Man, if I adhered to that standard I'd own my own junkyard by now.

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1981 Mercedes 300TD, 1994 Honda Civic Del Sol
http://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/67195.pnghttp://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/103885.png

To us, these MD Diesels are priceless. It is to our advantage that others might not value them as highly.

Your 240D sounds very nice indeed. If you do happen to sell it, do offer it to an associate here on this board who will take care of it.

My gut tells me you'll keep it and not regret your decision.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

Does the air bag work for the driver ... is there one installed for the passenger ?
Those are important questions these days to me....
Lots of new cars have the side impact bags too...

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1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=10414

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=156207&highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

Priceless, indeed. I think your gut is right! Thanks for your help.

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

Are you referring to my 240D or to the Grand Marquis I was looking at? If the former, I may be way out to lunch here (been working on the Cummins engine all day), but I don't believe there is any airbag on an 82, is there??. If the latter, I was looking at 2005 models which have both frontal airbags, not sure about sides. The GM's (full frame RWD) are some of the highest rated recent cars in crash tests. One reason part of me was interested in that kind of car.

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

Bingo. My point exactly.... A huge vote for the other car/s which do have better safety equipment....

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1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=10414

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=156207&highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

Ah, I see your point. You know, when I first acquired my W123, I felt confident in the safety features put in by Mercedes, the general toughness of the unibody, its ability to whitstand damage and protect occupants, etc. But as you suggest, those safety features are now 30 years old, and superseded by arguably more effective passive features such as air bags commonly found in more modern cars.

I don't know, I still feel safe in my 240D. But I suppose if I was going to be doing a lot of highway driving or a lot of commuting on freeways, in areas where greater risks of collisions exist just because of the sheer number of yahoos on the road, and truck traffic, something like a late Mercury Grand Marquis (full-frame, air bags, great safety rating) would make a lot of sense. Maybe one of the reasons a lot of (wise) seniors own and drive them

Thanks for sharing that thought, I add it to my equation for sure.

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

LOL, " FEELING SAFE ".... call the National Transportation Safety Board...or whoever does those crash tests...and tell them that... see if they can even get composed enough to talk to you after you say that about our 30 year old cars...

Most people die within 5-10 miles of their own home and at amazingly low speeds...

I am just saying... you either love the look, frugality, image, etc... and are willing to FORGO ( read Ignore, throw the dice ) the safety improvements over the last 30 years or you are not...
Do you have a family ? Perhaps put the stats and question to them ? Some people are hardcore on this... but I sense you are on the fence....and given that... would suggest you got for the safety...

__________________
1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=10414

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=156207&highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

W123 seems to do pretty good to me on a frontal crash... But point well taken, it's a serious consideration for sure. Thanks for raising it.

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

Well, If we all really worried that much about auto safety, this forum would probably lose half it's members.
Some of us still appreciate the durability and basic quality engineering that was built into our W123s, and aren't so obseesed with airbags that we decide to send old faithfull off to the crusher in exchange for some modern POS that could easily be immobilised by computer faults!
(Didn't someone here mention something about a frustrating traction-control?)

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Airbags (particularly the first generation in the U.S.) are known to kill short people. I am one. Consequently, I don't do airbags. OTOH, I ride a motorcycle, so what do I know?

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

I recall seeing a documentary a few years ago on car safety that said that one important feature of Mercedes is that in the event of a rear-end accident, the seat back did not collapse, therefore preventing the front occupants from being thrust backwards. Few other cars had that feature, according to the documentary. I felt that was important to me. Especially if rear-ended like this 240D:

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

I like the idea of replacing the 240d with a 126 or a 116. Both are more road-trip friendly cars than the 240d but still have the cachet of an old MB that the 240d has.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Hey Greg< You better get rid of that tired delapidated old 240 in your drive way. no safety features, everything is manual, like roll up windows. and you know......... you are getting pretty old, and cranking on those windows, having to manually adjust the heat, manually adjust the idle control. really takes a toll on the Arthriditc joints and that Bercitis in the old sholders.

Just send it out west and I`ll take her off your hands. Iam concerned for your safety


Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works