Greetings!

I've reached the point of having a grasp on this car, completely in love with it, and am going to keep it a lot time.

Long term, I'm going to build a 617 turbo for it, with some performance goodies. A little bigger turbo, some good injectors, maybe something to the pump. I need to look at 617 builds and what the internals can handle. Aftermarket Pistons and rods maybe. As well, 5 speed options from a modern vehicle. And finally a 3.07 or higher rear end. Right now the goal is reliable and freeway speeds for next year. It's a big year with work, and can't put the resources into the perfect car.

I have a few other threads going, and will edit in some links to them. I figured it's time to consolidate.

I always wanted a mercedes diesel, and after owning over 20 vehicles at age of 30 I decided it was time to get something for the long term.

I purchased this car off craigslist for $1,100. The ad came up, I called mom and we went immediately to check it out. The guy bought it to "restore," but upon realizing it was leaking oil on his driveway, he wanted it gone immediately. He had it serviced and a little work put in, but the motor had massive blowby and leaked everywhere. I figured it was needing a different motor, but bought the car anyways as it had a manual 4 speed in it.

I got it home safely, did a little more work and drove it a week to figure out what was going on with it. Unfortunately, the motor ended up spinning a rod bearing and I had to bump up my learning curve. My crank was trashed along with a rod, and all parts in the previous motor were mismatched. One rod from a 621, a cam from a 616, etc. You will crack up at my first thread.

I purchased a junkyard motor from a trusted individual, installed all new gaskets, and put it in. It was doing some funny stuff and needed to run a bit to see what was going on with it.

Now up and running and dealing with a possible burnt valve. The lower end is putting out 400 lbs compression on 3 cylinders, and about 320 on the other. Yet to be determined, water injection, diesel fuel cleaner, and some Italian tuneups coming soon. I do have an extra head I can get rebuilt, but with a long term goal of a 617, I'm hoping for some good luck.

It has some rust. The interior is rough. It's beyond what most people would fix. But it's my car, and I hope to drive it until I die. I love the early 115's and will update other items to keep the body style and interior I like.

Here's some pics. Today I'm starting the bearings. Headed to the post office to pick up the last of the items, and oreilly's to rent some tools.











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk