I've owned my '78 300D since the last week in August and have been steadily working on the car every weekend and on weekdays that i have the free time to do so.

Anyway, I have no problem doing 70mph on the freeway but I don't really like to, even in gasser cars. I'm a 55mph kind of guy, and I love stretching the limits of fuel efficiency just because I can. So last night I was talking with a friend of mine (a forum member here) about gear ratios and I figured that I have a 3 speed automatic. I know the car starts off in second but if I am at a dead stop and floor it, it will accellerate in first, second and third but there is no shift up past about 45mph if I'm doing a hard accelleration. Under normal driving, it can shift into third below 40mph if I'm really being easy on the pedal.

The tranny was just serviced by a local (Albuquerque, NM) indy who has been working on MB's for decades and is very trusted according to the MB owners here I've asked. Indy said that the only issue is the torque converter seal is leaking but otherwise the tranny is good to go. I'm assuming that if I had a 4 speed and one of the gears was completely missing, they would have told me.

I don't have a problem with a 3 speed automatic but I'm taking a 1400 mile drive in a week and I'm wanting to make absolutely sure that the car is good to go. It's going to be a great drive up to Vancouver, Washington where I'm moving.

So, considering all this, would it be probable that I have a 3 speed 722.1?

EDIT: Can I get a mod to change the thread title to reflect the proper tranny designation, "722.1"? I hit the wrong key.

Thanks all!
Phil Forrest

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1972 220D "Trudy," named by a friend.

"The 220D sounds good... I suspect it is the only car that you need a calendar for, rather than a stopwatch, when doing acceleration tests."
Tom Abrahamsson