That was a good deal - Working A/C!!!... and the other things done to it. Keep it and enjoy it.

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1987 300TD 147,000 miles- Palomino leather interior, 1995 facelift and body cladding, E350 wheels, Rebuilt suspension and sport springs, rebuilt turbo, New Monarch injection pump and injectors....and the list goes on and on...

This is a great thread, since I decided months ago that a w124 wagon would be my next car. I've look virtually every day since late November, and have seen none in my general area.

I'm strongly considering selling my 300D in the spring, if I can get a well-cared for 300TD.

I'll be watching the usual spots - hopefully, I'll join the club soon enough.

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1984 300D: 275,000 miles (soon to be for sale)

In search of my 1987 300D in anything but white.

With all the talk about 300TD's I had to give it a bump and see if there was anymore input.

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1987 300TD 147,000 miles- Palomino leather interior, 1995 facelift and body cladding, E350 wheels, Rebuilt suspension and sport springs, rebuilt turbo, New Monarch injection pump and injectors....and the list goes on and on...

http://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/2148879856.html

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/2154109864.html

http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/2113051082.html

http://humboldt.craigslist.org/cto/2149453764.html

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/2105598597.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/2064243495.html

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1972 280SE 4.5

that is exactly what I thought as I read the poll. I didnt vote as I felt the outcome doesnt really have any value. Perhaps a better poll related to this subject would simply be:

Do you own a W124 wagon?

1. Yes a 300TD
2. Yes a 300E
3. Yes, one of each.
4. No, but I am shopping for one.
5. No.

That seems more on subject and tangible.

I absolutely love our W124 wagon.

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83 300TD (need rear wiper assembly dead or alive)
84 300SD Daily driver
85 300TD almost 400k miles and driven daily.
98 E300D *sold
86 300SDL *sold and made flawless 10 hour journey to new home.

Emailed about this one, Intrigued he'd trade for an ambulance. Funny. I happen to have one...

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

288k on the clock? Looks pretty clean.

If I ever end up with a white/blue wagon like that, I'm going to have a vinyl-graphic ship replicate the original MERCEDES SERVICE stripes & graphics for the sides and hatch. I think that'd be gorgeous, especially fun at shows and club events.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I found this over on Benz World
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w124-e-ce-d-td-class/1381038-does-anybody-know-how-many-87-a.html

Gives some production numbers.



Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Hello every one, going to jump in to this ancient thread and say thanks for the information here at this site and especially, information about the 1987 300D Turbo wagons.

I have been a Volvo man for 35 years, using the wagons as surf vehicles up and down the West Coast. I had to sell my latest Volvo of 5 years to a very good friend recently so I went looking for another one. Not finding any '93 to '97's without 300k on them ( I sometimes drive 30k a year just for surf trips), I started thinking about a diesel MB. I came across this thread while researching 'the best' MB wagons. I had driven a few 240's in the past (I thought my 1982 diesel VW Vanagon was slow!), I went and looked at a 1979 300d wagon recently but it was rather beat and very slow with 400k on it. I don't mind high miles and slow but my budget wouldn't get me near the nicer wagons out there. And while I am not a speed demon, I think a car should be able to get out of its own way...The idea of a 3.0 liter diesel with a turbo? That will do it...

While coming back from Santa Cruz to my home on the Coast of Oregon, I saw a craigslist ad for a 1987 wagon in Humboldt. $600.00. The ad was a month old, for a low mile wagon with some rust, been parked for 6 years but supposedly it ran. Surprisingly, the wagon was still available (warning sign?). I started in with the reading, this thread and others and then I talked at length with the owner. She bought it off Ebay, drove it home. Nothing really worked on the car she said, no heater, cruise, etc., so she never drove it.
I decided to at least look at it and drove 280 miles to see it, with a truck and trailer.
We made a vacation out of the trip, it was in the Heart of the Redwoods after all.

I found the car, recently detailed, mostly intact but for the radio/ashtray/battery/headliner.
Heavy rust on the passenger inside rocker panel, jack point to jack point and in 10 inches. No rust any where else, zero. Interior was mint except for the missing headliner from the sunroof back.
149,XXX on her and the odometer worked. Body was straight but for a dent on the passenger side of the front of the hood.
We didn't have a battery, just a jump box so I was only able to start it, get it to operating temp, go into drive and reverse for 20 feet. Brakes were very close to locked up, fuel was 6 YEARS OLD. But it fired right up and sounded very good. And the glow plugs were not working...Zero blow-by, no leaks from anything. And the turbo whistle was a nice touch. Transmission fluid was clean and bright. It passed every test I read I should do when looking at this type of MB.
And she was right, very little worked but...the sunroof! I plunked down my 600.00 and loaded her up under her own power.
I got her home yesterday. She is on stands now, all the calipers, rubber hoses and rotors are off and new parts are here today for a complete brake job.
I pulled the fuel tank, flushed it, went through the fuel lines (only the return was questionable at the filter). Next is the idle adjustment (its rather low and the resistor cap with the numbers does nothing), HVAC, fuel gauge, tach and a passenger window that will not function. I only need the fuel gauge and the heater to work really.
Temp gauge is spot on.
Maybe the window to go up as well, I am easy that way.
I will drop off the rims at the tire shop today and fit new tires, should be more or less on the road today when I am sure I find other issues that come with a car that has been parked for 6 years.

The rust is bad but can be repaired, the rocker panel and jack points are good but the unibody frame rail and a bit of the passenger foot well is bad for 18 inches. I will weld some 1 x 2 box steel past the length of it and sheet metal the floor from underneath once I finish grinding away the undercoating and rust. I am not worried about looks, this car will never have another owner but maybe a scrap yard. At 150k on her, she should last me the rest of my life. I have run Volvo turbo gassers to 400k easily so this girl should go to 500k. I am a maintenance freak because breaking down is expensive and dangerous when traveling.

