Because ONE Is Never Enough! - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

brownrice78 · #31 06-02-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark DiSilvestro

Yeah. That was the '74 240D on Craigslist. My friend Mike was more interested than I. The automatic in that car shifted really well, while the one in my '82 is a bit quirky.
Mike is really hot to get a decent one now and frustrated that he wasn't able to snap up that Euro 240D before the listing was gone. Mike said the seller claimed it needed an injection pump, though it still ran. What's with that? And how beat was it? Did it turn out to be a rustbucket?

Happy Motoring, Mark

The car was just too tempting for me to not check it out. It took me almost 40 minutes to get to Mt. Airy. The seller turned out to be a really nice guy who knew nothing about the car. Injection pump was fine I believe...car had absolutely no smoke but plenty of blowby...engine mounts were completely shot..each body panel looked like a different shade of green...some rust here and there...fuel gauge was stuck at full, when it had very little fuel left...seat springs completely shot..and the guy accidentally snapped the ac compressor completely off the car. They inherited it from a family friend. It was more of a cool project than a steal. The condition of the paint was pretty bad. There's a couple 240D manuals in the area for sale right now. A brown one at some dealership in manassas, that's got a lot of work done to it and also i found a black 240D manual on craigslist yesterday asking $1500.

Mark DiSilvestro · #32 06-02-2009, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brownrice78

The car was just too tempting for me to not check it out. It took me almost 40 minutes to get to Mt. Airy. The seller turned out to be a really nice guy who knew nothing about the car. Injection pump was fine I believe...car had absolutely no smoke but plenty of blowby...engine mounts were completely shot..each body panel looked like a different shade of green...some rust here and there...fuel gauge was stuck at full, when it had very little fuel left...seat springs completely shot..and the guy accidentally snapped the ac compressor completely off the car. They inherited it from a family friend. It was more of a cool project than a steal. The condition of the paint was pretty bad. There's a couple 240D manuals in the area for sale right now. A brown one at some dealership in manassas, that's got a lot of work done to it and also i found a black 240D manual on craigslist yesterday asking $1500.

Wouldn't mind a black one EXCEPT - summers would be pretty miserable without a good AC, and I've heard those 240D ACs weren't that great even when the cars were new. My remaining 240D AC was converted to R134 and it's marginal, but I mostly park in the shade and it'a a light ivory color, so the AC is usually tolerable.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Mark DiSilvestro · #33 06-16-2009, 08:15 PM

Well, in keeping with the theme that started this thread, I went to look at another 240D today. It's a navy-blue 1983, stickshift, power-windows, no sunroof, Firetones on bundt-rims have alot of tread, odometer showing 177K-miles. dash & interior look good, floors are perfect, body very solid. Most paint good.

Negatives include a half-dollar size rust-hole in the lower fender behind RF tire, and a few tiny rust-spots behind the rear door trim-strips. Needs a windsheild & gasket. Upper control-arm bushings marginal. Tires showing some dry-rot. Old repaint is dull on trunk & roof but should clean up, however hood-paint has severe freckling. Unable to start & drive car without a battery. Need to make appointment with seller to reinstall bettery, get car running and check out further.
He's asking $1300.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Mark DiSilvestro · #34 06-23-2009, 06:09 PM

So Saturday I went back for another look at the navy-blue 240D. They had recharged the battery and I was pleasently surprised by how smooth and comfortable it was during my brief test drive.
Then my friend Mike called me about an $800 'rust-free' 4-speed 240D, with worn tie-rods and a bad tranny, on craigslist, near Richmond VA.

So Sunday, I stopped for a look on my way to Virginia Beach. Car was straight and appeared rust-free, but showed over 200K, and the mettalic bronze paint was weathered & discolored. The OE carpet floor-mats were missing. The driver's seat was shot. The dash was full of cracks, the wood looked pretty sad. and it sat on four mismatched tires, with three loose bald ones in the trunk.
And of course, I crawled underneath to verify that there was no simple shift-linkage issue, but something broken inside the tranny itself. One good point was the AC (charged with R134) did cool. (though the outside temp wasn't really that warm when I tried it)
Seller claimed it would jump out of first, and would jam in second or third when he drove it. I didn't even try.

So last night, after returning from Virginia Beach, I bought the navy-blue one!
Today, after insuring and tagging my new ride, I drove it from Falls Church to Banner-Glass at Baily's Crossroads for a new windsheild & gaaket. What a pleasure to finally drive a solid 240D, with no less than 2 bar hot oil pressure, and a working odometer. Maybe there's even a chance the 177K mileage reading is accurate.

