FS: 1985 300D - DC area
 

1985 Mercedes Benz 300D. This car has been my daily driver for over a year now and has been very reliable. It was in a state of extreme neglect when I picked it up and I've slowly been bringing it back. It's definitely much better of now but I hope to sell it to someone who will continue to improve it. The car is very reliable but could do with some improvements--mainly cosmetic, some mechanical--and the asking price reflects those needs.

The pictured euro headlights will not be included. Good US DOT lights will be installed in their place.

The car has no structural rust. There is a spot of rust on the left quarter panel behind the rear wheel at the bottom. The right quarter panel was wrecked at some point and sloppily repaired. You don't notice it right away from a number of feet away (see photo) but it's wavy in places. The hood was a different color when I got the car and I painted it the stock color. The only problem is that the rest of the car was repainted (very cheaply) before I bought it and the color they used is a little darker than the stock color. I have enough of the correct paint to finish the rest of the car and will include it in the sale if you want.

The astute observer will notice that the seats are not original for an 85 but rather from an earlier car. I replaced them due to the poor condition of the original seats. Same goes for the carpet. The previous owner was driving all around the country using barely-treated waste veggie oil and was storing his extra in buckets behind the front seats. The sloshed onto about everything, so I had to remove all the seats and carpet. The only carpet pieces I have not replaced run along the inner rocker panel. The front passenger floor mat is the old loop style rather carpet rather than the later velour, but it has a Mercedes Benz protective mat over it so it's not so noticeable.

The following are the major repairs that I've done, aside from little tweaks here and there to improve performance, and aside from regular oil and fuel filter changes:

-Oil cooler lines replaced
-Motor mounts
-Front shocks new less than a year ago
-Driveshaft support, bearing, and flex discs replaced
-Shift bushings
-Front brake rotors/pads
-A/C Receiver/dryer, expansion valve. *Cleaned refrigerant hoses, replaced o-rings at connections. *A/C works.
-Transmission service (filter/gasket/fluid are brand new)
-V-belts replaced

As already stated, the car is 100% drivable as is. If I were to hold onto it, I'd replace the strut rod mounts and lower control arm bushings. The rest of the front end suspension is tight. No play in ball joints or upper control arms. I can even perform this repair for you (using OEM parts) for extra. We can discuss the terms.

Asking price is $1200. Please email for phone number.

Thanks for looking.

Interior photos:

Did you convert the windows to manual or was that already done? Was the sunroof converted as well?

could you comment on your tweaks and extent of previous wvo use?

I didn't do the manual windows. And the sunroof is not manual, and is also not working very well at all. You have to really help it to open and close because the cable is stripped, or a gear in the motor. I've not checked into it.

The WVO use was apparently pretty extensive. I neglected to mention that I had to swap out the injection pump in order to get the car to run. I also replaced the fuel tank with a used one because I could only imagine how gunked up the inside of it was based on what the filler neck looked like! Since those two items were replaced (as well as injectors), it has run like a dream. Compression is good.

By "tweaks" I didn't mean anything major. I adjusted the turbo wastegate a bit and also stretched the spring on the bypass valve on the injection pump back to its correct length. I believe this is to increase the fuel pressure in the IP a bit. The car has pep.

bump

bump. Car has 5 brand new Bosch glow plugs as of 1/29/14.

FB, are those photos from a particular backyard off Persimmon Tree Rd. in Potomac? Kinda looks familiar. I just can't remember if the garage was two stall, or three