I purchased a 2008 C300 with a six speed and it has been an amazing vehicle. No problems in 84,000 miles and is literally like a new car. Only disappointment is I haven't been able to justify buying a new car in 15 years!
This vid is dope, lots of good information on these cars. I've owned a C320 coupe manual (unfortunately got rear-ended and totaled) and I'm now onto a 2011 C300 manual. Really reliable vehicles and you really dont see many , if at all, on the road today.
Perfect video idea. Especially as the manual transmission continues to go the way of the dodo. I sure hope you guys are also continue to expand the European Manual Transmission option videos with the addition of the Porsche, Audi, and BMW.. Oh yeah, we can't forget our Volvo friends... 👍
Good information here, thanks for that, we found out that swapping a M104.900 into a C203 coupe (203.747), adding a HX40, and running it on VAG ME7 with the 716.648 trans makes for a really fun car. Keep rolling......
USA didn't even got the CLC (Facelifted W204 CL203 Coupe with R172 internal upgrades) . Such an underrated car with the M271. Never had ANY issues with it.
Thank You Danny and FCP. Super excited to share this with my son. The topic / conversation of something new to tinker with comes up from time to time. Plus we both get a kick out of the wife's eye roll when he and I talk about getting yet another car. My concern would be the availability of replacement parts for the car you shared here?
Hey gmans! One of the key reasons we decided to focus on some of the "modern" (used lightly here, given the newest car on this list is already a bit aged in the eyes of some) offerings you could get with a manual box was that parts are generally a bit easier to source when cars are newer than when cars are produced a few generations ago. You shouldn't have any issues sourcing parts for roughly the W203 models and onwards (and our catalog should have nearly everything you need to refurbish to your liking). From the R170 and beyond in age, things can get a little bit more interesting depending on how far back you elect to go; a personal R170 project of mine was refreshed and upgraded almost entirely with parts from our catalog, whereas in our "Golden Era" W201 build you may have seen, we had to get a bit...creative...as we aimed to make our 190E better than it ever was! Best of luck to both of you! -Danny
Great video!!! Many thanks!! We have an 1997 (98 model) R170 with about 55k miles on it. We bought it in '15 with 34k miles on the clock. It was ordered in 1995, and we have a copy of the deposit check. It is Imperial Red with black leather and the only option was an automatic tranny. It was also ordered with the antenna delete so as to not have a hole in the fender (uses the rear bumper which aluminum underneath the plastic). We would have preferred the 5-speed manual, but this car was too good to pass up. I've removed the glue-like charcoal paint on the black plastic interior pieces, having to replace the pieces surrounding the speedo/tach cluster with one of the last remaining new parts from a dealer. I am not going to remove that charcoal paint. It's a great car and is still all original only with Zimmerman rotors with Akebono pads and Conti DWS06 tires. Excellent shape and we will drive it until we can no longer get in & out.Of course, with that logic we'd not be able to get in or out of our 2013 W204 C300 4Matic with the Sport suspension (and again, I used FCP Euro for the Zimmerman rotors and Akebono pads) and shod with Conti DWS06Sport rubber. Handles much better than the SLK230 kompressor, and gets better mileage, as well. However, the SLK is a blast to drive with the top down in cool weather. The sun in hot temps will beat you. We use back roads for its outings and it's a blast.
Speaking from experience as a former owner of a Sunburst Yellow 1999 (though with far greater mileage than yours), they're massively underappreciated cars that still provide all of the enjoyment they were designed to give even today! Good on you for keeping it roadworthy with some fitting maintenance items, and especially for tackling those sticky black buttons. -Danny
Actually, I just picked up a w201 auto, that I'm going to covert into a 5 speed, the more I'm researching the more i'm understanding that it's easier to swap because Mercedes generally had like very small variations of manual transmissions, on top of the offerings from Chrystler that helps as well. I'm excited for that.
