The Hustle-N-Rust 1969 Mercedes 280s With Twin Turbo 5.3 LS needs your help!

[Hustle_n_Rust]

Hey my fellow gearheads,

I'm the founder and CEO of Hustle-n-Rust and wanted to share our current project that I think you all will appreciate ? the building of the HNR-01-280LS. This isn't just any restoration; it's a labor of love, transforming a 1969 Mercedes 280S into something extraordinary.

The heart of this beast is none other than an 800-1000 HP Twin turbo-charged LS 5.3L engine. I pulled it out of a 2001 Silverado and stripped it. it's getting new forged internals, importing the heads, and getting new everything basically. stage 3 Brian Tooley Racing Cam, and a bunch more. it will be paired with a t56 with the s1 sequential shift kit. would love to have a dogbox but we are on a tight budget for this first build and these t56 are easy to replace for the winner if they blow it up or want to do a clutch swap. the only thing I fear is I will love it too much and will cry when I have to give it away. Maybe I'll build a twin once I have a few of these under my belt. We are also building a 1949 Chrysler Windsor coupe and a cracked-out mini Cooper! I want to make sure you guys can send us some ideas too. we are planning to go to Holly Terminator. what do you guys recommend?

The blend of classic Mercedes elegance with raw, modern power is a sight to behold. The craftsmanship involved in integrating such a powerful engine into a vintage body while maintaining aesthetic harmony is truly a work of art. This is why we are working on getting a chassis built for it running hydraulic high-controlled coils and a ton of other goodies.

This Car is to be Purpose-built for several categories of race as well as reliably street friendly (if that is possible). It?s kind of like having a lion as a house cat but who cares? It?s extreme and beautiful from the custom Race interior that screams modern tech and makes it a contender on the streets today, every inch of this car has been thoughtfully designed and is slowly being executed.

This car is also the grand prize in a giveaway hosted by www.Hustle-N-Rust.com. I wanted to reach out to the forums and get your opinion and or suggestions on some of the details as we progress. we will be having our followers participate in polls that will give you a voice to be heard on items like wheel selection, color options, and some others as well.

I'm curious ? what do you all think about mixing classic car bodies with modern high-performance engines? Have any of you followed or participated in car build projects like this?
I would love to hear your thoughts and stories about similar builds or restorations.

I have attached some images of the renderings designed by Yassid Design out of the UK.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Keep revving,

Andy from
Hustle-N-Rust

[gtstorey]

I think if you are using a Holley system then this is Spam.

[RDF1]

This should be interesting.
Holley has a forum.

[Hustle_n_Rust]

hey guys, and that is why I'm here. what should I be running? Holley has a ton of money and marekting skills. I wanted to hear it from the people that actually know. lets discuss

[SiriusC1024]

Maybe you could work out a deal with HPT to use their new Core ECU. They'd be smart to take advantage of the publicity if they want to compete with Holley. Especially for an out there build like you're doing.

[Hustle_n_Rust]

I'm always down for a collaboration. I'll reach out and see if they are interested in a Sponsorship with us. We are a New Company and looking to build relationships with great companies with the best products for our type of builds. Do you have a YouTube video or link I can look at that would tell me more about it? I can google it for sure. just wondering if you have any specific details you think I should know.

I appreciate the help brother.

We are trying to be a completely different experience from the rest of these giveaway companies. we have a ton of Community engagement, we don't just sell apparel and accessories, we have a Custom wheel shop, and we can build any wheel you can think of. Carbon fiber as well. Our builds are race-ready street cars. All one-off builds. not just a Lambo with a Liberty Walk body kit.

all our builds will be smog exempt for our California winners. and we are working on building relationships with Manufacturers of Performance Parts to be able to offer those to you as well. tons on other great additions to our business on the horizon.

[gametech]

If anyone actually makes a classic mercedes look like those renderings they should be chained to the back of it and dragged by the balls until dead. I would not do that to a yugo, much less anything that ever had any value. Of course that is merely my opinion, and others are free to be as wrong as they want if they disagree with it.

