I've Got Twins...What Would You Do?

[disqo]

I just picked up a another 300TD and now I have a real delima. I have been driving an '85 Euro 300TD for the last three years and there are some things I really love about it. I am especially fond of the Euro bumpers and lights, the ABS, and the manual climate control. The car runs great, I have done a ton of work to it and I would drive it anywhere, The big issue, of course, is rust. The car is from Germany and it lived in DC for a while. It has plenty of rust in the rockers and wheel wells, it had a "minor" front end collision at some point and almost every panel has some sort of dent. The new car is a US model '85 300TD. The car runs and drives, seems to have some electrical gremlins, has vacuum issues, and has almost no rust. The only rust I can find is in the floor pans from standing water and it seems to be superficial. The body is also very straight except for a dent in the driver's door. The Euro has 269,000 miles on the original engine and a newer transmission. The US car has 288,000 miles on a replacement engine and transmission. I prefer the palomino interior of the Euro car to the navy interior of the US car. What should I do? I am leaning towards swapping over all of the Euro stuff and the interior to the US car just to have a better body as a starting point to work with. I am also considering an engine swap, but both are running at the moment. Would a compression test be the best analysis of engine health? I could also always just swap over the non EGR manifold and get rid of the emissions controls. I love having the authenticity of the rarer (in the US) Euro model, but lets be honest, no one is stopping me on the street because my car is a sweet Euro model. What would you do? All advice is welcome.
Thanks!

[layback40]

His & hers !! I would just drive the one you like the most. Swapping motors etc is a lot of work. If some redneck in a GMC totals the rusty one, you will still have the other.

[dagObx]

Enjoy?...

[Sev]

"If some redneck in a GMC totals the rusty one, you will still have the other. "

quite a comment from an aussie. if it were coming from an american, i'd understand

are there any rednecks in australia, and if so, what is the definition of redneck? is it a country-specific phenomenon (i.e. USA-only) or can there be rednecks anywhere in the world?

[JimmyL]

I would do what I had to to move away from the rust!!!
I would put the best of what I liked in/on the US version and sell the rust bucket. {or use it for a beater}
No brainer.....

[charmalu]

Originally Posted by layback40

His & hers !! I would just drive the one you like the most. Swapping motors etc is a lot of work. If some redneck in a GMC totals the rusty one, you will still have the other.

I agree with this thinking.

Use the rusty Euro as your beater, and winter use, and save the other for your sunny day car. keep them as long as you can, as long as storage isn`t a problem.

I would sell one of the kids before selling one of the MBs

Charlie

[zeke]

Originally Posted by Sev

"If some redneck in a GMC totals the rusty one, you will still have the other. "

quite a comment from an aussie. if it were coming from an american, i'd understand

are there any rednecks in australia, and if so, what is the definition of redneck? is it a country-specific phenomenon (i.e. USA-only) or can there be rednecks anywhere in the world?

Is there anything BUT rednecks in Australia?

[disqo]

I wish I could keep both, but I am pretty sure (I mean positive) that my wife is not really interested in having that happen. I am just trying to decide if the interior, climate control, and possible engine swap now is better than all of the body work sometime down the road.

[dude99]

almost perfect car + almost perfect car = perfect car

I'd swap all the good parts onto one and keep it and put all the duds onto the other one and sell it cheap.

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by disqo

I wish I could keep both, but I am pretty sure (I mean positive) that my wife is not really interested in having that happen. I am just trying to decide if the interior, climate control, and possible engine swap now is better than all of the body work sometime down the road.

You are conflicted.....plain and simple. Women and old cars in multiplicity, definitely do not mix well.

I have no help other than what posters previously have advised you here already.

[ImBroke]

Swapping all of the manual stuff over would definitely be a chore. Not undoable, but ask yourself if you have the time to do that. I just finished up a motor swap, and a dash swap (would have been the perfect time to do a manual AC swap), and I'm tired of working on the car for a while. If I were going to go to the extreme of swapping everything, I'd strip the body and do pretty much a full resto. Heck, at that point, you're almost there already.

[Junkman]

Originally Posted by disqo

I wish I could keep both, but I am pretty sure (I mean positive) that my wife is not really interested in having that happen. I am just trying to decide if the interior, climate control, and possible engine swap now is better than all of the body work sometime down the road.

Swapping wives is a possibility but more problem prone and costly than having an indy (or perhaps stealer) do the wrenching. Perhaps she can reconcile an extra vehicle in lieu of an extra girl friend.

IF you decide to swap parts, keep the good car in as close to running condition as possible. Many perfectly good vehicles have turned into parts cars because the owner got a case of "while I'm at it" and disassembled past his project finishing ability. Deal with the minor rust while it is minor. It may only need a scuff & shot of POR15.

[barry123400]

The general gist of the responses is so much depends. I tend to agree with that. Also only you really know the two cars. Dents are usually not too hard to deal with but rust requires some real consideration.

As my father used to say you can repair mechanical things easier than dealing with extensive rust. Depending on where you live etc is a factor.

What southerners call rusted are almost pristine examples of cars in comparison to what rust is up here in the northern rustbelt.

For example I got a very good low milage buick century with the 301 engine very cheap with some outer rocker panel issues awhile ago. Sourced a pair of aftermarket 16 gauge panels out of Cleveland the other day for three hundred dollars delivered. Same aftermarket panels locally are 600.00 a pair.

Gm does not and never has supplied them. They instead supply a panel that includes all the door frames as the car is unibody. Not only would I not want to pay the price for them. I certainly would not want to install them as well.

By the time I get those cleveland parts carefully and properly installed and the paintwork done by myself. On what at one time was and I still consider a minor repair. With paintwork all done by myself as well. The cost will be far greater than the aquisition cost of the car. Since other than the rockers the car seems very sound.

I am doing it and will spray on a coat of the now illegal grease and graphite to extend the useful lifespan of this car as far as possible. It was never undercoated. It will be my new winterbeater. First american car for me to use in a very long time. Actually does not drive too shabby for what it is and seems to be reasonable on fuel. I guess I had overlooked that these series of buicks were not all bad.

Unfortunatly the existing factory undercoating makes the use of a real effective undercoating impossible on the 123 mercedes. As far as effectiveness goes I consider what mercedes called factory undercoating is little more than sound absorbing material. It causes more difficulty than it should.

[disqo]

I really appreciate all of the responses. I am almost positive that I am going to use the Federal body and strip everything of any use from the Euro car. I think I am going to stick with the Palomino interior. Let me know if you are interested in any parts and if it something I don't plan to use I can sell it offset the cost of the project. Does anyone have any advice on checking engine compression?

Thanks!

[mike-81-240d]

Pretty wagons.... keep 'em both! Put them on classic car insurance to save money, then keep both.