identical to my 82, and my 85... yours is in slightly better condition...
my 85 has airbag, ABS, and lumbar control seats... not heated though... grr...

NOW all the teal SD's need to have a GTG!

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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 have a real soft spot for the 126 body. Love the smooth lines.

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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.

Great find, sir! $?

Ok, someone had to downshift the love-in going on here....

Should you ever be lured into something else, please keep me in mind....

Would fly in and drive that away in a heartbeat.

Seriously, congratulations.

__________________


Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

There was a point he was trying to sell it this summer. He printed the craigslist ad and all of the emails for his records. He was asking $10700 for it. I found another hand written For Sale sign with an asking price of $15,000. He printed off one email inquiry, asking if his price was negotiable among other things. His response:

"If you are looking for a good solid car, the 300SD is hard to beat. I bought this car new in October 1983. My wife drove it for 16 years, it stayed parked in my garage for eight years, 5 years ago I need to use it for work and some out of town travel. Over the three years I used it for work, I spent about $11,000 on mechanical repairs and improvements to make it reliable for out of town travel. This car has never had any interior or exterior repairs. It has always been kept in the garage and I have every receipt from the day it was new. As you can see, this is an exceptional vehicle for the right person.

You can let me know if you would like to see this car and you are welcome to make an offer."

I went though the recent repairs, skipping all the small, sub-$200 maintenance receipts, inspections, and registration renewals. Adds up to a little over $10,000. Looks like his email makes sense based on the records. I've seen much more ridiculous numbers for service records as far as money spent, but this couple was smart. A mostly reliable car repaired at a good independent shop rather than the dealer. Never saw any "vehicle towed in" records or anything that would have left them stranded.

2007-2010: When it was pressed back into service

182k: Oil Cooler Lines, Primer Pump Antenna mast $905.00
179k: Alternator $400.29
177k: Timing Chain, Tensiorner, Vacuum, Sway bars, misc $1198.61
170k: Radiator/thermostat $630.35
170k: Caster joints, upper control arms, bushings, alignment. $1260.63
170k: Michelin Tires at 170k $522.14
169k: Thermostat, Water Pump, Heater Hoses $329.01
163k: Tie Rods, Door Strikers, Rear Window mtr, misc service: $950.95
159k: Shut of valve, Misc $376.59
145k: Vacuum lines, trans vac valve, Rear window reg, misc svc: $1037.02
138k: Noisy odometer repair, new wheels, AC service new relay
137k: Michelin tires, $559.83
136k: Oil Pan gasket, Oil return tube, Turbo reseal, crankshaft seal, trans seal, valve cover, AC svc, belts, filters, misc svc: $2011.44

Then it looks like it sat around mostly from 2007-1999, only driven 4,000 miles.


132k: A/C system replaced, serviced: $766.51
At this point the records are too old to be relevant, other than showing religious service and upkeep. Completely stamped maintenance book. All the hang tags that would have been in the car new, along with the window sticker, becker tutorial cassette tape, all manuals..

I spent alot of time looking it over today. One injector seal is leaking. Valve cover gasket and vent tube (old clamp) seeping. Motor mounts look old, but idle is smooth enough. Really not much to do. I suppose a valve adjustment wouldn't hurt.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

....give my name & number to your friend who's the partner in the Ford store!!!!

__________________
'89 260e (212K Mi.), '92 400e (208K Mi.), '92 400e (not a misprint) (146K Mi.), '95 C220, '81 240D--Sold

Noticed this in the stack of records. Had all the brochures for the model, European delivery, colors and options. Her little note made my smile. Totally agree.

My 5000th post.... Neato.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Oh, I feel confident each and every one of us has the same sentiment.

__________________
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!

What for?

__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Old Turbo's big brother!!

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Karma strikes again.
Well deserved.

__________________
1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

....the next time the guy at the Ford store sees a mint '84 300SD southern car and doesn't buy it for himself.....I want to be first in line!

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'89 260e (212K Mi.), '92 400e (208K Mi.), '92 400e (not a misprint) (146K Mi.), '95 C220, '81 240D--Sold

Pfft... Like there are any more like that in existence...

Most dealers discard all the papers that come with old cars like this. Truly a once in a lifetime find.

__________________
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!

When i owned a car dealership, I would search for this kind of stuff daily in the wholesale pool nationwide. You find alot of 10-15 year old cars like this, but not 30.

Sad thing right now is I can't drive it. We had less than an inch of snow, which prompted the city to overwhelm the roads with salt. More snow coming Saturday...so it will be sitting for at least a week.

__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Any thoughts of contacting the previous owner? I bet they would be thrilled to know an enthusiast bought the car and is appreciative of the full service history.

Are there any NASA level companies from where this car came from? This guy has to be a very high level engineer.