[Hustle_n_Rust]

If anyone actually makes a classic Mercedes look like those renderings they should be chained to the back of it and dragged by the balls until dead. I would not do that to a yugo, much less anything that ever had any value. Of course that is merely my opinion, and others are free to be as wrong as they want if they disagree with it.

Not sure who hurt you! but there are plenty of people who love this car. I'm building it for those of us that appreciate it.


also, these 4 doors don't have much value. the coupes are the money cars. i have 3 cars worth of parts if anyone needs anything. trim, seats, radio, etc, etc, etc. Thanks for the hate! just ads fuel to the tank!

[gtstorey]

This still smells like spam to me. This is advertising for the company/project. Not a discussion for the GM V8 Gen 3 forum.

"I'm curious ? what do you all think about mixing classic car bodies with modern high-performance engines?."

"If anyone actually makes a classic mercedes look like those renderings they should be chained to the back of it and dragged by the balls until dead. I would not do that to a yugo, much less anything that ever had any value. Of course that is merely my opinion, and others are free to be as wrong as they want if they disagree with it."

"Not sure who hurt you! but there are plenty of people who love this car. I'm building it for those of us that appreciate it."

[blindsquirrel]

Thank God for the ability to hide individual forum posts with uBlock.

[Hustle_n_Rust]

I find it funny. you guys are calling my post a scam because I own the company. if you read the initial post I said I'm the founder and CEO. I asked about Holly Terminator and the only person that actually responded said Holly is trash. instead of calling this a scam how about answering the questions I have asked or at least offering some positive feedback? You all are super negative!

[SiriusC1024]

I gave you supportive, relevant feedback.

[gtstorey]

I find it funny. you guys are calling my post a scam because I own the company. if you read the initial post I said I'm the founder and CEO. I asked about Holly Terminator and the only person that actually responded said Holly is trash. instead of calling this a scam how about answering the questions I have asked or at least offering some positive feedback? You all are super negative!

I didn't say scam, although it might be. I said spam, off topic and/or advertising. If you had posted this in the lounge, ok. If you had added it to the HPT Core release post, maybe. To post it in HPT, Gen 3 GM V8 section and start talking about a Holley indicates to me that you might not have any clue what HPT actually does, at least until about a week ago when they announced the "Core". Use a GM Gen 3 ECM with this project, then post on here.

If you want positive feedback on the actual project, mine isn't. Ugly as sin.

[kingtal0n]

I'll give input for these considerations: build, Holley, spam

build: It is possible to 1000rwhp for 200,000 miles using a stock 05-07 5.3L/4.8/6.0L approaching 300,000 miles. Factory limitation of that engine era is around 1500bhp and the weak link is the block, not the internals. There is no point to changing internals it will reduce reliability dramatically while offering tolerance for abusive setup and tuning practice. Whenever somebody thinks it needs to be built to achieve that output successfully means they don't really understand how to tune or build a project affordably and reliably. I can already smell from here that the pcv will not be correct and the engine will gush oil to a collection device while piston rings will occlude crusty wall scratchings seized rings bore wear with little run time and low mileage, iron in the oil eventual wear and failure. You are not building a reliable daily vehicle you are building a pretty thing that needs to sit in a garage to be looked at and barely ever drives because of problems. This is not an attack it is a wake up call to gain more education and realize what a true forced inducted daily driver that may be enjoyed is: A vehicle with a stock engine and already have high mileage.