And I'm back up to seven Benzes, including the three diesels. At least maybe that's better off than the aforementioned 'KW' with his 80+ cars scattered around several states, and his Corvair-powered dirigible!
(Though I DO wish I had enough storage space to house a DIRIGIBLE!)

Happy Motoring, Mark

suginami · #35 06-23-2009, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark DiSilvestro

And I'm back up to seven Benzes, including the three diesels.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Now you just one more to be like the old TV show Eight is Enough.

Mark DiSilvestro · #36 06-25-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suginami

Now you just one more to be like the old TV show Eight is Enough.

And if that one was a diesel, I'd have four MB diesels and four MB gassers. Actually, I'm thinking about what other vehicles - MB or non-MB - I should get rid of.
Meanwhile I think I'll call my latest addition Ol' Blue, at least until I think of something more clever.
Can't wait to drive it again, but it's stuck at the glass-shop since, based on reccommendations from elsewhere on these Forums, I decided to go with a Mercedes dealer windsheild gasket, which had to be ordered.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Mark DiSilvestro · #37 06-29-2009, 11:55 PM

Got a ride up to Banner Glass this afternoon to pick up Ol' Blue. After prying $368 from my checking account for the new windsheild, I thought I'd gamble on a test-drive home on I-95 and the Beltway. I never thought an old 240D could drive this nice. Only glitch was a loud exhaust rattle that appeared after I slowed down on local streets. Made a temporary fix and will look for some donuts tommorrow. Also replaced the broken right foglight with my one remaining decent Pick-N-Pull spare. Then repaired the battery terminals, and replaced the missing nuts & washers for the battery retaining clips. Did Find and repair one other small rust hole under a rear corner of the trunk gasket. Hoping that, and the half-dollar size hole on the lower right front fender will be the only perforations. Also vacuumed the compost from the hood-hinge pockts so rust won't start eating away there too. One remaining fix will be the alternator. There's some sort of mystery rebuilt on it now. The battery light glows at idle and doesn't go out till around 2500 rpm, where the voltage struggles to top 13 volts. Pep Boys stocks a Bosch rebuilt for under $100. Wish me luck at the VA inspection tommorrow. Then I'll need an antenna mast and a new hood star. What looks like an aftermarket star is peeling and crumbling, so I might bite the bullet and get one from the local dealer.

Happy Motoring, Mark

ImBroke · #38 06-30-2009, 05:35 AM

Good luck Mark, I sometimes get nervous taking a new car in.

LUVMBDiesels · #39 06-30-2009, 06:47 AM

Ok Ok Off topic but I cannot hold out any longer Having owned a Corvair what do you mean by dirigible?
an UltraVan?

or a Zeppelin?

I would love to see a 'vair powered airship!

Mark DiSilvestro · #40 06-30-2009, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

Ok Ok Off topic but I cannot hold out any longer Having owned a Corvair what do you mean by dirigible?
an UltraVan?

or a Zeppelin?

I would love to see a 'vair powered airship!

I saw one of those Corvair-powered motor-homes attending the Hershey PA Hillclimb back in 2002. It wasn't entered in the hillclimb!

I grew up with (& survived, according to Ralph Nader) a couple Corvairs. First a very rare '61 Lakewood station-wagon. Then a '65 4-door Monza sedan, which fixed most of the issues of the older models, but by then it was too late to repair the Corvairs reputation as the "Chevy of Death'!
Quality-wise, the Corvair was certainly a much better vehicle than GM's next experimental car - the Chevy Vega!

This morning, I'm off to get Ol'Blue inspected. If there are no problems, then I'll get an alternartor. If there's time, I might pop over my local Mercedes dealer for a hood-star. Several years ago, I got an $18 aftermarket replacement star for a friend's '72 220 and it peeled, then disintgrated, exactly lik the one on this latest 240D. Hope the dealer ones aren't the same crap.
The one for my 240D is in stock for $38. THe dealer needs to order the star for my friend's 220, which is now $77!

Happy Motoring, Mark

LUVMBDiesels · #41 06-30-2009, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark DiSilvestro

I grew up (& survived, according to Ralph Nader) a couple Corvairs. First a very rare '61 Lakewood station-wagon. Then a '65 4-door Monza sedan, which fixed most of the issues of the older models, but by then it was too late to repair the Corvairs reputation as the "Chevy of Death'!
Quality-wise, the Corvair was certainly a much better vehicle than GM's next experimental car - the Chevy Vega!

