My daughter wants to have a little fun and enter a demo-derby. I'm thinking that a rust-free '81 300SD I can buy cheap might make a good candidate.

Does anyone have any ideas whether the rear structure is beefy enough to take on Crown Vics and other big American iron or is it designed too much to crush on impact?

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Blasphemy!
What a waste of a rare rust-free specimen!

__________________
'83 300D Turrrbo 295K miles

Not a chance. The Uni-Body construction would cruch like a tin can against the body on frame counter parts.

You need the king of Demolition Derby cars. The 1960's Suicide Doors Lincoln Continental. There is like a mile between the front bumper and the water pump in these cars.

__________________
1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

Bull. I've tripped over them in the junkyard. This one has some front-end damage, interior is showing wear, not worth fixing. It'll be stripped and crushed if I don't buy it.

Just interested in whether it is going to be worth the effort or whether I should go find a Crown Vic. I'd rather have her in a 'Benz.

You're right DV, the old wagons are the kings of this stuff. But, she and her boyfriend dragged me to one this week, the cars are shrinking as there aren't any of those old critters anymore to wreck.

There's a $15k purse in it, ... as long as she doesn't get hurt it looks like good fun.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

The merc will take a frontal hit fairly well but a rear hit will disable it in short order. You will need to weaken the upper structure of the rear fenders to ensure it will fold up in an impact


The post from hell

Body
Pound up or cut out the front/rear fenders for clearance
Why: keeps tires from getting cut

Remove headlights, taillights and all trim
Why: No glass or loose parts are allowed

Remove all windows
Why: No glass is allowed

Cut 24" hole in hood
Why: Easy to put out fires under hood

Cut 12" hole in trunk
Why: So officials can see that you haven't cheated or filled the trunk with trash

Wire trunk and hood down (use threaded rod if allowed)
Why: Threaded rod holds everything together nicely. Run the threaded rod all the way through the frame.
I like wire because it is easier to use, cheaper than chain and you can get it real tight by twisting it

Cement in the driver's door (local rules)
Why: Protects driver from door hits

Mount bars, chains or wire where windshield used to be. I prefer to use wire for this. I run about 4 strands
through and then twist it nice and tight
Why: If hood comes loose, it doesn't come in and cut your head off

Weld, wire, or chain doors shut
Why: Keeps doors from opening and also strengthens the body

Remove hood latch mechanism
Why: If the front gets really smashed, you may have problems getting the hood open

Kink the trunk and quarter panels (coil spring cars)
Why: The rear end of coil spring (non-GM)cars, tend to bend down. This will help it bend up.



Tires
Weld a 3 inch piece of pipe around valve stems
or
Weld 2 thick bolts before and after valve stems
Why: Protects valve stem from getting sheared off

Mount tallest bias ply truck tires allowed (wider is not better)
Why: The higher the car sits the better. Keeps other cars from going over the top of your front bumper
and smashing your radiator. The vice-versa is true also.
Bias ply tires are tougher than radials

Run inner tubes in all tires
Why: Tires will not loose air if the bead comes off the rim


Fuel System
Remove gas tank and install boat motor tank
Why: Original tanks are in a location that is easily damaged. Since driver's door hits are against the rules,
mounting the gas tank behind the driver's seat is the safest location
Boat motor tanks also sit flat and have secure hose connections

Cover the gas tank with fiberglass insulation and cover that with half of a 55 gallon drum
Why: If the gas tank leaks, the gas cannot splash on the driver. If the car rolls over, all the gas will be trapped
in the 55 gallon drum

Blow out fuel line with compressed air
Why: Removes all the rust and stuff that could plug up a fuel filter.

Replace or remove fuel filter
Why: It may already be partially plugged

Clean carburetor with spray cleaner
Why: Removes any debris and varnish that could cause problems

Turn up idle good and high
Why: When a car hits hard, the fuel in the carburetor sloshes around and floods out the engine.
With the idle up high, the car will keep running

Wire choke wide open
Why: When a car hits hard, the choke may slam shut, causing the engine to stall



Cooling System
Run an electric fan.
Why: This will ensure that the fan runs all the time and will not stop if it comes into contact with the shroud

Flush radiator/engine
Why: Promotes better coolant circulation

Leave the thermostat in just remove all the guts inside of it
Why: If the thermostat locks up, the coolant will not circulate at all. Removing the thermostat all together causes
the coolant to circulate too fast.

Weld radiator brackets/housing
Why: Gives the radiator more protection

Remove battery bracket
Why: Excessive front end damage may cause to come in contact with the radiator

Cut hole in hood over radiator cap
Why: You can easily top off the radiator with coolant

Plug or loop the heater hoses
Why: One less hose that might rupture

Duct tape radiator hoses
Why: Helps prevent ruptures

Unbolt radiator and use gas tank straps or wire to hold it in place
Why: Excessive frame damage may actually cause the radiator to be ripped in two

Secure the radiator overflow hose in the container or route it to the outside of the radiator
Why: If the radiator overheats, you don't want the bypass hose to blow coolant into the aircleaner


Leave the airconditioning radiator in place.
Why: It helps protect the radiator from flying mud and rocks



Interior
Re-enforce drivers seat with chain, pipe or seat belt
Why: Hard hits can sometimes break the back of the seat off

Remove dash and all wiring
Why: Prevents electrical shorts, fires and promotes easier driver access

Remove headliner
Why: The less flammable material in the car, the better

Remove door upholstery (except driver's door - local rules)
Why: Bits of plastic may come loose and fly around the car

Lock door and remove doorlock stems
Why: You want the doors to stay shut. The doorlock stems tend to rip your pants when entering/exiting the car

Remove outside door handles
Why: They may get knocked off by another car and hurt someone

Remove rear seat
Why: It's a fire hazard. It may come loose. You're better off mounting your gas tank lower to the ground and on solid metal

Remove sun visors
Why: Just another think that may come loose and poke your eye out

Remove carpet
Why: Another fire hazard



Engine
Change Oil - use 1 quart Slick 50 (or equivalent)
Why: You want to most protection possible. Friction causes heat. Heat kills engines.

