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#46
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is the tygon line really rated for vacuum?
great job on making it a pleasant and practical trip!
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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc. |
#47
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I don't know what it costs now but about 15 years ago it used to be about 500 dollars on a deck from Newark to Liverpool - took about 10 days. Containers were more expensive. We should ask Delibes about today's shipping rates...
...but seriously I don't think mach4 would like the cost of diesel over here.
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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver 1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone 1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy! 1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits! Last edited by Stretch; 10-05-2013 at 01:27 AM. Reason: Spelling |
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photo's of the visit to my yard... along with me fixing his leaking Kent Bergman supplied return hose... the stuff just slipped right off... total junk!
I installed proper German MB hose for him!
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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! |
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Drove to Mt Holly, just outside of Charlotte, yesterday to get a personal tour of the "Mercedes ranch" from the Vstech in person. Got to see some very unusual versions of some vintage Mercedes and a parts collection that is truly extensive.
John drove the diesel SL and provided his stamp of approval. As mentioned above while looking at the details of the installation he noticed some fuel weeping from the return lines...well ok, it was leaking. And yes I can confirm that this is a place to use genuine MB stuff, not some cheap imitation.
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#50
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Back on the Road
After a few days visiting with my mom in Kernersville, NC, we headed out to Wilmington to spend some time with a great friend who was best man at my wedding.
Today we got as far as Birmingham, AL. Heading out of Kernersville, we had the usual fabulous weather, but things quickly changed. Of course who can complain...we had to drive almost 2500 miles to find our first rain. We decided to take a bit of a back road detour. This was a great plan until we got behind this contraption for a few miles with no way to pass. Back on the freeway we were passed by this 123 turbodiesel. The only 123 we've seen on the trip that was under way on it's own power. Grabbed this shot at a rest stop in Georgia. The old girl is doing really well and is no worse for the wear and tear. Tomorrow Dallas.
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#51
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you're doing great in the car! keep up the pics! enjoy the ride!
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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! |
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Saturday morning I fly out of DFW to Wilmington, NC to pickup my new 1998 E300D and then turn around and drive back to Fort Worth by Sunday night so I'm well rested and ready for work Monday morning. I'll have my Valentine1 on for sure.
I found a couple of gas stations east of Augusta that sell biodiesel so I'm thinking I make a pitstop there to fill or at least partially. I don't want to clog the fuel filters on my first trip, the pre-sale inspection already has said to replace the fuel filters. I'm bring a new one (and pre-filter) with me, but rather not have to deal on the road with minimal tools, etc.. I'm kicking myself now for selling my '79 300TD with < 100K on the engine, but I didn't have the cash at the time to fix up and couldn't park it on the street anymore. Someday I'll get something similar again for now my 7 year old for their first car. I've enjoyed your photos and tales of your cross country adventure, thank you for sharing. |
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Day 11 - Birmingham to Dallas
We headed out of Birmingham this morning and headed for Dallas.
We stopped at the Mississippi Welcome Center for a cup of coffee and were amazed at the beauty of the facility and the warm, gracious hospitality. A bit further down the road we came to the exit for the Natchez Trace Parkway and decided to do a little detour. The Parkway is over 400 miles long and runs from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It is just amazingly beautiful. At one point it followed the shore of a huge reservoir and we stopped for pictures and a little walk. Getting off the Natchez Trace we followed a two land back road through farming country and encountered a cotton farmer harvesting his cotton. At Vicksburg we crossed the Mississippi River into Louisiana. It was a fabulous day and the car again performed flawlessly. Fuel summary by leg SAN-PHX 31.5 mpg PHX-ABQ 29.9 mpg ABQ-OKC 35.0 mpg OKC-JAX 30.7 mpg JAX-W-S 33.7 mpg W-S-RAL 31.9 mpg (local driving around our destination area) RAL-COL 35.6 mpg COL-BIR 29.1 mpg BIR-SHV 32.6 mpg The Raleigh to Columbia leg is overstated due to a filling anomoly - somehow I didn't get the tank all the way full, resulting in an abnormally high mileage. The next leg shows abnormally low mileage. The two legs averaged are 32.14 which is what I would expect. Summary: 4236 miles covered, 132.05 gallons used for a 32.1 mpg overall average
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#54
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Day 12 - Dallas to El Paso
West Texas is about as flat and boring as it gets, especially in contrast to the Natchez Trace and the lush forests of Georgia and Alabama.
Make no mistake, West Texas is oil country and the evidence is everywhere. It is a virtual boom town with hotels being built everywhere to house the temporary workers and trucks of every description and configuration hauling stuff out to the drill sites. Fracking is really transforming the efficiency and production in this area. Here's a refinery that was right next to the road. I was kind of hoping they would have maybe something like an "outlet center" where we could pull through and get some really, really fresh diesel at factory direct prices - but alas, no such luck. This was just one of many drilling rigs that were set up right along the freeway. There were times we could count a dozen rigs across the horizon. While not particularly scenic, there is one feature of West Texas that is truly unique. From just outside Odessa to just outside El Paso this is the speed limit. And it is truly fascinating to me that no one speeds. I've seen higher speeds on the urban freeways in California than in the deserted stretches of road out here. I chose to cruise at 70 today with the engine turning a comfortable 2600 rpm. Also ran the A/C for a spell and got some nice 40 degree vent temps with ambient at 87. Literally miles and miles of nothing... Fueled up once today and logged a 30.0 mpg leg. Tomorrow is the last leg of the trip - 709 miles and we'll be home.
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#55
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what's the average cost of the fuel?
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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! |
#56
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giving it a price of 3.85 which is average around charlotte, puts it at just over 500.00 in fuel so far... that's a REALLY cheap cross country trip~!
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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! |
#57
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70 mph is as fast as I cruise in my MBs too. On occasion, maybe 75 mph. Even in 75 & 80 mph zones in TX/NE.
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#58
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+1 on that. Thanks for the pictures though!
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Charlie --------------------------- '66 VW 1300 96K miles '97 E300D 239K miles '85 300D 203K miles (sold Sep 2012) |
#59
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Looks like a refinery near Sweetwater, TX on I-20. Not very long before we're self-sufficient on oil and gas in the U.S. Look out for rattle snakes if you get off the pavement in West Texas. Rest areas should have signage reminding travelers of that.
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#60
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Day 13 - El Paso to
The final leg of the trip involved four states - Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Left El Paso bright and early and headed out. Almost immediately we got into some very strong cross winds that stayed with us until Arizona. It was so strong that a mobile home that was being towed got overturned in the ditch. At one point we hit a tumbleweed or possibly another piece of dried out vegetation head on. Here was what we found when we pulled in for fuel. No damage fortunately despite the size of the stem. We crossed the continental divide at 4585 ft and continued west. At one point we had the amazing experience of driving through a dust storm at the same time rain was falling on the windshield. The flat, monotonous expanse of New Mexico became immediately scenic and interesting as we crossed into Arizona. One of the features of the vast west is little shops that advertise for hundreds of miles, often with interesting and provocative teasers. We didn't stop to see the Thing this time, but we did last time we went by. It's definitely worth the price of admission ($1) and once you've seen the Thing, you can count yourself among a small and exclusive group that share the secret. Don't ask...we'll never tell, but you can find out for yourself along I-10 in Arizona not too far outside of Tucson. One of the rest stops along Arizona had this impressive backdrop just begging for a nice shot with the car.
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Last edited by mach4; 10-11-2013 at 12:29 AM. |
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