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morecowbell
morecowbell New Reader
10/8/14 11:11 p.m.

I have this build posted elsewhere but seems like it belongs here as well ☺.

I have been building this 190e for the last year or so…definitely GRM as all modifications have been done by me in my garage when I find time and with a tight budget. I am trying to keep costs under $5k all in. The plan is to build a neat non-daily driver street car that can see some track time maybe. I am probably still about a year away from it being drivable.

I bought the car with a blown rear end for a super deal off of Craigslist. It came home wearing an authentic an AMG body kit, Eibach springs and cool ACT (made in Germany by Ronal) turbo fan wheels. The rest of the car was in pretty decent shape for being 30 years old. The driver’s seat had some rips so I got another seat upholstery set off ebay and the passenger window motor was seized.

What has been done so far?

Motor/trans install

I have always really liked the 190e body style but every one I have driven (no 16v’s) have been pretty gutless…..in comes the 4.0l Toyota all aluminum V8 1uz-fe to save the day! After removing the cast iron MB 2.3 and auto trans from the car I weighed them and found the new powertrain is within about 20-30lbs of the old!! That is for the 1uz and the 350z six-speed standard. The trans is mounted via an adapter plate and custom flywheel. There was some cutting and welding required to get the stock cross member to clear the sump and to be level on either side for the new motor mounts (urethane C5 Corvette). I haven’t done the trans mount yet but it looks like it will be easy to make.

Took the motor out with my little helper...

After some cleaning and "de-slimeing"

New motor mount areas fabbed

Adapter plate and flywheel

Low mile 350z trans

Rack and pinion conversion

Cool plan…but… the biggest challenge with fitting any V8 into a 190e is the bowling ball sized factory steering box that is in the way. While researching online to see what others have done I came across a car built with a nasty SBF that was well sorted out and a track terror. I contacted the owner through a MB forum and he was gracious enough to share his R&P installation details and measurements. This put me in a very good place from a bump steer and fine tuning position – Thanks Toby! The car now sports a MKII Jetta manual rack fitted to a custom ¼” thick mounting plate. The plate is welded to the factory cross member (bolted initially) and bolted to the lower rear suspension pivot points. This should also strengthen up the front suspension somewhat. I still have to make a shaft to connect the rack to the stock column and finish the tie rod end mods.

I will weld up the hole in the front of the crossmember...I welded another thick wall box tube inside to beef it up a bit.

Induction

The motor was going to have ITB’s originally but a great deal on a M122 supercharger (07+ GT500 Mustang) came up and plans changed. I “edited” the stock lower intake manifold to accept a new plenum that would work with the SC. I also had to switch out the snout for one from a Ford Lightning truck – about an inch longer and makes it easier to get the pulley in the right location. I am not quite finished the manifold but getting close. With about 12psi I should be in/over the 400rwhp area. I have a Snow Performance water/meth injection kit (another local CL score) instead of an inter-cooler..kinda nervous about this but they seem to work well so long as they don’t run out of liquid.

Cut down area:

New plenum taking shape

Everything in position and looking like it will work - won't clear the hood unfortunately.

Rear end

The stock rear end would not have survived the new power train even if it wasn’t already blown. I got another rear sub-frame from a wrecker and edited it to fit an R200v Nissan center section and added some beefing up and gussets. These LSD diffs are pretty bullet proof and will handle 500+hp stock. Same unit found in the Skylines. This one has 3.91:1 gears…which may be a bit too much with the six speed in first gear? Quite a bit of cutting and welding to get the axle center line in the same place as the stock diff but it is ready to install. I still have to get custom axles made at this point.

Beefing up a known crack area

Added some reinforcement to the diff mount side

Ready to bolt in

Driveshaft

Since the trans was out of a 350z I needed to find a stock driveshaft to cut off the slip yoke. I found a “track model” Nissan carbon fiber one on CL for $40! Seemed like a shame to cut the yoke off …In a moment of “What if” I looked up the wheel base of the 190e as well as the 350z. It turns out that both are within about 15mm of each other? I am hoping that it might “just fit” with a little forward/backward motor placement. It would be great if I could use the driveshaft as is.

Future plans

I am thinking I will be running the car on Megasquirt probably.

Possibly lower the car a bit more, go to 18’s and do some flares?

I will update more if people are interested as things progress.

Pierre

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
10/8/14 11:30 p.m.

Interested? Of course we're interested. This madness is excellent.

About the Snow meth injection - hopefully you have one of the kits with a flow sensor. If so, hook it up to a big bright warning light or to something that will flip the SC bypass into the open position so you know when there's no injection. It's not just running out of fluid that's a concern, a clogged nozzle will ruin your day as well.

