Bought a 300GD, driving it home - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

nazrat · #1 06-02-2009, 08:26 PM

After 15 years of wanting and 5 years of looking I think I found the right G-Wagen. The only thing that isn't what I wanted is the color. Oh well

I'll be driving it home approx 800 miles. I've driven plenty of miles in W123 sedans so I'm familiar with the engine it's the G stuff that's new to me.

Anything I should watch out for? It's a 1980 with 95k miles on it.

-Tad

DUTCH · #2 06-03-2009, 06:46 AM

I hope you had it inspected well so that you have no surprises on such a long trip. That old with that many miles on the clock could have some for you.

ColLonewolf · #3 06-03-2009, 09:30 AM

In order for you to be sure it will make the trip you will need to take lots of pictures from every angle and post them for us. This is only to make sure we are rooting for the right one of course. Congrats and have a safe trip.

nazrat · #4 06-03-2009, 11:46 AM

I'll be the blue one in the right lane!

-Tad

Fulcrum525 · #5 06-03-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nazrat

I'll be the blue one in the right lane!

-Tad

Damn where was this listed for sale, depending on the interior its pretty much exactly what i've been looking for...your lucky I didn't see it

Whats wrong with blue

Are you sure it has 95k? Most of those early odometers only went to 100,000 kilometers before rolling over....

I like that little roof rack that it has in the back but i've never seen wheels like that on a G. Looks like something that would come off an heavy duty truck.....

lkchris · #6 06-03-2009, 12:56 PM

Non Mercedes wheels for sure.

panZZer · #7 09-23-2010, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

Damn where was this listed for sale, depending on the interior its pretty much exactly what i've been looking for...your lucky I didn't see it

Whats wrong with blue

Are you sure it has 95k? Most of those early odometers only went to 100,000 kilometers before rolling over....

I like that little roof rack that it has in the back but i've never seen wheels like that on a G. Looks like something that would come off an heavy duty truck.....

Yea i was gonna say--chevy 1 ton dually wheels--also hummer bolt pattern. but its simulators

Johnhef · #8 06-03-2009, 06:30 PM

holy crap recaros! nice find tad!

nazrat · #9 06-03-2009, 06:44 PM

I'll bring it to the next DC GTG, just promise not to fart in them

-Tad

nazrat · #10 09-24-2010, 06:31 AM

Clearly I fell short of keeping you all up to date as promised.

The hub caps came off before I made it home. Now I'm sporting the stock steel wheels. I have some alloys but the offset of them will require some spacers.

The steps came off shortly after I got home.

I'm actually getting closer to having a turbo engine. I'm swapping in an om617a that I got from John in place of the om617 (anyone looking for one?) I did some work to the transmission including replacing the input shaft bearing with a one-piece unit.

I've rebuilt the shifter unit, had the radiator boiled out, replaced the brake lines, un f-'d the wiring, lowered the seats back to their stock height, fixed the broken center console, and taken care of a bunch of smaller tasks like making the turn signals all work.

-Tad

Fulcrum525 · #11 09-24-2010, 11:58 AM

What do the bare wheels look like?

What was wrong with the wiring and how did they raise the seats?

I don't blame you for swapping the engine out. I've driven a LWB non-turbo diesel G before and they are SLOW to the point of being dangerous.
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=277488

240dddd · #12 09-24-2010, 01:53 PM

Sorry in advance if this is a threadjack, but I'm curious as to how someone goes about tracking down GD for sale. What are the best resources for finding one?

Fulcrum525 · #13 09-24-2010, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 240dddd

Sorry in advance if this is a threadjack, but I'm curious as to how someone goes about tracking down GD for sale. What are the best resources for finding one?

You hunt for a very long time.....all the gray market trucks pop up in different places and sadly there isn't just one source for ads. Also don't cancel out the gasoline models either. (The diesels are rare even by Gwagen standards)

http://www.gwagen.com/search.php

(Autotrader, ebay, cragislist) You have to be vigilant and check from time to time. There are a few other forums where you might find some postings (Expedition portal, pointed three)

nazrat · #14 09-24-2010, 09:57 PM

I found mine on Ebay, but they do turn up on the sites mentioned, even this one from time to time.

The wiring looked like this all over:

Those two thick black wires were spliced into the main ground wire and connected to a security switch under the dash. Only he didn't use ring terminals to connect the 2 gauge wire to the studs on the switch. He splayed the wire out flat and smooshed it under the nut on the stud.

I'll take an outdoor pic once it moves again, but here it is with the wheels visible:

Another quality repair, the fan clutch:

This made me remove the water pump before I removed the engine because the fan would not come off any other way.

-Tad

DUTCH · #15 09-26-2010, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 240dddd

Sorry in advance if this is a threadjack, but I'm curious as to how someone goes about tracking down GD for sale. What are the best resources for finding one?

Here's another source:

http://www.clubgwagen.com/classifieds/vehicleads.php