Sounds well worth keeping together Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 1, 2012, at 2:27 PM, Alex Chamberlain <apchamberl...@gmail.com> wrote: > Loren and Max asked in another thread what was wrong with my '87 300D > that would make me consider parting it out. I'm seriously thinking > about putting it up for sale whole, but don't want to deal with > Craigslist. (Maybe fleaBay wouldn't be so bad if all I had to do was > deal with helping the buyer arrange shipping or pickup.) Regardless, > I of course want to give the list first chance at it with a honest > rundown. > > I've had the car eight years or so and have all records since then > plus some before. It's been extremely reliable and fun to drive all > that time, but has grown steadily more fussy and demanding of my time. > I don't have an indy nearby that I trust anymore. So I'm thinking > about selling for a reason that'll be familiar to many listers---my > priorities in life right now don't leave room for tinkering with a car > every weekend in order to be sure I can get to work during the week. > I need to buy some kind of boring but reliable transportation, and the > only hobby vehicle I have time for is my old Honda motorcycle. > > The car is white with a two-tone gray and dark blue interior (see > below), 221K mi of which I've put on about 50K, West Coast car always > so no rust to speak of---it was originally sold in LA, I bought it in > Sacramento, and I've lived in the Portland area since (where it rains > a lot but we don't put salt on the roads). > > Pros: > Engine is very strong, has 40-50K on a #22 head, pro installed by MBI > Motors, one of the most highly regarded independent Mercedes shops in > the west. The radiator and main hoses were replaced at the same time. > Absolutely no head leaks or any lesser cooling system problems to > worry about, now or in the future. > All wear parts in the suspension were replaced when I got it by the > same shop, and new 500E sway bars and new Bilstein comfort shocks were > installed at the same time---the perfect combination of ride and > handling as far as I'm concerned. The car drives as well as any 124 > and is a great high-speed long-distance cruiser---it loves to sit at > 3500 rpms at about 80 MPH (and gets close to 30 mpg doing so). > Last summer I replaced most of the soft fuel lines under the hood. > Has a decent upgraded stereo with 1/8" aux input and newer speakers all > around. > Windshield is a few years old. > A/C blows very cold right now. I just flushed the compressor, > replaced the manifold and receiver/dryer, and charged with ES-12. > No electrical problems at all except for intermittent driver's seat > switches due to cracked wires in the door jamb (the conclusive symptom > being that if you open the door half way and hold it just right the > seat controls work fine, but not when the door's closed). > > Cons: > Doesn't have the original paint and the cheap white paint job that the > PO put on it isn't a perfect match for the original Arctic White. A > couple little dents here and there. If I were going to keep it I > would take off the trim, Bondo over the dents, and get a new paint job > done right. Right now it's a 20-footer more or less, depending how > good your eyes are. There is one significant dent just behind the > front right wheel, next to the rubber jack pad, where I ran over a > curb slowly and then came down on the corner (so the car's weight > pressed a dent into the sill). Not rusting, just looks bad. > Transmission is getting old---I don't know if it's the original one > but it could be. Takes a few seconds to go into R from N. Shifts a > tiny bit roughly but that's probably due to vacuum (see below) > Vacuum system is good except that the "small lift" recirc pod is > shot--it's blocked off at the manifold behind the glove compartment, > which doesn't do any harm. The center vent pod is just starting to > leak a little. You have a choice between perfect shifting if you > block it off, and slightly rougher than perfect shifting if you leave > it attached, but plenty of cold air from the center vents. > I don't know how long the A/C will last before the evaporator will > need to be replaced. It's been an annual battle to replace leaky > parts and recharge as long as I've had the car to get it working for > the summer. If I were keeping the car I would do the whole dash R&R, > replace the evaporator, heater core, and all the climate control pods. > Has a block heater installed and needs it because half the glow > plugs---the ones you can't get to without taking off the intake > manifold---are dead. Again, another job I'd do if I keep the car. > Plastic trim bits throughout the interior are cracked, cracking, or > cracked off and gone missing (typical problem with cars from Southern > California). > The usual long list of little things that have been jury-rigged > because I didn't have time to fix them right > > For the right price I would include a bundle of spare parts (spare ACC > PBU, filters, fuel line, bulbs, a set of Depo Euro headlights, and > lots of other goodies that I can't think of right now). The car's got > chromed factory 15" pancake wheels on it right now with Dunlop > all-seasons ready to be replaced... I also have a set of beat-up but > straight 15" wheels with Blizzaks, a set of 16" CLK forged alloys with > no tires in PERFECT condition, and a set of 16" 500E wheels in average > shape (which won't fit any 124 but 1 > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
