What are the odds..

[wolf_walker]

Of finding a good W126, body and interior wise, with a trashed motor and/or trans?

A lot of you have read my posts complaining and questioning stuff about my not too long ago accuired 300D. You noticed I've been reluctant to spend a crap load of money on the suspension and all the other usual suspects. Well part of this is because the car has been wrecked at some point in it's life. I finally ran a carfax on it the other day and it came up completly clean, go figure.

It's a pretty good repair job, it was hit in the center door piller on the drivers side, that, and both doors, have been replaced. This was done probibly in the first 5 years of the car's life, as I know the PO has had it since the very early 90's. A good repair, but still, you just can't fix a unibody car that has taken a hit like that. Nothing on the front of the car lines up. Most nobody would notice except a car oriented person, but it's there. The radiator support is also tweaked off a little somehow, and there's a slight depresion at the top of the roof near where they spliced the piller in. And what really kills me, is the steering column, it's off about an inch to the right from where it should be. And a tiny, little bump above the left vent on the dash. There are a few things underneath that give it away as well.

The car still looks good, the interior is nice, the motor and trans are cherry, hence my wanting to keep them. I absolutly know this motor and trans's history, and that's worth a lot to me.
The car is perfectly drivable, it's probibly been 150K miles ago it was hit, and like I said, a lot of people would never notice, but I do, and it bugs me to think of putting a lot of money and effort into a car that is so cheap to come by really.
It's perfectly servicable, no rust what so ever, etc, etc. Good canidate for a V8 swap.

Anyway, that's my car's deep dark secret. It keeps me up at night. I'd have never bought it, but it was a deal I could not refuse, and I gambled that motor and trans were as good as they turned out to be, and that's worth a lot to me.

So does anyone run across good bodies very often with dead motor's, or more likely, transmissions? Or am I going to spend forever looking for one? It'll be months before I can get around to doing something, but I need to decide on a plan one way or another. I'd like an SD I think, but another 300D wouldnt be bad.
What's a good body/interior worth in non-moveing condition?

Whatcha think?

[BoostnBenz]

I've seen a few of those on ebay from time to time, great body with a great interior and a motor with a lot of blowby, oil gushers, and a slipping tranny.

Is there anyway to shim the stuff out a little straighter? The grille is mounted on some clips so it should be fully adjustable. Hood stop buffers can be made to align closer if needed. I'm not sure how the steering column is attached, but I'd think you should be able to get it back to where it should be with enough effort.

No vehicle is perfect. Wax a car, any car, and you'll find imperfections in the metal, paint, or misalignment of panels.

[wolf_walker]

I mussed around with the hood the other day, adjusted the cable finally, and got the lower edge aligned with the finder on the front side, if that makes any sence. The striker on the plasic pull assembly does not hit the little plastic ramp when it comes down, but about half an inch to the side of it, and the adjustment looks to be maxed out. The old car took quite a wack, impressive really, especially for a unibody car. One finder is just off somehow, and you can see the body crumpled under the finder.
I also just noticed yesterday that side was missing the plastic inner finder gaurd, if it were anything but a midwest car it would probibly have rusted out by now. I was going to see what kinda grief it involved removing the finder and actually trying to shim it some more, but I don't have high hopes. The grill is OK, the headlights are ok, since I shimmed one trim ring out a little. It really does not look *that* bad, but I figure if I'm going to have the expense and such of a Mercedes, I could at least have one with a chance of haveing everything fairly right. Although looking at car's in the salvage yard that have not been wrecked, most of them are not much better than mine as far as body seams and such go.

I've thought about driving it as is, there's something liberating about a car that, while not ragged looking or a beater really, you don't have to cry too much about. I drive too much and too many bad places to really have a *nice* car anyway. It's just a thought, planning ahead.

I do have some sentimental attachment to the thing, I've wanted this perticular one for a lot of years, and I like high mileage cars, it's fun to brag. I just did not know the damage had been quite so bad. But like I said, couldnt afford to not take it..

[BoostnBenz]

I was under the impression that the front fenders don't just come right off, however I heard this from people parting cars out so maybe they didn't just feel like doing it.

[wolf_walker]

They have to come off somehow. Looking in the FSM earlier showed a heat lamp and removing some sort of caulking. ?
Who knows, it's a Mercedes..