Alas, and no one seems to want the old W116...

Another last-minute funding issue for a perspective buyer. Funny, it is as if this car doesn't want to leave me, almost like the Plymouth Fury in the movie Christine. My plans are further complicated by the fact this is my daily driver at present, so selling it and shopping about for a replacement isn't an easy option.

Why do cars like this never show up around me when I'm buying.. I would love to own your car....alas, its not to be...

Like the cars I want to go and look at are all 155 miles away in L.A. traffic!!!!!!

Wait, it's still your daily driver and you're hauling down the freeway @ twice the speed limit w/ 3 month expired tags/registration?? :eek:

And posting pictures on a public forum of the speedo and youtube videos of it? Apparently you've never read about the people arrested for doing exactly this. Not smart.

Yes, that is correct. And we just put the tags on it this week. Pretty hard to get arrested in California, unless you do something really terrible....

After much looking and tire kicking, I just wasn't able to find a suitable replacement for the 300SD for the money I could get out of it. I saw many super-clean cars, with perfect apint and interior, but all were 170,000 to 200,000+ mile cars. While some of them certainly drove nicely and were light-years more comfortable than my W116, I kept thinking about the engines & transmissions.

Since I sometimes commute 1,000+ miles a week to and from work, to be with my family nightly, reliability is paramount and, as much as the 300SD is primitive, it is very reliable.

I now have about 55,000 (or so) on the complete engine/transmission rebuild and things are going very well in that regard. Over the past 5 weeks, I have logged over 4,000 miles on the car.

Now I am the first to decry spending money on these old cars, because it seems you can just never get a return on your investment, but I am at a point where some money needs to be invested.

I had hoped to find something more modern and with good interior, so I could coax my wife out of my 2001 Mustang GT, but it would seem that nothing short of a newer (2000+) XJ8 will get her out of the Mustang. With our son in private school, that just isn't feasible at present.

To that end, I decided to do some work on the old 300SD.

Last week, I had a new windshield installed with a new OE rubber gasket.

I am having one of our wheel techs restore the wheels back to their original silver finish this week.

I have been running 205/70R14's for the past 16 years and I am thinking of stepping up to a 215/70R14 for a little better ride. I am looking at the Hankook Optimo H274 which is one of the few decent whitewalls still on the market.

The polish and detail departments are going to cut and buff the entire car and then hand wax it to protect the original finish.

I found the original speaker holes in the dash would accept a 4X6" speaker. I found a set of Cerwin Vega SS 4602P that were a drop-in fit. A pair of Cerwin Vega HED 1693 6 X 9's were easily installed into the rear shelf.

For a deck, I wanted something that had the plug-in MP3 feature. The Kenwood KDC-152 was modestly priced and had the features I wanted. It dropped right into the dash where my Dad had installed a OE Honda AM/FM/Casette many, many years ago.

Our local dealer in Palm Springs gave me a beautiful pair of "Mercedes-Benz Palm Springs" all-metal enameled license plate frames, to replace my worn out MB of Fresno frames.

Next will be solving the seat issue. Since the estimates to rebuild the sagging, 34 year old seats and cover them in cloth, is between $1,200 and $1,800, I am looking at adapting some Jaguar or Volvo front seats in and perhaps rebuilding the rear seat myself and just having it recovered.

Much, much more work than I wanted, but as much as I like the ride of the 2000 BMW 740/750, I hate the transmissions....

I think you made the right decision in keeping it.

I think the old adage, "I'm putting more in the car than it's worth" is a terrible measuring stick in deciding whether to keep a car or replace it.

Cars are a depreciating asset, and when you add the cost of fuel, depreciation, car insurance registration, maintenance, and repairs, we are all upside down on our cars after about 5 years of ownership.

And besides, the single most expensive component of car ownership is depreciation, and you car has zero depreciation at this point.

The car looks great now. It is a classic, and will only look better as it ages.

Good points,

No to decide whether to go 205/70R14 or 215/70R14....

If you mean Optimo 724, otto huber just returned a set because he couldnt get a smooth ride out of them at... umm... legal speeds. The 727 is a better rated tire. I don't know if it comes in whitewall. Otto got a set of Michelins.

Sixto
87 300D

Wow, the Hankook 724 in 215/70R14 is amazing. The ride is smooth, much smoother than the Dunlop Citations they replaced, even when new. Ride is exceptional thus far....

What a difference 5% makes - http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/wheels-tires/325963-new-tires-feel-like-%24-%5E.html

Sixto
87 300D

These Hankook's are very nice. Perhaps I just got lucky?

The ride with the 215/60R14 is amazing and they look 1,000 times better than the 205/60R14's they replaced!!!

Stick with Michelins. They are just the best. You cannot go wrong.