Yes! This is the beginning of a blog of the journey of my next Crossfire project. Having now successfully completed both naturally aspirated and forced induction V8 conversions to Crossfires, it is now time to move on to the next most complicated swaps, a 6.2L M156 AMG V8 into a Crossfire. If you have not read of past exploits, then I recommend you read about the last major project, a 2004 Sapphire Silver Blue (SSB) coupe with a M113K supercharged V8 and 7-speed transmission HERE.

This first post is an introduction. Some of the blog entries will be back-dated, as they just have not been discussed, but I do want to preserve the timeline. This project has been worked on steadily for well over three years, but the subject car has only been here for about half of that. The pace has been dramatically slower than the 2004, and that is both intentional and a fact of life that there is a day job and family to look after ahead of the car!

This project will take on an additional set of challenges over the 2004 car. On top of the powertrain swap, this one will receive a few other noteworthy changes. First, the wiring in the car will be completely revamped, using bits and pieces of various Mercedes models, in an effort to bring more modern amenities to the Crossfire body. The interior will be completely swapped, retaining only door panels, sill covers, carpet, and rear area panels from the original car. A-pillars and headliner will be modified. The seats will come from a W207 E-class convertible, and the dash/center console will come from a W209 CLK (facelift). Several aftermarket devices will be integrated in from the start, including dash cam, picture-in-mirror, and blind spot detection. The drive train will be a M156 from a 2014 C63 "507 Edition", which is the base 6.2L V8, but with upgraded forged internals from the legendary M159 engine found in the SLR, and late model GT race cars. Transmission will be the same 722.931 that I had previously used in the 2004 M113K car. Rear end will be a HAG210 from a CLK55, with a Quaife LSD. Exhaust will be Needswings headers, downpipes with a stock SRT6 resonator and muffler (this may change in the future). Brakes will be SLK55 6 piston front and 4 piston rear. Suspension will be Eibach springs, Koni front shocks, Bilstein rear shocks, CamberKing front upper control arms, adjustable rear control arms. Wheels will be replicas of SL-class, but sized 18" front, 19" rear. Lighting up front will consist of a mix of Morimoto LED and HID lamps, and Apex Prototypes fog lamps. There are tons of other details, and parts have been being collected for over three years for this. In fact, parts hoarding began long before the car showed up.

So forget all about that! Tell us about the car! OK, then. Next post the back-dating and details will begin, until caught up.