This car was a long time coming for me. Basically its the culmination of things I like about many ofthe cars I've had, with only a some negatives. '94 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon. 90,000 miles and stayed in one family its entire life. Ironhead LT1 motor with LSD. Straightline acceleration is fantastic, though turning is boat like. Super quiet, comfortable, and gets great gas mileage. This thing can tow quite a bit as well.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

I always rather liked the look of those things. But what exactly do you mean by "great gas mileage"? Seems impossible for something like that.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I thought that imitation wood went out in the 1970's along with the column shift.
Looks like a nice car though.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

I got 24MPG average on my first tank, which included the 2 hour highway trip home from KC. In Ol' Turbo my old '85 300D I got 25MPG.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

That's pretty good. On the impalass forum folks always claim such mileage but I have not seen it in mine.

Yours looks pretty sweet. The only fly in the ointment is the "wood" on the side.

I actually looked at one that color with the same color interior. It looked nearly as good as yours in the pictures on the internet ad but in person the inner fenders in front were full of rust. It had the wood delete too. It was so rough I didn't even drive it.

The steering is (I agree totally) the worst feature of them.

Have you checked the odometer against the mile markers yet?

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

awesome

My first car was a 1968 ford country squire with dual facing rear seats....yellow with the wood.. power tailgate window. i put an fm converter in it and speakers in the rear.
i bought it from a fraternity brother in college: Price $220.

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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]

Reminds me of my 74 Olds Custom Cruiser which I sold a couple of years ago, except the Olds had a forward facing 3rd row seat. That is very impressive mileage from a massive vehicle. They have a reputation for being quite safe also. The Olds got around 11mpg on a good day. When I put it on Craigslist I got an endless stream of calls from demolition derby guys.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Impressive, most impressive.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Here is my 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis on the Ford Mercury lot where I bought it from a small town Nor California dealer. With a column shift on the car. The 2010 models are identical.

The Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptors are beloved because they have them too and leave room for all the police impedimentia where the console box would be.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Damn, Tyler. You've done it again. Yet another fine example of a vehicle that I, often inexplicably, have on my list. I dig the big 8-9 passenger wagons.

Looks like a beaut! The woodgrain has really grown on my over the years, too.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Look at new mercedes lol. I hate than damn column shift.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

The problem with the Mercedes column shift is its counter intuitive. The first few times driving my dad's GL550 I'd try to park it by moving the lever all the way to the top. THAT'S REVERSE. The button on the side of the shifter that serves 99% of modern column shift trucks is a OD-off or towing mode is actually park.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

The problem I had with the fake wood grain on my Olds was that I life and park on the north side of the street. Over the years, as a result, the wood grain on the driver's side completely faded while the passenger side was like new. I tried the JC Whitney wood grain vinyl replacement. Disastrous.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

One of the first things I did with this car is coat the "wood" with vinyl protectant. It also brought back the shine that I see in the photos of my period brochure.

Thankfully with my 1400 square foot playspace I have now, along with my standard two car garage, keeping my cars out of the elements is not an issue anymore.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!