1961 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 404 OM617 Turbo Diesel Conversion Street Legal

1961 Mercedes-Benz Other Description

We have spent about $30,000 on this Unimog.All mechanical was gone through by ASEs.Everything worked great. Fresh paint in 2015.
We had to obtain a bond to get it registeredand street legal. Last registered in Utah.
This video is of me driving the Unimog in 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co6IQrEUMSo
We started the diesel conversion about threeyears ago. I bought the Unimog 404 Shop manual;and get this: I bought the book from Gerald Dietrichin Germany that explains how to convert a Unimog 404to diesel and instal the OM617 engine. Cost? about $20 bucks.
Then I spend almost $500 having the book translated fromGerman to English. Photo of the book covers in in the photos.

Per the book I bought a bunch of expensive partsout of Germany: bellhousing, clutch plate, clutch, etc.I also bought the diesel relay and all the other partsrecommended. You get the Unimog, both engines,all the parts, both books and the English translation.I will also send you all of the documentation, receipts,and all additional research I have done for this project.

You can see that this Unimog has the 406 wheels andtires, which are substantially taller than the 404 wheels.

Some very competent shops told us they would take onthe project. The first shop removed the cab then quit.The second shop removed the gas engine then quit.The third shop had the truck for six months; they createda custom bellhousing then quit and refused to sell usthe bellhousing. The fourth shop had the truck for two years;he did very little then quit.
Now we actually have it at a shop that promises to completethe work, but we are exhausted of this project. PerformanceMuffler in Montrose, CO will task their guy Joe to work onthe conversion every day until it is finished. Or if you wantto buy the project and do the work yourself you can do that too.
Performance Muffler estimates 80-120 hours at $100 per hour.So for $7000 (Unimog) + $12,000 (labor) you will have a truckthat is worth $40,000 - $50,000.

This video is of a guy driving a Unimog 404 with the OM617turbo diesel conversion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiAKR9wCfxw