Howdy!
I am an engineer by trade and a decent mechanic when it comes to old Chevys and newer Hondas but this is my 1st Mercedes.
I bought it from a teenager who got it from auction a month or two before and was over his head.
It ran pretty well for the 1 st 2 weeks or so until one morning it wouldn't start I had looked the engine over pretty well when I bought it and while it was dirty ( filthy 1/4" oil crud all over) it sounded good and ran smoothly and stopped on a dime.
Just turned out to be a dead battery but it peaked my interested and I decided to dig around the following weekend and boy! What a mess.... Cracked radiator on the way home that Friday.
I am in the process of putting it all back together currently and will be cataloging it in a post here starting today.

 

Not looking to resell it I have 3 sons that will be driving soon enough. The automatic transmission was new in 94' with receipts so hopefully that won't be an issue with only 20k on the tranny. Service records from dealer show regular maintenance up until 94' (96k miles) then it sat for almost 15 years. Total mileage is only 118k ( and naively I DO trust it).

 

Btw I only have about $1800 into it and that includes new radiator, fuel lines, glow plugs, new oil pan, used valve cover, fuel filters, all new hoses and gaskets too. it's been a lot of fun so far... Really just something to tinker with.