HI

Greetings from another Toronto 300SD owner (in process of moving to BC but that's another story).

Not to be insulting, but have you and your wife both read the starting instructions in the owner's manual? My 83 300SD starts fine down to about -15C with no need for a block heater with

1. synthetic oil
2. good glow plugs
3. correctly adjusted valves
4. following starting instructions - allow glow cycle to complete, depress accelerator pedal approx 1 inch, crank her until she runs by herself.

Below about -15C I use the block heater simply to reduce wear and tear on both the car and myself (faster cabin heat).

McNally Auto up near Sheppard and Keele is the best Indie for older MB's in town. Get him to do your valve clearances and also check your GP's at the same time. I had my valves done once by Forli downtown on Parliament once, and they were ALL wrong after they did the job. Every blessed valve was set incorrectly. Now I go to McNally if I need them done in the winter or do them myself in the summer.

Check out the Canadian good shops thread on the forum and you'll find more info.

Good hunting, R