Mercedes C43 AMG w/ 5.5L Swap - (One Take)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ย. 2024
- The Mercedes C43 AMG was only the second car produced after AMG moved under the Mercedes umbrella. It came from the factory with a 4.3L V8 stuffed into the C-Class chassis. Very few were produced, making the C43 quite the rare car today. Alex, the owner of this car, did a complete 5.5L AMG drivetrain swap to make his own 'C55,' which was a real model available in other markets besides the US. The car is an excellent highway tourer, very fast, sounds great, and factory-original feeling from behind the wheel.
this guy's well spoken and articulate, made the video easy to watch
because he is a Mercedes-Benz owner long straight highways only
Don't be too hard on him. I get the same comment said about me all the time. You can't always judge a book by it's cover. :D
Landon Harrington I own the same car as him besides mine being an AMG I just have the suspension if I get curves i can't wait to dive in cause the W202 was also a DTM car
Very interesting comment? I wonder if you make this observation and comment on all car videos.... hmmm. Were you expecting the guy to sound as ignorant as your comment?
Back when Matt was rolling with Lorenzo in a Benzo
dre?
Yeah man
Jack1138 Best hip hop album of all time imo.
👍
👍
Dr. Dre, the fake eyeshadow wearing gangster from Compton, please.....
much respect to this guy, like you say, the oddball cars are the real gems
I have now "55" swapped my 1998 C43 and also installed a Wavetrack LSD rear end.
how much was the swap and how different does it feel
This thing is fucking gorgeous.
Yup, love that subtle sleeper style.
+kz1000ps No joke...so CLASSY! Takes a full walk around to really get it. lol
The w202 is one of the few designs from the 90s that still looks awesome.
My W202 C55 brother! I have done the exact same thing with my C43. Very cool to see others who have done the same!
can I put this engine in my SL500 it's a 1999 sport
I thought c43 was 2.0 me and clk 55 is 2.8 me
Finally a C43/55 video! I've been a W202 owner for years and no one has done a decent video review.
Thanks Matt! Next up, try find a SL73 for us please - the even rarer version of a Zonda :)
I love those rims
amg monoblock ftw
Wheels*
+Speeding Cow ikr you play basketball with a rim
Expensive
those rims are badass.
Something about 80's 90's & 00's styling that's so timeless design I just love!
Super chill owner and a really classy swap. Awesome one take.
Really enjoyed this episode Matt. Alex was super knowledgeable and those vieeeews! Just beautiful scenery.
Oh this is def a sleeper lol
def is
It has an AMG badge on the trunk lid along with stupidly huge alloys. You gotta be blind and stupid not to notice.
Annddddd what is your point lmao
Sleeper? To whom? It has AMG on it. If you know cars, even a little, you know it's fast. This is not a sleeper.
+PatsNation his point is its not a sleeper because it has an AMG badge and huge alloys stupid
I love this guy's knowledge about the old Mercs.
Funny that Matt should mention taking this car across country...I've done in twice!
This is the PERFECT highway car. Quiet, comfortable, great sound system...and crazy good passing power at 80 mph. And easily hits 140 in the middle of nowhere Kansas... :D
Best 6,000 miles I've ever put on a car.
I daily this same car (E55 swap) and I agree. it's so easy to live with. almost zero maintenance. 300k miles on mine!
It's a really good one take when Matt sort of knows what the owner is talking about!
When does Matt not know what the owner is talking about???
I think more appropriately, it's a good one take when the OWNER knows what he's talking about lol. Some of the guys you can tell are pretty clueless lmao
Every time someone bring up "it doesn't rub", the infamous rubbing evo 9 comes to mind.
Lmaooo thought it was just me.
+SenszR it was written
And that prius...
We don't speak of that Prius.
Richard Swagger Was it?
Thanks to this video c43's across the globe have skyrocketed 300% -_^
FUCK
I sold my spare C43 for 3500 2 months ago. New owner has it re-listed at 19000. I hope someone pays him that price because I have an even better one stashed in the garage :)
I bought mine for 3500 in june. Another one just went up for sale in my town for 10k. it is rusty as fuck. Im hoping it sells at that price.
su1ac0 Wow 3500? I'm looking for one here in Canada.. only seen 2 so far for sale ever since I learnd and fell in love with this car (2 months ago). They were around the 7k price range I believe?? I'm praying it's still for sale as soon as I can get 3 grand more 😯
I live in Calgary and bought one last month for $2800 CDN. I knew the guy needed to sell so I lowballed him. Needs a bit of TLC but nothing major. I've changed the oil, filters, o2 sensors and that's about it. It's an awesome car and can't wait until the snow is gone.
