New Diesel in the family...

[maxfax]

It's not a VW but, I'm still so proud of my niece right now..   

A bit of foreground to this story....  About 5 years ago I stumbled across an '81 300SD in the paper for $500..  Went to look at it, the speedometer and alot of the gadets didn;t work, interior was trash, exterior was rusty with some dents..  Who knows what the actual milage was..   But it ran like a top and had 4 new tires.. Later the day I looked at it the guy called me back and said $300 or it's going to the crusher over the weekend..  I picked it up the next night.. A bit of bondo and spray paint, some bone yard interior, and alot of other knick knacks..  I had it on the road for a tad under $700..   Drove it for about 6 months then passed it to my sister for a second car to eventually become my niece's first ride.. She learned to paralell park that boat, learned to drive in snow in a RWD (Everyone should do that!).. She wasn;t the greatest at checking oil or tire pressure, or telling when it needed serviced.. She did learn how to use jumper cables though..  The head light warning did not work...

So about a month before she was to load the ole gal up and head off to college she got rearended by some broad in a Lumina..   Rust and bondo everywhere I tell you!! The Mercedes was pushed about 50 feet with tbe brakes on till it went off road, sheared off a steel mailbox post filled with concrete, and creamed a camper.. Oh yea, some bungees on the rear bumper and trunk, and you can guess which car drove home...

After a month's worth of battling and filing complaints (over getting paid not the amount) the other lady's insurance cut a check for close $2000..  Who'd a thunk it...   Hindsight, I wish we would have kept the car though..

So off to school she went without a car (maybe not a bad thing) and car shopping I went..  My niece really liked my Crown Vic, except the gas milage.. We looked at a ton of crapped out Malibus and such, a few decent toyota's, a Bonneville and I forget what else..  Nothing suited either her or me at the same time..   Then I had a craig's list find....

1983 Mercedes 300D  161,000 miles small surface rust spots, sun bleached paint and interior, a/c compressor bad but new one included..  $1200...  (Heck that was less than a POS Malibu with similar milage!) I spoke with the guy over the phone, went to look a day later and brought it home.. Hasn;t been on the road since 2000, but has been drivin around the block just to keep it runnin..  Needs a round of filters, fluids, and greasing, and some tires..  I plan to replace belts hoses and gp's for good measure.. His definition of rust was basically from stone chipping, a bit of touch up paint and under coat with a good buffing, it'll look pretty good for it's age....  I'll post pics tomorrow...

Anyhow I was away for the holiday weekend, but my niece was home from school and saw the car..   She was friggen extatic!! (Yes I got the 18 year old girl squealing with excitment phone call) It restores my hope in todays youth, really it does!!!   A skinny blond 18 year old girl is thrilled to have a 26 year old 4 door diesel Mercedes... I've been told though, that the original and working Becker tape deck has to go..  I guess I can deal with that...

[rs899]

There's a lot to like about the Mercedes OM617/616 engine and what they used to put them in ( I should know- I have 4 of them).  Considering the enormous size and weight, they get very good mileage- better than current Honda Accords and the like and not made out of beer cans and bubble wrap plastic.  I would drive nothing but them except that over a 65 mile/day commute 50 mpg of a VW diesel vs. 35 mpg  of a 240D stick (yes, you can really get that) does eventually make a difference.

If you need any help with it, you are invited to hang out with us MB dieselheads here:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/forumdisplay.php?f=15

Rick

[maxfax]

I would have a couple of these around myself if it weren;t for the fact that decent ones (IE non rust buckets) are rather scarce and expensive in this area..

I don;t have a ton of experience with these, then again never really had to do anything with them aside from maintenance...  Diaphragam in the heater valve, windows, and fuel gauge, and a demon possed electric speedo on the 300SD..   Aside from the brief sting with the 300SD the only other MB diesel I;ve had was a really rusty 220D, and yes it was a 4 speed manual...

It just surprised me how thrilled she was to have another car that is not really flashy, sporty, or even cute.. The only other car she even remotely showed interest in was a 96 Mustang GT..  (Big no from myself, her mom, and the insurance company).   Still not with the enthusiasm that she had over the Benz.. 

Now if I could just find my camera cable to upload pics..   

ANd thanks for the invite! I'll swing on by there and say hey!

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Great story Max. Too bad about the Becker.
I still rock Heidelbergs and nothing but in my VW's.
It freaks people out when they get in and see a cassette in the slot.
"Does that damn thang work ?!"
Push-click.....Rock&Roll.

Those 4 spd stick MB's are a trip. Our local U-Pull-It brought one in that was cream puff in most degrees. 60,xxx actual miles ! Driver seat and floor mat were even still mint. No rust but mildly weathered paint and chrome. Looked like mid-to-late 60's model.
If i could have bought whole car i would have, but they WILL NOT sell a car.

I can hook you up with dandy deals on nice soild 80's MB Diesels almost any day of the week around here. But Diesel VW's are he[[ to find. And few and far between in good condition.

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/cto/1302400912.html

I was supposed to get a pretty nice 86-87 300 SDL TD for almost nothing, but that has hit a snag for now. Power headrests and all that wild shet etc...

