And the quality of the fasteners.

Jay.

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On the road, currently:
'83 300D (German spec.) 168k mi. - - Wolfgang (tucked snugly away for the winter!)
'87 300D 375k mi. - finally went over to "The Dark Side"
'87 300TD 225k mi.
Cannondale 66cm CAAD5 w/Campy/Jamis Aurora
Hujsak Custom Fixie/Landshark Track Shark Custom/Ahearne Custom 29'er

Heck, yeah! Name brand bolts. How can you beat that?

Sixto
87 300D

Mom had an '83 300TD growing up that I loved! I'm not sure I'm in love currently though, with the way my newly acquired '80 300TD has been treating me!! Haha!

I guess relationships are work huh?

the 80 model has a few quirks for sure.
I'd be on the lookout for a nice 84 or so, they are da'bom!

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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!

In tech school, well on my way to achieving an SR-22 on my license due to speeding tickets and repeated violations on both motorcycle and car. Decided to find something slower and easy to work on, that would also get decent fuel economy.

Somewhat randomly, a guy traded me a 1982 grey market bright red N/A 300D for my 85 honda V-twin motorcycle when I posted in on craiglist, and the moment we finally got it started at school and filled the entire multi bay space with smoke causing kids to evacuate, I was in love and I knew this was the type of car for me.

Since then, I also agree that finding a forum filled with like minded people and excellent technical information has been a big factor in keeping the interest alive.

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

1.) biodiesel / WVO
2.) they're DIY cars and built to last.

and the 300D's, to me, are the perfect blend between classic and practical cars to own and drive daily.

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'85 300D, 'Lance',250k, ... winter beater (100k on franken-Frybrid 3 Valve Kit)
'82 300D, 'Tex', 228k body / 170k engine ... summer car
'83 300TD Cali Wagon 210k, wife's car

+

3) No smog or 'scam' test in CA for pre 1998 cars.
4) Plenty of gasser for parts from JY
5) Keep myself below the police speed radar. I find doing 75mpg is ideal for the SDL. It can do much faster but never try it.
6) My daughter thinks the 300D is the coolest car in campus.
7) Parts are cheap and plentyful. Sometime you can get freebies or cheap spares from CL.
8) Insurance is cheap. Use to buy full cover for new cars, now only 3rd party.
9) Co-workers are amazed that you can keep junkers on the road and have confidence in them to go out of state.
10) No OBD II and other computer junk. No so much I do not like them in new cars but some obscure fault codes can be hard to fix, and costs a bundle with dealers. Case in point - minute leak or gross leak 455 code, PITA to know why.

Need I say more?

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

See attached photo....

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1986 300SDL 440,xxx

My best friend owned a '97 E300 which he loved dearly. He would exclaim with glee when he accelerated: "5000 RPM from a Diesel!!" I drove it a few times and came to enjoy it myself.

In November of 2003, he passed away the day after Thanksgiving. At the time, I didn't have the money to buy his car from the estate but I made a plan to one day have one just like his.

Fast forward to 2006 and I became the owner of my own MB diesel which I proudly maintain in his memory!

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

After many years of driving old gasser Benzes - mostly straight sixes - I left full time emplymant and could no longer justify the crappy 13-15 mpg-city gas mileage. On a good day they might top 20 on the highway. But after a few years driving economical, reliable but sometimes boring Japanese vehicles, when I turned 50, I acquired my first Mercedes Diesel (And some wag on this Forum had the nerve to comment "So, for your 50th birthday, instead of a walker or wheelchair, you got a 240D!")
That first cheap, rusty automatic 240D started something that now includes a rare Euro 5-speed 300TD and a nearly rust-free, solid manual-shift.
240D.
Now my curret diesels don't have the wonderfull, silky-smooth power of my old gasser-sixes. But my diesel's 20 - 30 mpg makes up for that. And as nice as my current, 15-year old foul-weather beater Camry is to drive (quiet, comfortable, & cold AC) there's still many things I enjoy about my old diesels, including their lack of computer-chips!

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

I got into them when my wife's beater '91 Dodge lost its power steering belt and I decided it was too hard to fix ( yeah, looking for an excuse).

I already had a VW diesel pickup and was already hooked on low-tech luddite technology for these reasons previously articulated:

3) No smog or 'scam' test .

7) Parts are cheap and plentyful. Sometime you can get freebies or cheap spares from CL.

9) Co-workers are amazed that you can keep junkers on the road and have confidence in them to go out of state.
10) No OBD II and other computer junk. No so much I do not like them in new cars but some obscure fault codes can be hard to fix, and costs a bundle with dealers. Case in point - minute leak or gross leak 455 code, PITA to know why.

and with MB

You are buying a car that was built to last. No expense was spared back in the '80s when MB did not have to compete with Lexus and Infinity. You are buying cars that originally cost the price of a house for literally pennies.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

One of the reasons I sold my 240D last year was because I felt as if the obsessive relationship I had with it was unhealthy. All the work I put into it helped me turn a $1200.00 profit and move onto a 300SD which I thought would just be an average ride with a lot less noise and a little more power. Now I have a car that has the power to keep up with traffic AND is easy to work on. I love this car and am going to start rebuilding the front suspension this Summer.

If it wasn't for this forum I probably would have kicked this habit a while ago, but being able to work on these cars yourself makes driving them pretty economical and wrenching on them very satisfying.

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'81 300SD

got bored of japanese cars, heard these things were real solid and well designed, then one kinda fell into my lap. traded my 05 subie for it and a bunch of cash. (made out like a bandit)

it's real fun to drive.. i like how it gently shakes at idle. love the turbo whistle.
comfortable, unique classic looks.

I really want to drop one of these engines into a little 4x4 (out of a wrecked merc of course) ... incredible engine.

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1985 Mercedes 300D turbo 144k

I like leaning way over and using the hood star like a gun sight.

Jay.

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On the road, currently:
'83 300D (German spec.) 168k mi. - - Wolfgang (tucked snugly away for the winter!)
'87 300D 375k mi. - finally went over to "The Dark Side"
'87 300TD 225k mi.
Cannondale 66cm CAAD5 w/Campy/Jamis Aurora
Hujsak Custom Fixie/Landshark Track Shark Custom/Ahearne Custom 29'er

No other wagon even comes close to the "look" of '87 TD and after a few times I felt like putting a match to it (German engineers are masochists when it comes to designing things so only Mercedes tool can get it right...) I resigned myself to knowing that the car is superior to anything I owned before. Do not fight it, love it!