This is such a cool car. As someone who DDs a 1998 C 180 and loves it this is kind of a dream car.
i like when the owner are knowledgeable about their rides. Matt seems to vibe well and enjoy the ride even more. stay blessed!
The C43 was by far the best car I have ever driven, it is such a fun car. I love the shape of it. It also had the muffler delete, which made it sound awesome... These wheels are fantastic, but the next gen also look great on it. By the way, the one I drove had bullet proof glass and doors (very common in Brazil), and it still had a lot of power!
Total sleeper
My father actually owned an original C55, 1 of only about 50 in Japan. I have very fond memories of that car. Felt super upmarket, had a ridiculous drivetrain in a tiny chassis, and had the story to match. Old school AMGs were great.
From Merc's golden era of production - that interior looks solid AF!
The W202 is notorious this side of the Atlantic for poor build quality and especially rust. The W140 was the last of the really solid Mercs.
+Richard Harrold not if u take care of them! I had a 99 W202 C280 interior was perfectly fine and very reliable! It had 168,000 miles
AMG BENZ_HAMMER_6.0
Whereabouts are you? Here in the UK, the W202 is barely remembered because rust did for so many of them.
The two most reliable Mercs are the W201 and the W124. That's the peak of Mercedes engineering. Not saying the rest is bad, but those two are built for eternity. To this day many of them are still on the road, W124 are even taxis here.
The back-and-forth is the best part of this video.
biggest sleeper of all time : R63 amg lol
yes. minivan with 3inch tailpipes
Such an interesting rarity.
A mom literally owns one here in lowly Chattanooga and when she came through our drivethru window, I asked her about it and said it was freaking awesome and she didn’t know why 😂
Obviously a knowledgeable owner - definitely adds to the video 👍
These old Merc are a gem
Such a friendly happy guy in this vid. Cool car. Boxy silver Benz is where it's at.
God I love the way Mercedes of that era looked 😍
Nice to see some AMG nerds out there! This guy talks about these cars like BMW people talk about M cars.
im gonna miss the naturally aspirated mercedes v8s
rubberwoody hands down, no doubt, 5.4 supercharged, 5.5, 6.2, even 5.5 biturbo is a fucking beast. but now 4.0 turbo v8 and the future that leads to low emissions - small engines, shame we will never see new mercs with engines that feels like the ground is shaking. that for example slr or sls both sound like fucking thunder. Merc's V8 is proper German muscle.
at least they still sound good
We all do
Just can't get enough of fast saloons - that Jag from a couple of months ago fits the bill too.
My first car (in 1979) was my Grandmother's '68 Riviera which was specked from the factory by my Uncle who literally ticked every option available at the time (including LSD) basically making it a GS (Grand Sport) but with all the lux items. My go-fast buddies disconnected the smog pump, inverted the air-cleaner cover (how do you spell induction noise?) , and our best times were heading out from SJCapistrano late at night and just driving in random direction close till the tank ran out and where we'd find the nearest Norm's, Tiny Naylors, or (in a desperate move) Sambo's; eat breakfast, drink shiite loads of coffee, then fill the tank and head back home, usually around sunrise. Big, fast cars chewing up serious miles - life just doesn't get better...
Oh yeah, love the C class. The owner's cool as fudge.
he even showed up with a period correct kangol hat. this guy is the world champion.
Always wanted one of these since Romeo Must Die...
Back then, AMGs were still cool and something special! Great car!
i use adblock cos i dont like intrusive ads, put ads in your video
ABP for life!
Rob Banks there must be much problems in your life. i wish you luck
***** preach it! its been long long years since i watched tv.
What a nice guy and nice car. The C43 AMG is one of my favorite AMGs and it's the best looking in my opinion.
I miss the day when a 4 door sedan weighed 3400lbs....nowadays a new 911 almost weighs that much
Safety features =( Have all these airbags and sensors and comfort features.... Just a ton of shit.
I love this car, the B5 S4, and the 9-3 Viggen. The E36 is cool too.
