It is definitely an original euro turbo. Engine number 617.952...

I was able to speak with the owner (I had been dealing with his daughter). He traveled to Stuttgart in 1984 and bought it at the factory. He had them change the speedometer/odometer to a US version (mi. vs km) and ship it directly to New Jersey. It never had a tachometer.

I spent some time yesterday looking at alot of pictures of other blue interiors online. My original assessment of the interior was perhaps too critical, since I was comparing it to my palomino interior. It seems that the blue MB-Tex just doesn't hold up as well, nearly all of them suffer from wrinkles in the door panels, and a cracked dash. A good cleaning would make a world of difference.

I started it from dead cold (radiator hoses and valve cover cool to the touch) without any problem (aside from the aformentioned non-functioning glow plug light). No smoking. Cold engine acceleration was amazing compared to my 85. I don't know if this is an 84 vs 85 difference, a euro vs US difference, or if its an alda adjustment difference (the 84 wax seal has been opened whereas my 85 has not). I drove it around the parking lot, but was not able to take it out for highway speeds (so I still don't know how it shifts, or if the cruise control works). There was no steering slop, or body roll. The rear axle boots are intact and pliable. Brakes feel good, but crunchy sounding (probably from rusty disks). The odometer works fine.

There are a few electronic problems. The battery is dead. The battery light does not come on prior to starting, and the alternator is not charging (11.5 V at battery terminals while running, no change with engine throttled). I don't remember if light not on (vs light always on) is voltage regulator or rectifiers, and I couldn't find the thread that explained it. The highbeam indicator light doesn't work (but all the exterior lights work). Because its a euro, the fog lights only switch positions work. It has a light level wheel on the dash, but I could not find any vacuum pods on the back of the lights. The glowplug light doesn't come on, but the glowplugs (or at least some of them) work well enough to start the car quickly. The fuel gauge jumps around a bit. The clock doesn't work, but it seems like it wants to (I thought the minute hand was pulsing a bit).

The ACC seems to work well, blows hot and adjusts fan speed but is not blowing cold.

As to rust, its no worse than I originally assessed (but its no better either). I figure that if I did nothing you'd start to see it within 2 years and it would look like mine within 5. With couple weekends of cutting, grinding, scraping, welding (yes I have a MIG welder), POR-15 and painting (all non-cosmetic areas), I guess I could extend the life expenctancy by 2-5 years. 7-10 years for a driver, sounds good to me.

I should probably point out that I live in CT, within a few hundred feet of the ocean. So, its salty all year long. Last week during a big nor'easter I had waves literally crash on the breakwall and spray over my roof while driving. No 20+ year old daily driver is going to not rust around here.

Thanks all for the replies.