240 motor/gb change

G'day all

I am thinking of swapping out the engine (B21a) and gearbox (auto BW??)
in my '83 240DL for a B23e/M46 from a wrecked car (245GL '84). Just
want to ask a few questions.

1. Do I need to grab the fuel tank from the 245 (are they the same?)
or can I just transplant the tank pump?

2. Can anyone forsee any major stumbling blocks? I think it should be a
fairly straight swap but you never know.

Cheers

/Victor

 

The only A motors I've seen had either a single Stromberg on British car
or a Dutch car with I think was a Pierburg down draft setup. So bear
that in mind.

Assuming the B23E motor is the same as an B23F with raised pistons then
you would need: the tank, intank pump, fuel feed and return pipes, fuel
filter fittings at left front hood hinge, main fuel pump, engine
harness, fuel injection control unit, ignition harness and control unit.
Inspect the engine harness carefully. And perhaps the EVAP plumbing,
charcoal cannister and bracket. If it hasn't been changed to the newer
type (dark grey firewall connector as opposed to the earlier light gray)
then change it out before you drop the motor in.

Save the drive shaft and transmission cross member from the donor car.
Check the differential ratios, probably use the rear drum to drum from
the donor. The front exhaust from the header to the front muffler may be
a different length. Obviously you'll need the pedal hanger bracket and
the pedals from the donor car.

The main power feed and fuse holder, IIRC, is separate from the engine
harness and can be easily fabricated.

You will need the air intake bits from the donor car. Intake horn and
short pipe, air box, MAF, bellows tube.

Throttle cable is different.

I'm sure I've forgotten something but I'm not looking at either car
right now.

Bob

 

Your best bet would be to buy the whole wrecked car and then you'll have
everything you need. I've done a few auto to manual swaps, and I put a
B23E into a B21F car but I've never converted a carbureted car to FI or
done so much at once.

In addition to the engine and gearbox you'll need the brake/clutch pedal
assembly, clutch cable, driveshaft, fuel pump, lines, filter, air
plumbing, and probably some other assorted bits. It can certainly be
done though and will give you one heck of a power boost.

 

Thanks guys.

It is a whole wrecked 245 that I'm getting, figured it would save me
some time and money.
I'm really looking forward to driving a manual again and I figure that
the 25-30 extra hp from the b23e will be a pleasant surprise.

Are there any new parts I should swap in while I have the engine out of
the car?, rear main seal etc

cheers

/Victor

 

Check the ratio shown on the rear axle. There's usually a plate riveted
to the left side of the housing that lists the ratio. If they match, it
is fine to leave as is. If they don't match, you'll be best off swapping
the whole rear axle assembly. Of course, you'll want to keep whichever
rear brakes are better...

If you are going to stay with the original diameter tyres for the sedan,
keep the speedo for the car. The speedo head is different to suit the
tyre diameter, not the final drive ratio! The gears on the bottom of the
speedo cable (in the gearbox) are matched to the final drive ratio and
would have to be changed to make the speedo accurate if you decide to not
change the final drive to match. If you want to go to the bigger
diameter tyres used on a wagon, change to the wagon speedo! On a metric
speedo, the sedan one will have "r0,605" on the face and the wagon one
will have "r0,595". I don't remember the numbers for MPH speedos but the
wagon one will be a smaller number than the sedan one.

Of course, my 264 doesn't have _any_ of the original parts listed above
except the speedo and brakes. The extra couple of hundred hp make it
much more fun to drive.

 

Both crank seals, the cam and aux shaft seals, injector seals, clean out
the throttle body, check the condition of the exhaust manifold and
gaskets, replace the latter if you remove the manifold. It's worth
replacing all the shift linkage bushings and drain and fill the
transmission with new fluid while you're at it. Oh and carefully inspect
the engine wiring harness as it's likely to be rotting out if it's original.