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  #1  
Old 02-13-2011, 02:46 PM
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New to me 2.5 with the five speed.

Just went to a furniture auction with the wife. Guy there approached me and asked if I wanted his 190 style body car with the 2.5 diesel in it and five speed. 150k miles the last time I saw it and verified it easily with all the paperwork in the dash. This was about one year ago. He has not driven it much since then.

He said there is a short somewhere in the electrical now. Sounds to me like a shorted starter or alternator diodes. The battery drains down really fast. You have to pull start it currently. It will not crank.

Still has a current saftey sticker and was a good drivable car uintil the short still he claims. I had seen this car a year or so ago but the price was too high at the time in my opinion.

No rust the last time I looked at it then. Actually really clean underneath as well. Then today he said the magic words. Three hundred dollars. Interior corresponded with the milage as well although I forget the color. The car is black. No it is not black on black as that I would have remembered. Red should have stuck in my mind as well so it is probably palimino or grey.

The old price was not too bad but the car had no plates,safety sticker or insurance then so I could not drive it and reluctantly passed it by. What I saw plus the condition of the engine running was pretty good a year ago. Just his price then disturbed me. He thought he had the proverbial gold mine. Fairly high price if it had been test drivable but not totally beyond reason. That big mono wiper looks interesting was another thing I noticed.

At the same time today he mentioned he knows a lady with a 1986 station wagon he thought that is pretty good and she wants gone as it has not been used much in the last several years. He felt it was in good condition but was not absolutly sure of the year.

I guess I will have to force myself to view that one. He thinks 500.00-1000 might take it. As she is asking one thousand . Of course in general he is not familiar with the brand. Few are in my area.

The station wagon in my mind may be gas as well or I should have seen it or heard of it if in my geographical area. We will see.

At the absolute worse senario the 190 would yield up some great parts like the engine and transmission. I do not feel like there is really any risk here. He told me he had the brakes done reciently with all new calipers and rotors. All the service literature when I originally examined it indicated it had been dealer serviced until he got it.

I took at least an hour looking for any discrepancy in the total milage originally. What sold me on it being genuine is the original owner kept track of every tank of fuel he ever put in the car since new and the milage he got on it. Quite a log in itself.

The dealer had stamped every oil change service and added notes to indicate what other issues where attended too at the same time. Then there were many other service invoices as well again corresponding very well. There were no unreasonable gaps in the fuel and milage log at all.

Too much snow around currently to bring the 190 home. I will get the ownership and a bill of sale this evening. I would have paid him on the spot but for all I know it could have been in an accident. So I want to see the car once again before paying.

Some days are better than others. I even managed to leave my daughter at the auction to bid on an item when it comes up sometime this afternoon. Although I expect the wife to say soon that I have too many mercedes around. I tend to agree and may sell a couple off. I really have no practical way to deal with all of them anyways.


Last edited by barry123400; 02-13-2011 at 02:57 PM.
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Old 02-13-2011, 03:15 PM
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Sounds like it'd be pretty hard to lose on that one.

The '86 wagon would probably be a 300TE 124, used to have an '86 300TE running around my old neighborhood, the lady picked it up new in Germany.
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Old 02-13-2011, 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted by babymog View Post
Sounds like it'd be pretty hard to lose on that one.

The '86 wagon would probably be a 300TE 124, used to have an '86 300TE running around my old neighborhood, the lady picked it up new in Germany.
Yeah I am optomistic. The car was pretty good but not perfect. I think I remember the air conditioning was out. Plus the car had a repaint sometime in it's history that may cover up some prior accident. The repaint originally was only of reasonable quality.

Since the car was so clean underneath I just hope there was no major rust topside that was covered up. Sunroof and crank windows if I remember. Now I am wondering if the sunroof was present I thought it was.

Anyways I will have some of the questions answered soon enough as I am going to see it again in an hour or so. There is absolutly no interest in older mercedes diesels in my region anymore that I am aware of now.

Basically if a guy cannot repair items himself using local garages is out of the question. We used to have a couple of pretty fair garages to pick from. Now they are all the same here.

