1980 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

Wagon

5 - Cyl.

Manual

Diesel

Beautiful, rare, low mile ( 121K miles), 1980 European Delivery, Mercedes 300D, ( with many RARE options ) manual transmission wagon, which has been nicely restored. * Forgive the lengthy, drawn out dissertation on my wagon, but I have personally put quite a bit of detailed labor in this car and have worked on hundreds of similar Diesel 123 Mercedes; so I feel obligated to be more descriptive than not. * I have been told that I am one of those super-anal guys who treats everything as though he was restoring a fine watch. This is a true, factory delivered, sold in Frankfurt Germany, European 4 speed stick shift wagon, which was personally imported to the USA then "Federalized", which meant that is was fitted with US lights, bumpers, door stiffeners, US miles per hour speedometer, etc. I recently restored it back to all of its factory European parts, which were saved, in order to return it to its correct Euro delivery specifications. * I will also make various comparisons and point out often over-looked details as these Mercedes 123 chassis diesels have many parts which are hard to replace and are often broken and thus ignored. * I bought my wagon 6 years ago from the second owner who owned it for 10 years after buying it from the original German owner. A couple years ago I drove to Eugene, Oregon to meet the original owner, Richard, to ask about the history of the car and to find any original documents. The wagon was bought new in 1980 near Frankfurt Germany then driven around Europe before bringing it home to Oregon. It was sparingly used, as a commuter to his fish restaurant in Eugene before being put aside in favor of a new car. My friend Mark bought in 1999 and brought it to Southern California where it has remained. Mark used it as a parts/ shop vehicle and during the last 11 years it was parked outside where the original paint started to fade. When I bought it from Mark I began to slowly accumulate either NOS or excellent used Genuine Mercedes 123 parts to bring it back to a very nice driver. 6 years of working on it little by little, I now need to sell it as I am losing the indoor storage. Once I stripped it down to re-paint it, I stopped driving it regularly and began not to just make a nice driver, but to restore within reason, the whole car. There are still some details which could be better or re- finished, as there must be a stopping point ( last week I was polishing and buffing the screws which hold on the underside of the power steering pump bracket ) but this certainly seems like one of the nicer wagons around ( Los Angeles ) and I have worked on just Diesel Mercedes, for the last 9 years. EXTERIOR I removed all the carpet, seats, door panels, headliner, rubber, windshield, trim, bumpers, handles, etc then stripped the original Moss Green? metallic paint, blocked it myself, then had it painted the original color using two stage base coat- clear coat PPG paint. I color sanded then buffed the clear before re-assembling the car. I have the $4000 receipt for the job. There were no rusted through spots, but there were a few small surface rust bubbles around the bottom of the window seal and at the bottom of the front fenders. There are now two very small dings since doing the paint job- yay public parking. There was a hole right at the heal of the gas pedal which was repaired. I re-assembled the car using new Mercedes German parts when I could find them or very good original parts. Some of the hardware, such as bolts and brackets I stripped and buffed on an industrial buffing wheel then had them clear coated so their luster would be retained. I replaced the front grill with a new genuine Mercedes grill shell complete with grill insert and aluminum strips and new correct Cad 1 plated, 8 mm hex head screws, and a new correct Mercedes hood catch, not a coat hanger thank you. I replaced the 8 pieces of door top window scraper aluminum moulding to the tune of $450. Two of these pieces are no longer available for the wagon. The outer window scraper rubbers were replaced on all 4 doors as well. I found a passenger side mirror in excellent condition as the many of the original European 123 Diesels did not come with a passenger side mirror- ie 240D and some 300D cars. The inside triangular shaped chrome-plated plastic piece is also in excellent condition, as this piece is often chipped or the chrome is peeling off- not here patient reader. I replaced and re-wired the correct original Bosch European all glass headlights and opted for a new pair of clear turn signals.I replaced the headlight bulbs with Xenon pure white bulbs so they are clear and bright. The inboard fog lights are halogen. I also replaced ALL the bulbs on the car and cleaned each contact individually. The upper, aluminum exterior trim on these 123 Mercedes are notorious for fading because although they were polished aluminum, they were then clear anodized. The clear frequently faded and turned milky, and was unable to be polished since it obscured the actual aluminum. A couple of these pieces are simply NOT replaceable, such as the entire drip rail piece. On this wagon it is in very nice, not faded, condition. I replaced the