In terms of bolting a manual to the back of an engine sold as auto-only here in the US, Mercedes swaps are often easier to put together than many would think! You can generally follow an easy formula; take the automatic transmission sold in your car, and look at the other cars sold in the US that used that transmission. If any of those cars had an engine that was sold with a manual transmission from the factory in the US, the bolt pattern will be mirrored. An easy example is the M113 V8. Never sold with a manual here, but it uses a 722.6 automatic. The 722.6 was also used for M112 cars, and the C320/C240/SLK320/Chrysler Crossfire all could also be had with the M112 and a 6-speed manual in the US. Therefore, the manual will fit the M113 V8! -Danny
My wagon made it! The w203 and 204 platforms imo are the best well balanced when it comes to practicality and performance! Wished they made a w204 c350 manual!
Very solid video. Great info, engaging delivery. However, how is the power monster OM606 not mentioned in this rundown? Is it because its rare to find one OEM with manual? A manual trans swap lands you with a 500hp ++ monster for under 5K USD
A big problem with Mercs is that they disallow you the option to turn off the ESP and traction control completely, very annoying in slippery conditions if you want to have some fun.
@@Samgoldie8778 Yeah but that's not really all that fun to do, I'd rather not lose the ABS just because Mercedes think they know what I want better than I do.
I put mine in dynometer/test rig mode... but I lose ABS then. However as has been said it still doesn't completely turn off TSC/ESC. I can get some wheel slip but then the system kicks in from time to time. However if I just sit and do a burnout, it does nothing... Hmmm, I'm thinking of unplugging the front wheel speed sensors, then maybe it won't interfere in actual driving/drifting. However still no ABS, and I too would rather still have ABS but TCS and ESC completely off.
@@mikhailgregovszki7478in my w202, the front wheel sensors are tied to the ECM for speed input. Luckily mine doesn't have traction control or slip protection, but the rear housing and transmission speed sensors also tie into the ECM. Not sure if disconnecting the front wheel sensors would cause the transmission to go into limp mode, but my 722.6 will do it if any sensor in the circuit fails.
Wow thanks! Wish I saw this a year ago, but I probably still would have ended up with the W204 6MT I got. Can you really fit the AMG LSD in these though? I read somewhere it won't fit. I really like the car but open diff sucks. I really want a V8 but can't get those with manual.... though, there is a shop in Ontario Canada making a adapter to fit a Nissan 350Z CD009 6MT to the late 2000's E63 I think... I've thought about going that route but not sure I'd want to do the swap myself - I cringe at the idea of putting a pedal and hydraulic lines in.
The C63 rear end being a physically larger HAG215 unit makes things a bit tricky, but sourcing a C63's complete rear end can make things a lot smoother! The M273 has a lot in common with the M272 V6 engine. We haven't seen a ton of people completing a manual swap on these engines just yet, but with some time and creativity, the 273 could definitely be stuffed into a manual W204! -Danny
@@fcpeuro By rear end do you mean subframe, diff, half-shafts, etc.? If the C63 AMG is wider, not sure how its rear end would fit the C300 though. From what I understand the Mercedes 6MT can't handle the torque of the V8's... but the Nissan 350Z CD009 6MT can. I don't think the C63 has a M273 though, I thought it had the M156. But I may be mixing years and generations of cars up.
"Every modern Mercedes sold with a manual transmission" proceeds to not include a single manual of the w202 w205 w208 w209 w210 w211 w212 w213 class or any diesel model whatsoever.
Good video, thanks. But until a few months ago I owned a 1993 W124 320 E with the dogleg manual box and the driveline shunt was terrible. I´ve driven a W126 300 SE (we had W126s with the 3.0 and even the 2.6 M103 with MT in Europe) with just 40,000 km in the clock and was just the same. It ruined the whole driving experience, very difficult to drive them smoothly. I´m sure that in more modern Mercedes the MT are a lot better and desirable, but in a W124 I would take a AT one.
None sold stateside with a manual! Fortunately though, as folks have started to pay more attention to the 606 here in the US, it has become a lot easier to piece together a manual swap.
I purchased a 2008 C300 with a six speed and it has been an amazing vehicle. No problems in 84,000 miles and is literally like a new car. Only disappointment is I haven't been able to justify buying a new car in 15 years!
This vid is dope, lots of good information on these cars. I've owned a C320 coupe manual (unfortunately got rear-ended and totaled) and I'm now onto a 2011 C300 manual. Really reliable vehicles and you really dont see many , if at all, on the road today.
