New Member Intro: '87 300TD Estate, Westchester, NY
 

Hello All!

Name's Haven. Iv'e been scanning the forum for weeks in preparation for my first Diesel Benz.

At long last, I just got my Imperial Red 87 TD Estate delivered last night (yes it's filthy, for now):

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7236/6...34c951a7_b.jpg

For some background, I've been an Audi guy for a while, not old ones, B6 A4, S4, B7 RS4, 8P A3 etc... But the current stable (I drive the RS and my wife has the A3) is just a bit too perfect. I'm shelling out all this money and my car in particular, though a blast to drive, perfectly practical and relatively rare - gives me no reason at all to get my hands dirty. I want to have paid-for cars, that have enough character and quirk to them to keep me engaged. So my hunt for a new everyday driver began. I figure I'll choose some other 15+year-old quirky german thing a couple of years down the line to satisfy my 'fun to drive' needs.

I often drove my parents' 126 TurboDiesel when I was a teenager, and I fondly remember that incomparable 80's buld quality. When I chose to hunt down a Merc of my own a few months ago, I already had a feel for what to expect, but when I found out how rare the 124 diesel wagon is, that clenched it.

My hunt ended with this one. It was for sale in the LA area, and I had it shipped here to NY. While It was in LA, I had my uncle who lives out there take it to his MB guy and put a rebuilt tranny and main seal, luckily while he was down there he found a cracked front flex disk, so he replaced both of them for good measure.

I am really encouraged by my first impressions around and under the car. Its ridiculous how solid these things are and I'm happy to say mine is no exception. It is in fantastic shape structurally. Zero rust. No suspicious welds, no missing body bits. The paint is dull, but uniformly so, which is encouraging. No panel wears suspiciously better paint than any other. Couple of deep scratches, couple of small dings, but the car IS 25 years old, with multiple-owner history, so that is to be expected.

Odometer is stuck at 175k, real mileage is a mystery.

Interior is very good, short list of minor fix-its.

Car rides Smoothly, and pulls well at cruising speed.

But there is one HUGE bummer, I examined my head today, only to read 603 016 14 01.

I'm not too daunted though. I'm committing to this car.

My plans for the car are basic, I just want to be able to enjoy the car, keep it pretty original, I've heard that Willy in great neck is a good indie. I'll probably take it to him for more serious mechanical stuff that I don't have the confidence or equipment to do.

I'll be around, gathering info, documenting progress, and learning where I can. I already feel grateful to the forum, seems like there is a great community here.

Cheers!

Welcome to the forum....I think you'll find that you're among kindred spirits.

Here's a handy little guide to help you check out your new car: http://www.w124performance.com/docs/mb/articles/124.1x3_buying_tips.txt

Thanks! Great link.

would be nice to have a #22 head,but dont loose any sleep over having a #14! There are many of them out there running every day with lots of miles on them. From your list of cars i would venture you are the sort of owner that pays attention to gauges and symptoms and less likely to severely overheat your new wagon that the average driver.
if it eventually does fail,by then you will love that TD so much that you will almost feel good about putting an updated head on. I think i have had mine about 3years now with the #14 ,hope it lasts forever but if it does not i WILL repair it,Love this car. Don

Welcome! if you've been searching on here for info on your wagon, likely you've come across my threads, I love both my 87TD's. there's PLENTY to work on most of the time, and plenty of preventative to do to keep them solid daily drivers.
first is the cooling system, keep the #14 head clean inside, and fresh MB/Zerex G05 coolant with new fan clutch, and proper aux fan temp actuator!
be sure to find the thread dedicated to gaining the total number of members with the 87 wagon!

Take it to Sucic Bros in Port Chester, best Mercedes indy around and reasonable.

The fact that you refer to it as a 'Merc' and an 'Estate' tells me the Imperial color is appropriate for you heritage. A Brit?

Welcome
 

Welcome to the forum. I will echo the responses about the #14 head.

In have 256K on mine by odometer, And it keeps chugging along. Mind your temp and you will be fine. A lot of good folks on here and a TON of good info. Keep us posted..

Thanks for the warm welcome everybody!

Thanks, always good o hear another #14 thats doing fine, but I'm like you: I'm all-in on this car. if the head goes, I'll fix it without even flinching.

Fortunately the PO put a new Rad and fan in, I'll be testing the aux fan asap. I'll find that thread. I want to be counted among the few, the proud.

An Indy rec In Westchester? Awesome. Port Chester is 20 minutes form me. Thank you.

HA! No I'm originally from Atlanta, but I definitely have euro sensibilites when it comes to cars --I even ended my post with 'Cheers!' (note to self: watch less Top Gear. (note to self: completely ignore previous note))

Every non-horror story about a #14 puts me a little more at ease, and yeah this forum is overflowing with good info, I'm glad to be here, I look forward to sharing my (mis)adventures with this thing.

Love the color!

D'oh! I called it Imperial Red before, we actually got Signal Red here in the States. And thanks! The color was definitely one of the reasons I sprung for this one.