1983 Mercedes-Benz 300 Series

3.0L 5 Cylinder Diesel Fuel

Automatic

WDBAB93A7DN017523

Up for sale is my W123 mercedes 300 turbo diesel. I have owned this car for 2 trouble free years. Back in December took it on a 1200 mile road trip to Florida and it did awesome. Even got 28mpg down in the flat land. Would not hesitate to drive this car anywhere. When I purchased the vehicle it had 138K miles. When it came to me it was in a sad state of affairs. Pulled from a field after sitting for two and a half years, with water leaks. Needless to say it had its own ecosystem. I started there. This car has been an ongoing restoration of sorts. I have reached the end of my journey with him and it's time to pass on the torch. There is not much of this car that I have not replaced, tinkered with, adjusted, tested, and cleaned. My plan with this car was to make it mechanically sounds as possible. At some point in it's life it had a paint job that has not aged as well as they planned. Spent 6 hours with the polisher and got it looking better than ever but up close you can see that it's a repaint. Also the right side has little shine to it like the left. Trunk, roof, hatch, and left side polished up nice. Vehicle does have a few tiny spots of surface rust under the paint. Nothing major and I have included a pic of the worst spot. I spent 16 hours with simple green, carpet shampoo, and a wet vac and got all the interior cleaned. The carpets are still lightly stained but the mold is gone. All the vinyl cleaned up really nice. No stains. Replaced the hatch seal and the windshield seal that were letting the water in. Car is water tight now. Cosmetically that is about as far as I went. The rest of my time has been focused on the mechanical side. This was a one family owned wagon bought brand new in Florida in 83'. Vehicle comes with all booklets, placards, and complete intact Mercedes first-aid kit. The maintenance booklet is filled out until 117K miles. Records indicate it spent most of it's time between Florida and Atlanta. I purchased from the man's son. Below are all the parts that I have replaced.167K original milesAll parts were new oem replacement, bought and installed by myself in the last 30k milesBrand new Michelin Harmony tires (125 miles on tires)Interstate batteryGrommets for brake reservoir Right rear brake caliperAll rubber brake lines Front pads (at 95%)Front rotorsRear pads (at 85%)Rear rotorsBrake fluid (due again 1/2013)Both rear drive axlesAdjustment rod for rear hydraulic suspensionRear shock accumulators Center support bearing for driveshaftRear transmission mountTransmission filter, pan gasket, and fluid (500 miles ago)Transmission shift modulatorAll 4 rubber muffler hangersOil cooler line (cooler to filter housing)Front upper control arms and bushings both sidesFront lower ball joints both sidesFront shocks both sidesFront steering tie rods both sidesCenter steering drag linkSteering idler arm and bushing kitRadiatorUpper radiator hoseLower radiator hoseLower radiator hose heater (No block heater being a Florida car so this plugs in the same just warms the coolant instead of the engine block itself)Water pumpThermostatExpansion tank capConverted A/C to R134 with dyeValve cover gasketOil filter housing stand gasketReplaced seals in power steering pumpRubber mounts for air cleaner housingEngine drive beltsDiesel Cigar hose to engineDiesel return linesMaster lock control valveJVC head unitWindshield sealHatch sealFront door latch blocks both sidesDriver's side window switchesBosch Icon wiper blades (have not used yet)I may have forgotten a few little things but that is the majority of the list. All service items including filters, and fluids have been changed regularly and are not due at this time. I use Mercedes coolant and Kendall Super-D XA diesel engine oil. I love this oil! The more I drive it the better that engine feels. First two oil services were at 3k mile intervals then 5k after that. Valve adjustment was done 500 miles ago. Filter in the diesel tank has also been removed and cleaned. All power windows work great. All door locks work and lock/unlock with the master key. Front interior light works and delay works as well. Sunroof works and locks in place. All door switches work. Some parts did not need replacement just a good cleaning and an adjustment. I have really tried to make this one reliable ride. There are some things if I was to keep it long term I would address.*The vacuum to the climate control is disconnected because one or more vacuum pods are leaking. Definitely center vents which require dash removal. A/C blows ice cold on MAX setting on the highway and the heat works great. The climate control is one system I did not dive into. I did convert and fill the sytem with R-134. *Driveshaft u-joint is worn and needs replacing. Can feel only on hard acceleration, mostly uphill*Antenna is inoperative so there are no radio stations that can be picked-up*Head unit has a plug for AUX IN and I have the cord run but never been able to get it to work. Assuming a setting since it has not worked since day one*Gas gauge seems to hang up when it gets below a quarter of a tank. Works fine till then but I don't trust it afterwards. Always filled up when it got to that point. The fuel sender was very expensive so I just watched the gauge instead of replacing the sending unit for the fuel level *Transmission does have a firm 1 to 2 shift. The other shifts feel good with a slight slide from 3 to 4. I have spent a great deal of time adjusting the transmission. These older 722.3 transmissions have so many adjustments it would make your head spin. It currently is at it's best that I can do. An actual transmission shop that knows Mercedes may be able to improve on this. Once through the gears it rides beautifully with no slip on any grade. I have learned how to drive this transmission and can do it without thinking. Does not require concentration just a feel that comes with driving this car. I have tried to represent this car as honestly as possible. I have spent more time than I want to know working on this car to make it the best wagon it can be. Do keep in mind that it is 29 years old in July so the unexpected can happen. It is being sold as is where is, no refundsI have been working on import automobiles for 11 years now. The last six and a half has been spent strictly on Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and Mini. I work at a well known shop in Asheville, NC and the car is there available for viewing. I think my price is fair if you think about the amount in parts and labor one would spend to get it this mechanically sound. I have seen more than a few of these fetch 12K or more on ebay in near perfect exterior shape. Most of those ads do not go into mechanical details being that they are usually dealers with no service history whatsoever. Thanks for looking and please feel free to call or e-mail with any questions at all. -Elliot804.347.0861On May-16-12 at 17:35:16 PDT, seller added the following information: Send me an e-mail address if you would like more pictures. I am not allowed to put a link in my auction. I have a facebook album with lots more pictures.