regarding driving the car with a lot of interior stuff removed...I once started my 300D with the instrument cluster removed, fully expecting to run a few errands....big surprise when I got a lap full of hot engine oil!!!! (from the oil pressure hose). That is something you do only once!!!

How about some more anecdotes about car repair "snafu's"??? This string could be a barrel of laughs!!!

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)