1968 Mercedes-Benz 200-Series

200D Sedan

4 - Cyl.

Manual

11011010362218

Clear

Biodiesel

I'm selling my 1968 Mercedes-Benz 200D. It has been my daily driver for almost a year. I recently bought another Mercedes sedan and don't have the time or money to restore two cars, so this one is up for sale. I have driven this car all over, even across 4 states on a 2,000 mile trip back in June. Here are details from that trip: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=276086&page=4 . I'm a Mercedes-Benz club member and an active participant on PeachParts and Benzworld, so I know how to repair things properly. I drove this car to work every day. Do a search on the W110 and W111 chassis cars and see how amazing they are and how safe and advanced they are for their time. This one has seat belts on 4 seats, power disc brakes, 4 wheel independent suspension, collapsible steering wheel, front and rear crumple zones, rigid safety cell, and knobs and switches designed to give way on impact. ( http://www.heckflosse.nl/History.htm ) The car has factory Kuhlmeister air conditioning, which needs to be recharged and due to the age might also need new O-rings, etc. It has a 4 speed manual transmission and 4 cylinder diesel engine and can keep up with traffic. It can drive 70-75 MPH when needed and tops out at 80. It gets about 40 miles per gallon on the freeway, a little less around town. I drove to Twin Falls, Idaho from Tacoma, Washington on less than a tank of biodiesel! I've had the fuel pump diaphragm replaced and calibrated, timing set at 26 BTDC, had the injectors rebuilt with German Monark tips, adjusted the valves, cleaned and changed the oil bath air cleaner oil to the red line, but it still smokes right after startup. Once the engine is warmed up the smoking is minimal. The engine is probably high miles (actual mileage unknown), but it has good acceleration for only having 55 horsepower. It leaks oil in the driveway and could use new crank and oil pan seals. It might need valve or ring work. I don't feel like taking the engine apart to find out. The radiator seeps coolant around the seams but it's very minimal. It was supposed to be a non-leaking replacement also from a 1968 200D. I have the original radiator which could be resoldered. All of the window and door rubber needs to be replaced. The rocker panels and floors have rust holes but the unibody is still solid. The firewall has some rust as well. The paint is mostly in good condition except for where the diesel exhaust reacted with the paint and it's flaking off on the trunk and rear face of the car (and of course in the rocker panel area where there is metal missing). I would recommend replacing/patching the panels then paint matching and respraying only the bad paint areas. Now, the good thing about this car is that I have replaced many, many parts, mostly with genuine Mercedes parts or OEM equivalents. A short list of things I have replaced are radiator hoses, water pump, bypass tube, thermostat, Continental belts, valve cover gasket, exhaust hangers and tip, converted to Bosch H4 headlights, new Bosch alternator, the entire brake system is new or rebuilt (including ATE hoses and calipers) except for the hard lines and brake booster, NOS fuse box, Mahle fuel and oil filters, all hose replaced with biodiesel-resistant hose, fuel tank cleaned, Monark primer pump, rebuilt injectors with Monark tips, new fuel pump diaphragm and calibration, shift boot and bushing kit (except for the two on the transmission end), new ATE clutch cylinders and hose, and clutch was replaced by previous owner (I have receipt and old parts in good condition). I have receipts for almost all parts I installed. The door panels, dashboard, seats, and headliner are in good condition and are not sun damaged since the car has green tinted glass. The dash pad is nearly perfect other than a spot where someone pushed against it when pulling the starter knob. I think everything is operational except for the blower motor which quit suddenly after hearing a "crunch". The tires have lots of tread left but are starting to weather check on the sidewalls (2003 manufacturer date). The wheels and tires currently on the car are from another similar car, and I used them because they already had good tires on them. I have the 5 original wheels in beige with old tires on them that I will include if wanted. I have replaced all fluids in the vehicle (except for the steering gearbox), including proper orange coolant, Amsoil synthetic 15W40 engine oil with high zinc and phosphorous levels, Redline D4 ATF in the transmission, and Redline gear oil in the differential. I also packed the front bearings with Mobil1 synthetic grease and lubricated all chassis points according to the factory chart. I replaced the tie rods with good used parts and replaced the damper. The center link has not been replaced and has a little slop but the steering is tolerably tight. I very carefully and precisely cut the dashboard opening out to install a modern Blaupunkt Bahamas CD/MP3 player. So you can play CDs or even hook up your iPod if you buy the iPod adapter from Blaupunkt. The speakers are under the seats because I couldn't find a better place to put them. They are not the best speakers, but work. I have the owner's manual and the factory service manual. It shows you how to repair the car as the factory intended. I am going to keep the SCOTTY license plates unless for some reason you really want them. I'll let you keep the Euro license plate frames and brackets. This isn't some car that's been sitting for ages with a bad interior or horrible paint. And it has lots of new, quality parts. But, the engine leaks oil, probably has high miles, the body needs rust repair and new window and door seals. And a radiator recore. The good thing is it should be able to be driven anywhere in the USA if you keep a watch on the oil and coolant level. It used 1 quart of oil in 2,000 miles and almost no coolant during my trip a few months ago. I'll even let you test drive it if you're in the area. Let me know if you have questions. If you have zero feedback please contact me first before bidding or I will cancel your bid. This is so that I know you are a real person and not a scammer who is going to unfairly drive up the price for everyone else. Please don't