1982 300D: A New Hope - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Darthgrader · #1 05-07-2010, 10:02 AM

Well, after three months of obsessive searching, I finally got my new old replacement car: a China Blue 1982 300D, and she is a beauty. My old 300D, an 85, was totaled at the beginning of February, and I've been depressed ever since. No more!

I could not have gotten through this were it not for many kind folks on this forum. You all taught me what to look for, where to look, and how to deal with my insurance company. JeffreyNMemphis and TylerH860 talked me down when I was tempted to jump off the 1971 280SEL gasser ledge. (I needed a daily driver and have no mechanical experience--just a lust for classics.) Daw_Two talked to me for nearly an hour on the phone teaching me how to search for rust properly. Jeremy5848 provided me with an exhaustive checklist to find potential issues. SD300TD, SkidRowJoe, and TNBob sent me leads on possible replacement cars. JimSmith, VSTech, and WHunter gave me advice on the PPI process.

I am very grateful to you.

She's got 110,000 documented miles shown through Carfax and service records, and ZERO rust. The car was on the East Coast for the past three years--in TX the rest of the time. I paid $6,500. I know that's going to seem super high to many veterans here, but remember, I can't do my own mechanical work--yet--and the car is very clean. She was delivered yesterday. ($1300, top loaded, enclosed shipping from CT to CA--a steal, and I'm only a bit over what I received from my insurance payout.)

I took her straight to my indy MB mechanic and will pick her up tomorrow. Everyone in the shop came over to see and oohed and awed over it. And they all started laughing when I told them how excited I was about the warning triangle, first-aid kit, and tool kit being present and correct. (This is what I am reduced to with my ignorance of mechanical concerns!

)

I am absolutely stunned at how much more power this car has than my 85 California version 300D did. The EGR valve is bypassed via the BB trick, and there's none of that other trap oxidizer business to impede performance. This car feels zippy and positively light. I never thought I'd say that about a 300D.

I am absolutely thrilled to be back in a vintage MB. I've been driving a borrowed 1995 Lincoln low-rider couch rocket, and while I have been utterly grateful for the transportation, it was depressing as hell to drive it--a daily reminder of what I lost. I am so happy to hear the diesel engine again and look out over the glossy hood to see the three-pointed star.

Without further ado, these are the pictures I have now. (No engine pics yet, but it's clean as a whistle.) I am particularly impressed with the condition of the interior and the wheels, and the paint looks perfect.

Here are the pictures.

Thanks you guys . . . for everything!