Raptelan's 1980 300D

[Casey]

So today a fourth MB joined the fleet.

It started with a Craigslist ad saying "1980 mercedes benz 300D 4door 81k miles runs great - $2200:  Runs great motor and trans are in excellent condition all original clean interior the car is rust free great on gas automatic has a sun roof has leather a/c and heater still work great tires are in good condition has a brand new battery just needs a few minor cosmetic things for more info give me a call".  I didn't notice this ad as I wasn't looking for a W123 sedan and the price was not that amazing anyways.  But the contact number was the same as an ad that was posted last night, which had the same car listed at $750, with a description of "Runs and drives has 81k miles needs work must sale tonight asking750or best offer call".  ilike300sd let me know about the bargain by E-mail.

I couldn't resist - even though it was after 11pm, I called the number right away, getting somebody sleepy on the other end.  He agreed to show it to me first thing in the morning.  I had all sorts of ideas of some sort of dodgy business going on - maybe it was stolen; maybe it was a scam to lure me into a mugging in a dodgy part of Baltimore; maybe it was somebody who'd committed some crimes and wanted to get out of town as quick as possible; maybe it was a complete pile of crap with obvious odometer tampering.  But I decided to take the risk.

I drove to the dodgy part of Baltimore, but at least in daylight.  To my surprise, who showed up to show me a car was a professionally-dressed man driving a modern SUV.  Very friendly and up front - showing me the title with a VIN matching the one on the car, his ID with a name matching the title, etc.  He pointed out the problems with the car but did not seem at all automotively-inclined.  Said that it was his sister's, who owed him money, so that's why he ended up with the car, but that it had been sitting for the better part of seven years.  That seemed believable from the state of the car and the fact that the hood pad was mostly intact  but very brittle - large chunks came loose at a touch.  Said that the windows that were stuck open and had blue painters tape covering the gaps to "protect" the insides from the rain had worked when he got the car, but then stopped.  He thought the switch had gone bad.  Said the same had happened with the sunroof, which was closed at least but he said no longer opened.  The inside driver door handle was completely broken, which he said also happened very recently, saying it was a bit dodgy and then when he tried to make it work anyways, bit broke completely.  Claimed that the A/C worked but the battery or alternator was bad so there was no fan - the car had to be jump started and the engine bay was dirty (not oily, though), but the engine fired right up, and idled really smooth.  He didn't know how to jump a car properly, connecting the all four clamps to the batteries, and then revving the SUV engine very high while his brother turned the ignition.  The trunk was nasty, with obvious rust in the sidewells.  Rust holes were evident on the bottom, but fairly small - not visible from the sides of the car.  No other rust could be found.  The driver corner light was broken, and there was a small dent in the fender behind it.  A couple small dents in the hood, one in the driver door, and a couple on the roof.  But the lovely burgundy paint looked to be in excellent condition underneath lack of recent care.  The interior was musty and grimey and appeared damaged from sun and maybe a little moisture.  No detioration on the floorboards though.  A couple wood trim pieces were missing, but they were in the glove box.  Original Becker Mexico cassette radio still intact.  Wiper blades completely shot - attempting to use them scratched the windshield. :/

Took it for a short test drive around the block and the suspension was obviously in very good shape, and while the transmission shifted very slowly, all the gears worked and the engine performed well.  The steering was good but a bit spongy, and likewise with the brakes.  I suspect due to aged fluids.  As I'd need it driven a half hour away, and still needed to get money from my bank since my ATM daily limit is $500, I decided not to try to bargain it down any further, but just purchase it outright for the asking price of $750.  He got his brother to drive the SUV, and followed me in the 300D.  We dropped the car off in a parking lot near my workplace, and he handed over the key before we even went to the bank.  No surprises with the purchase, and he said he had another key that he could mail later.

I decided not to take chances, and after the transaction was complete, I went and moved the car to a different lot.  I E-mailed him the work address if he wanted to mail the key there, rather than disclosing my home address.  Then I got insurance coverage and went and registered the car.  No surprises with that, fortunately!  However I did notice that his title and the plates were from Virginia rather than Maryland, and it was just registered on the 5th, nine days ago!  Plus the first ad was listed in Glen Burnie and the second in Baltimore where I met him - locations 20 or so minutes apart.  So it still seems awfully fishy, but my impression was that he just saw a weathered car with a dirty interior and engine, on which things broke left and right as he tried messing with them, so he just wanted to get rid of it.  He seemed to be as honest as he could be about the car, while a bit ignorant about certain things (he had no idea of the rust on the bottom of the trunk sidewells, since you can't see it through the plastic lining W123's have).