Each with a wildly different personality. All incredibly cool.
Pretty much. Thats why 500hp has become the new benchmark for min power in sportscars nowadays. You need it to move all that mass around.
Check out the newer Volkswagens. Love them. I have a 2014 Jetta that weighs 2800 pounds. Loads of fun to throw around and feels light on its feet. Even the golfs only weigh 3000lbs
Its funny to say that a Gold weights "only 3000lbs" I have a 71' Chevelle and it weights that much, way bigger vehicle too. I guess thats the way times change
Best guest I've ever watched - super knowledgeable and friendly!
I'm more of an import guy, never been a fan of American cars.. But I've always seen folks bagging on Chevy for it's big pushrod V8 making so little power for it's displacement.. But at around the same time this AMG hand assembled, overhead cam, billet crank, weight-matched conron and piston, 24valve, 16sparkplug 5.4L V8 made 342hp... The 5.7L LS1 V8 made 350hp, and the LS6 made 385-405hp...
Yup! But they're not German engineered... (Eye roll)...
How many times I TRIED to make the same argument with idiots......CLK 55 AMG VS WS6 T/A or SLP Camaro - specs are so close I was considering both but the simplicity of Chevys cars made my choice very easy.
there are a bunch of people who do agree though. weight matters more than displacement and a lot of older bmws are getting the small block chevy swap.
The first AMG M113s weren't pushed very hard. They can do that 350hp for 600k miles. They also absolutely love boost and mods. You can get them up to ~410 WHP N/A and the moon with a supercharger or turbo.
lol
Great episode, Matt. I love how happy you looked driving this car! By the end of the video, you looked like you wanted to hug the guy :)
Definitely thought that was DoctaM3...
He is his evil twin DoctaAMG
That is him 😒
you prolly dont give a shit but if you're bored like me during the covid times then you can stream all the new series on InstaFlixxer. Been watching with my brother during the lockdown =)
@Troy Blaine yea, I have been watching on InstaFlixxer for months myself :D
That sound is orgasmic. Great looking car and sounds like a blast to drive.
There's only a few people on TH-cam I would ad block: Watchmojo, Keemstar, and Doug Demuro
Doug deserves to be adblocked
Honest question: why does everyone seem to hate Doug?
+Tim yea
A lot of people feel as though he comes off as arrogant or that he has a very "I am better than you" attitude. To each their own I guess
ncl3306 Ah I can totally see that! I didn't want to taint my post with my bias, but indeed some times I notice he's a bit of a douche
Those older AMG's sound so good. Very mature sound
Awesome.
Alex, I daily exactly this car but with 297k miles on it. Hard to imagine a better all around car! By the way the stock C43 transmission is identical, which is what I'm using. My shop also nearly refused to do the swap because they were highly doubtful it would run. Dropped in fresh 99 E55 motor and nothing else. Instant success!
I don't want to turn addblock off.
Jk xD i did it :D
Anyone know a way to turn it off for specific youtube channels instead of the whole of youtube?
I don't, but I just toss Matt a "Like" and call it even.
That car is wicked! cool owner too ... Bravo!
first black guy I've seen on here
Justin Carter You missed the brotha with the tuned Subaru Forester.....
Great observation...
I just bought one of these! A triple black 1999 whose previous owner babied it! I dearly love these cars and I have been dreaming of the 5.5 swap!
I don't use ad block and I tend to let the ads play. Does letting them play get you get you paid more?
yes it does, thanks!
My pleasure.
Whitelisted. I want to keep watching these, so...
How do you "whitelist" certain YT channels? I use ABP and would like to disable it for certain content creators, but not YT in general (fuck that shit). The only option I see is "Disable this page only", which I assume will only unblock this particular video? Help, because I would definitely watch some ads to help this channel out.
i want to disable adblock for this channel also because i like the OP and his work
As a late 90's Mercedes owner, this is a one take i can dig.
I'm on TH-cam Red so I don't gets ads (except for personal ball powder recommendations).
This car is so cool! Thanks Matt for reviewing another dope swap-body!
This think is classy as fuck
I'd rather watch ads than pay money like MotorTrend on demand. Keep up the good work Matt!
I'm pretty sure there was never a C55 within the W202 chassis nomenclature: they came out way later, during the production run of the next generation C-klasse - the W203, and even so, they began with a supercharged C32 AMG, and only later did they do a C55.