Perfect video idea. Especially as the manual transmission continues to go the way of the dodo. I sure hope you guys are also continue to expand the European Manual Transmission option videos with the addition of the Porsche, Audi, and BMW.. Oh yeah, we can't forget our Volvo friends... 👍
Good information here, thanks for that, we found out that swapping a M104.900 into a C203 coupe (203.747), adding a HX40, and running it on VAG ME7 with the 716.648 trans makes for a really fun car. Keep rolling......
USA didn't even got the CLC (Facelifted W204 CL203 Coupe with R172 internal upgrades) . Such an underrated car with the M271. Never had ANY issues with it.
Thank You Danny and FCP. Super excited to share this with my son. The topic / conversation of something new to tinker with comes up from time to time. Plus we both get a kick out of the wife's eye roll when he and I talk about getting yet another car. My concern would be the availability of replacement parts for the car you shared here?
Hey gmans! One of the key reasons we decided to focus on some of the "modern" (used lightly here, given the newest car on this list is already a bit aged in the eyes of some) offerings you could get with a manual box was that parts are generally a bit easier to source when cars are newer than when cars are produced a few generations ago. You shouldn't have any issues sourcing parts for roughly the W203 models and onwards (and our catalog should have nearly everything you need to refurbish to your liking).
From the R170 and beyond in age, things can get a little bit more interesting depending on how far back you elect to go; a personal R170 project of mine was refreshed and upgraded almost entirely with parts from our catalog, whereas in our "Golden Era" W201 build you may have seen, we had to get a bit...creative...as we aimed to make our 190E better than it ever was!
Best of luck to both of you!
-Danny
I got two 203 wagon, one with the 6 speed Manual on the om646 (Diesel) and one 5 speed Auto (same om646 Diesel) love the platform.
Great video!!! Many thanks!!
We have an 1997 (98 model) R170 with about 55k miles on it. We bought it in '15 with 34k miles on the clock. It was ordered in 1995, and we have a copy of the deposit check. It is Imperial Red with black leather and the only option was an automatic tranny. It was also ordered with the antenna delete so as to not have a hole in the fender (uses the rear bumper which aluminum underneath the plastic). We would have preferred the 5-speed manual, but this car was too good to pass up. I've removed the glue-like charcoal paint on the black plastic interior pieces, having to replace the pieces surrounding the speedo/tach cluster with one of the last remaining new parts from a dealer. I am not going to remove that charcoal paint. It's a great car and is still all original only with Zimmerman rotors with Akebono pads and Conti DWS06 tires. Excellent shape and we will drive it until we can no longer get in & out.Of course, with that logic we'd not be able to get in or out of our 2013 W204 C300 4Matic with the Sport suspension (and again, I used FCP Euro for the Zimmerman rotors and Akebono pads) and shod with Conti DWS06Sport rubber. Handles much better than the SLK230 kompressor, and gets better mileage, as well. However, the SLK is a blast to drive with the top down in cool weather. The sun in hot temps will beat you. We use back roads for its outings and it's a blast.
Speaking from experience as a former owner of a Sunburst Yellow 1999 (though with far greater mileage than yours), they're massively underappreciated cars that still provide all of the enjoyment they were designed to give even today! Good on you for keeping it roadworthy with some fitting maintenance items, and especially for tackling those sticky black buttons.
-Danny
Actually, I just picked up a w201 auto, that I'm going to covert into a 5 speed, the more I'm researching the more i'm understanding that it's easier to swap because Mercedes generally had like very small variations of manual transmissions, on top of the offerings from Chrystler that helps as well. I'm excited for that.
In terms of bolting a manual to the back of an engine sold as auto-only here in the US, Mercedes swaps are often easier to put together than many would think! You can generally follow an easy formula; take the automatic transmission sold in your car, and look at the other cars sold in the US that used that transmission. If any of those cars had an engine that was sold with a manual transmission from the factory in the US, the bolt pattern will be mirrored.
An easy example is the M113 V8. Never sold with a manual here, but it uses a 722.6 automatic. The 722.6 was also used for M112 cars, and the C320/C240/SLK320/Chrysler Crossfire all could also be had with the M112 and a 6-speed manual in the US. Therefore, the manual will fit the M113 V8!
-Danny
My wagon made it! The w203 and 204 platforms imo are the best well balanced when it comes to practicality and performance! Wished they made a w204 c350 manual!
