Just what I need another Mercedes! but the people that we lease our house from offered me a free 83 SD ,they drove it from Southern CA to grass valley CA and it has been sitting in their garage for two years .It ran when parked but won't start(my kind of meat)
It's about 600 miles each way from our home in OR . I plan to drive down with a friend in my 81 SD get it going and we will drive them both home.
Question#1 from CA member, can you give me any details about trip permit and or other paper work?
Question# 2 since I live near the coast in OR I was thinking of driving down 101 to Arcada then taking 299 to I 5 south, good idea bad idea???
Last question the tires on my 81 SD(Michilens 205 70 14) are getting a might thin , dose anyone know if I could put my nearly new 205 65 15 on 15 hole rims on the SD the over all diameter is close but how about the offset??? I would rather take the SD due to fuel cost.......
Thanks William Rogers......

I do'nt think I've been on the 299, but every highway that I know of between Santa Rosa and the Oregon border that connects the 101 to the I-5 isn't a straight shot. The roads have ot go through the mountains and are thus very windy. Shouldn't be a big deal if you're not in a hurry, but if you are, I'd say get to the I-5 as soon as you can. BTW, the 101's not all that straight either, but you probably know that.

Also, on the car not starting, my guess would be that the engine's seized and unsalvgeable. You probably shouldn't get the car. Oh yeah, what's the seller's phone #?

Seriously, good luck! Sounds like a fun trip...if my girlfriend could handle the windy roads and the suspension on my 300D was perfect (still needs guide rod mounts), I'd love to take a drive down Hwy 1 to L.A.

__________________
2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999

I checked on this when a friend bought a car in San Francisco to take home to Vancouver.

The California DMV person I talked to said there's no permit that solely covers driving a car out of state. You don't need one if the registration is current and you have a bill of sale. The car can't be on the road PERIOD if it's not registered. There are exceptions for dealers.

If the owners put it in non-operational status, you can pay for registration which should be $60-70 for a year. Hardly makes sense on a car you're taking out of state. If they let it lapse without putting it in non-op status then any DMV transaction will include all the fees and penalties due. Again, there are exceptions for dealers and charities receiving donations.

I say hang some Oregon plates on it and drive it with a bill of sale. Or tie a string between the 81 and 83 and say you're towing it

If your 15" wheels have oval holes, they'll be a perfect fit at either 21.5mm offset (15x6.5) or 25mm offset (15x7). If they have rectangular holes, I think they'll fit without rubbing but they'll be more inboard than God intended. Those would be W124 15x6.5 wheels with 34mm offset, I think. I don't know if late 201 wheels will fit.

If CA299 is the Fort Bragg-Willits route, that road gave my AWD compact a workout. Make sure you have H4s if you do it at night.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

299 is about the best road from the north coast to I-5 .. Far better than 199 From coast to Grants Pass.. We use parts of 299 often.. The really only good roads to the coast are in Southern Oregon 42 (Coquille to south of Roseburg and the best is 38 (Reedsport to I-5) . After getting to Redding go south on I-5 to the truck stop area just south of Corning about 1 mile.. Then take that road east to the end and thats a good place to catch the old 99.. From there to Marysville area and east on 20 to Grass Valley.. That will save some miles instead of taking I-5 to 20.. We make that trip often.. 20 from the coast to Grass Valley is not a bad road but lots of extra miles..
Sounds like you may be getting a good deal..

Ken