other pieces where and when I could. There are NO chalky, faded trim pieces on this car, and that is hard to find on any 123 chassis Mercedes. As mentioned before, there are some aspects I would have liked to re-do or change, one of them being the front windshield trim. I bought a brand new windshield and GERMAN Mercedes $$ windshield seal and windshield aluminum surround trim. The glass shop did not see the new trim in the back area, and installed the original trim by mistake. I did not want to risk breaking ( another ) windshield in order to put the new trim back on, so it still has the original slightly faded trim installed. I bead-blasted the wiper arms front and rear then self-etching primered them, then painted them satin black as per original. Both the front and rear bumpers are the original ones which came with this car. The rear is a very, rare, Euro wagon-only model with the highly sought after, Mercedes installed Hella trailer hitch, as well as the correct driver's side red fog light and the passenger clear back up light, both of which are in excellent condition. It has the correct and date-coded 1979, 9 pin, wagon only, trailer hitch with Hella aluminum plug; and wired up too. Richard ordered the trailer hitch with the wagon, but told me that he never towed anything with it, which is why it is still in excellent condition. The bumpers however, should be re-chromed to match the caliber of the rest of the car. They have a few small dings in them and would look fantastic if re-plated. This would be another example of where I drew the line as to how much I wanted to finish on the car. The rubber bumper inserts are in very good condition with no scratches or chunks missing, so if you re-chromed the bumpers, the rubber pieces could go right back in without any further work. All 4 hubcaps are the original ones, with one which is slightly out of round. I painted the centers on all 4 caps with the same 2 stage green paint then color sanded and buffed them. The caps are very nice as is, but if you want to go further with the restoration, have them professionally buffed since they are stainless steel and they will look brilliant. They will NOT need any metal work as they are NOT scratched or banged up. HEAR THIS: The tires need to be replaced. Even though they do not have many miles on them, they are dry-rotted and cracked from age. They look good on the car, but not to be liable, I am saying that they are not safe to drive on. I bought them years ago from Lucas Tire in Long Beach and they are still available. They are the wide white wall American Classic radial, and ride like a modern radial tire should, but with the vintage look of a classic white wall. Please change these tires straight away. I can help you order them if need be. The rims are the rare, and desirable, Mercedes ALUMINUM optional rims, which save 50 pounds or more as compared to the steel wheels which also came on these cars. As with Diesels, every bit helps in its "performance". I bead-blasted the rims then painted them semi-gloss as per original, then wire-wheeled all 20 lug nuts, then used anti seize grease when re-installing them. The rear wagon only tail lights are the original ones and the passenger tail light has a crack in it at the top which does not affect the visibility of the light. The driver's side is very nice too, but if you want to get crazy, replace both with NOS ones! ... if you can find them. I removed the rear license light assembly, bead-blasted it, then re-painted is satin black as per original. I also replace the light housings with better condition originals then buffed the phillips screws, clear coated them before re-assembling it all. The 300D badge is new. The gas cap is the original, Mercedes, Blau manufactured, locking cap which still works with the original Mercedes door key! Yup. Solid gold. ROOF RACK No I wont sell it separately, and yes I am sad to see it go. This rack was bought by the original owner for this wagon. He recalled it to be the same manufacturer as the ones on the Volvo Wagons but this one has some slight variations.The width is different and the mounting legs have a tighter radius to fit the Mercedes wagon drip rail. This rack also has gusseted supports and the brackets are different from the Volvo rack. We had both racks side by side at one point to compare. I sent the rack to be plated and it came back less than desired. The plating was not up to my standards and should be re-chromed. It was plated in exchange for a favor, but I guess the favor must not have been well-valued, so I didn't want the shop to do it again ( properly ). I made all new Birch wood slats then stained the bottoms in Watco Dark Walnut to give the wood some contrast. The top of the wood was stained Watco Natural, then I clear laquered all the slats 6 times. The wood certainly looks better than the dang chrome! INTERIOR Quite a bit of work has been spent both preserving and restoring the interior. I did not compromise. I replaced all the carpet with correct, and painfully expensive ( $950 for the carpet material alone ) German, square weave oatmeal/palomino carpet. I carpeted all of the originally carpeted areas using the original pieces for patterns so there are no funny, mis-matched