I'm new to the forum, but not new at all to Land Rovers. I became addicted to Discos a few years ago and I've been buying, fixing, selling, parting out, and daily driving LRs ever since. I am also a Mercedes enthusiast, or at least I used to be. I had always wanted to do a diesel swap on a Disco and now those plans are starting to come to fruition.

This will be a slow build thread, but I will keep it as updated as possible. I'm going to be keeping track on here of the work done and the total project cost. Between work, other projects, and making this up as I go along, it will take some time.

Here's where I'm at so far- I started this idea with just a bare frame. I had a parts car that I scrapped, but the frame was in really good shape so I kept it as a roller. The idea was to build the diesel swap in the frame along with suspension, brakes, etc and then worry about finding a body later.




I knew I wanted to go Mercedes diesel, but I didn't know which one I wanted to go with. I decided to not worry about it, and just see what pops up near me. About a week later, I was having a yard sale and the frame was in my garage, this guy stopped and asked me about it. I told him my plans and then he told me that he had a friend with an old Mercedes diesel that he'd probably sell for cheap. Two days later he called me and I drove across town to pick up a 1994 w124 OM606 powered donor car for $700!



The car sat for a few years due to the transmission losing reverse, but it fired up instantly!

The next few months nothing happened other than work and builds for customers. I occasionally moved the Mercedes around the yard.

I'm always on the look out for cheap Discos as parts cars, and one day I came across a $500 2002. The guy was very down on the car- over heating problems, bad exhaust, etc. When I got there, I didn't even look it over. It was 500 bucks, clean title, and I drove it onto my trailer. When I got home, I washed it and that's when I realized that it had been completely repainted at some point. It was then I decided to keep it. I fixed the overheating problem in an afternoon with parts I already had, paid $120 to fix the exhaust, sold the tan seats for $300 and swapped in a black interior I had from a parts car- so all in, this is a $320 Disco!



It has some rust on the frame, but it's not horrible. I figured I'd keep it as an extra car till the diesel frame is ready and then I'll swap the body onto the good frame.

I got bored one day and swapped the headlights to 03/04. I had the parts laying around, so no cost here.



Upgraded from the 16" wheels to 18" Hurricanes (also free)



Another month or two went by and I was really itching to feel like I'm making some sort of progress, so I started doing tons of research on adapter plates. I want to use the LR trans with the 606. My plan is to try to retain all the D2 electronics- abs, traction control, HDC, etc.

I lucked out and have found 2 different options. I'm still deciding which way to go. Maybe I'll do both and decide later. But now that I potentially have an adapter plate on the way, and I've got a little break between fixing Discos (just finished doing the heads on an 02) I've now moved the Mercedes back into the garage with plans to pull the engine this week and scrap the rest once it's out (which will help reduce the cost a little).

Total cost so far after deducting money recouped from selling parts- $1020.... Not a bad start.

I will be back to update when I have more done (and hopefully an adapter plate in hand). I will also be updating more frequently, but with much less detail on Instagram @ The_Disco_Doc

 

The OM606 is a stout engine, minor mods to the injection pump and you get a big bump in power as well.

 

Sweet!

 

Awesome idea, Im into the same thing myself . Have a 2002 disco and have a 3.0 mercedes diesel engine to swap!
Just wondering a few things if possible?

where did you source for adaptor plates ?

thanks

Mark

 

Man, that's one clean frame! Wow. Good luck, with the swap.

Brian.

 

About time I find someone I know on this forum 😂 good luck on this thing, looks like a hell of a project...

 

Small update- engine is now out of the Mercedes and ready to start getting cleaned up for the Disco frame!






Luckily, it appears that someone has already done the head and timing on the engine, so I'm just going to leave all that alone for now. It runs great, so why mess with it, right?

 

Should be one heck of a swap look forward to seeing it completed

 

I have already swapped the 5 cyl (602) in right now but I just bought a 606 and was wondering how the 606 is fitting inside the frame rails.

Screen shot of drive by

Looking for intercooler placement??

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