Near-dead 350SDL in CT - anybody want it?

[350sdl]

Hello, wonderful forum!

I have been driving my father's 1991 350 SDL for 6 years since he died and I have decided I am done with fixing it. This forum is the only thing that kept me going this long. It is a wonderful car but the dealer has just declared the engine dead at 267,000 miles.

Last week the oil pressure gage was going a bit wacko - 3 bar at idle and at 3000 rpm but 1 bar at 2000 rpm. I drove it about a mile like that and parked it in my driveway. I decided that it might be the oil pressure sender so I ordered a new one, installed it and changed the oil and filter. It seemed much better for 2 or 3 miles but then the pressure went to zero. I was about a quarter mile from home so I pretty much just idled it until I got there. I noticed immediately that the front seal was shot (stripe of oil up the street) and had it towed to the dealer. The dealer confirmed the seal damage and said he was having trouble getting it to turn over. He will gladly do as much work on it as I want to pay for but he thinks the bearings are shot.

I'd hate to send it to the junkyard. The body and interior are in excellent shape (Silver Smoke and Palomino MBTex). Transmission seems pretty good (slight lag going into reverse). Maybe it isn't dead. Any ideas?

Thanks