Kent Bergsmas 1993 300D 2.5 Turbo with High Performance STC 300 Conversion Installed

You are looking at Kents low mileage immaculate 124 chassis white diesel sedan. It is getting harder and harder to find these diesels in this condition and with less than 150,000 miles. Kent was fortunate to find this one in Colorado and had it trucked out to the west coast. It has the optional hydraulic limited slip differential and with 200 to 300 pounds in the trunk this rear wheel drive sedan works great in the snow! He loves the crisp handling and modern road feel of the 124 chassis.

Since this car was primarily purchased for his wife, a special SVO conversion kit was installed that had to meet the criteria of high performance and simple, almost seamless operation. The engine compartment boasts a heavy duty rapid electric fuel heater and second stage 5 micron filter close to the engine. This allows for startup on veggie oil right down to about 35 degrees F. There are no dash switches. The fuel can be preheated before startup by putting the key in the accessory position. Linda waits one to two minutes in the morning and then starts the car.

Heavy duty electric rapid fuel heater and second stage filter

To aid in getting the thick vegetable oil moving on cool mornings Kent installed an electric fuel sump heater in the right side fender well of the trunk (there is not enough room for a sump heater in the 124 and 201 chassis spare tire well). This heats the oil just as it exits the fuel tank and is controlled by a thermostat that keeps the temperature of the oil inside the sump at about 80 degrees. Fuel is drawn out of the sump and pushed towards the engine by a high performance electric fuel pump. Thats right - an aux fuel pump. Kent believes every conversion can benefit by the added fuel pressure delivered by this pump, but particularly any 201, 124, or late 126 diesel with the 60x. engine should not leave home without one!

Electric sump heats fuel just as it leaves the tank

You are looking at the 30 micron preliminary filter mounted in the trunk alongside the electric fuel pump. That's right - two filters. If you have read any of Kent's writings about SVO conversions you already know how he feels about dual filtering. He strongly believes that two inexpensive quality Stanadyne filters properly staged are far more practical and effecient than one expensive filter (ie Vormax) that often have more hype than substance. He always carries spare filter elements in the trunk. In most cases the 30 micron will plug first and can be bypassed in a pitch (ie stuck out on the road with no spare filter). Try that with single stage filtering!

Trunk mount 30 micron preliminary filter alongside electric boost fuel pump

We know someone is going to ask so we might as well answer the question here.  No, this kit is not being offered for sale. You can build your own 124 converison by purchasing our kits and components. Of course it may not look like this, but if you are handy and creative you may be able to look at these pictures and build something very close. It is just too time consumming to custom build a kit like this and that makes it too expensive for most. The side benefit of this conversion is there is no appreciable loss of power (on olive oil there is an increase in power) and it still gets 35 to 37 mpg on free fuel.  Who ever said there is no free lunch?