Whatever it is, it's mine now.  I left the 450SE at work and drove it home.  Speedometer completely dead (seller said it died very recently, that it had been working a week ago).  Swapped the battery but I think it must be the alternator, because a multimeter attached to the disconnected battery wires registered 5-6 volts with the engine running, rather than 12.  The alternate battery wasn't charged, but also didn't charge even when connected to the idling engine for an hour.  It did have enough juice to test out all the electrics - one fog light was out, and one rear side indicator light was out.  The switch on the dome light is broken, but it comes on when held forward.  The rear switch works fine, the defroster switch lit up, and the Becker radio turned on (no sound, though).  The antenna came up about a foot and then fell over off the side of the car - the mast broken.  Did not get any dash lights at all to work other than the radio.  The switch for the driver-side windows is completely missing.  The ACC functioned enough to get the blower going and switch vents like it's supposed to.  Setting it to heat never blew hot air, and flipping on the A/C never blew cold air, but air moved, at least.  Maybe a stuck servo, or maybe not enough power to get it working properly.  I checked the fuse box, and sure enough, the fuses for all the power windows and sunroof were blown.  Replaced them and got the windows up - the front passenger one has a bad regulator as it knocks and I had to help it up, but at least it's up now.  Opened the sunroof and closed it (albeit quite slowly).  The battery is quite new, with a manufacture date of 2009.  I'm thinking it will be passable once the alternator is replaced, and if nothing else, I've got good alternators in the 300CDT and 300SD I can use, although I think the pulley design is different as I think, from memory and trying to see in the light of dusk, that the turbo alternators have two belts, whereas this one has just one.  The battery currently in the 300CDT is rather new (it came in the 450SE which I replaced with an OEM Mercedes battery) and charged, so I can use that tomorrow to get the car running again.  I think I should invest in a battery charger... 

Tomorrow I'll hit up the local junkyard and see what the alternator looks like in the 280CE - might be a good candidate.  Maybe this one just needs a new voltage regulator...  Then I'll head to the yard in Baltimore and raid that 240D for a lot of parts, as it has the same color interior.  I wasn't planning on getting a 300D non-turbo ever, but it's turned out to be a great deal and I think the car has a lot of potential without large investment.  I don't think I'll keep it long-term, but rather will fix it up and sell it.  My roommate will be getting his license back soon and needs an inexpensive, dependable, and economical ride, but I think I may be able to make more on eBay once it's all fixed and cleaned up.

[Squiggle Dog]

Congratulations on your find! Hopefully this will be a decent commuter car to use while you work on your 300SD, or your next W116.

[Casey]

Congratulations on your find! Hopefully this will be a decent commuter car to use while you work on your 300SD, or your next W116.

Indeed, although the 1983 200D I'm picking up next week will be the ultimate commuter!

[Casey]

Today I cleaned out the car, my was there a lot of nasty garbage under the seats, including an unopened can of Red Bull on the passenger side that had ruptured and leaked all over.  It was a good morning, though, since I found 80 quid under the driver seat, in addition to a few dollars in change.  Lifted the rear carpets finally, and thousands and thousands of ants were revealed.  The vacuum had no mercy.  There's a very disturbing large bulge on the passenger floorboard, though I can't tell from what.  Maybe improper use of a lift?  Maybe the world's biggest unruptured rust blister?  It's been there a long time though - the foam on the carpeting is mashed to accommodate it's shape.  I guess I'll look under the car later.

I swapped batteries with the 300CD, so that I could, you know, drive somewhere today...  It's got plenty of juice to start the car and run the brake lights and blinkers, but I'm not pushing it beyond that.  The battery light stays on, so I'm sure the alternator isn't working like it should be.

First stop was at an auto parts store where I bought a portable jump starter battery.  Small little thing, and cost more than the big one I used to have.  I'll probably return it whenever I can find a better one.  100amp starting power, so hopefully that'll do if I get stuck.  It's been plugged in all day and still says low charge, though.

Then I headed to a junk yard where the 240D was.  The hubcaps were still there stacked up from last week, which says something about their quality, eh?  I got all the clips since a set new of new ones is around $100.  Two were missing, and they're all very dirty and maybe some are rusty.  Fortunately I've got evaporust now, so I'll clean them up and treat as needed.  I noticed the idle adjustment knob doesn't work and is loose and weird in the 300D, so I went ahead and got that.  I'd thought about adding one of these to the 300SD since MB omitted it in 1980, and I imagine it's probably the same part.  Not sure if the one in the 300D can be repaired though - that's the real reason I got it.  It's going to be a bit of a nightmare to replace, as it goes through a big rubber thing along with 10 various vacuum lines through the firewall - each line has it's own hole in the rubber thing, and the idle adjuster goes right through the center.

