Hi, I am new to the forum. I just have one question. I came across a 1978 300d with only 98,000 miles on the dash. I spoke with the owner of the car and she asid the car has sat for more than 10 years when her husband died. Would it be worth to buy it for $200.

if you are up to working on a mb diesel (here's the forum to learn if you want to!) the 78 is a decent car. it's not great for highway driving, as the powerband is annoying in the 50-70 range... no passing downshift if you are driving above 50mph...
but for 200, it's worth nearly double that in the crusher... so you can't lose there.
98K on the odo, the car's rust free, all it needs is tires, grab it.
if it's been sitting out flooded and mossy... and rust covered... I'd walk away.
it really depends on what you want the car for.
give us a background on your plans, and some juicy details on the car!

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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 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Yes the car is mossy and in very rough shape. My plans were to take the motor and transmission out of it and put it in another car. Thats why i need some advice on what to do. I was hoping the motor would be good for something? Thankyou for your fast reply. I really appreciate it. Is there any way i can post some pictures up here so you can see how it looks?

300 na is a great motor...no reason you cannot cruise at 75 if in good shape.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Alright, well would it be worth trying to use the motor. Is it bad that it has sat for a very long time?

This posting has been deleted by its author.


Not there, did you buy it?


Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Probably not. Same goes for the transmission. How about some pics of the engine compartment? That should give some clues as to how it's weathered the time it's just been sitting... You just don't know until you spend some time with it to see the extent of rehab necessary.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

I don't have pictures of the engine but I did look at it and it didn't look tto bad. I honestly don't know how it should look at this age and mileage. I will take more pictures and hopefully someone can help me post them up here

Depending on how it's been treated, it can look worlds different. There's an SD for sale on this forum with a bit over 100K miles on it, that looks 5X worse than the engine compartment of my SD with 305K miles on it. Not all people care for their cars as I do, so it's unfair to use only what I have put miles on to contrast with. Actually, my Brother's 240D with 375K miles looked very similar to my 300K+ MB engine compartment. It's just how and where a car is stored, and how it's treated.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

posting pictures is fairly easy.
however getting pictures that will upload like I did above is less so.
first the pictures have to be small. even the average cell phone camera takes pics too large for our forum to upload. so you need to upload them to either your computer and resize them so they will fit, or to a photo hosting site like picassa or photobucket or flicker or similar, then use the IMG link to post them to the yellow square icon above the message text area of this forum.
in the condensed sticky thread I saved a youtube video about hosting pictures and linking them to forums like this one.

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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 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I would like to know what you would plan on using the motor in? another MB? what?

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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 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

I was hoping to find another mb 123 and swap parts into it. Or part it out. I really want to get this baby fired up and running again.

It's not ideal, but with new fluids and fresh fuel they often start up and run well despite it.

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1979 300D 040 Black on Black - 1985 300D Maaco job (sadly sprayed over 199 Black Pearl Metallic) on Palamino

http://i.imgur.com/LslW733.jpg

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Visit the W123 page on iFixit for over 70 helpful DIY guides!

Sold already? There's far more to the decision than information you can share - how much to get it home? Do you have space to store it indefinitely? How will the family and community feel about a non-runner at your property even if you have space? Do you have a car that can use the parts? Etc. If this is your first foray into MB Diesels, get one you like that runs. Worry about parts for it later. Getting this parts car ties you to naturally aspirated 300Ds. Then you find a jewel of a 240D or 300D turbo or even a 300SD which render the parts car less useful. Just saying...

Sixto
87 300D

My 1979 300D was rolling down the interstate at 80 yesterday..no problem (107k)

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1979 300D 106k miles
1972 220D sold
1969 220D sold
2009 Ford F150 SuperCrew