Mercedes made a handful of w202 c55s actually, like under 10 or something there like impossible to find
There were c55 with the 202 chassi. But you had to buy a c43 and send it back to amg so they could make the conversion.
A handful of W202 C43s were converted from the factory to legitimate C55s, but only a handful were made, and I don't believe the North American market got any of these. You are correct the w203 began with the c32 supercharger and later on the c55 v8. Outside of North America also got a 5 cylinder diesel powered AMG for the 203 chassis, the C30 CDI AMG.
The C32 was a badass little car!! Honestly i think they were faster than the C55 of the same generation.
in stock for them were not, both in the SLK32 and C32 vs SLK55 and C55, the 55 cars are still faster, but very easy to get those C32's much faster than 55s with bolt on mods due to the supercharger.
This is just a really beautiful car. One that will probably only be appreciated by enthusiasts and I wouldn't haven't it any other way. Stunning man
ugh lifetime fluid is cancer. Friggen volvo does that crap too.
Almost all European companies. They probably secretly define "lifetime" as the lifetime as the chassis.
+Themayseffect lifetime of the transmission. if the trans last only 50k miles, well that's lifetime lol
you can change the fluid on the diff by taking it out haha cause thereq only 1 screw and its for draining
Pinion and axle seals eventually leak on these. Then you just take out the whole pumpkin, reseal it and fresh gear oil.
At least it comes with free glitter in the transmission pan.
This guy sounds like he knows his stuff. He sounds very well educated on the subject at hand. He is probably the most together sounding passenger I think you have had that are not professional racers or from a company.
1337 is the amount of time the video is just like this car 1337 daily
13:38
I love the W202 great looking car! This is a dream build for me I've always wanted to this! Well done!
Such a bad ass build!
+AMG BENZ_HAMMER_6.0 thank you!
DoctaM3? Kappa
i had the same exact tought lol... docta's lost twin xD
+SPProduction02 lmao
seriously though, if only he had the accent
Yeah a little😀
One of the best episodes
anyone else immediately think Doctam3?
lol. I thought I was the only one
something about nerdy/smart black people makes them so approachable...
Joe Black well you cant blame me most black people i see are dressed like theyre banging and you cant understand what theyre saying they all try to have a certain "swag" which i believe holds them back in this world...where as this guy seems like he would have the same opportunities as a "privileged" white person as everybody likes to call them...wouldnt you agree?
Very cool. Never thought i would see this on S/T. Those AMG 202's are awesome.
Thank you
Can you do that with the wagons?
Omg like the way you think. I have dogs and mountain bikes.
Yes
Yes. There are a few S202 C43s in Europe that have been 5.4 swapped. Unfortunately we didn't get the wagon (S202 platform) in the US.
I found one in Canada, Silver, black interior and monoblock wheels. Was fucking gorgeous, but ofc we'd have to wait another 10 years for it to be legally imported :(
eFifty5AMG Are you the guy in the video? Also can this be done with a 1989 300 ce (w124)?
wow one of the cleanest interiors i've seen in old 90s cars!!!
The drooping headliner in the back is bothering me... "pristine example" my ass.
That happens in literally every old german car, nothing you can do about it.
yeah it is more pristine than your ass. headliner is easy to fix and doesn't matter when the car is so old.
Sadly it's not the only German thing that droops when it gets old...
I have an -97 w202 and its like new. Someone fucked up that roofliner.
+Mortalomena Your right. The car owner should insist that woman remove their heels prior to dyno runs. This is just another example of prioritizing friskiness over function.
90's Mercedes, the era of cost cutting and shocking reliability. Go for it!
*Late 90s/early-mid 2000s
More so early-mid 2000s
3:46 about a week ago
I dont always comment on youtube, but I love TST and you sir are good reason for us to turn off AdBlock ! thank you !
w202 AMGs had two flaws: no LSD diff, not even possible as an option and no manual gearbox. Quaife makes an LSD diff for 1k$ and you can mate a BMW manual in there.
LSD stands for Limited Slip Differential, you don't need to add diff after it
or you could spend 5k + c43 and laugh your ass off as m3s disappear in your mirror.
please find where someone got a BMW manual to work in this car.
kbcarroll huh? you can mate any gearbox into any car.
not these. I've owned 2 for 5 years.
