well i experienced this my self so i thought it would be cool to share it.. well back then my dad had a 79 300sd. our family decided to move to thailand leaving that car here in America. so at some point my dad decided to ship that car over there. we had to have the cheapest shipping option possible, which i think took like 5 years on a boat.. (i might be wrong) so anyways in 1997 the car arrived. after many many years of parking.. the interior was gutted out and the paint was bubbling with rust. we were really doubting if that was a good idea to ship it there. anyways we decided to tow it home. on the way it got stuck in a pot hole, and we couldn't get it out. so my dad's last desperate measure was to try to start the car and get it out.. after 5 minutes of starting/ jumping the car it,.. fired right up!!! really amazing !! he drove it out of the pot hole and we continue to tow it back home, and its been working ever since. so 4 years later i am now in the US again. i am a proud owner of a 79 300sd, which has been giving me year (so far) of total reliability.. and it is damn nice to be the only one in my high school with a diesel benz!!!

anyways that story came up somehow so i though i should share it .. peace!

hey what year are you in h.s? i'm currently a senior and i get all sorts of crap about my "smelly" poop colered car. Not that i really mind, considering the people saying it drive 2001 Lexus's bimmers, hondas etc( i go to a private school). I just figure i'll be better off in the long run, and i actually kind of like my car. Neat story, did you fix up the interior or exterior yet?
R

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

i am also a senior in H.S.. and my car was stinky and smelly too. it was a piece of junk. the only good thing was the engine. and i have fix it up to a point where it is okay now.. i also thought this benz was better in a long run also. i am in the process of restoring it (i got a pretty decent sound system in it right now). and a strange coincident. i also have a poop colored car.. ha ha ha..

i had to do quite a bit of restoration work on my benz. I put in newer model seats(had to re-wire), fixed the ac, replaced alot of the wood, fixed all the door check straps, fixed the sunroof, fixed the cruise, replaced the radiator and alternator(not fun), cleaned out my glowplug relay(wasn't always coming on), replaced 3 of the 5 glow plugs(i'm too lazy to do the back ones,and she'll start on three!!!),fixed two window regulators( had quotes for 200 a peice and i fixed both of them for 20 bucks!), got all the interior lights working again, and quickly removed a couple very small rust spots(dremel tool and touch up paint, doesn't look the best but it stoped the rust!) and adjusted my tranny. I too have a decent system in mine, right now i'm running two 12's pushed by a 300 watt amp, a el-cheapo jensen cd player and new 4x6's with capacitors all the way around. If your running subs how did you get the sound into the cabin? i know our cars are different body styles, but i was just wondering. I now affectionally call my car "metallic crap".
R

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

Hey Ryan,

I'm not as much into the stereo stuff as I used to be, but I have a 12" in the trunk with an amp and box, and I just put the box up against the wall separating the trunk and the fuel tank, and took the tray out of the first aid kit box, so just the door is there. It lets a lot of punchy low end through, and being against the trunk wall you get a lot of the "rumble" low end too, although I had to "rattle-proof" the metal wall with some rubber. When I really crank it up, the first aid kit door bounces a little with the bass...that's kind of funny to watch!

Sorry, my car is not poop-colored! hahaha...But I like that color as well.

Mike

__________________
_____
1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

well i am all about sound systems. i have 2 15's and i cutted up my deck to let the bass in.. so there is no more med kit back there. check it out here:

http://www.geocities.com/ned_keyuravong/car.html

the more recent pics are on the last page and that was about a month ago.. right now i tore out everything and doing an amp rack with a new amp..

Man, that's looking nice. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

When I was in high school, I had a '79 Camaro, red w/ black interior. Not quite as refined as a MB, but it was fun and FAST! I called it my white-trash hot rod. I had a very nice Alpine/Orion/Sony/Infinity system in that car, but it's long gone.

Here's my site with some cool pix of my 300SD. Hope you dig it.

http://mercedes300sd.freeservers.com/index.html

Mike

__________________
_____
1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

WOW! love your benz.. i really wonder how people still make there 20 year old car looking as brand new as yours.. .. when i get more money i am planning on getting a whole new body/paint job too.. one reason my exterior is in such a rough shape is because the old owner parked it for a while. i guess he is not a big fan of MB.. so the badges and some parts got stoled.. i am getting a new light cover, and front rear badge this week...but i really love your benz.. peace..

thanks, man...

My paint isn't as perfect as it looks in the pictures, but it's very good. There's some mediocre body work on the passenger side that I intend to get fixed when the budget allows, but it looks good unless you really walk up and inspect it closely. The interior is excellent. The previous owners obviously took very good care of the car...and I'm obsessed with it, so it's got a pretty pampered life! hahaha...Unfortunately I don't have a garage where I live, but the weather is mild here most of the time, and I plan to have a garage ASAP.

Rock on,
Mike

__________________
_____
1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

ith reguard to your amp wire. I don't know if it's the same on your chassis car, but i was able to run mine completely inside the car. On the left front firewall i had a rubber plug that unplugged, and with the passenger kick pannel removed i was able to get the wire through that hole that the plug was in, and inside the cabin. NO outside wires were necessary. Check it out!
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

i liked your web page ned, i especially like the pic with all the wire showing. That hits waaay to close to home with me. Imagine instaling a cd player, rigging up a power headrest wire(for my newer model seats operated by toggle in the console), wiring my amp, rewiring my amp, fixing my dash lights, and looking at my acc unit all at once. Can you say a mess of wires???? i had to disconnect and reconnect wires several times to get them to untangle and "get where they came from". ahh the fun of DIY.
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

yeah i know what u are talking about on the firewall, for the oddest reason i wired mine under the car.. don't know what i was smoking then. i mean i know it is smart to go through the firewall instead. well i had no problem with it so i will rewire that when i decide to upgrade my system again (maybe to a 0 gauge wire).. and i love the idea of a newer seats. so one question is it a direct bolt on? or do u have to drill holes to get newer seats in? i am planning to make this car a 2 seater with a 18 inch sub back there.. hey and have u had probelms with your alt running all your system? mines only a 55 amp alt..

i got my seats out of a newer w126 car. Since my car is an older w126 chassis car they bolted right in for me. I'm not sure about the alternator, i'm only running 300 watts and a cheap cd player. Maybe your best bet is to run a couple caps.
Ryan

__________________
83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

I believe the alternators from later w126 SEL chassis will fit your 300, but you will have to rewire it (make special connections) and buy a larger belt. They are 75 amp alternators. I also swapped the pully from the 55 and use it still (as the belt thicknes is also different) on the 75 alternator.

This would seem pointless if you already replaced your alternator; but you could get one from a salvage yard and replace the regulator/ brushes with new ones for under a hundred dollars; so poof: new alternator.

Or, just don't use your stereo loudly when you are idling for a prolonged period with your lights, air, and defroster on. These engines generate very little power (electrical) while idling because of their slow speed. Capacitors would not solve this problem.

Adam