Very solid video. Great info, engaging delivery. However, how is the power monster OM606 not mentioned in this rundown? Is it because its rare to find one OEM with manual? A manual trans swap lands you with a 500hp ++ monster for under 5K USD
You might have forgotten the w211 e class it got a 6 speed as well
YOU'RE BLOWING OUR COVER DANNY!!! 😅
No w123 / C123 Both of them, had the manual 616 / 617 engines (Diesel), and the M110 (Europe only) 280CE. That's the most classical MB ever
A big problem with Mercs is that they disallow you the option to turn off the ESP and traction control completely, very annoying in slippery conditions if you want to have some fun.
You have to pull the abs fuse unless you can put it in dyno mode through the instrument cluster 👌
@@Samgoldie8778 Yeah but that's not really all that fun to do, I'd rather not lose the ABS just because Mercedes think they know what I want better than I do.
@@kristoffer3000 yeah i know what you mean i completely agree
I put mine in dynometer/test rig mode... but I lose ABS then. However as has been said it still doesn't completely turn off TSC/ESC. I can get some wheel slip but then the system kicks in from time to time. However if I just sit and do a burnout, it does nothing... Hmmm, I'm thinking of unplugging the front wheel speed sensors, then maybe it won't interfere in actual driving/drifting. However still no ABS, and I too would rather still have ABS but TCS and ESC completely off.
@@mikhailgregovszki7478in my w202, the front wheel sensors are tied to the ECM for speed input. Luckily mine doesn't have traction control or slip protection, but the rear housing and transmission speed sensors also tie into the ECM. Not sure if disconnecting the front wheel sensors would cause the transmission to go into limp mode, but my 722.6 will do it if any sensor in the circuit fails.
Wow thanks! Wish I saw this a year ago, but I probably still would have ended up with the W204 6MT I got. Can you really fit the AMG LSD in these though? I read somewhere it won't fit. I really like the car but open diff sucks. I really want a V8 but can't get those with manual.... though, there is a shop in Ontario Canada making a adapter to fit a Nissan 350Z CD009 6MT to the late 2000's E63 I think... I've thought about going that route but not sure I'd want to do the swap myself - I cringe at the idea of putting a pedal and hydraulic lines in.
The C63 rear end being a physically larger HAG215 unit makes things a bit tricky, but sourcing a C63's complete rear end can make things a lot smoother!
The M273 has a lot in common with the M272 V6 engine. We haven't seen a ton of people completing a manual swap on these engines just yet, but with some time and creativity, the 273 could definitely be stuffed into a manual W204!
-Danny
@@fcpeuro By rear end do you mean subframe, diff, half-shafts, etc.? If the C63 AMG is wider, not sure how its rear end would fit the C300 though.
From what I understand the Mercedes 6MT can't handle the torque of the V8's... but the Nissan 350Z CD009 6MT can. I don't think the C63 has a M273 though, I thought it had the M156. But I may be mixing years and generations of cars up.
my dad just bought a c240 wagon manual 🤤
Manual transmission Mercedes in the US are very rare.
"Every modern Mercedes sold with a manual transmission"
proceeds to not include a single manual of the w202 w205 w208 w209 w210 w211 w212 w213 class or any diesel model whatsoever.
Good video, thanks. But until a few months ago I owned a 1993 W124 320 E with the dogleg manual box and the driveline shunt was terrible. I´ve driven a W126 300 SE (we had W126s with the 3.0 and even the 2.6 M103 with MT in Europe) with just 40,000 km in the clock and was just the same. It ruined the whole driving experience, very difficult to drive them smoothly. I´m sure that in more modern Mercedes the MT are a lot better and desirable, but in a W124 I would take a AT one.
No om606 😮
None sold stateside with a manual! Fortunately though, as folks have started to pay more attention to the 606 here in the US, it has become a lot easier to piece together a manual swap.
@@fcpeuro and no om605 😩☹
w203 but no w202?
No manual W202 stateside! A real shame, as the 202 is one of my personal favorite C's.
-Danny
your ruining my future plans here buddy
They're all going up in price now. Please put out a new video saying these cars are total shit, a ripoff and unreliable. 😛
delete it nobody need to know
delete
delete