test-drive questions related to trans shift
 

Hello. I'm new and have in my head that I need to own an early '80's 300 turbo diesel,and am grateful for all the help the help this forum offers. I'm not new to diesels in that I own a 1994 Ford F250 Turbo-diesel, butI have no experience with MB diesels.

I test drovemy first MB 300, a1982 with a 3 speed automatic, very recently and it almost seemed as if the car was not dropping into1st gear when I drove it. Although I understand they're "slow" getting to 60 mph, the torque of the diesel should get it off the line pretty quickly, right? In stop and go traffic I could take my foot off the brake and plant the accelerator and there was essentially "nothing:" no engine rev, no "punch", no smoke, just very slow acceleration. In neutral/park, there was an almost discernable hesitation with slight accelerator pressure, but it was slight and the RPM's quickly came up once past the initialinch or two of pedal travel.

So, besides test driving some more cars so I have something to compare this to, can anyone offer someadvice on possible sources or solutions to this problem?

Thanks in advance!
-R.