Mercedes 1983 300D that hasn't been driven for yrs

[Wolf359]

You could also post those pics and list it for sale on a few MB sites like benzworld.org and mbworld.org.

 

[maverickfhs]

Beautiful car and Benz of that era was built like a tank! I still regret selling my 'newer' CLK!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: eight88

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

The car you've shown is a 123 with US bumpers. Don't think there was any '85 US model 123.

The car was purchased at a new Mercedes car dealership. We have the original papers. Don't have any knowledge about what you question regarding it being a model 123 with US bumpers. Nothing was ever added to or changed with regard to the bumpers and it was never in an accident or had bumper damage.

There were indeeed '85 w123 cars. There are nuances with them, surrounding how they do climate control and tach pickup in particular. You're right, it's an 85. There's no reason it can't be.

 

[NormanBuntz]

If you don't want to fuss with it, it may be a good candidate for an auction on www.bringatrailer.com. Take a look at the site to see if that option may interest you.

 

[eljefino]

If you want to sell it as is there will be a parade of yokels that want to futz with it to get it running. That might as well be you. The fuel tank has a drain if it comes to it. You might have algae or other contaminants. The fuel lines under the hood are easy enough to remove (send and return) and dip in a gallon jug of fresh fuel. Hey... you might have sulfur... and it would smell like old times until it burns off! There's a little clear fuel filter in front of the "big" filter that looks like an oil filter. Both are real easy to remove. I bought one of these that had sat for 2 years and the front brake calipers and master cylinder got stuck on from sitting. I'd see if you can get it to run and maybe drive around the block then sell it as needing a tow. Look up the "ALDA vacuum lines" as yours are probably gunked up. It will run with them plugged but not make any power. Collector value isn't fantastic on these yet and many still have good paint, like yours. Yours might be worth $8k on the high end.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: maverickfhs

Beautiful car and Benz of that era was built like a tank! I still regret selling my 'newer' CLK!

You'll make someone very Happy. You should get some good money for it.

 

[nthach]

At the minimum, I'd drain the oil/coolant/ATF and swap the filters for fresh ones - any good 15W-40, Zerex G-05/G-48(and it's Ford/Mopar/BMW/MB/Tesla repackages) and Dex-III fluid will work fine, stick to Mann/Mahle/Hengst for filters, purge the fuel system and see if the fuel in the tank has gone bad. Unlike gas, water does drop from diesel and it's a perfect environment for algae and other nasty things to grow. Drain a little fuel and see if phase separation has happened and if the fuel smells like it should. If not, drain the tank and treat it with a biocide. Running Lubro Moly's Diesel Purge to clean out the injection pump and injectors ain't a bad idea. Check the vacuum system, Mercedes in the 1970s-1990s loved to run vacuum lines everywhere - the doors and trunk/hatch locked via vacuum and the transmission was also modulated via vacuum and a mechanical kickdown linkage. New battery is probably a good idea, unless it was put on a float charger to keep the SOC at 12.6-13V. Once you get the engine running, see if the brakes work. At the minimum, flush the system out with fresh DOT4(Castrol works fine, ATE if you can find it). Might not hurt to pull the calipers and see if there's rust on the pistons and a wheel bearing repack isn't a bad idea. Those old W123s might not be as sexy(i'm using the term lightly) as the W124 or W126 of that era, but they are legendary. They'll run up to 100% biodiesel or WVO in warmer climates with little fuss.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2

Originally Posted By: eight88

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

The car you've shown is a 123 with US bumpers. Don't think there was any '85 US model 123.

The car was purchased at a new Mercedes car dealership. We have the original papers. Don't have any knowledge about what you question regarding it being a model 123 with US bumpers. Nothing was ever added to or changed with regard to the bumpers and it was never in an accident or had bumper damage.

There were indeeed '85 w123 cars. There are nuances with them, surrounding how they do climate control and tach pickup in particular. You're right, it's an 85. There's no reason it can't be.

...and I stand corrected. The 123 was indeed offered through the 1985 MY, alongside the newly introduced W124, just as the 115 had some overlap with the new 123.

 

[fdcg27]

My apologies sir. I don't often drive my wife's car either, other than to put gas in it, a task I like to spare her. This also allows me a few miles to monitor the car's health and ensure that nothing needs attention. I always thought that the old Benzes were very good to drive in bad weather and they did have very strong heaters. Cold weather starting was never a problem as long as the car was garaged or plugged in. My wife didn't like driving the two 240Ds we had simply because they were so slow. I did drive some miles in a W123 300D turbo and it was pretty slow as well, although certainly stronger than a 240D. Were I you, I'd keep and use this nice survivor. Whomever buys this car will get something nice for maybe $8K or so, and this is a car from the era of great Mercedes component and build quality, not like the last couple of decades.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

Were I you, I'd keep and use this nice survivor.

I would agree. I wish he was next door. If you come across a car like this here, it's not got 60,000 miles, it's like at 600,000 miles.

 

[eight88]

A quick follow up on the 1985 (incorrectly titled 1983) MB undriven for 20 years: I made a few PM inquiries to some of the posters on this thread and received very good advice. Many thread replies also gave me food for thought. A special thank you to loneryder who sent me a link that gave the names of private repair shops in my area. Not having the confidence or perhaps willingness to do the work myself plus having some fear of causing more harm than good, we met with three of the repair shops and wound up choosing one that had done work on this vehicle years ago when it was being driven, to look the car over and provide an estimate for the work. AAA towed the car there. Just about every item that posters on the thread thought might be necessary were recommended plus a couple of additional items: motor mounts, replace rusted transmission pan, replace leaking oil pan gasket, and new worn front shocks and front lower ball joints. The total cost is within the range (though closer to the upper limit) that we were led to believe, and within the range that I had suspected from the posts made on this thread. The parts were received and the car may be done by the end of next week or early the following week. (Note: after putting a new battery in and draining the fuel tank plus a couple of other minor items, the car did, indeed, start right up, according to the shop; just as several posters suspected ) I am now debating how much to drive the car. There is a car insurer, Hagerty, that insures classic (over 25 years old) cars but limits the miles driven to 2 or 3k per year (not exactly sure which), that may be too low for how I probably want to use it. A Hagerty policy costs about $330/yr. If I expect to drive more than that, I'll put it on our current policy, but the cost will be more than double for liability alone, and higher if it includes collision. I'll post pictures when I have the car back. Thanks to all!

 

[Trav]

Try American collectors insurance.

 

[mcrn]

great car

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Trav

Try American collectors insurance.

That's what I use. They even have a rider on the policy that allows for limited commuting. I use my 240D fir family trips down the shore routinely (we can go a way that doesn't have a ton of high speed driving; the 240D will cruise >70MPH all day long, but it's engine is revving!). Id drive my 300CD (and 300D-T when I had it) cross-country tomorrow. With a good mechanic review and typical parts replaced, you should be good. AC will likely be your biggest consideration from here... What shop did you use?