I have an '86 300te 5-speed that was rear- ended with some damage to the front end. The interior and body were in excellent condition before the accident. I was the third owner before reluctantly selling it to a friend. The second owner was a mechanic and was meticulous about maintenance and oil changes. The original owner was a doctor in Louisville, KY. When I bought it at around 140k I changed all fluids to Redline (tranny, diff.) and Mobil One (engine). The car now has 170K and engine and all drivetrain components are in excellent condition. My question is... should I sell it complete, with title, for a rebuild (salvage title)
or part it out. It was such a great car I hate to see it cannibalized but being a donor isn't so bad either.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

RL White

I'd be interested in buying the car to do a manual conversion on mine. What would you like to get for it? Where is it?

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Brian
1995 E320 wagon

If you know how to tear it apart yourself, you're passing it on to those who can use it. If not sell it as-is. If it's still drivable, it should be an easy sell on ebay. -CTH

__________________
- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

that happened to me.... I wound up parting it out... got 2200 total..plus pulled some of the key relays plus front rotors and calipers for spares for the other 124's.

I think your manual transmission should fetch a decent price.... there seems to be a lot of folks who want to swap them into their cars.

I would try to sell the interior as a unit. Lots of southern cars have bad interiors if they are leather....

use SELLING prices on ebay as a guide.

repairing it won't be cost effective. I looked at every option when mine got hit. Just isn't practical.

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

Thanks for the info on parting out. I have found a buyer for the interior. As I am in the south (Asheville), you were dead on about the sun damage to leather.
Brian, how about all the components for the conversion? I am not sure about price, and being new to the forum, I don't know what the proper protocol is for selling. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Larry

You got mail!

Smokie

The 5-speed in your car is not useful in earlier models. But to do a conversion from automatic, you need clutch pedal assembly, shifter assembly, flywheel, drive shaft, rear support cross member, rear end (if ratio is different), speedometer (for accuracy) and possibly a different engine wire harness (considering the era of the car).

I suspect, but can't prove, that the transmission will bolt up to the M102, 103, 104 & 60x family of motors. Your milage may vary.

-CTH

__________________
- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

Hi Larry:
CTH covered almost everything I think, with one possible exception being the master cylinder slave assembly. I think the clutch is actuated with the help of hydraulic link to the brake master cylinder (Take it easy on me, fellas!), so the 5-speeds have a slave box attached to the brake master cylinder. Other threads on the topic have also made mention of clutch disc and pressure plate. Anything else, anyone? Help!
It's rather embarrasing that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about on this subject. I just know that I'd really like to get a 5-speed into my car, and I know with reasonable enough certainty that the conversion is possible if I had a 86 or 88 300E donor car. I also know that if I had a donor, I could do this job myself (with a little help from the forum!!).
I recall a post by Larry Bible, one of the key forum contributors here, where he stated that he'd be reluctant to undertake a manual conversion unless he had the donor car and the reciever car sitting next to each other, and I definitely agree (especially not knowing what the hell I'm doing).
Bottom line: I need a donor car with all the stuff still on it for the conversion. I'll bet you will find someone who would be willing to buy the pieces themselves, but I'd need the car. I think the guys who have replied in this post are right about ebay. If you can get ALL of the pieces together for the conversion, then ebay is the way to go. There are lots of people out there wanting to do this conversion.
Here's a thought: Part out everything you can and have someone come and remove what's left with the conversion parts still intact. They get their donor car, and you get the carcas removed from your property! But it's too far for me to travel to get a partial car.
Good luck and thanks!

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Brian
1995 E320 wagon

since you are in Asheville, I may be interested in coming up theere for some parts... I really don't need anything except for a belly pan.... but if I can get some things for reasonable amounts, I would come up in a few weeks and take a gander.

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

Not quite. The fluid for the clutch system comes from the brake fluid resevoir, to the clutch master cylinder attached to the clutch pedal. The clutch slave cylinder is mounted onto the transmission.

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1990 190e 2.6 - The only one I can really call "My Car".

1987 190e 2.3 - The donor car's up and running, only mods are Euros and a Sony headunit. My Dad's runabout now.

1990 300e 2.6 - The parents' ride.