The_Jed
The_Jed UltraDork
10/8/14 11:33 p.m.

mndsm
mndsm MegaDork
10/8/14 11:45 p.m.

Dem rims.....

Svenska94Aero
Svenska94Aero New Reader
10/9/14 12:08 a.m.

This is utterly phenomenal. I have no other words. The 190e is one of my favorite cars ever, and this build is taking it waaay beyond the next level. I will be staying tuned for updates.

edizzle89
edizzle89 Reader
10/9/14 6:21 a.m.

this is absolutely amazing, ive always loved the look of 190's but though they could use some more umph, and you sir are doing it right

pres589
pres589 UltraDork
10/9/14 6:27 a.m.

Seems pretty amazing so far. And I vote to keep the turbo fan blades unless they're extremely heavy.

Obnoxio
Obnoxio New Reader
10/9/14 7:16 a.m.

This thread just made my day. I have a Tundra with the 1UZ and have been searching for a TRD SC forever. This I will be following with a great amount of interest.

Thank You!!!

chandlerGTi
chandlerGTi SuperDork
10/9/14 7:27 a.m.

All right! I've been following on 190rev, looking forward to more.

Slippery
Slippery GRM+ Memberand Dork
10/9/14 7:30 a.m.

Brilliant!

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson UltimaDork
10/9/14 7:33 a.m.

I need to quit GRM, I feel so unworthy when I see projects like this.

RossD
RossD PowerDork
10/9/14 7:47 a.m.

Cue the music: "You're the best... around, nothing's gonna ever keep ya down!"

pres589
pres589 UltraDork
10/9/14 7:53 a.m.
Adrian_Thompson wrote: I need to quit GRM, I feel so unworthy when I see projects like this.

Ugh, no kidding. I don't have the shop, don't have the experience, don't seem to have the motivation... coughscared of losing / relocating for a job in the middle of the projectcough

morecowbell
morecowbell New Reader
10/9/14 9:31 a.m.

Thanks for the positive feedback! I think the trick to these kinds of projects is to take your time, think about how you will overcome obstacles and fight the "I wanna drive it right now!" Tendencies...For me the building is at least as fun and engaging as the driving so that helps. Having access to lots of "car guy" friends with tools and knowledge I don't have helps a lot too. Pierre

Mezzanine
Mezzanine Reader
10/9/14 9:58 a.m.

Dude. You're doing things right! I'm a big fan of the 190e, and I agree that they're all lacking power.

I'd also vote to keep the fan blade wheels, and I like your purple shoes.

slowride
slowride Reader
10/9/14 10:19 a.m.

This is pretty awesome. Every time I read one of these I think I could do that! When I get a garage... and then I get to the part where manifolds and motor mounts are being fabbed.

Love those wheels!

4cylndrfury
4cylndrfury MegaDork
10/9/14 10:42 a.m.

...in the best possible way

Rusted_Busted_Spit
Rusted_Busted_Spit GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
10/9/14 10:48 a.m.
Adrian_Thompson wrote: I need to quit GRM, I feel so unworthy when I see projects like this.

That makes three of us I guess. Nice job so far.

Flight Service
Flight Service MegaDork
10/9/14 10:55 a.m.

I am assuming that won't make the $20XX budget....

T.J.
T.J. PowerDork
10/9/14 11:02 a.m.

I like it. I'm not sure I would go with a supercharger sticking up through the hood or a giant scoop to cover it up, but this is a really cool project. It'll be fun to watch this thread and see how it all turns out. Keep posting updates here please - we want more.

morecowbell
morecowbell New Reader
10/9/14 11:16 a.m.
T.J. wrote: I like it. I'm not sure I would go with a supercharger sticking up through the hood or a giant scoop to cover it up

It is really close to fitting under the hood. Likely it will just need a small bulge or two to cover it up. I don't want a Mad Max look. It is mostly the top of the front pulley and the TB inlet flange that are the trouble makers.

Dusterbd13
Dusterbd13 SuperDork
10/9/14 11:46 a.m.

I was the guy that asked if I could post it over her from pro-touring.com

You beat me to it.

Sooooooo badass.

morecowbell
morecowbell New Reader
10/9/14 12:11 p.m.
Dusterbd13 wrote: I was the guy that asked if I could post it over her from pro-touring.com You beat me to it.

Thought this might be better as I could update the progress. I had thought about posting here about 6 months ago...then kinda forgot about it till you reminded me.

oldeskewltoy
oldeskewltoy SuperDork
10/9/14 3:31 p.m.

Spinout007
Spinout007 GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
10/9/14 4:21 p.m.

Yeah I am digging it!

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