Any experience with '50s MB diesels?...
 

I'm enchanted by an old ad I found showing a "roundy" 180D sedan in front of a rural gasthaus.

Anybody have one of these? About how much should one in "Condition 2" go for?

Also asked on Vintage Forum.

Thanks!

I believe a couple sold on Ebay in the recent past. Try a search on completed items.

Only one reply? NOW I feel old. The 50s D was incredibly fun to drive in city traffic and on two-lane roads. Lots of practice shifting and when you get good at it you're rewarded. Keep the RPM up when you're moving and she's very smooth and precise. In a slow moving traffic jam you can just ride the idle. It will idle up a surprisingly steep hill. Easy to get 30 mpg. The amber turn indicators on the fenders throw a nice light inside at night. The inside is motoring elegance.
Disadvantages include the lack of a heater, vestigial heater ducting made of cardboard, tendency to body rot, and top speed of 64 mph, going downhill with a favoring wind. Even so, they'll respect you when they pass you.
When these cars were new diesel was hard to find and the injector system faced a stiff challenge from dirty fuel.
Driving is precise and keeping a speed of 50 on a hilly two lane road isn't that hard. If everything works a 50s D will be one of the most fun cars you ever drive. Purrs like a kitten.

I had a 180D, 36HP pushrod engine. Used to run it on kerosene I bought for 15 cents a gallon. It was slower than a VW bug.
I couldn't keep a head gasket in it so I just let it sit and its still sitting there.

P E H

I had a 50 Chev with a 216 that I put premium gas in. For a while it was full of pep but then it begain to run rough. So we pulled the pushrods out and hammered them straight with a rock and then it ran right again. I swear this is a true story.

Jim, you might want to look at the MB Ponton web site. The URL is as follows:

http://www.mbzponton.org/

Both 180D and 190D's are for sale and pictured there. Lots of good info.