1981 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

Wagon

5.7L V8 Gas Carbureted

Automatic

WDBAB93A8BN005071

Clear

Gasoline

This auction is for my beloved Mercedes-Benz 300TD 5.7. You read the title right, this car is powered by a 350ci Chevrolet ZZ3-spec high-performance crate engine. For brevity's sake, I'm keeping all of the details on the car and conversion to a minimum, but I'm happy to speak with you on the phone to answer any questions you might have on either the car, the engine, or the conversion. Alas, this car is a bit of a gonzo so I need a lot of text here... With that said, if you are offended by this conversion, I'm not interested in either your opinion or your comments--this car was converted 20 years ago when the cars were more common and less of an emerging classic. Note also that this vehicle has not been permanently (structurally or electrically) modified; it can be returned to its stock (diesel) configuration with some donor car parts and an engine. For those of you who are like me (a huge W123 fan) and have had many of these cars, and loved the car and venerable 3.0L turbo diesel engine (but wished secretly to dust other cars on a freeway onramp) then this is your car. This car is originally a Dallas, TX car from 1981 through 1989, after which point it was moved to Arizona and converted with the odo around 75k mi. The car has been in my family since the conversion. It was driven daily from 1993 to 1999, and then was in storage until fall of 2013 (36k mi on conversion). I did some significant work to the car to get it back into shape for daily service, and have been driving it daily for about a year, but with a career change my commute has gone from 16mi/day to 55...this car just eats too much gas for that drive. The Conversion: I was in high school at the time this car was converted by my aunt and uncle. Four wagons were converted when this one was done. The ZZ3 crate engine (look it up online) is a performance-spec 350 bowtie crate engine specifically for street rod and mild motorsports applications. It is rated around 325hp and 350lb/ft of torque with a Quadrajet as equipped--which is over three times the output of the stock engine. It has aluminum D-port heads with a high-lift cam and roller rockers, among other features. It's mated to a performance-spec heavy-duty 700R4 4-speed hydramatic transmission. It shifts smooth and firm. At anything over half throttle it will bark the tires shifting from first to second. The engine sits on custom mount bases that rest on the original diesel's mounting pads. The transmission has a custom mount and crossmember that uses the Mercedes mounting anchors. The engine's fittings have either adaptors or have been re-tapped to use the metric Mercedes fittings (oil pressure sender, temp, etc). The exhaust is 2.5" all the way to the back, and is mostly new (except for the front collector pipes). The wagon's hydraulic suspension leveling pump is belt-driven off the front pulley and works perfectly. The driveshaft is a heavy-duty one-piece unit with universal joints (the MB rubber couplers can't handle the torque). To answer the big question here: YES, the vehicle is titled and currently registered in CA and is smog exempt. The exhaust is 2.5" all the way to the back, and with two mufflers it's completely tame enough to valet park. No catalyst. The Car: This car was low mileage when converted and still low mileage now. The powertrain is a little dirty and greasy from the daily grind but it performs excellently. The Quadrajet is only 6 months old and it starts on the first time, every time, even in cold weather. The body is completely rust free, except for some surface rust on the flange of the rear tailgate (shown in photos), but it's not rusted through. The underbody of the car is clean. The car is laser-straight, and has never been in any accidents or fender benders. The entire body was completely repainted at the time of the conversion, and it was quality job (door jambs, interior of doors, engine bay, etc). It was an expensive conversion; little expense was spared. The paint is starting to show it's age; there are some cracks in the finish on the cowl panel between the windshield wipers (shown in pics). Also a couple scuffs and nicks here and there, but it shows very well. There are too many new parts to mention, so contact me for details. But most of the rubber and hoses, belts, etc. are new after the car came out of hibernation--including fuel filler, return and evap hoses. Steel fuel lines and hoses are also all brand new from stem to stern. Suspension is in excellent condition. The V8 powertrain is heavier--if you want to lift the car up I have brand new springs I'll include--but lots of folks like how the front end is crouched. It doesn't affect freeway handling but the car should sit higher to take advantage of the great MB suspension. Steering gear has a little play but OK, even on freeway. The alloy bundt wheels were stripped and re-powdercoated last year when I put on brand new 14" Michelins. The Interior: It's all original, and in excellent condition overall. The drivers' seat MB-Tex is getting tired, and the horsehair/foam is very worn out and should be replaced, but the other seating in the car is fine. There are no cracks in the blue dash (if you know these cars, you know that is extremely rare). I keep the dash covered at all times. The Zebrano wood is in very good condition throughout, with a couple cracks. Carpeting is all exceptional throughout, including the cargo area. The first aid kit is original and absolutely complete. The tool kit is missing one or two items but otherwise in good shape. Headliner is excellent, though the sunroof shade is slightly out of position. There are a couple cracks in the A-pillar trim and the sun visors are a little soft. This car does not have the third-row seating, but the cargo hold under the floor panels is nearly new. The Equipment: Note that I've got four videos of the car on YouTube at this link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3r0Elkh6-9mVSdgR__sT2w: The engine runs strong without any noise or oil consumption. There are no leaks from the engine or transmission (the power steering pump leaks a few drops overnight). It shifts well through all gears. The differential has been recently serviced, along with the engine, transmission and cooling system. The engine uses a SPAL electric primary puller fan that comes on thermostatically at 180degF. The OEM Bosch pusher fan comes on only when the A/C head pressure hits the correct value, and works fine. The A/C blows ice cold, and uses the old R12. It hasn't needed any charge or service for over 12 years, and is consistently one of the most reliable parts of this car. Heat works fine when the engine finally warms up. Front two power windows work fine, but the two rear windows (as usual) are problematic. Right rear window doesn't work at all, and the left rear is on its way out. I will provide a couple spare rear window regulators (L/R) for the new owner to work something out. I also have a ton of other parts that the owner can either take or not take; contact me for details. Manual sunroof works just fine, though the seal needs to be replaced (wind noise). The power door locks actually work (no kidding) but they are very slow to lock. Very quick to unlock, even with the engine off. The door strikers on all four doors are brand new (no slamming the doors). The AM/FM/CD/MP3/USB radio is brand new and XM sat radio works perfectly, and is installed correctly (external antenna). The speakers are very old and should be replaced, but work. In Summary: This car is a hole shot monster in LA traffic--I can't tell you how many times folks have jumped around me at a traffic light because they don't want to be stuck behind an old diesel Mercedes...then I leave them in the rearview mirror. The novelty of this never gets old. The Quadrajet isn't really taking advantage of all the ZZ3's capability, but I needed this car to be civilized for daily driving (and I didn't want to wad the car up) so I dialed it back for daily use. I've driven this car on road trips to/from Phoenix and on the 400-mile drive it's just fine. It gets 12mpg in the city and 16mpg on the highway if you're nice to it. It's truly a nice driving car. Shipping is at the buyer's expense; I 'm happy to work with transporters. Contact me with any questions and I'll forward a phone number. This car was a regular at the original Irvine, CA Cars & Coffee before politics shut that good gig down. It's time for this sweet ride to go to a new owner. Thanks for looking.