I am not sure of exactly what is the cause of younger people not repairing things themselves in general. It could be something as simple as tool costs. Or times where so good for so long they developed little self reliance. Or the need was just not there. My generation enjoyed the chalenges and the financial savings of keeping our posessions repaired.
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Old 02-13-2011, 06:13 PM
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I think that the cost to repair an older car has gone up considerably, makes it harder to justify vs the cost to replace. Also, I think that the Gen-Xers are better at video games than real-life analysis and troubleshooting, feel that a quick trip through college will land them big money and they won't need to fix anything, ... hard lessons ahead as the unemployed masses are full of college degrees as are the assembly lines and fast-food counters. I digress.

Look for rust in the rockers on that car. Between the front wheels and jack-point and benind the rear jack-point, bottoms of doors. If a manual-window car it's something we didn't get here in the states, I don't know how hard used regulators etc. are to find there if you need them, might check window operation too.
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Old 02-13-2011, 08:19 PM
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Check the Battery

The first thing I would check on that car, is the battery, before you go looking extensively for a short. First thing I would check is to make sure it is the correct battery with enough cold-cranking amps. Amazing how many people throw a regular car battery on a diesel then wonder why it just doesn't hold up!!! The new technology on those batteries also has caused a lot of grey hair. Just get to a shop and have them test it while it is running and presumably charged. When it is charged, also have them test the alternator. Then have them check the draw from the starter. If it's drawing too many amps . . . time to get it replaced/rebuilt. I bet (my gut reaction) is that it's a dead battery, probably designed for a gas engine car.
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Old 02-13-2011, 08:22 PM
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PS . . . You have a jewel of a car . . . just clean it up and take care of the little odd items after you have it mechaically perfect. I, for the life of me, can't figure out why you'd want to part it out???? For me, it would even be worth it to repaint it . . . but I had one with the 2.2L engine that I drove for 6 years and cried when I was forced to part with it.

Good luck, and enjoy your new ride, . . . you lucky dog!!!!

Before parting it . . . contact me . . . I might be able to take it off your hands . . . LOL.
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1976 240D, 4-spd the "Pumpkin", SOLD to Pierre
1984 190D, 2.2L, 5-spd, my intro to MBZ diesels, crashed into in 2002
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  #7  
Old 02-14-2011, 11:06 AM
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I had also wondered if any member had previously contemplated dropping that more modern engine and the manual five speed into a 240d? I wonder how much is different ? This is the non turbo 2.5 remember. I also wonder if like the 617 engines the turbo one is beefed up to take the turbo? Or would the weight difference between the bodies make the swap almost meaningless.

At this point I have no intention of parting it anyways. It is just a what if kind of question. I would pass the car along first to someone else if that was the end point. If it took too much time to make it like I want for example. Funny I never heard of anyone doing this swap. Perhaps it is excessivly difficult?

First have got to get this buggy home. I always wanted a five speed in one of my two forties. Those original type transmissions seem to get scarcer and scarcer.
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Old 02-14-2011, 11:08 AM
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The turbo engine is different from the na, in several areas including the head.

The 602 5-speed transplant into a 240D would be pretty nice.
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Old 02-14-2011, 11:56 AM
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Babymog I will keep posting how this all works out. Unfortunatly the owner is a less than desirable character to buy anything from. It snowed again so I cannot get to even examine the car today.

I am determined to re examine the car before paying.I have not seen it in a year. This would not be a requirement with many people I know. This guy does qualify though.

It is one of those situations where he needs money really bad as well. He brought another house before selling his old one and he is not getting offers for the old one. I think he is currently unemployed as well. .

Why people either place themselves between a rock and a hard place is beyond me. Although he could have just lost his employment during the transactions unexpectatly. Some people have the worse of coincidence. His wife also died a couple of years ago under fifty years old with cancer. This guy is not a good candidate to buy lotto tickets.

There is too large a chance of some curve existing in this deal because of his character as well. So I have to be extra careful. On the otherhand it is just three hundred dolllars and if things were better for him this may not have been coming to pass.

Also if it is as he says there is only an electrical short and the car is pretty much as it was the last time I examined it. I will give him more money than he asked after I establish what is real. Three hundred dollars is far less than that car is worth with only a short.

In my position I have to act in a fair way and not take real advantage of his general misfortune. We will see how this unfolds. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth to do otherwise. A good deal is okay but this may be better than a good deal.

I purchased a 1950 ford from him many years ago with a claimed low milage factory rebuilt V8 engine in it. Strange it too was two or three hundred dollars as well and was purchased by me as a parts car.

