1981 Mercedes Benz 300D For Sale, 169,000 miles: $4100. (You can watch a video of this car starting and running at the link below.)











This car is a 2-owner car, my father being the original owner. The vehicle was his (my mother's car was a '75 300D and was the family's main car) and has been garaged all its life. My father drove this car as a secondary family vehicle up through the early 1990s; thereafter, it mostly sat garaged but occasionally driven. In its original timeline as a secondary family vehicle, it was rarely driven in winter conditions.


Flash forward to the early 2000s; my father had always wanted a Turbo Diesel version of the 300D, and always thought a swap into the original car was possible. At some point in the mid-2000s, that swap was made from a donor car, but after having discovered the powerplant/transmission from the donor car was less than ideal, later both were replaced with rebuilt. The rebuilt engine was installed at 124,500 miles, with the transmission installed somewhere in this time frame. From this point forward, the car was garaged and driven sparingly.


In late 2015, my father handed over the care taking duties for this car to me, and it became my daily driver, which serviced me well from that point until early 2017. As with any car that is now 37 years old, there were several items that needed to be addressed. Here is what has been done to the car since my acquisition. Fixed ground short in passenger headlight, fixed ground issue with gauge cluster, replaced front interior light with new, new front brakes (including booster and master cylinder), new front and rear shocks, new steering shock, front bearings repacked (passenger replaced), headlights replaced, dash bulbs replaced with brighter LEDs, rear rubber exhaust hangers replaced, rattling air cleaner system removed in favor of Ford air filter setup (I still have original setup), engine mounts replaced, injection pump rack damper bolt replaced with upgraded new, cruise control box electronics were refurbished by an expert, leaking oil cooler replaced (along with hoses), replaced broken glow plug fuse with Kicker car stereo fuse of same amp rating.


The two largest repairs involved replacing the original injection pump with a known good used one from a known good supplier (yes, that guy from Washington state). This was successful, however the second repair, regarding the air conditioning, was not. My local mechanic replaced the R4 compressor with a supposed new one, which promptly exploded its gasket out upon my first test drive. Said mechanic claimed there likely was a condenser blockage (aka new condenser). I elected to have him remove the R4 and put this repair on the backburner. If it were me, I believe the best solution here would be a Sanden compressor conversion, using kits available through Peachparts members here to achieve proper A/C function.

If you want to know what this car is like as a daily driver, I can say this. It starts every time. As long as you use your favorite brand of anti-gel in the fuel in the winter months, you should have no problems starting it. I did plug it in when cold, but the car did start below 10 degrees F once when I forgot to plug the car in. She didn't like it very well, but after a couple of minutes, it was able to idle fairly normally. Also, most everything besides the A/C works on the vehicle, and that includes window switches, lights, gauges and heat. I ended up doing the straight pipe heater monovalve mod, deleting the monovalve assembly (which I still have), due to intermittent heating issues this winter. I've been told in discussions with folks here online that the Klima monovalve is a much better design, and that all 3 climate control boxes (fan, CCU and whatever the 3rd box is) should likely be electronically refurbished as well in order to return climate control to normal operating condition. By the way, the missing button in the climate control was in the glove box at the time of this photo; it pops out frequently, ergo its removal.


Regarding driving this car, it has pretty good pep and can be driven normally in modern-day traffic. I have driven this car to Jackson, TN in a 12-hour round trip without incident, and the vehicle has seen various trips (all 3 to 6-hour round trips) to Springfield, IL, Peoria, IL, Columbia, MO and St. Louis, MO (a 104-degree day) with no issues. The vehicle does use oil; it appears it mostly is due to leakage from the back of the valve cover, although possible it could be leaking from the rear seal as well. The "Mercedes Expert from Washington State" has a video where he claims if you use certain oil, rear seal leaks become a distant memory. So, there's that. Let me put it to you this way; I would have no hesitation driving this vehicle across the country.


Body wise, this car is a 20 footer. It does have some rust issues that can be seen in the photographs, but they appear to me to be very minor (example: rear right trunk lid, driver's rear fender). The paint is, well, 37 year-old paint. It's not bad, but if you're looking for a concours automobile, this is not the one. Interior wise, the car is in very good shape, save for tears on the driver's side left bolster, which I've kept from getting worse by using a stick-on fabric patch that's lasted two years. All in all, though, this car is in decent condition, considering its age. I'd like to see it go to a good home with one of you fine folks here at Peachparts. Please contact me here via private message or post a reply here, and I'll get back to you with my contact information. Thank you!


One final note: as seen in the photos, lots of manuals come with the sale, including the original owner's manual. Further, the original injection pump, air cleaner assembly, monovalve assembly and extra fuel and oil filters are also included.

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Sold. Thanks!