my woman and i just drove from portland to phoenix, on saturday, 1334 miles, both cars made it great! .. i overheated on the grapevine so mayby check out your fan clutch and thermostat if you have any major passes.. i didnt and it still powered through the grapevine after an hour of rest, ive driven a newer pontiac up the i5 from phoenix, but our mercedes are ten years older than that pontiac. they made it strong, although the oregon plates on two mercedes rolling through LA traffic encouraged other drivers to take advantage of the pick a lane and stay in it style of driving from oregon... my boots were torn too before even starting the trip, murphys law didnt kick in... except loosing my girlfriend in LA with four bucks in my pocket and a dead cell phone.... found her thankfully

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'79 240D
'79 300SD

those that are missed:
'80 300TD bandit
'76 300D cleta jill