My dad (vstech) wants that to be my first car, couldn't he have picked something I wont have to work on?

Be thankful he is giving you a car !!!
Remember a second class ride is far better than a first class walk & that car is far better than a second class ride !!
My suggestion to your father is that every time you complain he should screw the throttle stop in a turn. & if you are still unhappy he should wire the waste gate open.

I told my Daughter her first car would also be a kit/rebuild deal. I think its a great way to instill some automotive knowledge, as well as some respect and pride in what you drive. Besides, driving a Diesel Benz to school should be the bomb, as well as really safe. Not to mention you wont have to feed it so much to go somewhere.

Then there is all that Daddy Daughter time, which is priceless.

heh, she's frustrated I'm planning this for her learning project...
then i told her she has to LEARN to drive in the 84 euro 300 4 speed manual...
after she replaces all the missing windows.
did everybody hear her scream?

Thanks for the vote of confidence Mark, but a 123 is a FAR cry from a 124 and your car did not have NEARLY this much damage...
I'm not sure I can fix this myself. I compared it to the undamaged 93 I've got nearly stripped, and WOW there is a lot of metal missing/crumpled on that car... and NOTHING to attach straps or chains to for the straightening...

Well post up some more pictures of the bent stuff - I'm sure you'll get enough advice here...

Hey layback - I've got some old chickens in the back of the garden that nobody wants any more - will you take 'em?

I think a 25 yr old previously wrecked MB turbodiesel (like that one), with 284K on it, is better than a new entry-level Asian tin-can. Especially at the price it's costing your Pops. What do you think of that?

Happy to if you pay the delivery !!:P:P

Hey John,
Did she think that she would get any sympathy by posting on here?
At least you didnt try my trick ~ second hand bobcat for their 10th birthday. I was in the dog house for months over that !! All their friends at school wanted to come & play with it.
Maybe she would be better teaming up with Roy's daughter & comparing notes !!

Big trees are good, but you need 2 ~ one to secure the car to, the other for the block & tackle.

his and my daughter are EXACTLY the same age... to the day...
he's my inspiration...
at least I'm not making her fix rust!!!

Fixed it's the safest car she could ever own. I mean, what are the mathamatical odds of that car ever being in another major wreck....

Ask John about the w124 wagon I sold him. It would seem the odds for 1987 300td's are at least .06% or about 1 in 1500.

OK I'll be flying in low under the radar as usual.