Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

Sounds to me like you have $5K to spend on it. Then $1,000 more to go get it wherever.

You should be able to find one in the DFW area in time. There were thousands upon thousands of MB diesels shipped and sold in Texas in the late '70s to mid '80s. Both my Texas MB diesels were rust-free when I bought them and sold them. But mine are garaged 100% of the time anyway. I don't know that there's a rust issue on anything that has been at least carported most of it's life in Dallas/FtWorth. craigslist is where to find used MBs. What I'm finding is that most used MB diesel buyers I've run across are not willing to pay for a very well kept used one. They seem to want them on-the-cheap, and or they want tons of parts replacements done, and still want the low price. Go figure? The other end of the spectrum is to find a freaking heap that you will undoubtedly spend $5K to $10K on refurbishing it. Be careful what you wish for on getting a deal, because the bottom-end MBs will cost you every bit as much as you will pay for a prime condition, documented, one-owner, with reasonable miles on it after you spend months, years, and big dollars trying to refurbishing it here and there. You mention you want AC working on a car that old. Well, that can cost you up to $2K to have a shop refurbish - not some guy that shade-trees, for a couple hundred bucks - but a reputable AC shop that actually will warrant their work for a year. An R&R with no issues will cost you every bit of $900 to $1,200 for an AC replacement. So you see, just AC can cost up to $2K before you do anything else to an old car.