My collection of 123 Diesels - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ROLLGUY · #1 03-19-2019, 11:12 AM

I am getting a little low on Diesel 'Benzs, as I have sold a couple of them lately. I am down to five (actually this is NOT including the nine other parts/project cars I have). A guy is coming over on Saturday to pay the balance on the light blue sedan, so there will be one less soon. I know there are others that have the same disease I have (vstech is one that comes to mind), but I am trying to get therapy and counseling to help with this problem

okyoureabeast · #2 03-19-2019, 11:17 AM

Sigh, I miss the w123s.

Anyone want to trade for a 380sl I've sunk way too much in? Rebuilt engine too.

Father Of Giants · #3 03-19-2019, 05:57 PM

That's gonna be me with W210 Diesels.

ROLLGUY · #4 03-19-2019, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Father Of Giants

That's gonna be me with W210 Diesels.

One can never have too many of those

ROLLGUY · #5 03-19-2019, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okyoureabeast

Sigh, I miss the w123s.

Anyone want to trade for a 380sl I've sunk way too much in? Rebuilt engine too.

I have never had an SL, but if I did, I would not hesitate to put an OM617 in it like mach4 did. For me it would have to be 1984 or older. Being in CA, the engine has to be of the same year or newer to get past the referee for an engine swap. I don't want to have to put an '85 engine and all the related items to make it legal.

pawoSD · #6 03-19-2019, 07:51 PM

An SL with a diesel is cool.....but an SL with an M113 is much more fun.

BWhitmore · #7 03-19-2019, 08:03 PM

At one time I owned 5 W123 cars - 2 sedans, 2 coupes (Diesel & gas) and one wagon. I am now down to the one 85 sedan and a whole lot of W123 parts.

disqo · #8 03-19-2019, 08:55 PM

I still miss mine from time to time...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ROLLGUY · #9 03-19-2019, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

An SL with a diesel is cool.....but an SL with an M113 is much more fun.

For those that do not know what an M113 is: M113= 5 Litre V8 found in the E500 and others. The V6 variant is the M112. Some have said that these are the best gasoline engines Mercedes-Benz has ever made. I only have experience with the M112 in my '04 E320 wagon, and I would tend to agree. These are rock solid, smooth running, reliable, and powerful engines. Comparing them to a Diesel, I would say that the OM648 shares all of the same attributes.

MB140300SD · #10 03-19-2019, 09:58 PM

The M113 was also available in a 4.3 version.

vwnate1 · #11 03-19-2019, 10:05 PM

I don't see any 'problem' here......

.

okyoureabeast · #12 03-20-2019, 12:54 AM

Ironically, I've seen both an om617 and a v12 m120 in an r107.

Mach4 outlines the process for converting a Cali title from gas to diesel. Not hard apparently as the smog refs will happily do it for a fee. If i recall correctly, mach's om617 did come from an 85. Not that much different with the exception of tach being run off of the egr circuit. The 85 om617 isn't that crazy of an engine.

I just hate the thought of fabricating subframes. No thank you!

ykobayashi · #13 03-23-2019, 11:41 PM

Hey Rich,

I’ve watched in agony as I’ve seen your cars go up on the SoCal Craigslist over the last year. I mean what is the point of getting them if you’re just going to sell them off? It’s like catch and release.

I bought my blue 300d as a way to distract myself while I cared for my mom during her last months of Alzheimer’s. She died in January. The car helped. I was carrying the burden alone and I was freaking out as everything just fell apart. The car was the only thing in my life that actually got better and better each day and is now an awesome daily driver.

While I was abusing this drug, I also kept indulging in Craigslist surfing. I saw your cars flying out the garage and wondered what was going wrong at your place.

It got me asking myself, what is the point of all this? What do I want out of this? I can only drive one car at a time so why get multiple? Beyond that, why get copies of the same thing? What is driving this insanity? I’m not sure I have all the answers. I guess because it makes me feel okay. It is an addiction. I live for my next fix.

Mom died in January (sorry Maximan for never getting back you on the engine mount measurement). I now own a one acre Los Angeles property with a two car garage, a two car size patio, and a 100’ driveway. It’s far enough away from my wife so she doesn’t have to look at my “collection”.

I’m threatening to turn it into a parking lot for MB diesels!

payback to the neighbors for all the drama they gave mom and me over the years.

But then where does it end? It’s like any addiction, it just doesn’t end. It’s serial car collecting. I’m still scouring Craigslist.

I’ve asked myself a lot of questions. Like why one really sorted out W126 wasn’t enough? Well, I guess because it was done. I need to crash it or give it to my kid to destroy I guess.

Good luck with your disease. I feel your pain.

BTW- I bought a 65 Ford F100 last month. I was on Craigslist and I saw a truck that looked like the one I had in 1992. Turned out it WAS the SAME truck. Multiple owners later but still with all my mods. Including old vegetation in the heating ducts from its last days parked under mom’s trees in the 90s.

It’s similar but different. MBs are so much more refined. This truck is like a farm tractor. Like it took half an hour to remove the heater coil.

I think I’ve found my Methadone!

Edit - it could be worse.

Gasbeard · #14 03-24-2019, 10:05 AM

Everybody knows you need a backup to the backup. Definitely not an illness.

ROLLGUY · #15 03-24-2019, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ykobayashi

Hey Rich,

I’ve watched in agony as I’ve seen your cars go up on the SoCal Craigslist over the last year. I mean what is the point of getting them if you’re just going to sell them off? It’s like catch and release.

