Johnt has a lot of good ideas. I would suggest one other- some glow plugs -and reinforce some of the other ideas paying particular attention to the difference in climate. Make sure not to buy too much Florida diesel. A good pair of vice grips may come in handy. Some duct tape and some general purpose wire can be useful ( and don't forget the bubble gum).

Have we made you paranoid yet?

Nope, not paranoid yet!
Not looking forward to the long drives though.
My daughter wants to be back before a Valentine's Day Dance at school.
She's the Prez of her class and insists that she MUST be there to set
up and tear down. Which means I really need to try do drive the 6 hours
to Atlanta the first night. May puts us there at midnight.
After a day on a plane and then going over the car I may not get on the road
until 6-ish. Not really looking forward to th long drives.
But that's what ephedra is for! LOL!

Got a Carfax on the car and as par for these, the car prolly has 200K on it in reality. Seller claims 145206 but carfax has at least one listing that shows over 178K in 1998.
That was 10 years ago so who knows what the real milage is.

The only thing that gets me is that the seller claims he's had the car for 18 months.
The carfax says the last time the car reported a new owner was October last year. Or 5 months ago. I've sent him an email asking about that. I'll report what he says.

So far no bad dreams, but I have decided that I'm not going to kill myself getting home
in two days. We won't be home until Valentine's Day night. I want the trip to be fun, not a drag race home.

In completely Unrelated news, I'm in need of a pizza cook. Anyone want to come work for me? $12 an hour to cook really good pizza! Why can I not find the people who want to work for a living?????

Yeah, sounds like you do need some answers on the carfax vs owner issues.

Why work for a living when our wasted tax money pays better?

I work for a living also.

I know of nobody who WANTS to WORK for a living... most just want the living... 12 is great money for a cook... add in the free fuel bonus for the employees you've got a deal there!
I wish I lived in denver, I'd give you a run for your money. The last time I was in denver, I got snowed in. blizzard of 83.... had all the highways closed, that was where we left our beloved 79 caprice wagon diesel... reverse went out in the parking lot, so we moved up to the first "mini van" it was a full size van with the ultra short frame, and an experimental 3 speed with overdrive manual... crappy design, but it got us home...

Hey Ginny,
check this out, it may not make you weak in the knees, but with only 75K on it... mmmmmm
since you are going to be down there anyway.....
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/213024-86-300sdl-75k-miles-orlando-estate-sale.html

hmmmmm. . .

this also gives you an alternative, if the carfax proves your purchase to be a scam... and hey, there are tools at this sale too... who knows? there could be all kinds of diesel goodies it that toolbox...
I sure would like that safe...

All VDO speedometers are suspect and must be corroborated by records or, absent that, visual indicators.

I think the leisurely return trip is a better idea for you , the car, and the kid. Try to find some interesting non-interstate alternative routes.

When I retire, I'd be tickled to get a $12/hr job baking pizzas, but it would have to be outdoors after being kept in a corporate cave for 30 years.

Rick

Ginny-

One other word of advice when you inspect this car. Be sure to pull back the carpets and examine the floors for dampness. MB tend to rot from the inside out down here. Water gets in through bad windshield/window seals, get sucked into/under the sound deadening and rots the floor. The great undercoating on the underside keeps the floor looking pretty good for awhile.
Give the floors a heavy push where the seam to the rocker panels meets it ( on the inside under the carpets). If you hear a "crunch"- beware. It hasn't rained much around here in months so if it leaks it may be dry by now- but the car still has had 25 years to rot.

Rick

Amen to that (both the speedo's and being outside). I've looked at maybe 3-4 diesel ads today alone - and the mileage in each one was screwy - I don't believe any of them, unless documented like Rick said.

I've been in the corporate cave for 6 years and I'm already losing my soul.

Okay, flying out tomorrow, wish us luck.

I'll got to the auto parts store as soon as I accept the car (I'm going to be optimistic). Then I'll change both filters if they are in stock (most here don't have many of the spin ons) and get at least one extra and some cleaner. I'll fill the washer fluid and check the coolant levels (at time of inspection) and add more if needed at the store. Same with motor oil. I'll get a gallon of Rotella for the trunk.
I'll add 10-12 ounces of diesel additive to help combat any gelling as I'm driving north. Should I get some Iso-Heet in case of water in the tank or no?
I'll get some black tape, duct tape, cresent wrench and philips driver. I'll check wiper blades and replace if necessary.
What else?

Having done this a number of times, I wouldn't do it without at least a basic set of tools. Set of open/box wrenches, multimeter, screwdrivers, allen wrenches, adjustable pliers, needle nose pliers, vice grips, and a means of jumping starter in the junction box.
I wouldn't change the filters if it required using an old primer pump which might start leaking and introducing air into the system. I'd just keep the filters onboard for use if necessary.

Advice for old car journey
 

As many have mentioned, duct tape is #1. NASA brings it on every shuttle mission and they've used it many times to fix stuff.

I always have a couple of sizes of nylon cable-ties in the trunk also. You can make a temporary fix of lots of problems with them. They have 'em in Home Depot in the electrical section.

Whenever I've picked up a "new" old car the first thing I do is pull off into a parking lot and check over the front end. Try to shake each front wheel in both planes (up-down, side-to-side), watch tie rod ends and center link while your daughter moves the steering wheel back and forth, etc. Inspect ball joints if you have a working jack. It's worth 45 minutes to do this.

Usually nothing in the back end is going to fly apart on you without some bad warning noises, but the front end has a lot of joints and you don't want one to fail while you're driving along.

You'll be fine. With my MB I always feel that once I've started the engine, about 98% of the chance for failure has passed. Most of the time the only thing that will make it quit is fuel starvation.

It's a fun thread to read. My two cents following the purchase of 16 MB Diesels since April of 2001 (including many road trips):

1. You bought it right. Don't fret about mileage, broken odometers, side stuff. A car this age is in better shape with more than 200k miles than less. They were meant to drive, not sit

2. Don't rebuild the car. Like Kerry said, don't mess with the filters if the car is running smooth. Top off the fluids and monitor their usage.

3. Have a good cell phone, have a list of people along the way. Period.

4. Have access to this forum via laptop and you'll get the calvary in case of a problem.

5. In our little club here, we've probably done 15 such trips with only one bad experience. I like your odds.

6. If you don't like the car, there are a ton in Florida. Snag another one.

7. The relational aspect of the trip is the big payoff anyway. Cars are just the frosting....and I like my frosting.

diesel don