I at one point had a 1983 grey-market 300D. The thing that would verify the odometer mileage would be the import plate. There should be a plate that was attached by us customs outlining who imported the vehicle and what the odometer read before it was converted to Miles. This plate also states whether the car was in compliance with emissions and safety standards (mine had the headlamps replaced, but NOT the bumpers....strange). Anyway, look for the plate, and you're golden. As for the engine...Not sure, the ALDA looks very similar to the German turboed versions at the time (notice the cap on the adjuster screw). Mine didn't have an ALDA (and thus, no turbo), but since it had a four-speed, the Germans thought it was unnecessary to provide a turbo (go figure). As for everything else, no doubt it came from elsewhere. It's got the same features as a base Ford Taurus (minus the standard a/c in the Taurus), and it has an obvious lack of Mercedes "luxury looks." No wood in the dash or anywhere in fact, manual climate controls in a 300D, manual rear windows, seats with cloth, lack of tachometer, manual idle adjust screw, headlamp angle adjuster, lack of cruise control, thin Euro bumpers. I do have to say that the headlamps may be the original, but the sealed beam may have been chaged to US spec. The reason I say that is beacause the fog lamps are not yellow.

Geez, now I miss my Euro...I miss the lack of a/c, cruise control, an automatic transmission in rush-hour traffic, leather seats, and easy-to-find engine parts. Oh well, The lack of sophistication was what made that car awesome. I hope the guy I sold it to enjoys it for many years....

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1983 300TD 315k miles - Work "truck"
1983 300SD 431k miles
1998 VW Jetta TDi 194k miles
Heartless Libertarian