b34bce380a4a4a15d91b9 
<http://www.msruns.com/viewforum.php?f=106&sid=e1bd3f54846b34bce380a4a4a15d91b9>

Vendor who supplied my MS hardware (there are many others as well)
http://www.diyautotune.com/


Happy reading, and best of luck whichever route you choose!

-Josh Allen
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