So you think this thing should be relegated to a parts car? What's it worth with this kind of rust damage?

OK a few things to check.

I was going the mention the OVP but someone beat me to the punch. Your 300D has Type III ACC, do a search under my name and find multiple postings on this subject.

The turbo came in two flavors, KKK and Garrett. Mine has the KKK with external wastegate adjustment. Factory settings are around .8 bar of boost.
You can make a gauge that will screw into the plug in the intake manifold and check your pressure. Some owners will adjust the boost pressure and ALDA, be careful it's your engine. It's been discussed at length on this list. The 123 chassis was never very fast except at highway speeds.

Possibly there could be issues with the valve adjustment, timing chain stretch and fuel filters.

As for the rust along the bottom of the rear window, the gasket has probably failed. No doubt there is water in the trunk that leads to quarter panel failures.


Alan

__________________
DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, DON'T BE A HACK
Political Correctness is NOT part of my vocabulary
and finally FIGHT CRIME...SHOOT BACK

'82 240D Stick
'85 300D Auto
Drove my first MB at age 16 1960 300SL W190

I wouldn't say for you to do it. In VA we have safety inspections, and that wouldn't fly here. You should be able to take it to a metal shop and they could weld in new metal and you'd be good to go. It doesn't have to be a new floor pan, we're not doing a concours restoration here, just trying to be safe. The rest of the rust can be taken care of when you can.
BTW, yours is the same color as mine is..

The passenger seat sill and rocker panel is toast. I can tell you this is from leaking door weatherstrips. I would question the value of the car vs proper repair. You might get more selling individual parts of the car.

__________________
DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, DON'T BE A HACK
Political Correctness is NOT part of my vocabulary
and finally FIGHT CRIME...SHOOT BACK

'82 240D Stick
'85 300D Auto
Drove my first MB at age 16 1960 300SL W190

Well I do have lots of sheet metal on hand and welding and metalshaping experience. I built the car pictured below in my garage. Not from a kit, but from scratch. I just don't know whether or not it's worth that much time and effort. Also I wonder how far forward that rust extends along the sill. It might go all the way to the front like that.

Has that car been in road and track, or a similar mag? I swear I've seen it before...

__________________
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

No that wasn't mine, but here is the article you are thinking of.

http://www.locostusa.com/pics/car_and_driver_locost_article.pdf


I pushed really hard on some bubbled paint on the sill and my thumb went right through. I'm also perplexed by the fact it rained last night and now the badly rusted area of the passenger side rear door sill is wet. I'm not sure where that water is coming from, I had assumed it was splashing in through the hole when the car was driven. There was also water in the trunk just like you guys said there would be. This thing is going to be a major resto project once I tear into it. I still haven't decided if it's worth it. Maybe I'll try to fix the AC first. If I get that working then I will assault the rusty bits.

My personal advice is this. Take this for what it's worth, which is probably not a lot. If you take a look, and the rust is going to be too time consuming to fix, may as well hang on to it as a parts car. There are plenty of rust free ones still out there. I got mine for $500, so they are not necessarily expensive either. Just be on the lookout, and ready to snatch a deal.

Am I reading this right? It looks like this company has replacement rockers in stock for around $100.
http://www.rustrepair.com/app2/onlinecat.htm?r=go&p=sm-

Shoot. That carpet should hold the seatbelt just fine.



Good call on that one. You know your W123s, and it could've just saved a life. Thanks.

Glad I could help. My 82 only had 148k on it when I discovered that small issue. Found it by accident, glad to pass along the information, especially saftey issues.

If you push it off a cliff those times are about correct. Otherwise stock times are in the 13-15 second range.

Well I decided to fix it and keep it since it wasn't worth anything with a rusted out door sill. I cut out all of the rusted out metal, gave it all a treatment with a rust converting phosphoric acid compound to stop whatever surface rust that remained. I then shaped and welded in 16g steel panelling in the rusted out area of the passenger seatbelt mount. In addition to welding it to the side and the floorboard I sanwiched the section of the floorpan that it covered with another piece of steel on the outside and then welded it to the intact metal of the lower outer door sill. (only the forwardmost and rearwardmost sections were rusted out) To restore structural stiffness I drilled out a couple 1" holes and poured in several pounds of expanding structural polyeurethane foam which filled the hollow section of the door sill. (same stuff as Gorilla glue)
Finally I cut out and replaced the other rusted out sections of the front and rear fenders. I painted it all with a rattle can the local Sherwin Williams mixed up for me for $11. They nailed the color if you ask me. So is it worth what I paid for it yet?

Looks very nice, and worth at least twice what you paid for it.

Welcome,

Glad to see another WV resident here! I'm in Doddridge Co., not real close to Charleston...but way closer to you than most everybody else here!

Your car looks better than most cars on the roads here in WV.

If I can be helpful to you, PM me.....

SB

Do you have any retail Bio-Diesel outlets in the Charleston area?? Bio-Diesel website only list one in the entire state, over on I 81 in the Eastern panhandle. The outlets closest to me are in Chillicothe, OH, and Pittsburgh, PA.

__________________

Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG