A couple of weeks ago, GregMN sent me an email letting me know that he would be visiting Phoenix in the near future to pick up an ML320 CDI. He would be driving his 1991 350SDL down from Minnesota and returning in his new purchase. He offered to give me the 350SDL for free if I wanted it. All he asked was that I let him keep the wheels and battery.
Naturally, I was interested, but my roommate Jamie had been wanting a W126 for a long time and had been browsing through craigslist for them, hoping to purchase one when he had the money. He didn't want a gas-guzzler with a V8 engine, and he wanted the long-wheelbase version, but didn't want a "rod-bender" OM603 engine. His favorite car color is white, so I knew this would be a perfect fit for him. The 350SDL also has working air conditioning, and none of our cars here do. With over 100 days over 100 degrees, and summers as hot as 120 degrees, air conditioning really is a necessity. A few months ago, Jamie saw a W126 in the wrecking yard with nice Bosch Euro headlights, so he bought them in hopes that some day he would have a W126.
So, I decided to give the car to my roommate. Greg made it down and gave him the car like he said he would. I drove the car the 30 miles home from where Greg bought his new car, with him following behind. The car drove very nicely on the freeway. We pulled off the wheels and battery, chatted a bit, and he signed over the title.
It was a very thoughtful and generous thing for Greg to give away his extra car. It will be in good hands, as I am Jamie's personal mechanic. The body is in good condition. It just needs a little rust removal, touch-up, and buffing. The interior is in great condition. In fact, short of the driver side seat skin, it's nearly perfect.
The engine will be detailed, and fortunately, it is not the original OM603 "rod-bender", but from a newer W124 300D, and it's a great fit. The car has done well over 50,000 miles on waste vegetable oil, and has a complete, very well done two-tank system. I run nothing but B99 biodiesel in my daily driver 300SD, so it will be interesting to learn about waste vegetable oil.
Now we are on the hunt for a set of 15" or bigger wheels that will fit the W126, preferably with good tires on them. The transmission does not go into reverse, but I think that replacing the B3 valve will solve the problem. Greg has offered one from a spare transmission. We are hoping to have the SDL in daily use in the near future, as Jamie's current daily driver is having transmission problems, and he doesn't want to keep putting miles on his backup car (1965 Ford station wagon).
Below is Greg (left) and Jamie (right):
I will update this thread as progress is made on the vehicle.