Hi all,

love this forum, first post. I am contemplating buying my first MB. i have always been in love with the old MB's and it is time to get serious. I would use this car maybe 4-5 times/month to run errands around town. most I would travel is probably out of my city (san francisco) 40 miles at a time. after test driving a 1975 240D, automatic, here are my thoughts and concerns. any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I am not an expert by any means and my car work has been on my old 84 ford bronco II and my dad's 91 pick up (Japanese)

1. the paint is peeling off and the driver/passenger side seats are shot (ripped,etc). so to say it is cosmetically challenged is being nice. how it looks is not super important to me now as I can make it nicer over time, in theory. how much does it cost to repaint these cars typically? are seats available via the junkyards?

2. rust- there is some rust behind the rear wheel wells (ie-if you put your finger on it it falls off-probably 3-4 inch circle), but very little to none at the door bottoms, sills, trunk lid, inside the trunk and under the car from what I can see. any other trouble spots I should look at?

3- while driving,the driver side rear wheel seems to brush up against the wheel well sometimes. this could be a suspension issue? anyone had this problem just on the one wheel? expensive fix? this freaks me out a little if I am driving on the freeway.

4- the shifting between 1st and 2nd was on the harsher (I felt a strong jolt each time) when done. rest of the shifting was smooth.

5 - did not see much if any smoke at all

6. blowback- the oil filler cap just danced around a lot when I did "the test". it did not come flying off, which is not ideal, but not bad from what I understand.

7-started up with no problems - mind you it was 60 degrees

8- brakes - they felt a little firm, but not terrible. I have heard this could be an vacuum pump issue? any other way to check this?

9 - no water drops or rust inside the car from what I can see (under mats, etc)

any other things I should be looking at? as I said, I am not going to drive this every day, probably once/week. I will not have a lot of time to fix issues aside from normal maintenance so I don't want a huge project. I will have time in about a year or 2 so if I can get good use for about 2 years, I would be pretty happy. what is a fair price? asking is $800. I know it is not a lot of money, but it is money nonetheless. the seller said that the engine was recently rebuilt but there are no records so take that for what it is worth. the speedometer is out of the car, but it could be installed in theory (difficult?) it says 45000 and the guy says it has rolled over 2 times, so 244K miles, 3rd owner (passed down from deceased father 2 months ago who was 2nd owner). no records.

I assume changing oil and other stuff like brake pads are relatively easy? any routine maintenance that is a pain?


thanks in advance guys, I really appreciate it.[/align]

 

It sounds like bushings in the rear are shot, may be the wheel bearings too. I'm not sure on your year my 87 300D has a 5 link and all of the links and bushings is around $750 no labor plus you will need to get it 4 wheel aligned. I did mine it's like night en day diffrence handles great now.
Blow by remove the cap and look for smoke/ oil fumes coming out. If so I would be leary of the rebuild. Some people may call a new timming chain and gaskets a rebuild.
Vaccum be prepared to change all lines around motor my were all brittle.Check that the vaccum pump is working$$ Brakes may be hard from other leaks in vaccum system
paint same for any car Car paint is expensive any more Red is $$ If you can do most of the work your self part prices on mine aren'y much diffrent then American and Jap prices for normal parts. Good luck

 

thank you for the reply, I was worried that it could be the bushings and I dont' have the time nor the correct equipment at my current location to take on a project like that.

there was no smoke/oil coming out when I took off the cap for the blow by test, which is good, it just rattled arround and danced crazy all around like my ex when she was drunk....

what is the easiest way to check the vacuum pump?

 

If you don't have a gauge you can make a U tube one with clear tubing and colored water.Run the tubing down a board and back up about a inch apart. Fill the tubing half way with H20 and mark it.Disconnect the line going to the brake booster and connect one end and leave the other open. With the engine running vaccum will draw the H20 up one side and down the other.Measure the distance between the two levels and that is your vaccum in inches of water. Remember to meassure 30" vaccum your U tube needs to be longer or it will suck the H20 into your pump.