The engine was installed by a ford dealer and the woman had only driven the car another few months before it went out of service and sat for years was the story. The engine was partially taken apart after the sale to check it and it indeed was fairly fresh.

The only ford flathead V8 I ever owned that had reasonable oil pressure at hot idle. I parted that car out for a good profit and kept the engine and transmission and radiator. They still reside in my garage. I just spin the crank over by hand once a year. Some guys purchased the doors and quarter panels etc. and converted their four door into a two door so some of that car lives on. It needed a whole new frame so it was not worth restoring at the time.

Last edited by barry123400; 02-14-2011 at 12:08 PM.
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Old 02-14-2011, 01:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by piccolovic View Post
PS . . . You have a jewel of a car . . . just clean it up and take care of the little odd items after you have it mechaically perfect. I, for the life of me, can't figure out why you'd want to part it out???? For me, it would even be worth it to repaint it . . . but I had one with the 2.2L engine that I drove for 6 years and cried when I was forced to part with it.

Good luck, and enjoy your new ride, . . . you lucky dog!!!!

Before parting it . . . contact me . . . I might be able to take it off your hands . . . LOL.
Depends what I find with that car. For me at age sixty eight time is my enemy. Although I am very fortunate and still have the energy level of a man much younger. When this stops is an unknown.

It will and it has to at some point from a realistic viewpoint..Hopefully almost instantly. I only met one other individual over time that is very simular. He flies his ten to twelve passenger heavy twin engine almost new plane into a local farm field once a year to service his local interests. Most younger pilots would not have the skill or confidence to do it. The field is short even though his plane is empty. We converse occassionally.

He lives in boston pretty well year long and is about ninety or older and must still make his pilot medical to do so. He looks fifty five. Like myself he states it is genetics.

Now we are aware that we are getting older as two good women apiece would probably tucker us both out. Since we are both happily married I guess we will not get to test the hypothisis. Additionally any one of my four daughters would be less than pleased if they found out. Remember as well I am but a kid at sixty eight compared to him.

As my wife states occassionally she wonders when I will get older or time will catch up with me as I seem to have avoided it somehow. She may have a point as all my contemporaries are old compared to me. My time for self interests still remains low as I am pretty busy all the time.

To find time right now to do a general reconditioning of a car is very difficult. For some of us age does not equate to having more time to do things we would preffer to do. Even if the ability remains. I have resisted delegation to others to do things for me.

We can afford it but old habits not only do not die hard. They can become even stronger. So indeed the car may get passed along. Hard to know right now. In my strange life at this age nothing is really certain.

Part of yesterday for example and today are being spent getting a guy set up to manufacture good quality wooden urns. He asked me some time ago to get something together that with his disability would bring some money in.

It fits his needs and limited startup capital. A valid market test showed it will meet his needs. Sales are to remain direct rather than through funeral homes at present. You almost have to think in an abstract way to get things going in todays typical economy.

By helping many people it gives purpose to our lives. There are also many benifits tangiable and non tangiable that have occured over time from doing so. We help individuals by showing them how to help themselves. Giving money accomplishes virtually nothing other than perhaps relieving short term difficulty. Unfortunatly there is usually a lineup of people wanting my services.
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Old 02-15-2011, 08:45 PM
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Age and Delegation

Well, there are some things that can be done with delegation, and all they require is research. For instance . . . that driver's seat that has 200K of someone else's "arse" pounding down the foam? Or a spring coming up through the horsehair??? You can hunt for the horsehair at antiquie shops and have a car interior shop simply restuff the seat. No need to do it yourself . . . something best left to the pros. Another thing . . . might help your attitude and spirits if you have the car completely detailed . . . inside and out, including the carpets. Look for the coupons for the discount . . . you will suddenly get more motivated to scour the junkyards for those odd-n-end parts to upgrade it to "perfect." At our age (am also an old lady), I don't want to change the oil, let alone do the dent-removal, bondo and prep for a paint job or paint touch-up. Another thing left to the pros. Another good idea . . . take it to a mechanic for a bumper-to-bumper inspection and write down everything they say is wearing or needs attention. This way you can set up a schedule for repairs, or order the parts, make the arrangements for installation and be motivated to do the junkyard runs.

Good luck.

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1983 300D, the "Avocado"
1976 240D, 4-spd the "Pumpkin", SOLD to Pierre
1984 190D, 2.2L, 5-spd, my intro to MBZ diesels, crashed into in 2002
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