Runs in that family, the SLK has mated with a G-Wagon before.
Runs in that family, the SLK has mated with a G-Wagon before.
AxeHealey said:I expect to see the Ghia top surgically cut and reinstalled on the Benz top mechanism for the first ever Ghia hard top convertible.
AxeHealey has the makings of a mad scientist, for sure.
Lots of comments here , so thanks to everyone for that!
Instead of quoting or replying, I’ll just post....
Condition: front subframe is badly bent. That is a concern but not a deal killer, I don’t think.
Seating: Yes there is an issue of being about a foot too far back if I keep the SLK cockpit. I probably won’t. I’d like a 4 seater for the kids so the inside might look more VW than MB. In my opinion that is preferable from both weight and and ergonomic aspects.
Top: Yes the folding top is part of the vision (or hallucination as you might believe) that is why I chose the profile I did. That won’t be a priority just a long term option.
a_florida_man said:
Top: Yes the folding top is part of the vision (or hallucination as you might believe) that is why I chose the profile I did. That won’t be a priority just a long term option.
Glad we're on the same page.
In reply to a_florida_man :
OK, so in the sober light of day, I am starting to wonder how this romance came about? What exactly does the MB contribute to the marriage.
The front subframe is out and I am assuming this includes chassis rails
The MB firewall is out ( the MB firewall is where it is because there is an engine in front of it, so going forward with the VW firewall wont be easy.
The MB floorplan is out since you are moving front seats and adding rear seats. You lose seatbelt anchors at this point.
The MB shifter is going to be in the backseat if you move seating forward: Can the kids row a 6 speed box?
Pete
In reply to NOHOME :
Valid points of concern. Mind you I don’t have the car physically yet, but by the time I do, I’ll already be committed, so I have tried to vet some of this up front. It won’t be easy but I hope it will be fun.
The front of the SLK is all unibody with no separate k member. In the previous post I did not use the best terminology.
This is a challenge car.
At this stage the best I can estimate is that most of the wheel alignment damage is due to a folding over of the shock tower. Only a full tear down with cross measurement will tell the whole story here.
As for the firewall and dash, I think that the MB firewall will work by looking at the a pillar between the two. The MB dash is much much deeper than the vw. I think a lot of distance can be made up here by keeping the vw dash.
After that the seats should be moveable forward with little effort as the MB floor is very flat by today’s standards. The vw body would retain the existing rear seat platform for the vw rear seats.
The transmission is an automatic so the shifter is a lot easier than a stick.
Outside of the body alignment challenges the SLK contributes suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes, 5 speed automatic, IRS, 230hp V6, fuel tank, pump, computers, etc... and more for $300.
Please keep asking questions. This is why I started this thread, to use it as both encouragement and as a fatal flaw analysis.
Thanks everyone!!!
The more I think about this plan, the more I like it.
This should be incredible.
In reply to NOHOME :
Sounds like you subscribe to my philosophy of come up with ideas over whiskey and if they still sound good in the morning go with it.
In reply to Stampie :
Might expalin the 6 year bender I went on to build the Molvo?
a_florida_man said:NOHOME said:As you can imagine, I highly endorse this kind of shenanigans. Question I have is: Is the Merc usable? It looks pretty mushed up front. More details please.
Pete
Remains to be seen. This is as speculative as it is sketchy! The equipment trailer deck has served as a frame machine in the past.
As long as the interwebs has some data on measurement points we should be ok.
With this arrangement the frame rail fronts were destined to be truncated anyhow.
It's all part of getting TWO semi valuable cars in under budget and the recoup game going.
Hmmmmmmm are we talking $2000 challenge fodder???..........off to the big chair and the GRM remote 
Stampie said:In reply to NOHOME :
Sounds like you subscribe to my philosophy of come up with ideas over whiskey and if they still sound good in the morning go with it.
Stampstr do you have tshirt's with this ???? XXl please (and yes for those of you keeping score this would explain some/most of my garbled responses here after 7pm)
Stampie said:In reply to NOHOME :
Sounds like you subscribe to my philosophy of come up with ideas over whiskey and if they still sound good in the morning go with it.
We don't even wait for morning usually goes like this
That is a really bad idea.....
When do we start
Maybe a waiting period is a good idea
In reply to 759NRNG :
Yes this is a Challenge car. At least to start.
a_florida_man said:In reply to 759NRNG :
Yes this is a Challenge car. At least to start.
That being said any hope of self straightening the floor pan/front frame rails with a length of chain(neighborstractor) and a phone pole are probably out eh? Also the juxtaposition of the firewall/seating position didn't seem to phase NHome with the glorious MolVo. I say strip all exterior sheet metal to be used later for 'VOID' panels as this progresses and let the ROUGH SIDE DRAG!!!!
759NRNG said:a_florida_man said:In reply to 759NRNG :
Yes this is a Challenge car. At least to start.
that being said any hope of self straightening the floor pan/front frame rails with a length of chain(neighborstractor) and a phone pole are probably out eh?
Nope, actually that's in.
Porta power, farm jack, come along, all tools of the trade. Straight is straight no matter how it gets there. The hard part is fixing it so it stays there and does not subsequently crack or fatigue.
Without tearing the SLK down yet, I'm thinking that the rails in front of the shock towers are toast, the drivers shock tower is bent inward over the frame rail, and hopefully the uni-body cross member that holds the engine mounts is in good shape.
I'd lend a hand if i could...........
The length from the front of the car to the windshield looks decent. That was a big hurdle with our hat trar.
Im going to drop some notes and data in the thread for you all to see, and to serve as a notebook to me.
buzzboy said:The length from the front of the car to the windshield looks decent. That was a big hurdle with our hat trar.
That's what I was going by after I saw the wheelbase dimension was spot on. The windshield base, a pillar, door jamb area looked pretty good.
Look at the MB cutaway, the dash is feet thick. The VW dash is the trunk bulkhead (near future mb firewall area).
This illustrates how badly the rear 1/4 windows need to roll down, eliminating the B pillar glass trim line.
Also consider minimal trim, let the body lines dominate.
A way out goal would be flush trimmed glass to eliminate the big gasket.
I think some consideration needs to be given to the drivers feet. On the Ghia they are forward of the rear of the wheel house. On the Benz that area is full of engine. To make it a 2 seater for the challenge is really possible, but the 4 seat idea requires legless driver.
TurnerX19 said:I think some consideration needs to be given to the drivers feet. On the Ghia they are forward of the rear of the wheel house. On the Benz that area is full of engine. To make it a 2 seater for the challenge is really possible, but the 4 seat idea requires legless driver.
Awesome, thanks! This is the kind of stuff I want to identify early on!!!
Going to dive into that now.
I see what you are saying...
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