PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - I just picked up a 1981 240D

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Looks like a very nice car. I've had over a dozen having five kids I taught them all to drive in a 240D (IIRC), great handling, brakes and ride. And imho a tach in a 240d is a total waste of time. The 300 turbo is fast enough its fun to watch the tach spin up and down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech (Post 3578117)

while I LOVE a tach, I agree, it's not needed on a diesel ESPECIALLY for a beginner driver I think... they REALLY need to use their ears for gear change, and their EYES for road signs, and traffic!

funny, when I read the first post, my first thought was of Jay_Bob and his son's first car (that ended up being Greezer's project car we stuffed Twagalmuth's euro engine and 5speed trans into... after replacing all the bent hardware from the curbside service...)

anyway ! WELCOME to the forum, and be sure and get your daughter on here with questions about the car!

I think the most important lesson for a new driver is watching OTHER DRIVERS on the road! knowing what they are doing, and what they are likely to do.

once I learned to see all three mirrors while driving and watching as far ahead as possible, I became a far better driver.

sure learning the signs and the pavement marking is needed, but defensive driving is critical.

the car is slow, but it's HEAVY too, and sudden wet pavement can really throw off the cornering ability of the car.

if the car has steel wheels, find a set of the 5.5" aluminum rims designed for the car. it'll SERIOUSLY make it a safer and better handling car. (I've got a set if you need them)
the way to tell is pull off the hubcaps, and look at the circle surrounding the lug area. if it's all black, they are steel, if they have a broken white/silver line on it, they are aluminum.

Telltale scratches on the edges of the rims aren't rusty, they look aluminum at a glance. I appreciate the offer though.

I have a few reasons for choosing a 240D manual for a first car:

1) It's really hard to text and shift.
2) It's really noisy in there, hard to be on the cell phone while you drive.
3) It's so damn slow you better be alert or you'll be run over.
4) It's a Panzer, if they wreck the other car has a problem.
5) And the car makes me laugh and smile when I drive it.

240D w/manual has always been on my short list for a great learner car. I've put nearly 1000 miles on it now, I'm finding I really like driving the car myself.

Careful now. A friend bought an E21 320i for his daughter and wound up keeping it for himself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippy (Post 3578182)

Careful now. A friend bought an E21 320i for his daughter and wound up keeping it for himself.

This very thought has crossed my mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj67coll (Post 3577468)

The vast majority of people on the planet have been driving manual transmission cars for most of the automobiles history and they never had tach's. Only in the US did most people since the 60's drive auto's and even on Mercedes Tach's only started to be included with the 116 and 107's. Even the 108's etc didn't have them.

They might be a "cool" feature but unless you are on a racing track they are as irellvant as a heater in Phoenix and AC in Alaska.

- Peter.

Alaskan here...It does get up to the 90's in summer and the AC on both the Benz and the Mazda are out, making hot summer days quite unpleasant. At least the windows still roll down in both cars...

My first cars were stick and did not have a tach either, but my Mazda has a tach and it makes driving the stick a little more pleasant. Easier to keep the revs down when the engine is cold (I try to not go over 2k for the first 5 minutes) and when flooring the damn thing I can shift exactly at the point where the rev-limiter cuts in, which is slightly above red line. Powerrrrrrrr!:rolleyes:

For a beginner that grew up in automatic cars, I'd say at tach would be nice to have. Not necessary, but nice.

Well, I got the car out of the shop today so there's good and not so good. No new brakes as indicated (5,000 miles remaining) not a big deal. Door locks fixed for $79, fuel leak found that was barely a leak and fixed. Dash lights have various causes, still not working. Cruise, no luck there but who cares? The AC compressor has a slight leak but r134a is cheap. Overall the condition is excellent other than that. Not bad for a 35 year old car.

we can help you with most of that stuff.

the dash lights are most likely the adjustment knob. it's a resistor coil in a porcelain case, and it is usually broken. most just solder a wire around it and get full brightness all the time(that's pretty dim...)

the cruise could be the amp (contact jamesdean) or it could be the actuator, or a vacuum mess if it's the older style.
the ac is designed to leak, so it may be normal. you may need new lines, and a ton of cleaning of coils to get it working well... TONS here on that... the 123 is NOT suited for R134, so changing to 12 will get you better performance, as will compressor change, condenser change etc...

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech (Post 3578680)

Unfortunately the dash lights are deeper than the resistor coil, next time the car is in the shop for an oil change he will continue chasing that item.

The upside is the AC works great, I had the car in 93° Weather last week and it kept me nice and cool. R134a is cheap, I'll just keep recharging it until it becomes a big leak. It's a leaky front seal on the compressor.

Be a good time to up grade to a Sanden Compressor.
Rollguy has the mounting brackets, compressor and hoses as a kit.
More reliable and uses less HP.

Charlie

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmalu (Post 3579007)

Be a good time to up grade to a Sanden Compressor.
Rollguy has the mounting brackets, compressor and hoses as a kit.
More reliable and uses less HP.

Charlie

👍👍👍👍 Good advise! :yes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmalu (Post 3579007)

Be a good time to up grade to a Sanden Compressor.
Rollguy has the mounting brackets, compressor and hoses as a kit.
More reliable and uses less HP.

Charlie

I did this conversion last year on my 1977 300D (non-turbo) and it is a great upgrade!! Rollguy is great to deal with and has good prices.

Good luck and enjoy!!

First I'm going to disagree that the manual is slooow. Maybe slow. So, check the accelerator linkage. I think there were a few different styles. On mine there were two square plastic inserts, with a square hole in them. They were gone. Also, the pivot up on the fire wall. I could get mine to do 55 mph on the test drive. I bought it and replaced these parts. Not screamer, but does OK. A bit slower acceleration than a Ford Contour with the 2.0. Faster than a '97 Dodge Neon with the 2.0 SOHC.
The 4 spd is one of the nicer shifting manuals. So good for a beginner. Not as twitchy as others. Still, adds one more thing to think about.

It's got 62hp, I'm pretty sure it's not fast. :-)

I did have it going just a bit over 80 on the freeway today though.

Looks like a great 1st car. When she does the brakes, it's a good idea to replace the rubber brake lines. They are not that expensive and the ones on an old car are usually beyond their safe life span. Don