Holley: The unit is mediocre in terms of hardware quality, potted in a difficult way which requires grinding epoxy to fix components, odd protrusions which break and make expensive units worthless sometimes. Wiring is pretty good. Practice is pretty good if you know how to build and tune a custom ECU, which most customers do not. By the time I get there they've got the alternator wires zip tied to the crank trigger and the unit mounted in an impossible to access position. I think for what you pay the Holley is a great option, but nowhere near the level of Haltech in terms of execution and delivery of features in a meaningful way. Compared to the OEM ecu however the Holley is far superior because it have closed loop wideband which makes up for everything the OEM ecu might do better or have more options for.


spam: Nobody on this forum is ever happy for some reason whether you spam or not it makes little difference, they will generally bitch and complain no matter what and make sure you know that they are ignoring you and call you names. The moderation is shit and you can do whatever you want though so have at it, I encourage your antics and recommend research how to build a reliable daily driver with turbocharger application by investigating how Toyota Supra and Nissan Skyline 95-02 Engines are setup, they achieve high mileage the same way you can with Chevrolet engine if you understand their methodology.


Now let me show you how to properly spam
-Kalamadaya
PhD Mechanical engineering, MS Biomedical engineering, BS Biological science, mathematics, chemistry
25 years assembling forced induction applications



Also make sure you attach a huge sig every single time you post , really lets people know the surface area of your brain

[SiriusC1024]

It's difficult enough making either a show car or a race car. Successfully combining them, especially on an old platform, is going to be very challenging.

Here's an example. Those turbines aren't protected. They'll be sucking in a lot of tire tire marbles during a race. Something that would be form and function would be like a velocity stack screen. They're on a lot of Euro builds, so it'd fit the aesthetic.
velocity stack screen.png

Staking your company's name on this type of project is a huge risk. That's why I suggested a business idea the would be mutually beneficial. Wish you the best.

As far as the criticism. First time poster. First time posters going into the wrong forum isn't a big deal.

Also, appreciate what OP is trying to do. He's actually creating a crazy build. That's something a lot of us dream about but never do. Don't get shitty with the guy.

[gtstorey]

I don't think I'm being insecure. I just think all he is doing is advertising his project/company. He doesn't want honest opinions, just positive feedback. Not everything deserves positive feedback.

To me, this isn't much different than the guy that repeatedly post that he can help someone tune, but never actually tries to help. Advertising>>>>Spam.

[Hustle_n_Rust]

sorry, i meant to give you credit. yes, you were the only one to help. I appreciate it.

I gave you supportive, relevant feedback.

here is the breakdown. I am the founder and owner of Hustle-N-Rust.com and I have been working on making this business and this car a reality for a few years now. Thanks to covid I had to start over. I had a nice shop and a ton of tools. now I have changed my strategy and focused on the marketing and design side of things. I am working on building relationships with builders, parts manufacturers, and communities that are about extreme car builds. the competition I have is the typical wide-body lambo, GTR, supra, etc. I have not really seen much in the world of my style builds. Don't get me wrong I have some simple giveaway plans in the mix that are faster to produce like a 2014 Mercedes s550. 2016 excursion conversion, and some others. but the annual main build will always be a crazy hand-built savage!

for all of you who think this is a scam or don't believe that this is happening. it's only because I am a small business and just starting the exposure strategy. I have already stripped the car down to skins, and pulled 2 motors from a Tahoe and a Silverado. One was stripped down and ready to build. the other is a runner for mockup. I wanted a running engine so I could hook up everything minus power adders and take it to shows or whatever without having to worry about all the details of the performance engine until the final step.

I have a t56 and trying to see if S1 out of Australia will sponsor the sequential shift kit. I have reached out to a few other suppliers for other parts.

That being said. The purpose of this thread was to get honest feedback on What ECU/tuning system we should be running in this car.
5.3L aluminum intake, ported heads, forged internals, BTR stage 3 cam, ARP hardware, and some other stuff like trunnion, etc, etc.

the options I know of are, Fitech, Holly, Texas Speed, Edelbrock, and the one that Sirus stated.

Some Real Advice would be Helpful! I would really Appreciate it.

