wvo project car, 83 300td, whadya think?
 

bought this from a junkyard. paid $1700. drove it home. needs brakes all around for sure. a/c, cruise, door locks dont work, rear level system is out of fluid (i hope thats all thats wrong with it). clear coat is peeling bad, florida car. no rust though. engine and trans feel good. interior is clean. 191k on it.

i felt like i got a good deal, what do y'all think?

my first official project car, i dont know where to start. needs alot of tlc.

i want to add a wvo conversion kit to it and turn up the power a little (if possible)

lookin forward to fixin it up lil by lil when funds become available. . will keep y'all posted on my progress/setbacks.

please feel free to laugh, make jokes, comments, tips, suggestions, etc..

I paid 1800 (1980 3rd row) for mine with a paint job, complete front end, SLS, and transmission rebuild within last 10 years (hardly driven during that time). The brake calipers had frozen and wouldnt allow the car to go more than a few miles. Replaced brakes and my wife has been driving it ever since. Granted it wasnt a turbo, but my recent experience with turbos make me want to stick with the NA. So much off the line torque. My only other real complaint is the rear diff gearing (3.47). I think instead of swapping the rear end I am going to slap the biggest wheels I can find on the wagon. I think the 3.07 will be way to slow for accel.

That being said, I LOVE driving that car. So smooth, great for sunday driving.

nice!
 

if the vital signs are good, then i think the price is OK for a wagon.

start with the big stuff and get the car running right (engine, trans etc.)- BUT, to get some of the big stuff running right (vacuum system), a lot of times you have to do lots of side chases at small stuff. a lot of things are interconnected. put the WVO conversion on the back burner IMO, get the car running correctly to factory specs before you start doing unconventional things.

buy the Haynes manual (useful at times) and the Factory Service Manual on CD (MUST HAVE!) from Mercedes-Benz of America. buy a MityVac, you will need it.

everything you need to know is here. for me, i spend 10x the time reading here than I do working on the car. that way when i go to do something on the car, i hopefully know what im doing and can get it done quick.


good luck!

I would agree with DieselDan. Get it going and learn the vehicle first. Get a feel for what is normal. After that, you'll be ready to experiment.

BTW - I'm on the same path just a little bit ahead of you. I picked up an 85 300TD Euro for the same purposes. I still haven't totally figured out the vehicle much less whether I'm gonna run bio, 2 tank WVO or WVO/RUG. Right now I am just enjoying driving it daily to work on back country roads.

Also, you're just up I-75. What are your plans for WVO winter driving?

.....Dan

I picked up an 81 TD a few months ago. It has a lot of problems. There is significant blow by visable when I remove the oil filler plug.

I was planning a WVO conversion on my 80 240D but thinking I might practice on the TD since I am planning on replacing the engine with a used engine anyway.

Get that SLS oil filled up so you so not burn up the pump.

what fluid to use?
where is the pump?