sections. This car did NOT have carpeted floor mats, instead it was originally delivered with the SUPER HARD TO FIND rubber Mercedes, front floor mats- which I eventually found at a swap meet in Germany and brought home in my luggage. They are genuine Mercedes 123 stamped mats in Excellent condition. I would recommend putting something over them to protect them when driving. They very well may be impossible to replace if damaged! They even have the original sound-deadening material still attached to the back side. When I removed the original carpet from the rear cargo area wooden board, yes, oddly enough, it was made of wood, I sanded it then repainted it satin black then polished all the mounting hardware. The plastic cargo liner under this board is in perfect condition as well as all the lines and wiring under the liner. I also had a custom, durable, cargo area, carpet liner made for when the seats fold forward. It is a handsome dark brown color and has not been used. I removed the original headliner when the car was re-painted then re-installed it. It does have a couple very tiny holes in it, but an exact material match was not available so I put the original back in. I stretched it so there are no wrinkles and re-stiched a couple of the header bow pockets to hold the headliner up as original. The dash has not cracks as it has a vacu-formed dash cap installed now. Most of the European models did not have the dash wood- as seen on this dash. It came with a textured vinyl insert between aluminum trim, which is in excellent condition on this car. The center console piece is also original and in excellent condition. All of the symbols on the switches are clear and not faded or cracked and even the often faded turn signal arm is still deep black in color. As with most European Mercedes this car was basic in its trim package. It was delivered with manual, crank up windows. I removed these regulators, degreased them then serviced / adjusted them with new grease and re-installed all 4. The US delivered electric windows are notorious for failing either with the window lift motor or more commonly, the window switch. I can't recall how many times I have replaced these electric window switches on the 123 Mercedes. The manual ones will never fail. In addition, all four of the window winders are New Old Stock with the matching Palomino colored inserts. The original seats had intricately patterned cloth inserts, with Palomino colored vinyl surrounding it. I pulled out the seats from a wrecked, low-mile, US model wagon and installed them in order to make the car drivable while the original European seats would get restored. The center arm rest is not cracked but a little faded in color. The original seats did not have this center arm rest- only the US model seats. The car comes with its original European seats front and back, unrestored ( see photo ). The cloth material is available in Germany should you want to correctly re-do these seats. The front and rear door panels are the original ones and are in excellent condition- not soiled or ripped or heavily wrinkled. The often broken or faded door panel pockets are also in excellent condition. The front two door locks are the correct, European short, stubby ones WITHOUT the flanged tops. This car was ordered with a now rare, Becker Mexico, signal seeking, cassette stereo. I had it reconditioned and it works perfectly. I remember seeing these original Stereos for sale at swap meets in Germany for over $1000 as they were fitted in the SLs as well and were top of the line!What doesn't work perfectly is the Blaupunkt electric antenna. The motor works but the plastic cable attached to the mast is stripped so I bought a Blaupunkt electric replacement one. I don't like it so I did not install it. I wanted to find an original replacement mast and cable so as to keep the original 1980 antenna with the car. The wagon will come with the replacement electric antenna but NOT installed. I think it looks mickey-mouse so I left it out. An original mast can be found but as I mentioned before, I needed to find a stopping point. I stripped down the paint behind the spare tire compartment and restored it ( see photo ), fuel lines, brackets and all. Even though you do not see it regularly, if you were to remove the spare tire, it all looks beautiful. ... and yes, the spare tire cover still has both fragile locating pins attached to help keep the spare tire cover in place. How many wagons still have these? Ein, zwei, drei? This wagon still has its original Mercedes first aid kit and the Wagon-only, fold out warning triangle. The jack is in like new condition as well as the original, cloth bound Mercedes tool kit and lug wrench. You could use ANY of these items without getting any dirt on your hands, hows that?! I re-installed the original Kilometer speedometer with the correct kilometer equivalent - 195K kilometers ( 121,200 miles ), and then had all the gauge needles re-painted and then calibrated the gauges, including the often wonky fuel gauge. The clock works as well. I had the plastic cluster face buffed to make it as clear as this description. I also replaced the bulbs. The stainless scuff plate in the rear cargo area is original with a few bumps but still has its