Thanks, it doesnt look too bad. I'm in sort of a dilema of my own creating . I have an 81 240D that I love but is a little underpowered for my hobbies, and a recently purchased 83 300TD wagon that needs some work and I dont particularly like because of 2 main reasons - Slushpump (ie. automatic), and the darn climate-control is so much more convoluted than the 240D (is it possible to switch out this with the 240?). I have limited time, space and money and cant rationally keep both....and I underestimated how much I hate automatics (i bought it thinking I could deal with it). The bottom line is I want a reliable car that can push up the appalachian hills loaded down with people and gear (the 300TD), but the manual tranny and simplicity and ease of maintenance of the 240D.

I guess the question is: If you had a choice would you buy a parts car and drop a 300D motor in the 240, or convert the wagon over to manual 4 or 5 speed and try and convert the automatic climate control to the "knob and dial" of the 240? Would converting the 300TD to manual be more of a hassle then the engine swap?

Thanks for reading. Any wisdom from the vets is appreciated......

Joel