Technical question. Thinking of a modern car that's stuffed

Mercedes is shit. Only Turks drive that crap. Lexus is better and more reliable.

Anything is possible, but it would cost way too much. Yes the computer systems are all integrated, always checking to make sure each one is present.

Take a far more simpler auto only sedan, the crown vic. You can swap a manual in but the ECU on it's routine check will not sense the automatic transmission, it will then throw a Check Engine light and go into limp mode, not allowing you to go over 5mph. You have to have a tuner adjust the ECU to not look for the transmission on start up, fairly simple to do, but of course they have the software and you don't so it's a couple hundred dollars to push a few buttons. This is with a car that's been manual swapped thousands of times. A more unique project will require more resourcefulness and money to throw at it.

>>17780239
That it would be highly complex and expensive is clear to me. I just came to think of it while reading an article about an endurance race-spec BMW M4 where they pulled out some OEM electronics and spend weeks to convince the remaining electronics that those are not needed. However that were probably gimmicks like parking sensors, not something like the transmission which most certainly plays a role in the ECU's programming. But I guess you're right. Giving such a car to an experienced tuner and throwing money at him until it's done would do the job. Street legality is another matter, at least around here.

>>17780261
Newer and newer the ECU is becoming more complex and centralized, frankly making them more difficult to remove certain parts.