How much did it cost to put all that in?

If I kept track of that I'd have alot to answer for to my wife.

Springs were ~300, shocks ~300, sway bar ~200 (NLA you would need a custom). Of course you replace everything else when you do it so throw in another 400 for all the suspension/stearing stuff.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I don't normally advocate buying a 300SD or 300SDL but they do have a lot more room for the back seat passengers. The SD is 6 inches longer and the SDL 12 inches longer than the smaller 300D (123 or 124 versions).

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

6"? I thought it was a 4" difference between SD and SDL.

Sixto
87 300D

I w201 has slightly more rear seat leg room than a Porsche 911. I wouldn't recommend the back seat to anyone much over 5 feet tall.

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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 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

I suppose it depends on the series. Those numbers were from my first hunt for a Mercedes 5 years ago, when I bought the 1985 300D (W123). A similar-year 300SD was 6 inches longer and an SDL was 12 inches longer, more or less.

I was concerned about getting them into the garage. All of them would have fit but the SDL would have been a real squeeze and in any case, I didn't have fanman's need to haul six-footers, only four-footers, and they would ride in their cat carrier.

I ended up with the 123 and was happy because although shorter than the Oldsmobile it replaced, the wheelbase was the same . TheDon's comment is interesting -- when my wife first rode in the 123, she asked "Does it feel like you're driving a tractor?"

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Ahh yes... My uncle has a 87' Porsche 930 Turbo (beautiful, show room condition car, he is OCD about his vehicles looking great) and I have been in the back seat a few times.
Powerful car but yeah, seats are small and there is no leg room, and of course they are not very comfortable rides.

Yeah I can see why length is a problem, but I learned/am learning to drive with a Sprinter. The handling on the Sprinter is amazing

$200 for the sway bar, didn`t you use one from a 300TD? Or did you buy a new one from the dealer? That is the blue one you installed?

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

Oh look, a 240D owner.

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RIP:
2011 E350 BlueTEC, Schwartz 81k (totaled by uninsured drunk driver)
1964 Unimog 404.1 (wrongfully towed by the city)
1994 E320, Brilliantsilber 208k (transmission shuffled off after sudden catastrophic fluid loss)
1982 300D, Silberblau under a blue repaint 256k (sold for parts)
1995 E320 Polarweiss, 131k (sold for parts)
1995 E300D Polarweiss, 287k (totaled by drunk driver)

The 3.5 liter 603 motor found in 91-95 or so SDL's is an american only engine, I believe. It has two weak points which are two more than all other mercedes engines:

1. It has a tendency to bend rods slightly. This phenomona does not seem to have happened to all of them and no definate pattern seems to characterize it. Even with the bent rods the engines are capable of driving for years, although it is characterized by using excessive oil in its advanced stages and they will miss lightly at idle. The best cure seems to be to swap in a 3.0 liter version of the 603 when they go bad.

2. This engine at least in some versions also has a splash tray under the crank which has some assembly nuts and bolts which can come loose. A small number of engines have had this trouble. The nuts can collect against the oil pump intake and work around until they cut a hole in the screen. They then are sucked into the pump, locking it up and causing catastrophic loss of oil pressure.

So this engine is to be avoided or bought carefully with full awareness of the potentials of it and pricing it accordingly.

On the other hand, I had a '91 350SDL and it was a real pleasure to drive, with lazy torque like a big american engine and an excellent leather interior.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

i think you should base your decision on what chassis suits your tatse, rather what engine to avoid. i've owned a '85 190d 2.2, '84 300d, '84 300sd, '83 240d manual, '86 300sdl, even a '89 300e gasser. i have probably 20,000 miles of seat time in my dad's '87 300d. they were all fabulous and i dearly miss every single one of them. they all had their own special character and unique addictive diesel clatter. i love my '98 e300 turbo, but it's so refined i think it lacks the vintage diesel mercedes character that made me fall in love with these cars! the w123, for me, is simply to old to be used daily for my 100 mile commute. the w126 300sd/l is more refined and better looking than the w123 albeit the sdl is a massive automobile and i was told i looked rather pompous in it.. the 190d and 240d were dangerously slow, but had loads of character. so the w124 300d? perfect. enough creature comforts to be used comfortably daily, solid reliability, great performance, and classic looks that may go down in my books as the best looking mercedes and it still retains the diesel character of the w115-w126.

Good summary, I agree. 100 mile commute? No wonder we're running out of oil!

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Yeah, I think you are correct. My first choice right now would be a 300D 2.5 Turbo. One question though: Which of these cars has the best visibility with the least blind spots?

100 miles round trip. not a very exciting drive up maryland's southern peninsula to washington. i commuted my final year in college 100 miles a day - all back rounds with a supercharged vr6 gti, man i miss that drive!