Greetings. It has been quite awhile since I've come around this forum. I hope all is well.


Who needs a working vacation? I know there is an intrepid soul out there who has always wanted to visit New Orleans. Here is your chance. I have an '82 Wagon that needs several things done to get it back into good running condition.
In order of importance they are:
1)Transmission repair which may or may not require dropping/rebuilding the tranny.
2)Front end work/rebuild
3)Brakes-new rebuilt calipers waiting to go in. Might need rotors
4)Rear Suspension adjustment

Here is the deal. I am still driving the car around town but it's days as my daily driver are getting dangerously close to coming to an end. I want to bring it back to life. I am willing to put up to 5k into this car (including parts) to get it back into top notch condition. I have two '85 wagons and an '82 240D to use for parts in addition to a third '85 wagon which I haven't completely given up on and might be the next project if this one works out. I have a bunch of resources down here as well, including a good friend who works for the local dealership (but also has two young kids and not enough time to dedicate to this project) and another slightly crazy (in a good way) Norwegian friend who has a property about 100 miles north of here (which happens to be where two of my parts cars and the other salvageable wagon are located) with every tool known to man and 40+ years experience working on Mercedes. I also have a 32 foot RV on that property which could house someone while up there. I have an empty parking lot across the street from my house where one of my parts wagons is parked that could be used to work on the car down here and a 10 x 20 tent to provide shade and protection from the rain.

I could also help out with finding the right person a place to stay while in the city. My house is currently under construction and my business is taking off leaving me no time to keep up with the maintenance on my beloved vehicles. Every time i try to envision purchasing a new car (for under 10k) I compare it to my wagon and can't justify it.

If this is something that might interest you PM me and we can discuss logistics further. Oh and I promise it will not be all work and no play as New Orleans has quite a bit to offer in the way of fun. Hope to hear from someone.

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peace,
Woody

What exactly is wrong with the tranny?

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Jim

It seemingly has no first gear. Coming from a dead stop I need to put it in "L" or "S" and step on the accelerator slowly until the car starts to move. Once it is in motion it shifts into all the other gears fine. Thankfully there are very few inclines here in NOLA

I'm not capable of preforming the work however I would be more than willing to stop and help some weekend. You don't want to take to an indy shop?

Gator,
Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately I work most weekends however if you are coming to town let me know and I'll try and clear things out and make some time for you to at least have a look at my wagon. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a good indy mechanic to do the work. I went that route last winter and spring and had two different mechanics tell me they didn't want to deal with it. Every MB mechanic I have gone to here is slammed all the time and the one I used to use took forever to get things done unless I was there every day breathing down his neck (and helping him). Although I learned a lot I just don't have the time anymore