Install new/clean sparkplugs, distributor cap and wires.
Why: Lessens the chance of electrical problems.

Duct tape wires on distributor cap.
Why: Hard hits may actually knock the wires off of the distributor cap.

Cutoff exhaust pipe, flip manifolds if possible.
Why: You can hear and tell how the engine is running. Running the exhaust through the hood keeps heat away from the engine,

If you keep the exhaust in the stock location, make sure that you don't cut if off to short and it blows on the starter or transmission

Tie plug wires away from exhaust manifold.
Why: Keeps them from burning or melting.

Weld or chain motor mounts.
Why: If a motor mount breaks, the engine doesn't jump around under the hood.

Remove all unused vacuum lines.
Why: Just something else in the way or could catch fire or go wrong.

Clean engine/transmission with gunk off.
Why: Clean engines/transmissions dissipate heat better and are less likely to catch fire.



Electrical
Re-route battery cables to passenger side floorboards and mount battery securely there.
Why: This will keep the battery our of harms way.

Run all electrical cables through a section of heater/radiator hose where they pass through the floorboards.


Why: Chaffing can cause electrical shorts and fires.

Run battery ground to intake manifold bolt.
Why: Promotes a better ground than the frame of the car. The stock cable will usually reach the battery inside the car.

Cut hole in firewall behind distributor (if needed).
Why: Excessive front end damage can cause the distributor to contact the firewall and crack or break.

Wire up starter, coil and battery to toggle switches.
Why: The less electrical connections the better.

Solder and use electrical tape on all connections.
Why: You want to secure all the connections and keep them from coming apart.

Remove all extra wiring.
Why: It's more stuff that's in the way and could catch fire.



Frame/Suspension
Weld spider gears together.
Why: Both tires will still turn when flat. Promotes better traction and maneuverability.

Jack up car and stuff rags into shocks (repeat several times).
Why: Makes the car sit up higher.

Loosen bumper mounting bolts and relocate bumper as high as possible.
Why: Protects the radiator better.

Replace bumper mounting bolts with grade 8 ones and large washers
Why: Keeps the bumper from falling off

Wire or chain the bumper to the frame
Why: Keeps the bumper from falling off


Drill holes in bumper shocks, compress, and weld in place (front and rear).
Why: Strenghthens them and keeps them from falling off.

Cutoff bumper ends and leave them good and sharp.
Why: Keeps you from getting stuck up on other cars. You can use the sharp ends to puncture tires.

Notch frame behind real axle if car is a non-gm and has coil springs.
Why: The read end will bend up, instead of down.

Run chains through hood, in front of radiator, around bumper and back up (if allowed).
Why: Protects the radiator.

Remove the front sway bar if equipted.
Why: Frontend damage may push it into the fan.


Transmission
Hook up threaded rod shifter.
Why: The stock linkage is easily broken.

Chain or wire transmission to mount.
Why: Broken transmission mounts are not good.

Change transmission fluid and filter after every derby.
Why: Transmissions get hot and burn the fluid and sometimes even melt the plastic filter.

Connect the 2 lines at the transmission using rubber transmission hose (not rubber gasline).
Why: Rusty metal lines break or crack easily.

Grease/replace U-joints.
Why: Broken u-joints are a show stopper.

A diesel isn't going to make for a quick and nimble car either....I'd get a crown vic or a roadmaster and throw some knobby tires in the rear. Then it'd have enough power to get out of the way! And smashing a W126!!? How could you!

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Most demolition derbies don't allow anything of the old monster cars like Lincolns or the big Caddys any more - too big and too much inertia. The cars that seem to do the best are body on frame types from the 1970s and 1980s.

Those drivers get pounded pretty badly in there - look for some videos on youtube.

And learn to drive backwards!

__________________
1984 300TD

Umm, that old Lincoln is unibody too

-Jason

__________________
1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

There are several types of derbies. 1980 and up cars is quickly becoming the norm. best car for this ? hands down the crown vic. granted most guys put chevy drivetrain in them. Avoid fuel injection if you can. It will make stripping the car a nightmare.

Old iron derbies will take just about any American car as long as it is not a convertible. full frame chrysler imperials are outlawed at many of these events. The best car for this? I believe a 70-75 caddy is best but most will say a 70s chevy roundback wagon.

I have been doing demo derbies for five years now and it is a extremely addicting sport.

if you ran the benz i would buy a all steel bumper and weld it straight to the frame. weld the rear end, and put all thread through the frame/hood/trunk.

__________________

1979 240D with a 617 turbo diesel.

What about a 300SE? Same car structure, peppier engine, and less of us will have heart attacks due to the destruction

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Not any better, the 300SE is rarer! And its a sweet car!

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Good point I suppose

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Any car you can find, just put your daughter's boyfriend behind the wheel. If she want to race, talk to her about autocross.

__________________
Kevin

1978 300D
1979 240D

I was driven in one of those to my military ball.. black on black man... she loved it

just get a 380SE/L or 420SEL.. they are a dime a dozen