The thread with the w115 in the junkyard reminded me of this. It's the story of my first car, full circle.

My '76 300D was a great car. I picked it up for a bargain at $450 from a rather scary guy in the country. I bought when I was 16 and drove it all through High School. Thousands of hours I spent under the hood of that thing (many are detailed in some of my threads from that era) learning the ins & outs of working on these durable old machines. It survived my earliest mistakes like underfilling the transmission fluid, an improperly heated WVO conversion, etc & it never let me down.

Time went by, I continued to drive the old 300d through the first two years of college, never skipping a beat. It even started with B50 in the tank on an 8 degree winter day when me and some friends went and spun it on the ice for fun. I still remember that state troopers face as we slid sideways through the intersection and off the road... Even that sort of abuse couldn't bring it down.

But I really wanted a 190d. I wanted better mileage and I wanted a newer chassis that would be easier to get parts for. I saw the opportunity on craigslist for a '84 190d for $1800. After a short drive and a smile at the young woman who owned it, for $1300 bucks it was mine.

This of course meant my old faithful ride had to go. So precisely 2 years ago in July of '08 I made the decision to sell my '76 300D. I had it on Craigslist for about a week when someone came by, test drove it, and paid the full asking price. I was sad to see it go but I really liked driving my new 190d.

Fast forward to a month or so ago. I was wandering around the Pick & Pull in Sherwood, not finding a whole lot. I spot a cream colored w115 down the row.

There it was, sitting there in the yard, my old car.

On the window it said "runs" so it wasn't the motor that put it in there. The interior was still fairly intact, no damage to the body or the wiring. Then I took a look underneath and it became immediately obvious what did it in. Rust, hidden underneath the undercoating had rotted the area where the rear subframe mount attached to the frame. It must have failed while driving given the rubbing I could see on the inside of that wheel well.

I snapped a couple of pics with my cellphone, the last picture of me and my old ride. It was odd to see it all come full circle, but at least the parts will live on in someone else's car.

I bought the star off the trunk and waved goodbye.

Attached Thumbnails

     

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'84 190d 2.2 - Silver
Converted to 5-Speed
'84 190d 2.2 - Blue
Factory 5-Speed

'76 300D (W115)
Sold, found again in less auspicious circumstances

Grand old car. Great story. Love the color.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

Nice story.

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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.

This story makes me want to go outside and give my 115 a hug!

Thanks for sharing. That's a neat story. I loved mine. I sometimes wonder what happened to it.

I guess I can tell which Mercedes were my favorites, because it's the '75 280 and the '83 300SD that I've spent time wondering where they are today. I regret selling both of them, but at least my memories are from when they were in their prime.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

I'd really like to see my W126 '83 300SD - or maybe not. It had 305K on it 11 years ago when I sold it, still running very well. The new owner lived 4 blocks away and was not treating it well.

It's been about 10 years since I saw it in traffic here locally, but unless the permanently installed to the unibody trailer hitch was removed, I think I would know the car.

Including my '99 E300 owned since new, I've only owned 5 primary cars in total in 37 years of owning cars - so they were all somewhat memorable.

We've only sold one MB, the rest of the ones we got, we still drive around (except for one, which was wrecked) - it was the 81 300TD. Sometimes, like others who have responded, I do catch myself thinking and wondering about that car and how it is now or where it is, what has been done to it, etc. and if I will see it again. When I spot a burgundy w123 wagon around I look, but it's never the one we had.

Nice story indeed, and at least you've got closure.

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

Thanks for sharing your story, i think we all look back and wish we had kept certain vehicles.

Too bad rust gets them in the end when there is still life under the hood.

you should go back and grab the hood star. doesn`t that yr have the small radiator cap/star? not a lot of those arond. they will fit the 123/126.

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

Sad, but there's a silver lining. At least you got full price for it and sold it in due time. If the rear subframe mount had failed while it was still in your hands, you would have a hard time selling it.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

Indeed, that was the silver lining as the asking price paid for the 190d, a new paint job, new door panels, and new wheels. I also appreciate the fact (selfishly I admit) that I wasn't driving it when it let go.

I would have bought the hood star but the whole front grill assembly had already been purchased.

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'84 190d 2.2 - Silver
Converted to 5-Speed
'84 190d 2.2 - Blue
Factory 5-Speed

'76 300D (W115)
Sold, found again in less auspicious circumstances