Wow! It certainly seems like a little bit of everything out there! My first adventure was a 1980 300sD. Grey with 270K on it. Experimented with a kit from grease car. $600 for the car, $80 for The kit. Ran great for about a year -6K mi Then slowly downhill. Put exhaust and alternator in. Could use radiator, battery and possibly a home. think I'm hooked, however.
2nd purchase was a 1985 300TD with 385K that I paid $1300 for in January. Looks great, 3rd seat, rms good, cd, sunroof, roof rack, hitch. All a guy could ask for but floors! she's hanging in, however. Put rear brakes and a starter in so far. I consider them both good deals! Hope you find one too.