MB Diesel Noob in Mass, looking for local enthusiasts... and noob advice of course!

[mumbles]

Hey folks. I'm an all around noob when it comes to MB, diesels, and cars in general, but I'm eager to get my hands dirty.

In a slowly-going-sour 2 part car deal in which I'm getting the short end of the stick, I bought a 1981 300SD with 270k for $750 that was going to be my parts car, but it looks like it might turn into my daily driver. SO, I'm looking to meet some folks in Western Mass who want to get together and help each other learn, repair, overhaul, tune, or bio-convert their old Mercedes. Or, if someone has a free afternoon (or two) and a bit of patience I would love to pick their brain over some brews. This car, as a project, and it is definitely a project, I think is a bit beyond my beginner skills, but I'm willing to tackle it one project at a time, and it would be fun to get some other people involved.

Right now I'm looking at fixing 2 tierods, idler arm, soft brakes (low brake fluid in master cylinder), ineffective e-brake (haven't adjusted yet), damaged alternator adjusting bolt bracket (I think), and replacing the battery. Mainly I'm waiting for my vacation next week to do this work.

If and when it passes inspection, I'll be working on some of the leaks/gaskets, replacing all of the filters and fluids, diesel purge, lights, locks, valve cover gasket, fuel sending unit, valve adjustment, compression test (kinda afraid of the results), timing chain stretch (and most likely replacement), and AC belt among other things. We'll see what pops up in the meantime. From what I've read so far, I'm guessing radiator citric flush, start replacing fuel and brake lines (furture conversion car hopefully), check rear trailing arms, and thats about where my knowledge ends.

Anything else major I should have on the radar?

Drop me a line. I'm in the Holyoke and Northampton area all of the time.

~Brian