In keeping with GRM tradition, I reckon I need to start a build thread before I actually own the car. Tomorrow at high noon I will actually be the owner of this fine German automobile.
Anyway, I did spend an hour this afternoon looking over the car. There were many red flags....So many red flags that I felt sorry for the car and bought it anyway.
The main issue is the air conditioning didn't work. The PO had taken the dash and other bits apart in order to track down the problem.... Now lots of things do not work.
The good news is the car runs well and drives well. Did I mention TURBO DIESEL and automatic? Those three words represent all the things I know nothing about...how had could it be?
Stay tuned. In 24 hrs there will be moor pictures and moor useless words.
Looking fwd to the progress.
Do these have all the vacuum lines behind the dash??
In reply to Slippery :
Good question! I'll have a better idea tomorrow.
I wondered how slow it would really be so I found these specs
0-60: 11.1 seconds
1/4 mile: 17.9
John Welsh said:
I wondered how slow it would really be so I found these specs
0-60: 11.1 seconds
1/4 mile: 17.9
Doc should do a test to see what it does 30 years later!
Hella sweet! The only w201 I've driven is a OM601/5speed. This should be much quicker. I've long lusted after a OM602/5speed car.
buzzboy said:
Hella sweet! The only w201 I've driven is a OM601/5speed. This should be much quicker. I've long lusted after a OM602/5speed car.
I need to translate this for the non Mercedes speaking viewers... (me).. Hella sweet! the only 190D I've driven is a four cylinder 2.0 or 2.2 diesel / 5speed. This should be much quicker. Ive long lusted after a five cylinder 2.5L / 5speed car.
LoL, this car is quick for a diesel, but how quick? we will soon find out.
Good news
and bad news
and good news.
The good news is the Saturn SL1 was sold... making this Mercedes a zero cost to the budget. The bad news is the seller lost the title and I did not buy the Mercedes today. The good news is the seller is not a flake and will get a replacement title ASAP.
Meanwhile,
Oddly enough, this lowly Saturn base model is worth as much as a Mercedes. Because Saturn's are good?
Oh, this Saturn was made by Mazda, that explains it. Lol, I totally forgot the blue car had the Mazda decal on the back... I wonder if the buyer was aware...
Tk8398
Reader
7/15/18 10:28 p.m.
Looks nice in the pictures at least. I bought a 300SDL recently, so basically the same thing but bigger. Hopefully you never need a new passenger side fender, I can imagine those are impossible to find.
In reply to Tk8398 :
The car was originally from Florida and is really solid, the only rust is the jack points on the rocker panel. Repair panels are available and once I get the car in my possession I'll order the panels. The front right fender looks awesome, but as you indicated they are probably very hard to find.
Great score Doc:
Can't wait to see what she runs with the boost turned up to "11".... blow off those pesky Dodge Ram trucks at the drag strip!
Extra points to you Sir, for:
1.Buying a project that runs/drives..(a lesson I never seem to learn)
2.Nice video talent there, first a shot through the moon roof, then smooth transition to interior shots. At one point I was yelling at the monitor : "The road, Doc keep your eyes on the road!" but you pulled it off and no wrecks.
Ruß-Kopf -there's a rear sticker idea for ya.
Day 1, hour 2
PHOTO DUMP WITH WORDS.....
The journey home in the Mercedes... In the rear view mirror my buddy Chuck follows. Chuck called me several times during the trip to assure me nothing had fallen off the car.
Don't let the looks fool you, this car made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs
Drivers door is FUBAR.
The hood opens very much. Hmm, this is a cool feature.
Five cylinders of fury.
OK, this will need to be sorted out. The PO included all the bits to put it back together. He also included extra stuff to replace the crappy bits.
Moor parts...
Moor parts
Mystery part... there are several boxes of mystery parts. SCORE!
The car came with an aftermarket air conditioning kit. I think I would rather fix the current system as it has already been converted to R134. The aftermarket kit will find a new home somewhere else.
16 inch wheels, yikes! At some point I think I'll put original equipment wheels on the car, I'm not a big fan of these rims.
This is embarrassing.... I think that thingy is the oil filter? .... could be ?
One of the mystery boxes contained a set of these rubber bushing thingamajigs.
This will come in handy very soon....
To answer Slippery's question, Yes this car has many vacuum lines going into the cabin. I think there is a good chance these may be A/C related.
That's it for now
Stay tuned!
" />
Tk8398
Reader
7/17/18 9:07 p.m.
Yes, that's the oil filter. Does the vacuum pump have a smooth front cover on it? If so you probably need to change it right away, because if it's the same as the 6 cylinder ones it will break the timing chain or cause other major problems if it fails and drops ball bearings into the engine. The newer ones don't do that. It's pretty easy to change one though.
In reply to Tk8398 :
Vacuum pump? I guess I need to locate that tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up!
Tk8398
Reader
7/17/18 9:28 p.m.
You can see it in the picture of the front of the engine, directly below the curve of the upper radiator hose and to the right of the accessory belt idler pulley. If the plate on the front is smooth and crimped on the edges instead of having bolts on the front you need a new one. They cost about $300, and you will need a special Allen socket to do it but otherwise it's pretty easy to change.
Cool find! I didn't even know that we got the 5 cylinders diesels in North America. I have a W201 too, if you need pictures of how the dash needs to go back or anything else, just ask me.
Tk8398
Reader
7/17/18 11:20 p.m.
They sold both w201 and w124s with that engine here. I actually saw a w201 with euro bumpers in the junkyard this past weekend, not anywhere close enough for either of you though.
In reply to Rocambolesque :
This afternoons goal is to go through all the interior parts and sort out good/bad. I'll post pictures of all the stuff and perhaps if something is confusing folks can guide me through this mess. This car is being fast tracked to being street legal and should be drivable by friday.... we'll see.
Mercedes diesels are super cool. I miss my 617 4 speed w123.
There's a om606 for sale on craigslist for $600. They're like the 2jzgte of diesel engines.
Can't wait to see where you go with this. My first car was a 190D (non-turbo), and I've missed it for years. GREAT car.
Day 2
Today's goal was to clean the car and get things to work..... because tomorrow the car will be registered and insured.
Lets see...
Wire nuts.... not good
Turns out the wire nuts were for the radio...regardless, the wire nuts were removed and the radio wires were capped off for now.
This switch panel pretty much ties all the wiring together. Without this panel nothing will work.... sooo I guess this was the problem all along. My ex wife would say that I was the only person she knew that could step in a pile of E36 M3 and come out smelling like a rose..... whelp, I guess she was right.
The PO said all the screws, nuts and bolts were in the car.... and he wasn't lying.
Found this thing under the back seat. Looks like an antique car phone system. It doesn't seem right to use car phone and antique in the same sentence.
Not too shabby for a hooptie.
Power windows work
Turn signals work
brake lights work
speedometer sort of works... a bit jumpy.
power mirror works
hazards work
the clock even works.....
Stay tuned!
