They make beautiful demo derby cars too.

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"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

http://www.wecrash.com/pics/ddda_banner.gif

That they do. I paid $100 for a nice DeVille that we demo'd. That was fun. I could not think of a finer end to a Chevy (er.. sorry GM). Althought I still think $100 for a Caddy is pretty pricey.

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I'm with you Hattie and I'm going to get flamed too. Any Dr. Frankenstein that would put a Caddy, Chevy, or any brand-X in a Benz should be burned at the stake. A swap like that would be like giving me a heart transplant from a donor elephant.

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1983 300-D turbo
1985 300-D turbo
1959 Harley Panhead chopper
1929 Ford coupe restored
I hang out with Boneheaddoctor at Schuman Automotive OBK#5
All liberals are mattoids but not all mattoids are liberal.

yea 100$ for a caddy is too pricey hardly worth it lol

whadda waste. The reason they make great demo cars is that they are truly well engineered cars that were built with quality. If you like demoing quality cars, why not throw your Benz in next time as well.

BTW: the Caddies with the Cadillac bigblock motors share very very few parts with Chevies, that terrible trend started after the fuel crisis and fuel economy standards. Those cars, particularly the seville and later 80's Caddies that got Chevy or Olds motors (not Caddy motors) aren't true Caddies. I still hate it because it is just senseless destruction of what is usually a fine-running auto, but at least it is a stamped-out cookie cutter instead of a classic.

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1971 220D/4-speed ~250K mi. Family owned (dads side) through three generations since <5K miles.
1992 Chrysler LeBaron, 3.0V6 125K. Family owned (moms side) through three generations since new.
1977 Chevy Camaro Continual hotrod project
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille 472ci and nearly 19' long
1974 Fiat Spider Still needs work

Caddy is ruined for me, I see way to many lumbering along in the right lane at 50mph, with there live year axle's bouncing around in the back and faded cloth or vinyle roof's.

My Uncle got some mid 80's Caddy in the garage of a house he bought. I was turning 16 at the time and probably could have gotten it cheap. It was in good shape but it was such an old persons car, plus everything about it was a little cheesy. Not much better then your average Lumina.

How can they be taken seriosly with FWD, live rear axles and such simple suspensions?

The newer ones are nice, I looked at a few 05's and I think by 07-08 if they keep going in the right direction you could seriously cross shop one to a BMW, Lexus, or MB.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I think he is putting the MB engine in a derby car because it's durable, heavy yet expendable! But he wants to know if a caddy engine will fill the void in a 240D it came from...guess he has little regard MB, and regard for the car it came out of....da..lets put a big caddy engine in, Ha ha ha ha!

I don't think he is a friend of MB, if you catch my drift!

i dont know where you guys are from but i live in san diego california.around here you can find mercedes for practically nothing. i bought my 240d stickshift for 400 dollars. my brother was given a 300d . we got a decent 220d for free, all we had to do was drive it home. i was also given a 82 240d along with two rebuilt engines and a transmission for free. its not like there is a shortage of these cars.5 of my friends own diesel mercedes purchased next to nothing. as for not being a friend of mercedes if i dont make these into some whackjob project they simply go to the junkyard where they sit untouched next to mercedes that could run with very little work. oh yeah and as far as derbying a benz. they dont allow anything but american cars with american engines.
the caddy is a rustbucket. i would rather have it go out in a bang than to have it sit around forever rusting into the ground.

No doubt they are excellently engineered cars, but as with everything, they lose thier value and become worth little more as a car than they are worth as scrap. This caddy may have seen ten or fifteen thousand more miles before it was sent to the junkyard to be shamelessly torn to pieces by scavengers and the remains crushed, melted down and turned into soda cans. Where is the dignity in that? The car no longer serves the purpose that it used to and will never be restored. Because of demolition derbies, cars like this can die in a more dignified manner. They aren't ripped to pieces in a depressing car graveyard. They make their exit in a brilliant blaze of glory.

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"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

http://www.wecrash.com/pics/ddda_banner.gif

The reason your uncles 80's FWD Caddy wasn't better than a Lumina (or a Celebrity, perhaps?) is that it was a Celebrity/Pontiac 6000/Buick/Olds under the skin. Like I said those were dark days for Caddy, and the cars aren't really Cadillacs IMO.
The BB Caddy we're talking about here is a whole different animal. This is a 19' or so luxury liner with the power to *move*, and was made before Caddy was forced to pick from the generic GM parts bin for everything so the pieces are good quality. Honestly, I do find the quality and construction very much on par with my 220D.
I can't help how others drive their cars (or don't replace their shocks), but when I have my Caddy out on the open road trust me, I'm not loafing one bit! Just ease onto that right pedal and make anyone I catch vanish in the rearview... I do take it easy in town just because it sucks the economy down to haul a 5500# car up to speed for the stoplight dash. Plus, it's just undignified

Personally, going to a junkyard is a far better end than smashing it. If you smash it, I'm thinking the odds are good that it gets crushed right afterwards. In a junkyard, the car can help keep other beauties on the road. There are plenty of people who restore these old cars, but since the aftermarket demand is not the same as for a musclecar the reproduction parts aren't as available, and junkyard parts are needed.

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1971 220D/4-speed ~250K mi. Family owned (dads side) through three generations since <5K miles.
1992 Chrysler LeBaron, 3.0V6 125K. Family owned (moms side) through three generations since new.
1977 Chevy Camaro Continual hotrod project
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille 472ci and nearly 19' long
1974 Fiat Spider Still needs work

They aren't ripped to pieces in a depressing car graveyard.

Cannibalizing junked machines enables better ones to survive. If it weren't for salvage yards, thousands of driveable classics on the road today would be nothing but scrap.

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'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate

Northstar engine... maybe.
Otherwise, recycle those parts for both cars.

You guys are missing the point. The kind of car that you demo is not a car with lots of good parts on it. You take total beaters, most of them already stripped of all good parts and smash them. We aren't talking about cars with potential here, we are talking about cars that have been so thouroughly thrashed already, that they look like they have already been demoed. We aren't going around snatching beautiful classics of the street. They are beaters with few valueble parts.

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"spreading a trail of obnoxious where ever we go"
1981 300sd w/ 341,500 miles

http://www.wecrash.com/pics/ddda_banner.gif

you know.. if i had 80 billion $$'s i would go out and buy some brand new luxary cars and have a demo derby with them.. buy myself a monster truck.. diesel one specially made for me and purchase a load of new cars to crush..

i dont know why but ive always wanted to do that.. and no mercede's will be crushed

If you ask me you've got some strange ideas. I do believe it takes all kinds to power the planet, but you wont ever be getting my $ in any way shape or form for your "habit" if I can help it.