Usually, I get board with these after about 5 minutes. This one, though, is a car here's delight. Nicely done.
how does this have a cali plate?
If you have a 2002 Mercedes and put in an engine from a newer Mercedes, as long as you have cats that is a smog legal engine swap.
there is no reason why it wouldn't pass smog, its essential unmodified in the eyes of a ecu scan tool and A/F reader.
+Joe Black its not that harder, you'll just also need a lower subframe and mounts and ecu.
As for the ECU scan tool, that's only used on '00+, not sure what year this car is.
As for the sniffer used for 1975-1999 cars: Sometimes the cats that came on the car can't handle the increased emissions. It's more about scanning for HC, CO, and CO2 than it is AF. It doesn't even report A/F.
Well he isn't making 500hp and "must have" parts doesn't include optional parts such as brake upgrades. A c220/280/230 model will except the v8 motor(engine/trans) with no "modifications" to the frame.
The owner reminds me of me lol so chill and laidback yet confident about what he knows without arrogance. And I also appreciate the fact that he loves benzes just like I do. Great Review!
Is this the first black person on the smoking tire?
Why would that even matter jackass
doesn't matter.. just an observation, youre way to sensitive
No
+Zach Sorensen just wondering
Jimmy and his forester were on the smoking tire
great car, seems like owner knew what he wanted and got it and enjoyed the video,
1337
Wow,seriously? Biiiigi fuckin Kudos to the Guy that did this,picking the Classic C43,the starter Benz for young Görmens,that are into Benz. Fuckin Nice!
Alex knows his stuff, nice guest and great video!
Owner seems very knowledgeable and humble
Owner knows his stuff.
Black guys love Benzo's lol. All 3 of my black friends from way back are absolute Merc nuts. Granted it isn't hard to see why, I do think they make some of the best motors in the world. But hell the rest of the cars tend to be such a pain to maintain. Every time we would smoke out we would get into the car talk and they would just give me shit for not owning a Merc lol. I hope I am not coming off racist, its just my personal observation.
Great video Matt, the car and owner seem very cool!
Ha Ha I am black and what you're saying is true!!
Finally an old benz. I have a w210 e430 with similar suspension mods and did my brakes, good tires... Drives awesome i dont want to get rid of it i love it. Favorite one take forsure.. Awesome car
This is one of the coolest One Take cars yet IMO. Nice, informative video
Very nice episode with a owner who know his car. Thanks for sharing!
very cool car. I've always gotten excited when I've seen the AMG for some reason. That car with that motor and a manual transmission would be sublime.
The BRAKES! I'm glad you mentioned this, I had to replace my brakes on a '14 E 63 AMG tuned by AMS, $4,250.00 AFTER a discount. That was ridiculous, almost had a heart attack.
Props on keeping the old German cars alive, sounds great.
Great video. I enjoyed this one the most.
Such a cool car...the only merc I ever seriously considered buying (either C36 or C43) and all this while I had no idea there was a C55 version. Apparently 59 original C55 AMG builds with 7 estate versions (I'm guessing that's included in the 59...). I am not a fan of those wheels and I would definitely swap them but I also agree that they really do suit the W202. If ever there was a chassis to make the monoblocks look good, it is this one. What a car and such a no-brainer swap being that straight-forward...the last thing you'd expect from zee germans. Just the "right size" as Matt would say, for a family sedan. Proportions, visibility, the classic, clean shape and lines and that sweet V8 burble. You have good taste Alex :)
It's blows me away that someone would be bothered by Matt asking to whitelist his channel. Yeah he makes money with other ventures like /drive and esquire. But The Smoking Tire is HIS business. He pays for cameras, camera guys, office space, feature films, and much more. So him asking you to do something that doesn't cost you a penny is NOT asking a lot of anyone.
I love it! reminds me of the Cosworth ones, I love old school luxury, not tech boxes like now. I think I just found my future daily driver!
What an excelent job Alex!!! Congratulations for this exotic swap!!!!...
Owned a 1999 C43. Amazing car, put 170k miles on it and had no issues. I have top speed video of it on TH-cam. Always wanted to do this swap.
I Like this body shape Merc,
I am glad they are kinda going back toward this shape with some of their newest designs
The thing with the C55 w202's is that C43 owners could bring their car in and get the 5.4L factory installed and converted in the european markets and asian markets as well i believe (those are rare)