'79 300SD, what would you do?
 

Hello!

Sorry to disturb you all, but if it is not asking too much, I would love to hear some opinions on this matter.

I have a '79 300SD (W116, silver exterior, black interior) at the moment, but I'm at a point in my life where I can't afford the time to keep her running, and she's proved unreliable as a daily driver. So, sadly, I've determined that one way or another, she needs to go...my question now is, in your opinion, how should I go about it?

Here's a list of good and bad points about the car:

Good:

• Straight body, for the most part. Very little rust; what is there is on the surface. The hood was replaced with one off a g@$$er and leaves some to be desired, but the body's in good shape otherwise.
• Good interior, for the most part...there's a small rip in the sunroof headliner and some of the plastic chrome pieces in the door frames are gone, but it's almost immaculate otherwise. The front carpets may have some water damage (see below), though.
• Engine runs well...there are a few lingering issues with the glow plugs, but once she starts, she runs happily. Good power (augmented by a tweaked ALDA by a previous owner), about average fuel economy, and no unusual smoke.

Bad:

• Front suspension is done for. Best I can tell, it needs to be rebuilt completely ...it's bad enough that it eats front tires down to the metal band every 10K miles (even with an alignment). This is the biggest deal-breaker for me; I can work on engines all day long, but I don't trust myself with suspension work.
• Tranny lost Reverse. I THINK it's just a matter of adjusting the band, but I'm not counting on that (although I will give it a try). If the tranny needs to be rebuilt, the car's getting parted out. The car will drive forward all day long, and the forward gears seem happy.
• Paint's bad...as I said before, the body's straight, but someone did a cheap spray-over paintjob at some point in this car's life, and the paint's very dull, stains easily, and is flaking off in some places. On the other hand, if I hit the body with a power washer hard enough, maybe I could spray the cheap paint off :D
• Climate control system's bad...servo's frozen and leaking slightly, a/c compressor's frozen, and there are enough vacuum leaks that the entire system would need to be completely rebuilt if it were to ever be used. The vents are stuck in Defrost, although the fan does change speeds.
• Electrical system's a complete mess; the previous owner was very haphazard with things...one of those types who thought he knew a lot more than he did.
• True miles unknown. The gauge cluster was replaced at one point (with a 160 mph speedo), so it reads 315K miles. Based on what the previous owner's son told me, I THINK it may be more like 200 to 210, but I have no idea.
• Left rear and right front window regulators are completely trashed. Left front and right rear regulators are okay, but the motors move the windows very slowly (I think, 15 to 20 seconds from stop to stop).
• Windshield seal needs to be replaced. It rattles around enough that, at the top, I can push the glass forward about 1/8", and it leaks water like a sieve.

I'm sure I missed some things (on both sides)...but, there you have it. I'm thinking that I have three options:
1) Fix the most glaring problems (the windshield and the tranny, if I can), and see if someone'll bite on it as-is. I don't want to be dishonest, so that may be more trouble than it's worth.
2) Part the car out. Not sure how much I would get for the parts, and space is limited.
3) Sell the car to the BAAQMD for $650 and let them crush it. If I can't fix the tranny, this isn't an option, but the car qualifies otherwise.

So...what do you guys think? If you were in my situation, what would you do?

I'm posting this on the Diesel board because I imagine that it's the most appropriate forum for a question like this...I'm just looking for opinions at this point. Please do not interpret this as an advertisement for the car; that is not my intent.

I appreciate any insight...thanks in advance!!

If you can fix the transmission (and even if you can't) you can probably sell it on craigslist for more than $650. You will probably get the most money from parting it, but need room to store the parts and the shell while you do it, plus it would be a shame to see another W116 off of the road.

Gimme your trunk/want mine?
 

Damn...terrible week for the mighty 116.

My 79 got rear-ended and may get totalled. It has new front suspension, tranny fine, minimal rust, just fixed windows, but needs windshield resealed. Paint's not showroom but fine for a daily driver.

We should talk, maybe make a Franken-116 :D depending on what the insurance guys say to me next week.

I'm in San Jose, just down the road from you.

I agree about it being a shame to see a 116 come off the road...it's actually part of why I got the car in the first place. The car was actually given to me by a friend (and another poster on this board). It belonged to his father, and the father moved out of the state and eventually told my friend to get rid of it. My friend was going to junk it before I talked him out of it...was originally going to give him $600 for it, but I ran into some financial difficulties and he got to the point where he needed the car gone ASAP, so he ended up just giving it to me.

You're right about the issue with storing parts...I know someone who MIGHT help, but it'd be very temporary. Time is also a big consideration for me (I routinely work 12 to 15 hours a day), which is the single biggest reason why constantly wrenching on what's supposed to be my daily driver is getting tiresome...that and the suspension are why I'm giving up. So...parting out is really not my first choice in the matter, but I'm still considering it...

Sorry to hear about the wreck :( was anyone hurt?

Where in San Jose are you? I actually grew up in SJ...couldn't take another summer in the South Bay, so I live in Pacifica now. (oops, just realized I didn't update my Location in my profile...I used to be a regular on here, but haven't had time as of late)

I've pretty much determined that I need to have the car gone by mid-May, but I'm pretty open to ideas... ;)

Warden,

Rules say it has to be able to move in reverse 25 feet. Can yours do that?

The "rules" make it sounmd like U will have to spend thousands the get $650.

P E H

No. She won't move in reverse even an inch unless I'm pushing. That's why I said in my first post that she'll pretty much have to be parted out if the tranny can't be repaired; I know that selling it to the BAAQMD hippies isn't an option if adjusting the reverse band doesn't fix reverse (and there's no way I'm swapping trannies; it's a losing proposition $$-wise and I don't have time in any event). She was slow to engage Reverse before it went out altogether, which from what I've read, is consistent with a wearing band...I just hope it isn't worn too far now, and that there aren't any other major problems...

Warden,

U should be able to sell it for more than $650 for a parts car to someone who has other 300SDs. I bought a running 300SD parts car about 10 years for $1200. But I drove it 8 years and ~80,000 miles. I think I got my moneys worth out of that car. Now its a real parts car and its parts come in very handy. I already put the engine in another car.

P E H

PM imaginsinthewind and ask her what she tightened to fix reverse in her 116.
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=215410
simple bolt tightened I think...

Are there any rehab shops for Mercedes in your area? They might give you a fair price for it, at least as a parts car, as opposed to trying to sell it "as is" on Craigslist. If so, it could help keep another 116 on the road.

Good luck,

Jim