I think he meant that the 300D the guy also had was an '85.

'83 was the last year the 240D was sold in the US, wasn't it?

If you couldn't tell from my username, I've got an '83 240D 4 speed. It's definitely not a fast car. But I paid less than $600 for it with very little rust for a car that's seen 25 or 26 Iowa winters, it will run bio-diesel some day when I get the stuff together to start making it, and I only have a 5 mile commute through town, so I don't really need the speed.

One thing I was told by a mechanic was that there was a known (at least to him) problem with the throttle linkage. Basically, a small part can break off, at which point the pedal goes down almost half way before moving the throttle at all. MB had a replacement part that cost nearly $300, but his "Macguyver" was to put a small piece of vacuum hose over the linkage, and zip tie it in place. That snugged it up nicely against the throttle arm again. I noticed an immediate increase in power (obviously) after this "fix", and was able to hit 83MPH down a big hill.