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A Star is Born, Again! (the 300 SDS is BACK!)
Dear Folks,
Imagine, a new 24 year-old car. . . . . Good News, and just in time for Christmas: After a nine month gestation, the unique 300 SDS I bought last year, that was totaled in March from a bad rear end hit, has been resurrected and is back in service again! It is a facsimile of the same car, and mostly is in fact the very same car. It has a new body; is more modestly badged as a 300SD; and is officially a model year older now, an '83. It still has the custom manual transmission! Here is the unveiling of the original version of the '84 300 SDS in a November, 2006 thread: my new 1984 300 "SDS" Turbodiesel ?? And, here is the March notice of it's sad demise: My SDS sadly rear-ended! All the Forum encouragement to rebuild it has come to fruition! Last Wednesday I boarded a train with a one-way ticket to Absecon, New Jersey. Upon arrival, I was delivered to Ditmire Motorworks, where my reborn car awaited in the manger. It is hard to express the emotion of seeing this car for the first time in nine months, and seeing it appear as a brand new car, with no trace of it's former death. I nearly cried when I popped open the pristine trunk lid. I'll admit, I am happy again! Here are new pictures of the "SDS" in the "manger" where it was reborn, and a few nice settings I found for it this evening. To make a long story short, to put this unique car back on the road, a donor body was found for all the salvageable parts from the SDS. As near as I understand it, the engine, transmission, wheels and tires, entire interior upholstery, the four doors, the hood, and the custom headlamps, all came from the former SDS. The rest was from the new donor '83 SD. It seems like the same car again, but there are some improvements. The drive train behaves smoother and better. The clutch assembly is new. The speedometer and odometer are accurate now. The OEM cruise control, coupled uniquely to the manual transmission, works for the first time! I'm delighted. I am grateful to Bill Ditmire for his vision and fortitude seeing this immense reconstruction project through on a reasonable budget; and for his talented staff: Gus, Kurt, Zack, and others who did and managed all the labor. Enjoy! Garth
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2001 E320 4MATIC WAGON desert silver/tan, 169K 1986 300SDL black on black, 240K 1984 300 SDS (stick-shift) 209K.....now reborn as a 1983 300SD (stick-shift facsimile of the former 84) 274K 1982 240D (sold!) 264K Last edited by Apotheoun; 12-21-2007 at 01:32 AM. |
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That's awesome! It really seems like its come back from the grave. The true soul of any car, of course, is the engine. It looks, with the exception of the "SDS" omission, like the very same car. Reborn.
You must be pleased, it looks nice.
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1987 300SDL (324000) 1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000) 1978 Porsche 924 (99000) 1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000) |
#3
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Wow
That is one sharp 24 year old car. They did a great job bringing her back.
Enjoy!
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1987 300TD 309, xxx 2.8.2014 10,000 mile OCI Be careful of the toes you step on today, as they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow. anonymous “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.” Dr. Seuss |
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awesome.. Now you need a new SDS badge
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"Wow" pretty much sums up my emotions too.
Thanks so much DslBnz, Bio, and The Don!
The timing of the return of this classic is amazing yet slightly poignant. Two weeks ago, our Dodge Caravan was stolen, disappearing into thin air, and has not been recovered. While it was perfectly good transportation, I was never passionate about it. On the other hand, I wonder if the renewed passion for this Mercedes can ever diminish? It feels so great to drive this again!
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2001 E320 4MATIC WAGON desert silver/tan, 169K 1986 300SDL black on black, 240K 1984 300 SDS (stick-shift) 209K.....now reborn as a 1983 300SD (stick-shift facsimile of the former 84) 274K 1982 240D (sold!) 264K |
#6
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You know what I just remembered.. I had a 300SD trunk badge that I pulled from the pnp.. I used it as a practice piece to polish with my new dremel, but then I grew bored when it wasn't working( the polish) so I cut the thing apart.. I need to see if I saved the SD part... I might have
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#7
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I still have the SDS badge, but it lost that last S somehow in the turmoil. I'll have to find another spare S to braze back onto it. (Thanks again; I think we just cross-posted.)
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2001 E320 4MATIC WAGON desert silver/tan, 169K 1986 300SDL black on black, 240K 1984 300 SDS (stick-shift) 209K.....now reborn as a 1983 300SD (stick-shift facsimile of the former 84) 274K 1982 240D (sold!) 264K |
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Just a beautiful car again Garth!! Worth every penny you spent to bring it back to it's former glory. Sounds like the folks that did the work for you are simply first rate.
