1984 Mercedes-Benz

300D Sedan

3.0L 5 Cylinder Diesel Fuel Turbocharged

Automatic

wdbab33a9ea188408

There are a lot more pictures below. Keep reading! This is a SOLID and RELIABLE "Veggie-Car." It has a professional two-tank WVO or SVO system installed by Full Circle Fuels in Oberlin, Ohio. It is a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D (W123) Turbo Diesel 4-door sedan. I've owned it for about 6 years and have driven it, reliably on Straight Vegetable Oil for most of the time I've owned the car. It has about 40,000 miles on SVO. I've driven my family across the country in this car. I drove my wife to the hospital in this car when my son was born. If you were curious about how well these cars run on Vegetable Oil, this is the car to have. It is tested and proven! How it works: The best SVO cars have a "Two-Tank System." The original tank still supplies normal Diesel fuel, as always. A second tank, which is heated and filtered separately, has the Straight Vegetable Oil. (SVO stands for Straight Vegetable Oil. WVO stands for Waste Vegetable Oil. - This is oil that has been reclaimed from restaurant friers and pre-filtered and de-watered.) Vegetable oil's viscosity rate is too high when it's cool. It's too thick to easily flow through the engine unless it is heated. Proper cars that are meant to burn SVO should have a separate heated tank. Under correct operation, one must start each run on normal Diesel fuel (from the factory tank) and later switch to the SVO tank once the engine has reached operating temperature. Finally, about five minutes before shutdown, the operator should switch back to Diesel so that the engine can flush itself and start again on Diesel. This car has a 15gal steel tank in the trunk that is heated from the engine coolant. Once the engine reaches operating temperature, the hot coolant will circulate back (along the veggie fuel lines) to the veggie tank, heating its contents. This system includes a fuel line which is bundled and insulated with the coolant lines. This way, the oil is properly heated along its complete path to the engine. This car also includes a high-grade Racor centrifugal filter with water separator. Any impurities that were not filtered before pumping the oil in the extra tank are polished off with this high-quality filter. A Little History: Rudolf Diesel originally ran his new stationary Diesel engine on Peanut Oil at the World's Fair in 1900. Diesel engines often ran on gaseous fuels such as coal dust or thick inflammable viscous fluids before modern "Diesel Fuel" was developed. It's Not Technically A Bio-Diesel: The term "Bio-Diesel" usually refers to fuel which is a mixture of Diesel and Vegetable Oil, perhaps also some Kerosene and/or Nitroglycerin. "Brewing" Bio-Diesel is a complicated and somewhat dangerous activity. This car does not require that. This car requires only clean, filtered Straight Vegetable Oil, or Waste Vegetable Oil. Beware of old Diesels that don't have two tanks and are advertised as "vegetable-oil ready." You really shouldn't put plain vegetable oil in a stock Diesel tank and expect a long life from your car. On the other hand, THIS CAR is meant to accept regular filtered vegetable oil in its spare HEATED tank without any mixing or Bio-Diesel additives. We even took apart the cylinder head after about 20,000 of WVO operation to inspect the effects. There were NO visible effects or unusual wear. With proper operation, this car has enjoyed an extended life as a daily driver with alternative WVO fuel. It Has Flexible Alternatives For Fueling: Because of the parallel two-tank system, you can easily and reliably run the car on normal Diesel fuel from its stock tank. If you don't have any access to Vegetable Oil for any period of time, all you have to do is flick a switch and you are running "stock" with normal delivery of Diesel fuel from the factory tank. Because of the high-compression and durability of this engine, it will burn many types of fuel including lamp oil and kerosene. Although not necessarily recommended for environmental reasons, I even know of people who burn used motor oil as fuel! Used, or Waste Vegetable Oil is usually free from restaurants who often have to pay to dispose of it anyway. It is not a toxic material. It is not flammable under normal circumstances, and it is not volatile. According to every test that I'm aware of, burning Vegetable Oil does not produce any significant Greenhouse Gasses. Any drive that is longer than about 10 minutes can be run on this essentially free and environmentally friendly alternative fuel. It Runs Great! When I switch from running on Diesel to Vegetable Oil, neither I, nor anyone I've ever ridden with can perceive of any change in the engine, handling or performance of the car. There might (perhaps) be a positive effect of the engine running slightly QUIETER and MORE SMOOTHLY on Vegetable Oil. I can't be absolutely sure of this and have never qualified it by any real testing. This car is particularly quick compared to other 1984 300D cars and remains so whether it is running on Diesel or Vegetable Oil. This car gets about 21mpg on Diesel, but I usually figure the effective mpg rate based on fuel that I actually pay for. Since every trip must start and end on Diesel fuel which I pay for, this mpg rate changes based on the longer or shorter trips made. With my daily 30 minute commute, I average around 80-100mpg of fuel that I pay for. If you make longer trips, your results will be better. Since all of my Vegetable Oil is free it's not quite fair to count that fuel as part of the equation. Because of the two large tanks