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Originally Posted by tbaldwinusc
Hi there gang, newbie here. I'm not very mechanical and am looking for a reliable daily driver that I can convert to veggie, I live in Irvine, CA (SoCal). Aside from the cosmetics of each, I'm interested in everyone's opinion of the most reliable platform and if you have preference of year within that platform.
I'm not a DIY'er so beyond engine reliability, I need a solid transmission, AC, windows and other accessories. I realize these are old cars and things are bound to happen, but to the extent I can pick the most reliable the better.
From a cosmetic perspective, I love the 1980 300SD, but these didn't come with an airbag from what I understand and safety is somewhat important to me as well. Can I expect airbags on the newer models to even work after 20 years? Any other thoughts or opinions are greatly appreciated.
Tom
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Hi Tom (as whole room repeats)
Welcome to the Diesel Anon....er, Diesel Forums
Seems the 86 and up were generally the models with airbags. Bear in mind, these are first generation airbags, and not the 'smart' airbags that are in current models. In other words, they will deploy with full force. Other than airbags, the earlier SDs are structurally just as strong in a wreck. The only difference in the SDL (86 & 87) is the SDL is longer, giving you a larger back seat. The later models, IE 86 up, have more electronics and are not quite as simple mechanically to work on. However, they are still pretty easy. Find one in good shape and you can get plenty of mileage out of them. There are a number of SDLs with 250K + miles and I have a friend with an 84SD with well over 400K miles and it runs great.
As I have found, many of the normal problems have been discovered time and time again, and there are numerous posts about the problems, and if not, people here are glad to help.
IF you convert to veggie, make sure the system is done right. You will want a 2 tank system, heated fuel lines, heated fuel filter, and I recommend heated injector lines. (It's not as bad as it sounds) You will not want to run WVO without it being heated. There are a number of recommendations from those that are running WVO systems.