1984 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

300D Sedan

Automatic

wdbab33a0ea105545

RWD

Diesel

This is a very straight 1984 300D that really should be restored. I meant to, the previous owner apparently meant to, and maybe you will finally do it. It has almost no rust of any kind beyond the most surfacey of surface rust. Take the jack points as an example; I pictured the worst one! The car's history, as best I can tell, is as follows. This is a combination of information from the previous seller, the title it came with, and a bit of conjecture on my part. [EDIT: Once I got this up and could see the AutoCheck report, my conjectures were proven correct.) This car was sold to me in 2007, when I lived in Virginia, with a North Carolina title. It was stated by the seller to be a salvage title, but I am not certain that the salvage status has passed to the Michigan title it now has. The car blew the motor with 173,000 miles on it and the owner junked it. Someone then bought it intact, rebuilt the motor, and started to restore it. When I bought the car, someone had already gone over it with a scuffing wheel, but it was never painter, hence the terrible paint job. It had about 243,000 miles on it when I bought it partly disassembled out of a mechanic's lot. Someone had been removing mechanical parts from it. I completed the car from my parts cars and repaired the electrical damage that rodents had done (apparently it sat there for quite some time) and I drove it off and on for the next 3 years. When I bought the car, it had a bad knock in the engine, which it still has, and in fact which has gotten a bit worse. My initial thought was just to drive it until it blew up, but as I drove it, 2 things happened. First, I realized that with the exception of that knock, the engine is in perfect working order. Apparently whoever rebuilt the engine did a good job, with one major slip-up. It would probably be relatively easy to repair that engine and have it live a full and long life, rather than let it die violently and become scrap metal. Secondly, I gained a deep respect for the noble animal that this car is, and felt increasingly vile for plotting its demise that way. After I accidentally over-reved it by downshifting and made the knock worse, I simply couldn't bring myself to drive it regularly any more. It is too good to let it blow. The car does, of course, have other defects. It needs the right rear spring replaced (it's too soft) and the CV joint on that side is also angry. Someone damaged the right-front quarter panel (pictured) but it could be fixed easily by someone who knows how. The monovalve in the climate control system is sticking, so the heat is sometimes not hot. I don't know if the air conditioning works or not, as I cut the belt to change another belt when I first bought the car and never bothered to put the belt back. The cassette player seems to be jammed, but the radio works quite well, although the front/rear pot is scratchy, the antenna is odd, and the front speakers are blown. Some of the trim pieces have come off, and need to be reattached, and the drivers' side under-dash cover is missing. I may actually have one that will fit that vehicle from another one. The transmission dipstick attaches with a banjo bolt which I knocked loose, creating a small transmission fluid leak. I believe the water pump leaks a little, but it's a cheap part and an easy fix on these cars; I've replaced them before, but never got around to it on this one. The passenger-side front window has fallen off its track, and is very difficult to get back up if you put it down. The sunroof motor doesn't work, and now the seal has deteriorated and it has sagged in a little and leaks. As a result, the interior is very wet, and where some papers held the moisture down, the floor has some mold. The floor pans have not been compromised (I pulled the carpet up and looked.) The trunk has some oily stuff in it, but nothing that couldn't be cleaned. The trunk lid shuts tightly, and is at least mostly watertight. The hood needs a bit of adjustment to line up correctly. The driver's door needs some adjustment, and must be slammed hard to make it latch; it has been that way for some time without getting worse. The inside hood release lever has broken off its mount, but the hood can still be opened easily. The front hood lever has been replaced with a bit of wire; not beautiful, but it works. The front tires are OK for one more summer, but the back ones do need replacement. All of them still hold air, although some have gone flat from sitting (it has aluminum wheels.) The battery no longer holds any charge at all. The hubcaps are not the correct color, but I like the white hubcaps on it. The blue-and-white motif caused me to give it the name "Sailor." However, one is unpainted because I lost one and substituted a plain one off a parts vehicle. Some will consider this cool, and some will consider it a defect, but I removed the stock rear muffler and replaced it with straight pipe and a turndown. The car sounds sporty; it has a stock resonator underneath which gives it a sound which is aggressive, but not unreasonably loud. This car was an absolute blast to drive when it was in better mechanical condition. It was fast (for a diesel,) handled like a dream, and was a fun combination of cool, classy, and sporty. The turbo is lovely, and I actually was able to turn up the horsepower quite a bit by adjusting a few things. I do not believe that harmed it in any way, either, as the 4 cylinders that don't knock are clearly still working great. It will run on almost anything that is even remotely flammable, including vegetable oil, motor oil, fuel oil, kerosene.....it will literally burn whatever you happen to have on hand as long as it's not too thick or too volatile. If you are planning to run straight oil, you need a heater to lower the viscosity so it can inject properly, otherwise you can gunk up the works. If you don't want to add a heater of some sort, plan to blend with #1 diesel or kerosene. The extra pieces pictured are included with the car. They include some headlights, an oil filter, some small light bulbs, and some odds and ends that could be useful. The book got wet, but as of now is still readable. I found it helpful at times, though this car is simple enough that a skilled mechanic will make short work of it, especially one familiar with these vehicles. Some of the pieces, like the long trim strips and the hubcaps, are not extra, but actually parts of this car that fell off. I absolutely adore this car, and it kills me to sell it, but I now have kids, and no time, money, space, or energy for such projects. I truly hope that someone with the means to finish it buys this car and loves it as much as I do. This car is easy to work on as it has clearly never seen salt, and everything comes apart beautifully. It is a joy to work on, I just can't do it any more. If you want it delivered, I could deliver it for 75 cents a mile plus $30 for a temporary tag. Delivery fees would have to be paid up front in addition to the deposit, and I can only deliver it by driving gently, so if the engine blows on the way, it's your baby.....but I don't think it will. If I expected it to blow, I wouldn't offer to deliver it that way. Someone please buy this car before I change my mind about selling it. I am really going to miss it, but I really need it gone. Please show your love for this noble steed with your bid. Powered by eBay Turbo Lister The free listing tool. 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