I'm thrilled to announce that I will be picking up my new little oil burner tomorrow night. She's about as beautiful as an unrestored car could be for its age. During today's drive, it seemed to act exactly as it should and I was even surprized at how much quicker it was than what I expected. I've read so much about how slow they are, I guess I thought it was going to be even slower. I've put a few miles on an 83 300SD and I didn't think this was a whole lot slower (I'm sure it is).

It is a pretty basic car. Crank windows, manual sun roof, A/C has been pulledand it is an automatic. As hard as I tried, I couldn't even get her to blow any smoke. It has almost 87,000 miles and the owner was the ex-wife of one of Seattle's European auto shops. Apparently he bought it off a customer in 1985 and gave it to her to run up and down the road a few times a week. Apparently she's tired of him telling her she needs to drive it more.

Anyway, I'm tickled. What kind of actual mileage do these get (it is a 115). Also, why is this rated at 62 horse and the 220D was rated at 65? Doesn't bigger mean more?

 

Thats a nice find your getting. Congrads on the purchase. When you mean the AC got pulled do you mean it just doesnt work anymore? The AC on the older mercedes can be a real pain the neck to get working again. Just ask the man who purchased my old Diesel. He had to put about $3,000 into it.

 

No the A/C is completely pulled. Husband was a minimalist.

 

i keep picking up black crap in my main filter making my car slower than even i expected.
its nice to know that they can be faster than expected.

 

I'll have to see if I can talk to the ex and find out what maintenance has been done and what is due. Apparently he came and grabbed it from her every 6 months or so and tinkered with it. He'd bring it back and tell her to get out of the house and drive the darn thing.

Where is a good spot to find interior parts for these? I noticed the door pocket had a crack and the chrome ring around the clock was missing. I also wouldn't mind finding factory floor mats. Its been a long time since I've had an old Mercedes and I forgot where I found that stuff. Plus I think those were pre-internet days.

One interesting thing it has is another fuel tank in the trunk. It looks to be connected via some plumbing and a valve directly into the tank. She said she's never used it. I guess diesel wasn't on every corner back in 75. I will probably be taking that tank out as 17.5 gallons is plenty to carry.

Back to the A/C, does anyone keep that hooked up? It seems like that would suck a few horses that this little car might not be able to spare. I'll only miss A/C in the winter for defrost. I'm a windows down kind of guy most of the time.

 

I share your newfound joy - today, picked up my first mercedes. A nice little red '74 240d. I must admit, i doubt it is in as good as shape as yours, but it will be fun to tinker with...if I can find someone who knows anything about it to help me tinker.