When you enjoy a chassis that is expensive and/or challenging to find items for, purchasing a parts car may be a worthwhile venture. However, there are far too many times where an individual ends up with an unfinished project and multiple disassembled parts cars to go with it, which seems to be the case with these three Mercedes-Benz 190E projects that Barn Finds reader Roger found here on Craigslist in Brentwood, California.
The cream of the crop is a grey market 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16v Cosworth. This particular 190E is arguably one of the most desirable cars the automaker has ever produced, but unfortunately, the original motor is “long gone,” and plans to swap in various other powerplants never came to fruition. Some of the engine swaps that hit the drawing board were the supercharged 4-cylinder “Kompressor” engine from the SLK 230, the 3.4-liter inline-six from the C36 AMG, and the OM606 turbodiesel engine.
Meanwhile, the other two W201 Benzes included within this sale are a 190E with a gas-powered 2.6-liter inline-six, and as well as a 190D with a 2.2-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine. On a positive note, both of these cars are running and driving.
The seller would like around $6,000 for everything, making claims they have “years of parts collected and probably have 90% of the parts needed to build it,” and also adding that they possess “a gold mine of parts if you want to build a really cool Cosworth car.” They additionally note that they will not answer texts regarding the vehicles, only calls, and also mention that they will not part anything out, making this an all or nothing deal. Personally, I’m curious how many of the original Cosworth-specific parts remain, as well as if any changes were made to the fuel system for the potential diesel engine swap ideas. Do you think these three Benzes are worth it, or is this project too much of an undertaking?
Our very own Jeff L has one of these Cosworth Mercedes 190Es that he is currently rescuing! Be sure to watch all of his updates to see how it is coming along.
Sounds like if you’re into MB, there could be something in it for you. I’m not and other than a cursory bit of knowledge about them, don’t know enough to say much of anything either way.
I would think Jeff Lavery ought to be sussing this offering out, though I would think he has.. Having watched his latest update, he needs a lot of big stuff and when do you come across not 1 but 3 190 parts cars, one a 16 V Cosworth?