The 200D I'm getting has broken glass on the passenger side mirror.  This car had a good one, but it was power.  The one in my 300D is manual, even though everything else is power.  There was also a zebrano wood center console piece intact - cracked and a few chips of the glossy stuff missing, but I figured this would be better than the non-matching plastic one in my 300D that must have replaced the wood one it came with originally (it has wood ashtray and center console trim) - the zebrano panel had holes for everything the 300D does, plus a power mirror control.  So it seemed sensible to upgrade the all-power 300D to a power passenger mirror, and put it's current manual mirror into the all-manual 200D.  That meant rooting out the cable that runs from the mirror to the center console switch and then to the fusebox and bolt behind the instrument cluster.  This is why I'm not a big fan of power stuff - manual controls are much more localized.

I was mistaken about the interior color - the 240D had burgundy interior.  Somebody had already taken the passenger seat, or I would have removed the entire interior today, because it would have looked great with the burgundy paint I think, and I think it's a lovely interior color.  The condition was also pretty good - definitely better than the palomino one I've got.  Except for the carpets.  Still half-tempted.  Wonder how hard it would be to find another burgundy passenger seat and carpets...

The plastic part of the seat belt clip on the 300D is broken so it always falls to the floor when you take the seatbelt off.  So I removed a seatbelt to replace it with.  Also got one good door check, though when I returned to my car I discovered I still am going to need more.  For the record, I absolutely hate W123 door checks compared to W116 ones - I think they hold up better maybe, but they're impossible to take apart/reassemble unless maybe you've got some big magical tools I don't.  I got a replacement inside driver door handle, and really wanted to get the passenger window regulator, but I don't see any way to get it out without a way to lower the window.  Maybe I can sneak in a small battery that will give enough juice to get the window down - the junk yard won't allow a car battery.  Maybe I could buy some battery-operated tool and use it's battery to do the job.  I returned the drill I bought though because it wasn't powerful enough.  Maybe I'll get a sawzall or something, much as I hate to spend money on battery-operated tools.

All the inside window wipes were good, and as they're identical to the outside ones, I got all four to replace my cracked outside ones.  Got a front corner light that's a bit crazed and has a corner chip.  Felt stupid to spend money on it, but at least now I'll have one. 

I completely forgot about the most important thing - the alternator.  I guess I'll try to find one tomorrow.

[Casey]

Today at my local junkyard from the 280CE, I got an identical alternator, a perfect windshield with recently-replaced gasket (they didn't use any sealant when installing it so it wasn't too hard to remove!), new sun visors, and old-style headrests to replace my current ones.  Also  got the temperature dial off the ACC since it was in mint condition, and the handhold things that screw on above the doors.  That car's been good to me, and made the junkyard some nice profits too.   It had the old-style ACC border that I'm missing, but unfortunately in burlwood rather than zebrano, and not in good condition.

I really like the older-style horn pad the '78 280CE has, though it is too deteriorated to be worth buying.  I wonder if the metal frame underneath is worth getting and would allow me to use such a horn pad.  I really don't like the concave newer-style W123 horn pads.

Now to go get working on the car.

[Casey]

Okay, I'm an idiot.  I got a new alternator for nothing.  Went to install it, and found the existing alternator belt, while intact, to be worn to about 1/2 of it's original thickness and very loose.  Adjusted the alternator all the way out, still loose.  Took all the belts off and drove to the local auto parts store, only to find they'd have to order one.  Meh, it'll be here tomorrow at least, and I've got a proper set on order via Joe.

Tried replacing the sun visors, but apparently the '78 had a slightly different style interior, as the new ones don't quite fit.  Considering getting the entire front plastic roof trim section from the '78.  But the color's a little bit off, as I discovered when I went to install the headrests.  Sigh.

Replaced the driver side power window switch, so now they're both working.  The passenger side one fell apart when I took the center console apart, and I put it back together, but the wiring harnesses were long gone from the bottom, and I didn't manage to figure out the proper order for the front window switch, or maybe the switch isn't functioning anymore, so only the back one is working presently.  Oh well, passenger door needs a regulator anyways.

Tried replacing the outer window wipes, but discovered that unlike W116's, W123's use a different wipe design for the inside and outside.  Tried bending the wipe up a bit with a large flathead screwdriver to make it work.  It came close, but wasn't quite fitting on all the way and I figured it would hold water which wouldn't be good.  So abandoned that idea and put the old cracked wipe back on.  I guess I'll just buy new ones.

Replaced the driver door handle and door check though, which makes the car a lot nicer since I can actually get out of it now without crawling out the passenger side.  Discovered my existing door checks were not typical W123 door checks, but very similar design to the W116's.  Funny, since I didn't see this on either the 1978 or later 80's model W123's at junk yards.  I guess that explains why all mine are broken.  Fortunately the alternate style fit perfectly, so now my driver door holds itself open quite nicely.  Went through my spare parts bin and found 2 more W123 sedan checks, so I'll be getting those put on soon (at least the passenger door needs one).

Replaced a couple broken/missing plastic covers for electricals under the hood with bits from the junk yard, which helps it look a lot tidier.

