1980 Mercedes 450SL with a Turbo 1JZ-GTE Inline-Six

Cam Clerx enjoys driving his 1980 Mercedes 450SL but grew tired of the factory V8 leaving him stranded. So he sent the convertible to Robert Rubio and his team at Sideways Performance for a powertrain upgrade. There they replaced the Mercedes engine and transmission with a turbocharged 2.5 L 1JZ-GTE VVTi inline-six and Toyota automatic transmission. The stock 1JZ-GTE sits on modified 450SL motor mounts and runs off a factory Toyota ECU and 450SL fuel pump. A custom driveshaft sends power to the factory 450SL rear end. Cam’s future plans call for switching the factory gauges to digital.