I bought my blue 300d as a way to distract myself while I cared for my mom during her last months of Alzheimer’s. She died in January. The car helped. I was carrying the burden alone and I was freaking out as everything just fell apart. The car was the only thing in my life that actually got better and better each day and is now an awesome daily driver.

While I was abusing this drug, I also kept indulging in Craigslist surfing. I saw your cars flying out the garage and wondered what was going wrong at your place.

It got me asking myself, what is the point of all this? What do I want out of this? I can only drive one car at a time so why get multiple? Beyond that, why get copies of the same thing? What is driving this insanity? I’m not sure I have all the answers. I guess because it makes me feel okay. It is an addiction. I live for my next fix.

Mom died in January (sorry Maximan for never getting back you on the engine mount measurement). I now own a one acre Los Angeles property with a two car garage, a two car size patio, and a 100’ driveway. It’s far enough away from my wife so she doesn’t have to look at my “collection”.

I’m threatening to turn it into a parking lot for MB diesels!

payback to the neighbors for all the drama they gave mom and me over the years.

But then where does it end? It’s like any addiction, it just doesn’t end. It’s serial car collecting. I’m still scouring Craigslist.

I’ve asked myself a lot of questions. Like why one really sorted out W126 wasn’t enough? Well, I guess because it was done. I need to crash it or give it to my kid to destroy I guess.

Good luck with your disease. I feel your pain.

BTW- I bought a 65 Ford F100 last month. I was on Craigslist and I saw a truck that looked like the one I had in 1992. Turned out it WAS the SAME truck. Multiple owners later but still with all my mods. Including old vegetation in the heating ducts from its last days parked under mom’s trees in the 90s.

It’s similar but different. MBs are so much more refined. This truck is like a farm tractor. Like it took half an hour to remove the heater coil.

I think I’ve found my Methadone!

Edit - it could be worse.

Well, here is the story: Years ago (nearly 20?) I bought my first MB Diesel. A 1982 300CD- Signal Red with a black interior for $300. The engine did not run, and I knew nothing about Diesel engines. It came with a Haynes manual, so I studied it and found out the car needed a valve job. I pulled the head (with help from the manual and internet), had it rebuilt, and got the car running. During the process of driving and fixing it up, the engine developed a rod knock. I found a running 300D on CL for $500, and used it for an engine donor. As years went by, I collected a few more. I eventually traded up to better and better cars. My brother got interested in these cars, so of course he had to have one as well. Soon both his daughters wanted one, so the family of MB Diesel cars was growing (literally). It got to the point where many of my friends wanted one of these cars, so I acquired them, fixed them, and sold them to said friends. About 5 years ago, I found out about the W211 E320CDI, and had to have one. I bought my first one from a dealer in Ohio, and had it shipped. I repaired the "Black Death" (reason I got the car cheap), and enjoyed it for about a year. My niece needed another car (trans went out on her 300CD), so I sold her the Desert Silver CDI (of course I got the CD in trade +$). I wanted a blue one, so I found one in Albuquerque and bought it. I then got a wrecked low mile '07 Bluetec for cheap, repaired it, and drove it for a while (thread here somewhere). My Sister-in-law wanted a newer car, so I sold her the blue CDI, and of course got her 300D. Not long after, she was involved in a collision that totaled her CDI (thread here somewhere). I bought back the wrecked CDI, and sold her the Bluetec. I repaired the blue CDI, and of course my other niece wanted it. Again I ended up with another 300D in trade +$ for the CDI. A longtime friend had a 300D that her grandfather purchased new in 1984. It was in disrepair, and they were going to send it to the wrecking yard. I bought it, and decided to put it back on the road. It turned out to be one of the fastest, best shifting, best braking, smoothest running 300D's I have ever driven (after extensive repairs of course). It got new brakes all around, Sanden A/C retrofit, new tires, and many small things fixed (typical). I have also been very busy fixing the MB's of many of my friends. From basic maintenance to engine rebuilding, I am not at a loss for work nowadays. Right now I have 2 of a friend's wagons, and he is bringing another one on Tuesday!(photo when they get here)

So can you see the pattern here? This year I have had the most amount of cars registered to me, and on my insurance-ever. Oh, and don't forget about the '85 Camaro that my daughter drove in High School. I got it out of storage, got it running, replaced MANY parts, drove it for a while, and then sold it. I feel like I have been running an orphanage for cars. Many of the cars I have sold recently, I have owned previously. I don't really need 8 cars (insurance was getting expensive), so I had to sell most of them. Don't misunderstand, I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the fixing, driving, updating, etc of these cars. This has probably been the most enjoying hobby I have ever had. I have probably had over 75 Mercedes-Benz cars pass through my fingers since that first red 300CD.

Today a guy is coming to pay the balance on the '84 300D, and take it home (this same guy bought one of the other 300D's I had). I will be down to just 3 cars on my insurance! Hooray! I will have the '82 300TD, '82 240D, and the '04 E320 wagon. Of course I still have my '81 240D with a dead engine, 3 project cars, 8 parts cars, 2 garages and 2 sheds full of parts.

Many of you know that I would like to sell everything, and retire. Of course I will still work on my friends cars, and keep the maintenance parts I have. Hopefully now y'all can understand why I have this disease. It is contagious, so be careful who you hang around with.

Photos: My first 'Benz, The '82 Pick-A-Part save, My brothers family of cars now (+ my wagon)