Oh man, you told me about this, you were in a hurry to get to the dinner with Ernesto and me in Sacramento, right? You jumped in the Chevy Van and came right up anyway, that was awfully good of you, even after the disaster.
I still feel awfully bad about that and was going to call you up today, but did not want to bother you. I hope you are not looking at an expensive valve job.
That was the gunmetal gray sedan, with the ski racks, right? I remember it from a distance, in SF, parked on Stockton St across from the Ritz when you came to SF to visit Dee8go and me for our mini gtg.
A really beautiful looking sedan. Definately worth fixing, it is a beauty, cosmetically.
I'd bet you could get a LOT more traction with the questions if you asked here:
www.bimmerforums.com That'd be in the the E30 section.
Or repost this question again, here, but on "Diesel Discussion". Your '81 300SD in your signature is all the street cred and admission ticket you'd need.
You are one of them officially already.
There are a LOT of shop owners, actual mechanics and REAL DIYers, there, in DD, and most of 'em NEVER look in this section at all. Some of them disdain the place known as OD. I frequent both.
Diesel Discussion is the most heavily visited part of this whole forum. Lotta those guys could help. With the time zones, it is pretty busy, sometimes even almost 24/7
Some of them in DD even like BMWs, own them, work on them and know them.
As to your 300SD, I don't know anything about its story, except
I know it's not back on the road yet, but what you have there is one of the best Mercedes, and best diesels, that was ever made.
Ever. And, white is one of the best colors ever, for the SWB W126 diesels too. Those are half million mile cars, if ever there was one.
Those fellas over in Diesel Discussion will help you get that car on the road in a jiffy. They know the 300SD down to the last nut and bolt. It is the first place I would go for help with my gas coupe, because it is the W126 bodystyle, like yours.
Some of them are
really clever. "SirNik" (Nik) is a young guy, with an '84 300SD. His car has a dual exhaust system made from
cyclone fence posts. Made it himself. UFB. He is from Sacramento, and I have seen the car and met him at the Diesel Drives. The car has big chromed dual exhaust tips, like some Firebird. He is pretty typical example of the Diesel Discussion guys. Guys like that give me faith that there is really hope for this country.