original red, load-restriction sticker still attached. I replaced both rear hatch shocks with German ones, so the hatch opens and stays up as it should. The inside rear hatch handle broke while I was taking the photos for the ad, so I will try to find a replacement before the end of the auction. The Palomino-colored matching L/R under-dash panels are both in excellent condition and have ALL the often missing, color matched screw hole caps. These are no longer available and are usually lost, which leaves the screws exposed and looking shabby, not shabby chic. LOW MILE FOOT NOTE: The steering wheel is in superb condition as expected from a low mile car. The outer rim becomes loose and spongy when used a lot. This wheel is tight and does not move at all when you grip and twist the outer edge. A loose and high mileage steering wheel can NOT be restored and a tight wheel is usually an indication of a car which has not been driven much. MECHANICAL/ ENGINE The car has 121K miles from new. There has been much maintenance, repair work and replacement with plenty of detailing throughout.The following has been done in the last 10K miles: ( As this work was done, I cleaned and/or polished every part and bolt before installation which is why the engine compartment looks very tidy and detailed ) -new brakes-valve adjustment-valve cover gasket replaced-valve cover polished-replaced glow plugs-replaced injector return fuel lines-replaced pre-filter-replaced main fuel filter-replaced all fuel lines-replaced fuel priming pump with original style one-new air filter-polished air cleaner housing-replaced fan belt-new battery-replaced alternator-full transmission service-replaced radiator-replaced thermostat-degreased entire undercaraige-new exhaust hangers-replaced flex disc-replaced fan belt-replaced engine mounts-replaced the firewall-mounted throttle linkage -rebuilt power steering pump-adjusted/serviced steering box-replaced washer bottle-new hood pad-new hood release-new breather tube-new breather tube elbow-new air cleaner suspension mounts-flushed/replaced all brake fluid -new german Boge shocks-replaced all fuses-replaced fuse instruction card with English one-replaced main vacuum pump line-rebuilt vacuum pump- MY FAVORITE- I repaired/ replaced the idle adjust cable so that it works from the original knob on the dash- you can manually adjust the speed of the engine while warming up the car from the twist knob to the left of the steering wheel. This IS ALWAYS broken on these cars, so I am rather delighted that is works on my wagon! The car runs and drives as a 5 cylinder NON turbo Diesel should- slow and steady. Even though the stick shift wagon is faster, you will not be winning any races unless you are up against an automatic version of the same wagon- then I recommend racing for pink slips and getting your TWO car garage ready. This car, if treated well, will give you hundreds of thousands of miles and years of enjoyment, not to mention that the combination of the Euro model, green paint and stick shift will set you apart from other Mercedes wagon owners. I have registered my wagon with the terrific CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL VEHICLE license plates. This has its restrictions, but this allows the car to qualify for FULL insurance coverage at only $200 per year. The car is currently registered until June of 2012 and has a clear California title in my name. I do have the original owners manual as well as a copy of the original German brochure which the 1st owner got with the car. This shows this VERY SAME GREEN EUROPEAN MANUAL WAGON in its pages! The car comes with its original 1980 Mercedes stamped key ( plus a couple spares ) which fits all the locks and the ignition- something rarely found on these cars now-a-days. There is also an article devoted to these 123 Chassis Mercedes in the German "Youngtimer" car enthusiast magazine which also showcases this very wagon! You are welcome, and encouraged to come inspect and/ or drive the wagon before the end of the auction. It is garaged in San Fernando, California- a suburb 30 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles. If you want to send me your email address, I can send you plenty of detailed photos before, during and after all the work on the car. Sadly, I could only choose 24 photos for the eBay ad. Ask me all the questions before the end of the auction. Don't win the auction then complain about anything. 6 hours of writing this damn description should cover it, if not just ask. You could fly into LA and drive it home, I would fully trust the car, I just loath the idea of detailing it after the trip. A $750 deposit is required within 48 hours of the end of the auction. The balance is due in full within 5 days of the end of the auction. Pick up of the wagon is required within 7 days of the close of the auction- understand this before bidding. If you are a European winner or other overseas winning bidder, I will help you with the delivery to the shipping agent of your choice and yes I have a valid California title so that you may export it legally. You may leave it at the shipping company for the next 20 years but it must leave within 7 days of the close of the auction. No zero feedback bidders. No whining.