[Hustle_n_Rust]

I'll give input for these considerations: build, Holley, spam

build: It is possible to 1000rwhp for 200,000 miles using a stock 05-07 5.3L/4.8/6.0L approaching 300,000 miles. Factory limitation of that engine era is around 1500bhp and the weak link is the block, not the internals. There is no point to changing internals it will reduce reliability dramatically while offering tolerance for abusive setup and tuning practice. Whenever somebody thinks it needs to be built to achieve that output successfully means they don't really understand how to tune or build a project affordably and reliably. I can already smell from here that the pcv will not be correct and the engine will gush oil to a collection device while piston rings will occlude crusty wall scratchings seized rings bore wear with little run time and low mileage, iron in the oil eventual wear and failure. You are not building a reliable daily vehicle you are building a pretty thing that needs to sit in a garage to be looked at and barely ever drives because of problems. This is not an attack it is a wake up call to gain more education and realize what a true forced inducted daily driver that may be enjoyed is: A vehicle with a stock engine and already have high mileage.



Holley: The unit is mediocre in terms of hardware quality, potted in a difficult way which requires grinding epoxy to fix components, odd protrusions which break and make expensive units worthless sometimes. Wiring is pretty good. Practice is pretty good if you know how to build and tune a custom ECU, which most customers do not. By the time I get there they've got the alternator wires zip tied to the crank trigger and the unit mounted in an impossible to access position. I think for what you pay the Holley is a great option, but nowhere near the level of Haltech in terms of execution and delivery of features in a meaningful way. Compared to the OEM ecu however the Holley is far superior because it have closed loop wideband which makes up for everything the OEM ecu might do better or have more options for.


spam: Nobody on this forum is ever happy for some reason whether you spam or not it makes little difference, they will generally bitch and complain no matter what and make sure you know that they are ignoring you and call you names. The moderation is shit and you can do whatever you want though so have at it, I encourage your antics and recommend research how to build a reliable daily driver with turbocharger application by investigating how Toyota Supra and Nissan Skyline 95-02 Engines are setup, they achieve high mileage the same way you can with Chevrolet engine if you understand their methodology.


Now let me show you how to properly spam
-Kalamadaya
PhD Mechanical engineering, MS Biomedical engineering, BS Biological science, mathematics, chemistry
25 years assembling forced induction applications



Also, make sure you attach a huge sig every single time you post, really lets people know the surface area of your brain

Thank you for your honesty.

please keep in mind at this point I am not going to be the builder. I am doing the research to make sure this is a daily/reliable car. I have a builder I know and admire who is willing to build it for me. he is an LS specialist and I would not attempt to build 800-1000 HP myself and claim it was reliable. This is why I need people like you to chime in and tell me where the issues will lie!

good to know i can spam the crap out of these negative nancies! cheers!

[Hustle_n_Rust]

It's difficult enough making either a show car or a race car. Successfully combining them, especially on an old platform, is going to be very challenging.

Here's an example. Those turbines aren't protected. They'll be sucking in a lot of tire tire marbles during a race. Something that would be form and function would be like a velocity stack screen. They're on a lot of Euro builds, so it'd fit the aesthetic.
velocity stack screen.png

Staking your company's name on this type of project is a huge risk. That's why I suggested a business idea the would be mutually beneficial. Wish you the best.

As far as the criticism. First time poster. First time posters going into the wrong forum isn't a big deal.

Also, appreciate what OP is trying to do. He's actually creating a crazy build. That's something a lot of us dream about but never do. Don't get shitty with the guy.

once again, I appreciate you brother!

yeah the renderings dont show the daily driver accessories that would be required to make sure it doesn't get trashed! i was planning on some sort of high-flow filter. thanks for the attention to detail and support.

[Hustle_n_Rust]

I don't think I'm being insecure. I just think all he is doing is advertising his project/company. He doesn't want honest opinions, just positive feedback. Not everything deserves positive feedback.

To me, this isn't much different than the guy that repeatedly post that he can help someone tune, but never actually tries to help. Advertising>>>>Spam.

Just quick to accuse me instead of asking what my intentions are!

sorry im proud of what i have built so far! i guess some people do not like to show and tell.