be offended for "my not trusting you". I have had this happen in the past, so it's nothing personal! Also you must have a PayPal account to bid unless you contact me first. I've been having lots of trouble with people clicking on the buy-it-now and not paying for the car, all of them having 0 feedback. I'm trying to weed out the scammers. If you're used to driving vintage cars, you shouldn't have a problem driving it home. Of course, if you want the 5 extra wheels and tires, remember they'll add some weight to the car. On Nov-07-10 at 15:01:04 PST, seller added the following information: UPDATE: I removed the cover plate to the heater box and found that the bakelite blower fan cracked in two and jammed. I removed the broken piece and the blower motor is operational. However, the fan needs to be replaced before the defroster will work. I removed the cowl cover and cleaned out lots of pine needles and washed the cabin filters. I was hoping that I could replace the fan from under the cowl cover but I'm not sure if I could get a new fan to fit through there. It may be that the only way to replace the fan is to drop the heater box, which would require the coolant to be drained and replaced as well. So, keep in mind that you won't have a defroster fan if you plan on driving the car home. On Nov-07-10 at 17:08:17 PST, seller added the following information: I have a spare uncracked blower fan in good condition and I could possibly remove the heater box and replace the blower fan for extra money, because it would take me an entire day to do the work and I would have to do it out in the cold since I don't have a garage. On Nov-08-10 at 13:52:31 PST, seller added the following information: UPDATE: I am going to replace the blower fan so the defroster is operational. This should be one less worry for you. I figure it is a safety item, especially this time of year. The heater in the car is very efficient (though the valves are stuck so for now the heat is always on). On Nov-10-10 at 18:02:12 PST, seller added the following information: UPDATE: The defroster blower motor will soon be working again! Today I removed the heater box. The blower motor looked rusty and the cores looked like they were leaking so I installed a replacement heater box that was in great condition and had already had new heater hoses installed. I'm working on putting the parts back together and the work should be completed tomorrow. It's a lot of work, but you'll have a functioning heater and defroster. I also ordered new windshield wiper nuts and spring washers from the Mercedes-Benz Classic center since the old ones were really rusty. Another thing I should mention is that the car has a right side rear view mirror which isn't seen in the pictures because I recently added it. Both outside mirrors have new genuine Mercedes glass and retainers. Below are some pictures of the heater box swap, with old and replacement boxes shown. Also shown is the right side mirror that was added. On Nov-10-10 at 18:28:12 PST, seller added the following information: Here are more photographs of the car and the fun times I've had: On Nov-10-10 at 18:39:52 PST, seller added the following information: Here is a picture of the underside of the car. It will need attention to keep the rust from spreading. I will try to take pictures of the brakes to show that they have been serviced and new parts installed (calipers, cylinders, rotors, pads, hoses, proper ATE brake paste, etc.). http://lh6.ggpht.com/_QRWdX16W3c0/S3n3wkVWq3I/AAAAAAAABpY/BpATF7RZ0rQ/s800/200drust7.jpg Here is a video clip of driving the car back from Utah: Believe it or not, you can still hear the radio a bit at 70 miles per hour, even with the not-so-great speakers! So bring along some CDs if you plan to drive the car home. I might take some clips of the car starting, a walk-around, and driving on the freeway if I've got time.On Nov-10-10 at 18:41:19 PST, seller added the following information: That last pic didn't show up: On Nov-11-10 at 17:54:43 PST, seller added the following information: UPDATE: The defroster is fixed! I replaced the heater box which includes the fan, motor, cores, valves, etc. with one that was in much better condition. It was a lot of work (it took me two days). I just got back from driving the car and it's doing great. I'm going to be driving it to work and around for the next few days so I can enjoy it before it's gone. Keep an eye on this auction tomorrow. I plan to have more pictures and possible more videos up then. I don't think I mentioned that I have the original 1968 license plates that came with the car when it was new and I also have the jack, tool kit, and the rubber trunk mats. On Nov-12-10 at 18:26:34 PST, seller added the following information: Here's a video of the car starting in the morning. You can see that it smokes when cold, but it mostly goes away when it warms up. It's got an idle control knob so the idle can be turned down once the engine is warmed. Here's a video me in the car merging onto the freeway on my way to work. Most of the time it gets up to freeway speeds in time to merge without problems. At the end someone from the next lane over came into my lane so I had to put down the camera and drive. Here's the interior of the car. It's in good condition for the age and being original. All of the dash gauges work but the dash lights don't. The two speed wipers work, and as you can see, the defroster works once again. Here's a view of the exterior of the car. It's in presentable condition though it does have the rusted out rocker panels and floors. I try to keep it clean but it can be challenging since I drive the car in all weather conditions. On Nov-12-10 at 18:37:08 PST, seller added the following information: Here are pictures of the braking system. All of the hoses are new and the calipers, cylinders, and rotors were replaced recently. The rear drums and shoes are in good condition and I used ATE brake paste on the pivot points. The parking brake works. The wheel bearings were repacked with fresh synthetic grease. The tires have very little tread wear. On Nov-12-10 at 18:43:21 PST, seller added the following information: Here is the tool kit: Here is the battery hold-down: The radiator is seeping in two spots: The original license plates that came on the car when it was sold new: