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#1
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300D saved from confiscation
A neighbor a few blocks away from me had a 300D in his yard. It had been sitting there for more than 3 months. One day, I had spotted an orange tag on its rear windshield. Thinking it was for sale, I knocked on the door asking what the price was.
It turns out that the car was not for sale. The police had placed that tag on the car because it was a non-working vehicle with no registration. Even though the owner resides on the property the car was at, due to a city ordinance, the police now have the "right" to take someones car simply for lacking a tag, even if the car is not in running condition and is waiting to be restored(so much for property rights... Texas is so f'd up). No complaints were issued about this car, either. All it needed was a battery charge, a few fuses, and a little bit of messing with the corroded wires connecting the lights(they will need to be replaced), making sure all the air was removed from the fuel pump before starting, and it was in working order. Now the car is temporarily relocated so that time can be found to get it the proper tags. The body has minimal rust(most of it confined to the front hood) and the passenger side hinge that holds the hood up is broken due to rust, but otherwise the body is in excellent condition. The engine purrs. That neighbor got that beautry for $300. I hope they put some money forth to keep it maintained(being in the ghetto and all, money is quite tight for most); if they do, it will probably last a few decades more. The downside is, that the maintenance costs for a car like this will run about $800/year, but it is more than recouped by a vehicle that will not have to be replaced for a *long* time(if ever), and the prospect of running it on free/cheap WVO at 25-30 mpg when driven with economy in mind(or 40 mpg hypermiling it). |
#2
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Another one salvaged! Good job.
Your not ever going to see 40MPG. You will never see 30MPG either. Switching to a manual trans. will help mileage. But, you will still be lucky to see 30MPG. And again.... You will NEVER see 40MPG. Where do people get this information?
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AJ 1985 300D (SOLD) |
#3
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Toecutter... Nice, we have a Bubba Zanetti on there too...
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-Evan Benz Fleet: 1968 UNIMOG 404.114 1998 E300 2008 E63 Non-Benz Fleet: 1992 Aerostar 1993 MR2 2000 F250 |
#4
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Where in Texas was this? I've never heard of something like that. I can understand if it was an HOA thing.
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----Adam 1985 300SD 322,000 |
#5
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??
Maintenance is $800/year? Where does that number come from?
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#6
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Many Texas towns, cities, municipalities etc... are picky about non-running/expired tagged vehicles. Give em half an excuse and they are towing your vehicle.
Lies, damned lies and ordinances.
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Codifex 1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.) 1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof. 1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins) |
#7
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And I thought The Peiple's Republic of King County WA was bad! If expired tabs on private property were enough reason for them to tow a vehicle, half the ones in my driveway would be in danger.
Around here, if someone complains and they come inspect you, as long as the vehicles are complete (no missing wheels, tires, engines, trannies, axles, or body panels) you're OK - even if they don't have current tabs - as long as they aren't parked on the street. Even if you have an engine or whatever out of them you're still OK if you're actively working on repairing it. Of course if you live in a commune-ity with a Home Owner's Association the rules get a lot more strict. That's why I chose a house in an older, estabilshed neighborhood with no HOA...
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1984 300 Coupe TurboDiesel Silver blue paint over navy blue interior 2nd owner & 2nd engine in an otherwise 99% original unmolested car ~210k miles on the clock 1986 Ford F250 4x4 Supercab Charcoal & blue two tone paint over burgundy interior Banks turbo, DRW, ZF-5 & SMF conversion 152k on the clock - actual mileage unknown |
#8
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Where I am due to my old Neighbor kind of acrossed the backe from me; the actually change the law just because of him.
In Long Beach CA the (Building and Planning) law defines an unregistered vehicle as one that does not have the updated year sticker on it; in CA you cannot get tje sticker without having the vehicle insured. Even though the State allows inoperative regestration. You can have 2 unregistered vehicles in you back yard but they have to be on a Concerete Slab and screened from view. If you have the year sticker you can park in the back without any concrete. And, no I did not Rat on my Neighbor. In fact I let him put some of his vehicles in my back yard (before the law changed) and building an planning sited me and made me correct a bunch of stuff.
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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel |
#9
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not physically possible in any way, unless you drive entirely down hill and get a tow back up.
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#10
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They tow and tag unregistered cars that sit on the street too long here too. Usually takes a looong time before they figure it out and actually take them though.
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-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) |
#11
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tag and tow on the street is different from tag and tow off of private property. They do it the same here in Iowa, you can not have an unregistered inop vehicle on your property at all, zip, zilch, otherwise zoning can tow it away. You also cannot have a car in any way dismantled overnight, otherwise it becomes inop and a tow candidate.
I personally think this is a violation of private property rights but I don't have the money to challenge this in a court of law so they get away with it. That's how they get away with many of these types of ordinances, they implement them and then wait to see if there's a challenge to it. They do it under the guise of beautification, heaven forbid we might have an inop vehicle in our yard. In Des Moines if you tag it they generally don't bother you, even if it's inop, but they could.
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Steve A 92 W140 OM603 97 VW Jetta TDI 90 Passat variant TDI 6 speed MT 94 Chevy K1500 6.5TD 05 E320 CDI + others |
#12
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Quote:
Driving like a jackass(and not a grandma), I get 23-25 mpg in my 300 SDL. |
#13
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Quote:
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-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) |
#14
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Quote:
I drive that speed a lot because of my location. Not many stops and hardly any idling, the most I have ever seen is 28.5 corrected. The SDL is a "completely different car". You are comparing Apples to Oranges.
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AJ 1985 300D (SOLD) |
#15
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You will still never see 40mpg and rarely 30mpg.
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TC Current stable: - 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL - 2007 Saturn sky redline - 2004 Explorer...under surgery. Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth |
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