1985 M-B 300D Turbo "First Mercedes, first diesel, first love"

I bought this beautiful diesel in March 2006 with 207,000 miles on the clock. It is in great shape and needed only a few things to make it near-perfect. I resoldered the cruise amplifier, installed a new hood pad, and replaced a broken vent in the dash and the first aid compartment, which had a broken lid. A Hella LED "third brake light" and extra tail lights (thanks to the forum!) improved nighttime safety. My mechanic replaced the shocks (Bilstein) and a couple of front suspension pieces and did a complete preventive service.

The car still has R-12 Freon in the air conditioner and also has the original Becker radio in working condition (even the cassette works!). The climate control didn't work perfectly -- in a/c mode, only the "high" and "low" speeds of the fan worked. I did another resoldering job and it now works great.

The exterior color is "Smoke Silver Metallic" and the interior is dark blue with MB-Tex. This is my first Mercedes and my first diesel. I started using 100% biodiesel in April 2006 and have had no problems.

In the past two years I have continued to track down and fix all the nit-picking details that non-fanatics tend to ignore. Any modifications have been made so that they do not show or are obvious only to a real expert. All are reversible. Example: the front dome light, from an S-class Mercedes, has a map light, but other wise looks, works, and fits just like the old one.

The EGR has been removed and that California gem, the trap catalyst, replaced with a "test pipe." Performance without the trap cat is definitely better -- you can feel it in the engine's responsiveness. Fuel economy should also be better but I suspect that my right foot is ruining that as the car is more fun to drive now.