As to my overall impressions...It has more inside room that my 1996 960 Volvo Turbo wagon, the seats are more comfortable. The fit and finish? Well, it does have that thump when you close the doors! And I feel right at home with all of the loose plastic bits and windows that don't function, issue's Volvo has always had as well.
The interior really is minty, no stains, sags or tears. I will fashion a headliner up as new ones are almost what I paid for the car.
Aside from sticky latches, stubborn fold down seats, I think I am doing ok.

Overall, when I get it road safe and trip worthy, she feels like it would better my Volvo wagons I have had over the years. The power is there (it easily overcame the locked up brakes), the rust doesn't bother me a bit and who needs a radio when you have the whistle of the turbo to enjoy?

Again, board, thanks for all of the information. Without, I would have been clueless about this wagon.

I have to say, I've probably seen only 5 W124 wagons around here ever, none were diesels.....there's 1 or 2 later (94/95) ones.....maybe one earlier gas one....that's it.

When I was looking at wagons it was too hard to justify a W124 vs a W210 or W203 wagon.....for the $$ you get waaaay more for your money with a newer one in the wagon world if you are looking for a nice car with everything functional.

I'm sure an '87 300TD is an awesome car....but they are so rare and do have their issues, in my case the W203 has been great. 0 problems, smooth, quiet, everything works...no rust issues, no SLS to deal with....bulletproof M112+722.6 powertrain.... I am becoming a big fan of the W210 and W203. What is happening to me.

At this point an '87 is over 27 years old.....

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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)

I would like to see some pictures of this 1996 960 turbo wagon, specifically of the engine.
Precisely. I looked for an 87 diesel wagon before I ended up with my current 300D sedan. All the wagons were complete trash heaps for $3000-5000. It just didn't make any sense to me. Despite its rust issues the 210 is an excellent daily driver. Only my 1994 Volvo 960 (non turbo) wagon kicks the bucket I will be replacing it with a 210 or 211 wagon.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Ah, a fellow Volvo man...
I fitted a T5 Garret to her in 2001, that is the car Volvo should have built as "the fastest wagon".
I fitted the turbo/ECU/manual boost/IPD parts from a 1999 S70 SCCA car that had tossed its oil. A few weekends of fabrication yielded a tire smoking grocery getter. I don't know the numbers as far as HP/torque but top speed was well into triple digits and 1/4 mile was 12.5 on stock tires with 17 psi of boost. I was getting 28 mpg highway, even with 220k on her engine. I limited the boost to 10 psi in the end as blow-by was becoming an issue and cam seals were getting blown out of the head with any more boost than that.
I also helped build this car...
1971 Volvo 145 wagon ( TURBO )
Which I might have purchased but I know its been run hard and is more set up for Rally.

Yes, my new-to-me 1987 is a rusty defect laden beast but I have different priorities than most. Long distance point A to point B, cheaply, safely. I totally get those who like minty/everything works/AC blows frost types of cars but being a surfer, my wagons get used, salty, sandy and smelling like a dead seal after a few years.
No need for me to trash a nice wagon when some one else who will care for them aesthetically could appreciate it more. This wagon will never even get washed unless my daughter needs money for something.
Besides, I could never bother spending more than a few grand for a wagon so anything MB from this Century is out from the start.
I will be in this one just shy of 1400.00 barring any surprises.

I have a parts car wagon with a good headliner in it...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I came across an 87 wagon in the Bel Air Crazy Ray's today. It was mostly complete with a decent red interior if anyone in the area is looking for anything. I took the driver side taillight and the roof bars. It didn't have a 3rd row but it did have the cargo cover/net. It was pretty depressing seeing it there since there were so few of them. I have only seen a handful of others and even the gas wagons are very scarce around here. I haven't seen another since I got my 91.

Your last sentence hit the nail on the head.

As the former owner of the subject car for 13 years, at some point you NEED to upgrade the car if you are putting it in prime car duty.

While my wife dearly loved her 87 300TD, there came a point where mileage and age raised too many red flags for the car to serve as one of the primary cars in our family. For me, it was a combination of events that led me to replace the 300TD. First, my next door neighbor was so pleased with the 400E I had sold him had a standing offer on the 300TD. Secondly, a good friend was selling a mint 95 E320 wagon, with low mileage.

It just made sense to move from a car with over 250K on it to a 9 year newer car ( yes I know, but our 300TD was made in 86) with 1/3 the mileage. We got a premium price for the 300TD and moved on. With the exception of fuel mileage, and at the now low rate of annual mileage my wife now accumulates, the extra efficiency of the diesel didn't make much difference. In every other aspect, the 95 was(is) a superior car to the 87 300TD. While my wife still misses the old diesel, I enjoy not having to address the issues that crop up on a high mileage, old car. I have lots of other old, needy cars, but as I said, this was a PRIMARY car, not a hobby car. We kept both for a year, but having two essentially identical cars just didn't make sense, with all the other cars we have.

I've owned nearly every permutation of MB diesel over the last 30 years (and those few I've missed, were owned by relatives), and if there is one consistent factor, it's that the next gen is always a nicer car. A corollary to that is that the last year is always much nicer than the first.

The W211 CDI I bought from Tyler last year is truly amazing. I cannot imagine anyone could prefer the 87 300TD to the CDI once they have experienced the W211. Now that the kids are out of the house, our 95 E320 gets few miles on it, so I plan to keep both the wagon and the cab for a long time, the W124 is a very nice car, no doubt about it.

But... time marches on.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles