keep us posted on this swap possibility.
I recently picked up a '95 MB300 Diesel, it has the 606 24v head, no turbo, 4speed auto with no overdrive - spins around 3000rpm at 70mph.
I bought it pretty cheap with 260k on the clock, runs good no smoke, everything works but the moonroof, and theres only a little surface rust here and there, interior is like new. I intend to cut my teeth on this MB and probably buy more in the future - I can see a real rusty one of the previous generation (pre '87 known as the 123 chassis) being a great powertrain donor for a mini pick up conversion - or even a light 2wd F150.
The problem I can see with the MB transmission is that it's vacuum controlled, so that system would have to be transported from vehicle to vehicle - not a huge deal - and - they are not overdrive - even the 4 speeds, so - the rear gearing and tire size will be critical.
The NA MB diesels are like the IDI fords - little power at the low end - you need to be patient accelerating from a red light..... I could see a conversion being really slow if the powertrain matching was not figured out up front --- a taller rear gear maybe necessary to make sure it's not gutless - but then you'll have to tune for 70mph cruising too as to not loose all your fuel economy.
I would be interested to see if an AOD ford trans could be made to bolt up to the MB engine - that would give over drive and several converter options that the MB's don't have. If a high torque multiplication converter (tuned for towing with ~3x multiplication at stall) could be coupled with an overdrive trans - a conservative rear axle ratio could be retained for good low cruising rpm to sip fuel on the highway.
I'm rambling - stay safe over there - and keep us posted on the progress.