bought a 74 240D this weekend

[JB3]

1974 240D 4-speed, dark brown with burgundy interior (excepting driver seat, looks out of a much later car and tan). Only 3 small rust holes on the whole car! Easily patchable, and thin undercoating on this car means I can take better care of the metal work, since problems will be immediately visible.

Needs a bunch of trim and interior parts, but it runs great with the exception of the glow plugs not working.

I like this chassis style a lot, seems almost mechanically identical to my 80

[Colorado220]

Nice, have fun with it!

[andersbenz]

I had a egg shell blue one. These are great cars. Enjoy yours.

[JB3]

I really like it, especially the pull start feature! I can't believe how modern a feel this 36 year old car has driving! I wish that both my MBs were not the same unappealing tired dark brown though. One will have to be painted, probably this 115 when I get done playing with it since it is not a death trap.

I am toying with the idea of putting a 617 in it. From what I have read, it seems a matter of the oil filter not matching, and requiring some tweakage there.

What is the official name for that dark burgundy interior?

[diametricalbenz]

They are fun drivers. Enjoy! However, don't be in a rush anywhere as they have even less power than the W123 bodied versions.

If you are considering putting a OM617 in there you may want to reconsider.

[79Mercy]

Looks like a fun project.

Well you can put a OM617.910 however, installing a turbo diesel motor wont be much fun.

[JB3]

why not, what are the horror stories with the turbo diesel swap? I am mister "makes it work eventually", and I see a rajay powered 115 3.0 in someones signature.

I am not in a rush to do that swap, the engine runs well, but the tranny will have to come down for a new clutch and maybe a rebuild/inspection. Since I will be doing that, I am always interested in possibilities

[diametricalbenz]

Originally Posted by 79Mercy

Looks like a fun project.

Well you can put a OM617.910 however, installing a turbo diesel motor wont be much fun.

It can be done with a 910 and a turbocharger but a 95x will be a bit of a challenge. Remote oil filter and turbo clearance are issues to be dealt with.

[79Mercy]

relocating the oil filter on a OM617.95X is going to be job within itself.

[JB3]

here is the dream, what I would like to build out of this car given lavish resources and time to figure it out, both in short supply currently.

3.0 turbo diesel (in possession) with VGT turbo (in possession), mated to a mk2 custom 5-speed (in the works, having trouble with a few guts though) and a 3.07 rear end (in possession, high mileage though) all in a classic 115 sedan chassis.

How much fun would that be to drive?

[diametricalbenz]

A VGT would be fun. A 5 speed (given the proper ratios) and a 3.07 would be about ideal for the motor.

I have a 3.69 in mine now and it has a nice punch (for a 240D) once the turbo is spooled up.

[katja]

Seems many here have that idea of a dream car - Turbo 617 + 5speed in a W115. I only have heard of two....one was in Canada and another was featured on this forum & it looked pretty rough...never heard if it was ever finished.

Your 240D is the same colour as the '69 220D my uncle used to have, that got me first interested in these cars. Though you need to repaint your hub caps...they look like they are from another car (or just strip them & leave them chrome....that looks good too).

Are you sure your glow plugs are dead? If you've never had one of these before, you might not be finding the exact right position for pre-heat. If it starts in under 10 seconds when cold, they're heating up while you crank.

You will love changing the oil! I'm due to change mine this week....can't wait to get....um....oily. Oh then there's the oily air filter too, they don't call it "oil bath" for nothing

[JB3]

Originally Posted by katja

Are you sure your glow plugs are dead? If you've never had one of these before, you might not be finding the exact right position for pre-heat. If it starts in under 10 seconds when cold, they're heating up while you crank.

You will love changing the oil! I'm due to change mine this week....can't wait to get....um....oily. Oh then there's the oily air filter too, they don't call it "oil bath" for nothing

It does start in under 10 seconds, starts in about 8. So the glow plugs are working? I was basing this assumption on A, does not start like the 80 240 with the newer plugs, and B, my salt shaker is not glowing. Something looks burned in there too.
If that were burned out, would the rest of the plugs still work?

Tell me about changing the oil, sounds ominous.

[nhdoc]

You can tell if the GPs are working if, when you are in the pre-glow position (gorilla knob pulled out to just short of the start position) that the cabin and dash warning lights all dim (like in the old movies when the electric chair in the prison was used). The salt shaker can be left out of the circuit, if the GPs were updated to new style in parallel, it very well could have been, but the tell-tale sign is the dimming of the lights. The old "series" style GPs which the car came with would have required the shaker to be in series with them but the new style parallel ones would not. Basically the procedure is pull the knob out to the pre-glow position, count to 5 if it is warm out, count to 15 if it is cold out, and start. Use the idle control knob when it is cold out to keep the idle speed up.

[JB3]

thanks! The lights are not dimming, but it still starts in 8 seconds. I think they are not working because it still has the bed spring linked glow plugs in the head, which I am assuming is a series circuit and not an updated type?

Where is the oil filter? Have not gone underneath apart from a rust inspection, but I could not find one just from a cursory engine peek. Don't tell me I have to pull the lower pan and its there?