[rs899]

Although I love the long body SDL, you have to be a little careful on that OM603 engine as it has an alloy head that has a chance of warping/cracking, and that will cost you big money.

Rick

[maxfax]

Was the 603 the one that has some timing chain issues as well? I thought I read something about that somewhere...

Personally if I were to get another Benz for myself it would be another W115 car..  I really like the lack of gadgets to go awry..  EVen though I'm pretty sure my ole 220 was SLOWER than my NA VW.. 

I did stumble onto a W110 about 5 few years ago... 1965 190DC (?) with an auto trans.....   It had been sitting there for a year or two before I stopped with a for sale sign..

Not terribly rusty from what I could see (it was dark)..  The guy claimed it ran but needed brake work and servicing.... He however didn;t have a battery to show me it ran (it's stitting at a garage, remeber!)..  Windshield was cracked but another was in the back seat.. Interior was shot.. 

He wanted 2 grand then which I didn;t have to blow on toys at the time, and I felt was a bit much since he didn;t seem real willing to show me why it was worth 2 grand... I stopped again about 6 months ago..  Rust is becoming more noticable although still only appears to be surface rust..  The guy chewed and stomped around a bit and finally said he couldn't take less than 1800..  Sad to see it sitting there rotting

[rs899]

I'm not aware of any MB OM engines with timing chain issues...but the 350SDLs are notorious rod benders.

I almost bought a '66 190D (or was it 200D) stick myself a few years ago.  A 90 year old guy had it, and he was just too old  to get back under the dashboard to fix the windshield wiper motor.  The only thing that really kept me from buying it (it really had a sound body and engine) was that he had recovered the seats in cherry red crushed velvet that I couldn't take.

Rick

[maxfax]

I'm not aware of any MB OM engines with timing chain issues...but the 350SDLs are notorious rod benders.

That could be what I'm thinking of too..  I seem to deal with too many different types of engines in a day to recall what happens to what anymore.. That is till it's in front of me and broken...

was that he had recovered the seats in cherry red crushed velvet that I couldn't take.

Oh boy, that had to be done in the 70's...   I drive by this 190 daily thinking I should stop again and see if he'll come down ..  From what I have been able to gather these aren't terribly valuable cars..  Watching ebay the extremely nice ones only seem to be bringing around 6k..  Projects float from $600 to $1500.     If I could at least inspect the underside and hear it run I would probably go to the higher end of that...

[Baron VonZeppelin]

I don't know squat about MB's. Except how to paint them.
That SDL has over 420,000 miles but pretty nice mostly.
Buyback salvage title from a previous collision, that was repaired right.
Same owner since 91. Well maintained.

Was supposed to be about a $200 deal right quick from the old mans son who has power of attorney. But the old man caught wind of it and raged.
So they're holding off for a while.

If i got it and it eventually needed anything that couldn't come from a boneyard - it would go to parts car status instantly.

For a while - in the back of my mind - i had pondered buying the engine and tranny from that super old 4spd MB at the u-pull-it with low miles.
And put it into a 66 GTO body, just for hell of it.
GreaseCar MuscleCar. woot woot

[maxfax]

The biggest snag I've encounterd with transplanting MB diesels into other things is the sump on the oil pan..   It in the front, and the construction of the pan would make it difficult to modify..   Most common thing with front sump pans were older Fords till the late 70's..  Which brings us to an aquisition I made last summer..  1977 Pinto Wagon, 2.2L MB Diesel with a turbo and 4 speed... Same engine as the rusted out '72 220D sitting in my personal junk pile..

THe engien and trans installed beautifully into the car, the turbo installation is an abortion at best.. Dunno how many miles were on the engine but it no longer has much compression..  Kinda got it to fire on ether, but that's it..   The pindo body is pretty decent though..   Some day upon a time I have plans to swap my ole 220D engine in there and ditch the turbo setup..

[Baron VonZeppelin]

Pinto Wagon ........ get back man
Is it a woody or a solid paint color ?
The wagons looked pretty darn neat.

I can probably still get that engine/tranny. If car isnt crushed.

Front sump pan is bad news for GTO swap.
Cancel that order please.
Something this strange and goofy needs to be easy and cheap !

[maxfax]

It's not a woody unfortunatly..   I really wish it was a panel wagon (with the port hole window!!) It's just a faded blue run of the mill '76 Wagon..  The installation of the MB engine was beautifully done..  Brackets fabbed on the engine block to let it rest on the stock pinto mounts.   Pan and steering rack clearance are excellent..   THe trans cross member was moved forward several inches with a fabbed crossmember..   Shifter linkages were lengthened so that the MB shifter mounted in the same place as the Pinto..  Even the MB radiator and oil cooler were mounted with an electric fan.. Since the MB has an IRS there is no slip yoke on the trans.. It appears to be a ford truck driveshaft with the slip yoke in the center was adapted to fit up to the MB trans..  Even the speedo is connected, but I don;t know how accurate it is..

The tubo installation was a complete hack job though..  Probably not one of the best engines to throw a turbo at anyhow..

It was another one of those cars that was in the paper for months on end..  Couldn't bear it sitting out anymore.. Besides, the empty space in that shed was just KILLING me..