in the car, plus the plentiful trunk space, you can make long trips without stopping at the pump. I once drove from Baltimore, Maryland to Omaha, Nebraska without stopping at the pump. This is a large and luxurious car that beats the pants off of any Prius. You have an effective fuel cost that is twice as good as any hybrid on the market, and the car is large enough to comfortably seat four people. It cruises nicely at 80-85 mph, and there's plenty of room in the trunk. Even though it's an old car, it has many modern amenities like power windows, power sunroof, and power locks. The W123 Mercedes Is A Classic: I chose this car to convert for Vegetable Oil usage because of its proven reliability and durability. These cars have been known to drive reliably for 300,000 miles or more. They are the last Mercedes model to have Cast Iron cylinder heads (rather than aluminum) and these cars are praised by every mechanic you've ever met. The 5-cylinder 300D is also a very powerful Diesel which also produces a lot of heat - perfect for heating that extra tank in all-weather conditions. While other Diesel cars are capable of using the same two-tank Straight Vegetable Oil system, this model car is particularly well suited to it. About the Car: Steering is tight, throttle and pickup is quick (compared to other 300D cars), turbo is responsive, suspension is excellent! I've put a lot of work into this car, correcting neglect from a previous owner. It has new carpet. I've had the front seats re-stuffed (while retaining the original leather covering). It has a new radio. I've replaced a lot of parts with OEM Mercedes or suitable used parts. To my memory, here are some of the parts that I've replaced in my time with the car: Front Suspension Parts (Tie Rods, Controlling Arms) Rear Suspension Parts (Springs, etc.) Steering Box Exhaust Water Pump Brakes Headlights Tires I have service records during my ownership, but none from previous owners. What Else? Let me know if you have any questions. I can provide links to information including the best way to pre-filter your oil, as well as the best forum of the community of SVO and WVO users. I'm offering the car at NO RESERVE. The kits alone, with this conversion from Golden Fuel Systems, cost over $2000. Professional installation usually costs another $2000, and cars of this quality WITHOUT the added system usually sell for well over $3000. Bidding on this car is an excellent opportunity to have a car that already has all of it's "bugs" worked out. Pictures: Below you can see some great details of the car. If you need larger ones, I can send them to you, along with a movie of the car running. She looks great doesn't she? Notice the original factory decals are still readable on the engine. Notice that the Vegetable Oil lines in the engine compartment have been carefully wrapped in copper for added insulation. There is a high-quality brass "T" in the coolant line which feeds hot coolant to the tank in the back. The Vegetable Oil line is tightly bundled and insulated along with the coolant line to add heat the entire distance from the back to the front of the car. The interior woodwork is clean and looks great. The Vegetable Oil tank is well positioned directly above the rear wheels, supplying added traction in the snow. This car actually does really well in the snow. It has a high ground clearance and a lot of weight. The color really glows and has a nice shine. Many fancy dealerships used to have custom, hand-painted pin stripings done on luxury cars. This was an added option. This car still has that elegant pin striping, complete with the artist's "barefoot" mark next to the "Turbo Diesel" badge. In this car you'll look great and feel great for driving it! The Racor filter on the Vegetable Oil tank has an optional electric heater blanket - for a quicker switch-over on cold days. (Not pictured: this car also has a block heater for more responsive starting on super-cold mornings.) What Could Be Better? Of course, if you are buying a car that's almost 30 years old and has been used as often as this car has, you have to expect some things which are less than perfect. You can see, in the pictures above, where I've shown the minor rust at the fenders and the worn places on the driver's seat. Other minor annoyances include a Vegetable Oil gauge (the extra one) which doesn't always work as it should. The factory first-aid kit is missing. Sometimes, when the car is cold, the window switches don't work right away - but they do after the car warms up. The belts whistle a bit and could use changing. One of the bulbs is out on the instrument panel, and occasionally the oil pressure, fuel level, and temperature gauges don't work properly (but they are usually fine). Also, the vents in the center don't give off as much air as the ones on the sides, and the emergency brake pedal is a little loose. All of these things are fixable given the proper care. There is no warranty of any kind involved in this sale. By bidding, the potential buyer signifies that he or she understands that they may not return the car for any reason. He or she understands that the modifications worked excellently for many years and many miles, but circumstances might be different with different users or different operation. While thoroughly and successfully tested by this owner, results may vary. I've done my best to include all of the information about the car that I know about. The bidder understands that more details may not be known at this time. Posted with the eBay Android appOn Mar-01-12 at 23:49:45 PST, seller added the following information: klinklady Store