This 190E seller doesn’t provide a lot of information about the car, but the pictures tell a tale of an entertaining ride.
1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E 3.6 AMG on eBay
Dropping the 3.6 liter inline six from the C36 AMG into the W201 chassis isn’t done everyday, but it is a trick that has been done by a number of Benz tuners. It is a natural fit and with nearly 300 horsepower in a fairly light weight chassis you can be sure to break the rear end loose with ease.
It is also nice to see that this car has a 5 speed manual, which should provide extra fun.
Nice looking car and a great E30 M3 surprising package. Unfortunately this is another example of how not to sell a car. We have no information about the conversion, we don’t know if the 27,000 miles is on the chassis, engine, or since the conversion, we don’t know whether the 5 speed is an original 190E dog leg unit. The owner doesn’t say this, but the VIN shows the car started life as a 190E 2.3-16V.
With more info the bid price would be far greater, as is I’m sure this won’t meet whatever reserve the seller has.
There is 1 bid at $10,000 currently and the buy-it-now is $28,500.
~Evan
I’m into this. Most modders have no respect for Bruno Sacco’s incredibly tight and controlled design (it was also his favorite). But this hits all the right notes, taking some cues from the Cosworth, AMG and the like. Interior looks fresh. Iceberg turn indicators and smoked taillights finish it off. This seems like a great idea, done well. But yeah, we need way more info. Odd that someone who seemingly pulled this off wouldn’t boast about it in more depth.
I seem to recall reading about this car (or one like it) on one of the Mercedes forums (either MBWorld or BenzWorld). Searching those sites might provide some more information.
Although I like the concept, I can’t help thinking the car would be worth more if it had been left unmodified.
This car was my unicorn, I followed it since my high school days in hopes of building my own.
http://merc190e.tripod.com/E36.html
Dead link http://merc190e.tripod.com/E36.html , can you check RVergara? Building your own is certainly a cost saver, but still wont be an original AMG to those that care.
A rare car even in Europe, but import a 25 year old one yourself & save at least $10k over this Ebayer’s. But the low 27,150 miles is amazing.
I’m curious if there’s a lot of added weight up front & contributing to understeering handling when not on the gas? Will have to google driving reviews from back in the day.
The link works for me in the Google Chrome browswer.
Maybe this will help?
http://web.archive.org/web/20100326144513/http://merc190e.tripod.com/E36.html
Oops http://merc190e.tripod.com/E36.html link is working now. How did he get 357hp from a normally aspirated 3.6? That’s more than an E500.
I’m curious what a “C36 AMG Hybird Motor” is.
Truly amazing how poorly the seller documented the car in the ebay listing. That listing will not convince anyone to bid nearly $30K. Not saying it’s a bad car at all – in fact, it’s pretty cool. It’s just that the seller’s listing inspires zero confidence.
The blacked out with big wheels look is far too overdone for my tastes. This would make an amazing sleeper if he kept it closer to the stock 2.3-16V look (which itself was a tad too 80’s bolt-on). And what’s with the black sheepskin covers on the headrests?
Loose the tacky exterior add-ons and headrest covers, and this is a very sweet ride.
Mind you, the seller on Ebay is not the same as the person who built the car in the old Tripod link. If I’m not mistaken, the car has changed hands once, maybe twice since the original build.
And based on some talks on the forum, some people have contacted the seller the car could be sold for much less than the Ebay price.
Interesting spot Evan. I hope a potential buyer can report back!
dc
wut, looks like a manual trans in there? Manual trans AMG for the win.
Hell ya I would drive this.
Wow I remember seeing that tripod site like a decade ago, can’t believe it is still online, thanks for posting that up. I think we’d all want to test drive this one before picking it up as with it being an older conversion who knows what has wiggled loose or been abused/driven hard over the years.
I did some digging around and the best I could come up with is that the M104 3.6 weighs about 200 pounds more than the M102 2.3. So the updated springs listed on the tripod site would have been a must. There are a few 3.6 liter W201s out there, using various versions of stroked M103 and stock and modified M104 engines, Brabus made several.
A very interesting car! I wonder how it ended up in a used car lot in WV. These cars get little to no respect compared to the E30 M3 so they are about half the price. It will be interesting to see what this hot rod version fetches.
Love this idea. Recently traded in my beloved c43 AMG for the all around killer bmw335d. New car is better in every way, but still I want another old AMG/Benz.
Have you seen this 190 on autotrader?
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=06905&endYear=2013&keywords=Renntech&showcaseOwnerId=67126&startYear=1981&firstRecord=26&keywordsfyc=Renntech&searchRadius=0&listingId=325289941&Log=0
Ended at $13,100, reserve not met.
[…] pointed out to us by reader Joe is up for sale. This one isn’t quite as high horsepower as the 190E 3.6 we had up recently , but unlike that one this car appears to be a factory AMG job rather than an enthusiast […]