Love this car!

The background...I bought a 1984 300d from a guy in Long Beach, CA (near LA) for $1,250. My first MB diesel! The car had 202,400 miles, the blower motor was dead, none of the windows or sunroof function (no beans for me!) and the drivers seat bottom sags badly on the left side.

My wife and I flew into Long Beach last Friday (16 Jan, 1:00pm), paid for the car, signed the papers and headed east to visit some friends in Jackson, WY. We skied in Jackson Hole for a day (Sun) and left early Monday for Missoula where Karen flew home. I continued north through Kalispell, Jasper, Whitehorse, Fairbanks and home to Healy (120 miles south of Fairbanks). I changed the oil in Utah, replaced the blower motor brushes and shimmed the seat bottom in Missoula, and adjusted the coolant ratio in Dawson Creek. Otherwise the car ran great! 75mph except over the passes...

The statistics:

Total distance: 4,150 miles (6683 Km)
Total days driving: 7 (does not include ski day)
Longest day: 750 miles (1207 Km) (Whitehorse to Healy)
Fuel used: 166.7 gallons (631.4 liters)
Average MPG: 24.9 (10.6L/Km)
Highest Speed: 85 mph (137 kph) passing tractor trailer trucks
Slowest Speed: 30 mph (48 kph) over the mountain passes
Mountain Passes crossed: I can't remember, at least 6...
Total Cost: $1275 ($1657 Canadian), includes the following:
Fuel: $320 USD ($415)
Hotels: $195 ($257) (four nights in hotels, two at friends in WY, one in the car in a Jasper campground with a plug in for the car)
Misc: $201 ($261) includes food for driver
Car expenses $559 ($727) includes new studded tires, extension cord, floor mats, snow scraper, extra fuel jug, anti-gel etc.
Highest fuel price: south of Fort Nelson, BC $2.74/gal ($0.94/L)
Lowest fuel price: Cedar City, UT $1.52/gal ($0.52/L)
Wildlife seen (large mammals):
Caribou: lots
Bison: 45
Moose: 33
Deer: 5
Wolf: 1
Fox: 1
Vehicle damage:
Windshield chips: 2 very small chips (2.5 Canadian)
Paint Chips: 1 small one

Would I do it again? YES, it was great, even in the winter with good tires and a car like the 300d!

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1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

Bison? Yup...don't wanna hit one of these guys!

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1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

Highway shot, while moving, of course!

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__________________
1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

ak300td,

Awesome! I did the trip in the Winter (late February) of 1972 in a Fiat 124 Sport Spyder. A few more adventures and much more driveable in February than the next time I did it, in May 1976 in my 1975 240D. While is mighty cold in February (and I would imagine January) along that route, the roads are almost sticky and they were relatively smooth. In the summer it was not anywhere near as cold, but it was full of gravel surface waves from the trucks that just shook the car mercilessly at 35 mph. The answer was to drive closer to 60, but that put you in the path of lots of rocks being chucked by the truck tires. If the road is still mostly unpaved, I would highly recommend the winter for travelling the "highway" to Alaska.

It was back then that I learned of Mobil 1 engine oil, and made the change and never went back. It made all the difference with that 240D being reliable transportation to places more than twenty miles inland from the Cook Inlet in the winter.

Good luck, and seems like a great car! Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Another highway shot...

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

1953 fuel pump along the Alaska Highway north of Fort Nelson.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

Hi Jim,

It was a great trip! Temperatures were mild, the lowest was -20*F and that was in Fairbanks. Much of the country just broke out of the deep freeze that since moved on to you guys back east so I was lucky.

99% of the highway is paved now and is in good shape. Of course they "sand" the road with boulders! I cringed whenever I passed a truck but she fared well. Winter driving with good tires, "sticky" snow, and no RV's is a pleasure! Everyone on the road is serious about getting somewhere so there was no slow pokes on the road at all!

Chuck

__________________
1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

Looks like fun! Great photos.

If you look carefully at each picture, you can see the progress of the road salt eating away your car...

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Yikes!

Reminds me of growing up on the east coast (MA).

The good news about cold country is that salt needs warm temperatures (around 20*F or warmer?) to work so they don't use it around here. We see very little rot like that! I had a 1983 Dodge pickup up here for years and you could put a wrench on ANY nut and back it right off! I still have the scars from battling rusty parts on vehicles I had when I was young. I grew up outside of Boston.

There ARE benefits to the deep cold!

__________________
1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

ak300td,

Your photos bring back some memories. In some places the road would wind around, and seemingly for no reason in the winter. In the summer it was much more apparent, as the road was kind of winding around little bodies of water. The biggest traffic jamming entity back then were logging trucks, which when empty would fly and then when loaded down with logs, would creep around turns in the mountains and hills. I can't imagine the road with tourists and Winnebagos on it back then.

Great photos, and a really spectacular drive. Thanks, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Awsome state I need to see Alaska. Hmm maybe when the SDL gets running... Do you know of any virgin, un-fished streams up there? I'm making a new 7wt fly rod that will need to be broken in. There's the excuse I need.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

ak300td,

I just printed a couple of your photos, and the one with the Diesel fuel pump and the rear of your car would make a great submittal to The Star magazine. I showed them to my wife who reminded me she drove up the Alaska Higway in 1977 in a Jeep CJ-5 with our first dog, a Samoyed named Cochise. I got the message - she wanted to make sure her trip was mentioned too.

She arrived in Anchorage after taking about 10 days to drive from Baja, California. What a ride. When we left to go back East, we let a young couple we met drive the Jeep to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where we picked it up. I got the honor of driving it back to NJ (my Grandmother's place) while the wife got the 240D. I believe that was the end of her infatuation with Jeeps.

Once again, thanks for the great photos of a really spectacular road trip! Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

That is absolutly wunnerful, GREAT to see a car really used like that!! I love it!

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

Jim

Ten days from Baja to Anchorage in 1977 in a CJ-5?!?!?! She is TOUGH! Did she need a kidney transplant?

The road has been straightened over the years and was fully paved in 1998 IIRC, but there are many curves still and the log trucks fly whether loaded or empty now. And they are back to fixing it up so there are unpaved sections again. It is still amazing to be able to drive on a "major" highway for 50 miles without seeing a single sign of human impact, except the road.

I had to seriously downgrade the photos to get them to upload to this site, if you thought the shot of the fuel pump is a worthy entry to the Star I do have a much better quality photo available.

Hatterasguy

I bet there are not any "virgin" streams or lakes left, but I can say for sure there are some that you would not believe. Rainbow, Dolly Varden, Grayling, King, Red, Silver Salmon...literally as fast as you can pull them out of the water...but the easy locations are liable to be crowded. I highly recommend a visit to this place! I wish I had been here in 1972 like Jim, or 1952! And I also recommend the trip in a Mercedes!

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1983 300td 240k (down with bad tranny)
1984 300d 222k (daily driver) "Olive"
1997 GMC K2500 105k (sled dog limo)

"The scenery in ANWR is as spectacular as the Grand Canyon and the wildlife is more impressive."

I thought my roadtrip from SF to LA was impressive...my first diesel!

My hat's off to you!!!!! Your story is the 'new' backbone of my extreme respect for these machines!

Thank you for taking the time to post your experience.

Anthony

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'83 240D (W123) 321K miles
250KM Mileage Award
500KM Mileage Award

'84 300TD (W123) 215k miles
250K mileage award pending