Was the donor body originally the same color as your last one? Keep those pics coming. I would love to see the interior and under the hood. Heck, considering the aftermath of the wreck, a trunk shot wouldn't be bad either..... Congrats and enjoy the heck outta that truly unique W126! **Oh, and I vote for keeping the rear badge as an SD. It is simply "proper"...**
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Jimmy L. '05 Acura TL 6MT 2001 ML430 My Spare Gone: '95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black '85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White '80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed '81 300TD 240K "Smash" '80 240D 230K "The Squash" '81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John |
#9
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Glad to see it has been re-born. Get that SDS badge back on!
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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver 1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver 1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine |
#10
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Transmission compatibility?
Thanks, JimmyL, and bgkast!
Incidentally, that 5 speed manual on eBay intrigues me. I wonder if it would fit this car? It has the older ('74-'81?) cast iron type 240D 4 speed at the moment, and it is in need of some rebuilding soon. (it seems to have a bad noisy bearing on the counter-shaft, but otherwise works fine.) I wonder if that 5 speed could offer better gears for 25 MPH, or 35 MPH? If it is the same length, it may be adaptable. What does anyone think?
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2001 E320 4MATIC WAGON desert silver/tan, 169K 1986 300SDL black on black, 240K 1984 300 SDS (stick-shift) 209K.....now reborn as a 1983 300SD (stick-shift facsimile of the former 84) 274K 1982 240D (sold!) 264K |
#11
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I don't believe it is the same length, and I don't think that one on ebay has all it's parts.
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Jimmy L. '05 Acura TL 6MT 2001 ML430 My Spare Gone: '95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black '85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White '80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed '81 300TD 240K "Smash" '80 240D 230K "The Squash" '81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John |
#12
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If you're sure you have a noisy bearing on the countershaft, that's not a difficult fix. Could you describe the noise and when it occurs, and what makes you think it's the countershaft? Does it only happen in reverse, first, second, third and not in fourth? If that's the case, it's definitely something syncro or countershaft related because 4th gear should be 1:1 direct, and in direct no powerflow goes through the countershaft. If it indeed IS a countershaft bearing, all you need to do is drop that sucker, take the rear countershaft bearing seal out, inspect and replace with a new or reman roller bearing. It's not all that hard then again I do disgnose mack 18 speed tripple countershafts so anything under a 10 speed is a walk in the park
But again, how do you know it's a countershaft bearing issue? Describe the problem a tid bit more
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.:1982 300D "The Ambassador"- R.I.P:. .:1987 300D 3.0 "Häns"- Current Whip:. .:1967 F85 Oldsmobile "Grandpa"- Show And Go:. .:1991 WS6 Firebird Trans-Am "Blackbird"- FOR SALE:. |
#13
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Good going, Garth!!! Welcome back to the fold.
Oh this is just great, a wonderful Christmas present for you to enjoy. I remember so well this tragedy about this car, and was one of the claque cheering you on and hoping you got her back on the road.
A lot of less aware and savvy people than you would have just given up. It is a beauty, reborn, and at a time when cars like this are spiralling up in value as people realize the inherent goodness and intrinsic value in a good W126 Mercedes Benz diesel, in these times of rising fuel prices and interest in biodiesel. Plus it is probably still a one-off, ultra-higly desirable manual shift conversion, making it highly covetable for just that reason by itself; a car that was WELL worth saving.. It's the PERFECT car for the times, though we never worked out what SDS ever meant - it is the only one that has ever been seen. Just curious, how did the insurance issues work out? Does the car have a salvage title on it or not? Did you get a rental car, a fair bodily injury recovery, and any pain and suffering recovery for this? Looks like you are gonna have a happy holiday, with this good news, but here is wishing you one anyway!!
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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ... 1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold) 2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp 1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k 2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold) Last edited by Jim B.; 12-21-2007 at 02:54 AM. |
#14
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And I thought there was only one resurrection in all of history. Can your SDS drive on water? I know my benzes seem to have healing powers with me.
I'm probably going to get struck by lightning after that joke
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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k 1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k 1980 240D Stick China 188k 2001 CLK55 AMG 101k 2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!! Last edited by TylerH860; 12-21-2007 at 04:48 AM. |
#15
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Garth,
That is awsome that you had the drive to make this car alive again! I was just wondering not too long ago what was happening to the SDS. I am glad to see it again. Get that SDS badge back on! So the question I have is... officially is it still an '84 or is it now an '83? Richard
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1983 123.133 California - GreaseCar Veg System |
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