This morning, I'm off to get Ol'Blue inspected. If there are no problems, then I'll get an alternartor. If there's time, I might pop into my local Mercedes dealer for a hood-star. Several years ago, I got an $18 aftermarket replacement star for a friend's '72 220 and it peeled, then disintgrated, exactly lik the one on this latest 240D. Hope the dealer ones aren't the same crap.
The one for my 240D is in stock for $38. THe dealer needs to order the star for my friend's 220, which is now $77!

Happy Motoring, Mark

The Lakewood is the one I would really like to have! I had a '63 Monza Convertible that I loved. You learn very quickly how to change that fan belt and keep spares in the trunk. I would love to get my hands on a '64 or '65 Spyder or Corsa, but the prices have gone through the roof!
The only thing wrong with my '63 was rust. They purposely did not put an adequate water shield behind the headlights and the front fenders rusted from inside.

Mark DiSilvestro · #42 06-30-2009, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

The Lakewood is the one I would really like to have! I had a '63 Monza Convertible that I loved. You learn very quickly how to change that fan belt and keep spares in the trunk. I would love to get my hands on a '64 or '65 Spyder or Corsa, but the prices have gone through the roof!
The only thing wrong with my '63 was rust. They purposely did not put an adequate water shield behind the headlights and the front fenders rusted from inside.

I've only seen a handfull of Lakewoods in the 44 years since my folks had their's. Sadly, American industry's habit of making things as cheaply as possible, doomed what should have been a much better car. One writer summed up the Corvair as "the kind of car we should have had in the '70s, but didn't".

Happy Motoring, Mark

Mark DiSilvestro · #43 06-30-2009, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

The only thing wrong with my '63 was rust. They purposely did not put an adequate water shield behind the headlights and the front fenders rusted from inside.

Funny you should mention the lack of water sheild behind the headlights. That's exactly the problem I had with both my previous 240Ds. Apparently, it wasn't until 1982 that Mercedes decided it was time to include full plastic inner-liners in the front fenders of these cars. My '84 300TD, and my latest 240D (built in early '82) have front fender-liners, but my recently-sold '81 and my '82 automatic 240D (built in late '81) do not. As a result, in addition to the usual rust in the floors and other areas, the front fenders on both my pre-82 diesels were eaten away around the headlights!

Happy Motoring, Mark

Mark DiSilvestro · #44 07-01-2009, 12:50 AM

On my way to American Service Center, my nearest Mercedes dealer, I stoped at CarQuest to ask about the donut hangers for Ol'Blue. They were $2 about a year ago, but now $4.59 EACH and not in stock. So on my merry way to the dealer and while buying a new hood-star, I asked about the hangers. $2 each! So I got 4, plus the little $1 plastic button to attach the manual throttle cable to the accelertor linkage. While there I noticed a little eldely grey-haired lady with a foreign accent was ordering some bumper-parts for her car. When I was leaving, I noticed that she was driving a white Euro W123 300D, with a badly mangled rear bumper. I wasn't aware that Mercedes would supply parts for grey-market models. I'll enquire next time I'm up there. I should have tried to chat with the lady, but I had to hurry to a job in Woodbridge.
Then I spent the evening wrestling with my Pep-Boys alternator. A struggle prolonged by having to straighten & repair the mangled & twisted adjuster hardware.
Why do the mechanically challenged have to work on these cars and use an impact-gun to tension the alternator belt? Finally, by 11 PM, tne bracketry was, more or less, back to normal, with the 'new' alternator securely in place.
The sinister glow from the battery-lamp is now gone, and the charging voltage is now just over 14 volts.

Happy Motoring, Mark

Mark DiSilvestro · #45 08-07-2009, 12:50 AM

Well, I spent the last couple days dealing with Ole Blue's other major problem - the split and leaking left outer axle boot. On all but the shortest drives, it's been spraying my left rear suspension with oil, and I'm tired of clleaning up after, so last night I removed both half-shafts. Today I tried plan A - as per another thread on this Forum, I attempted to reboot using Dorman boots and a modified tranny funnel.
No dice! No matter how much I greased and pushed, I just couldn't stretch the boot over the funnel. At least I didn't ruin the new boot.
Plan B could have been to install new cheap ($110 each) Chinese axles, but others on the forum complained about the poor quality, so I decided against that option.
So directly on to plan C - rebuilt halfshafts from CVP in Denver ($170 each), and the car was back together tonight by 11:30 PM, running & riding smoothe, and no more oil-soaked rear suspension.

Happy Motoring, Mark