Obligatory 'Howdy" message
 

1st post!
Looking to buy a mid-80s 300D and covert it to a FryBrid. This is not a WTB post -- just an introduction.
I thought ebay was the answer to my car search until I found the Cars forum here. Cars seem to be so much better cared for that are for sale here. Its always a good sign when the pic of the interior doesn't have a glare coming off the dash from the gallon of detail slime that was poured onto it just before taking the pic!

My car background is in Subaru's and, to a lesser extent, Mazdas. I've done mostly suspension, brake and exhaust bolt on stuff. I'm really looking forward to getting a car and getting started on this veggie conversion project!

Marc
Trenton, NJ

Welcome Marc,,,,, there is literally a TON of great information here. Just get used to using the search feature. There can't be one issue with a Benz that hasn't been hashed over countless times here, which will sometimes cause people not to answer because it has been gone over so much. Have a great time with the forum. :D

Welcome aboard grindMARC! Please feel free to post early and post often!

Cheers Marc, welcome to the forum!

I burned vegetable oil in my car (no mods--hot weather and new oil) during the gas problems following H. Katrina and totally used the forum as a resource. There are also a lot of Subie guys here too if you ever have a question.

That's just insane. I would have never thought that was possible. I mention the subaru experience in hopes that I might be able to leverage it for some of the inevitable help I am going to be looking for with a 20+ year old MB!

I *THINK* I've already found a car... don't want to jinx it though!
Hopefully, I'll have some pics up soon.

Peter, you mean to tell me, the car I am looking at isn't unique with the power windows motor going!? :)

Thanks for the warm welcome, fellas.

Oh I was such a nerd about it. At first I just put 4 gallons in about 14 of diesel. Then more, more, more. I figure I ended up burning about 75% veg to 25%. Every time I would add more I would get MedMech to post it on the diesel forum (we had no power or internet, ect....) and I would funnel it right in! It ran perfectly (98 e300 Turbodiesel). I don't have the time to mess with WVO, which is a shame because I have an unlimited free source.

When it gets warm again, I may order a 55gal drum of SVO to get my fix:cool: I can get it for around $2.10 delivered and I have a pump for my tractors.

Welcome! This is a great resource for all things Mercedes.

The DIY pages available on the tab at the top are really useful, like the old, "Compleat Idiot's Guide to the VW." (Hmm, Unless you're over 40 you may not know that reference.)

Botnst

Well it took a while longer than expected, but I finally scored a car!
Its an 86 300 SDL with 230k on the clock. Interior is MINT aside from a sagging door handle and a small split in the passenger seat. One owner CA car = NO RUST!! Paid $3250. $655 to ship it.
http://i2.ebayimg.com/04/i/07/88/dd/7f_1.JPG
I can't wait to start on the WVO conversion!

Howdy, podnah
 

Nice to meet you, Marc. Good luck with that 300DSL.

Now that's a keeper! Good catch! Welcome here, you will get all the support you'd need.

They look nice in white don't they? Are you going to get the 300SDL and Turbodiesel trunk script for the car? That is something the car needs to complete its great look.

Jim B.

The seller tells me that the badges are in the trunk and that the lid was resprayed. But, I actually prefer the EU-style badgeless trunk.

Nice looking ride. Too bad you yankees got to heat your oil & stuff before you start burning the grease:D :D

Thanks.
I wish that was the only time the grease needed to be heated. Imagine filtering veg oil on a 10 degree winter day! I think it also has to be heated while it 'settles' too. I've never played with veg oil outside in the winter... I wonder if it also has to be heated to be poured into the tank.

I dunno, but there is tons over on the diesel discussion and hundreds willing to answer your question. With an older car, you may want to burn some SVO this summer first to see if your car likes it. I would guess that if it had any compression issues at all, the stuff would be harder to burn, but again, check in the diesel section.