Replaced the driver-side front corner light, not with the crazed one I bought yesterday, but with a perfect one I found today on the '78.  The fender is still a little bit dented and I need new side trim for it, but it's looking a million times better now.  Also replaced the side indicator bulb on the passenger-side taillight that was out.

Realized a flaw in my plan to upgrade the car to a power passenger mirror, which is that the zebrano wood console trim won't fit the old-style (W116-like) hazard switch, which is much larger than the newer W123 ones.  I need to check to see if the old-style (W116-like) window switches will fit in the zebrano holes too.  I'll keep an eye out for a good newer-style hazard switch if that's all I need.  I need to refinish the zebrano anyways, which is something I need to figure out how to do in the first place.

[Casey]

Today one of my coworker's window regulators failed in her 2002 Honda Accord.  After hearing that the dealership wanted to charge her $400, I proposed spending $11 at the junk yard instead.  So we set off in search of a 98-02 Accord.  Failed to find one that had the regulator intact, but did come across a freshly-arrived 300D in pretty good condition.  So I grabbed the passenger regulator from it (there was a car battery lying right there on the ground that enabled me to lower the window and thus get it out - what luck!).

Put that in this evening and now I have four working windows.  Got all the switches working too.  Replaced the alternator belt and the car responds totally differently now - the transmission shifting issues and hesitation at high RPM's went away entirely.  The dash lights all started working, but not the speedometer.  Turned on the Becker and now I get light white noise from all the speakers, and the fader adjusts it as it should.  The wonderbar attempts to tune a station endlessly without success.  Maybe just because my antenna is broken, but I doubt it.  Haven't got a cassette handy to try but will give that a go tomorrow.  Cleaned up the driver seat and door panel - MB-Tex cleans up rather nicely!  Unfortunately there's a couple small tears in each seat.  Cleaned up the engine bay - underneath a thin dirty crust, there's a lovely engine that looks nice and low-mileage like the car claims to be.

Replaced a broken fog light that was out.  Replaced the ashtray with one with perfect wood from the junk yard today.  Replaced both broken front door pockets with burgundy ones.  The burgundy looks quite nice against the palomino, so I'll be trying to go back to the 240D in Baltimore for the door armrests and other burgundy bits to make a bit of a two-tone interior.  I'm sure there's a lot more on the 300D I can use, but time was short today.  Hopefully it's still as intact this weekend.  Now I'm assigned to stop by my local junkyard before work tomorrow to try to find an Accord. 

This is going to shine up into a real nice car in time.

[Casey]

Worked my butt off on the car today.  Went by the junkyard with the 240D and got lots of burgundy interior parts.  Came home and changed things out to make a two-tone effect.  The door handles, pockets on the front, ashtrays on the rear, A, B, and C pillar trim (except for the driver side A pillar which was broken), the side panels in front of the doors, the panels under the dash, and the roof trim that holds the dome light and sunvisors (but not the sunvisors or clips) are now burgundy, with the rest still tan.  The burgundy matches the paint color perfectly, and it's really quite beautiful.  I also pulled off all the old wrinkled thin plastic lining/trim from  around the door windows, exposing the burgundy paint underneath.  All in all the interior is rather stunning now, though some flaws in original parts remain to attend to.

Replaced the broken Becker radio with the one from the 280CE - it works!  The cassette and wonderbar don't, but at least I can listen to music.  And the speakers are in good shape, with a great sound.  Also replaced the broken antenna with the one from the 280CE, and this one extends all the way up, getting fantastic reception.  Replaced the driver seat belt as the old one had a cracked latch.  Replaced the driver side headlight door with a better one.  Swapped over the windshield wipers from the 300CD so I can actually use them in the rain, which is coming down now.  Replaced the front ashtray with a perfect one.  Removed garbage and vacuumed underneath the rear seat.  Found a lot of seat pad strips under there which had worked their way out of the seat somehow, explaining why parts of it looked flatter than others.

Unfortunately in the process of replacing the passenger side B pillar trim, I noticed that the place where the seatbelt bolts in on the bottom of the car is rusty.  I haven't seen under the carpet, but initial attempts to loosen the bolt pulled it enough to change the angle and I heard the sound of rusty metal. :/  Also noticed a rust patch on the inside of the sunroof, as there's discoloration in the liner and I can feel the rusty bits through it when I press there.  I doubt the sunroof is draining at all properly.  I can replace the sunroof metal easy enough, but there'll be a lot more work to do, particularly on the passenger side bottom.  No rust on the outside/bottom of the car along the sill though.

Also found a regulator/motor for my coworker's Accord, so I'll be installing that for them tomorrow.

[1980sdga]

Need pichers...

My wonderbar didn't work at first but some careful disassembly and lubing with contact cleaner/lube got it working again.

I also did this:

http://www.w116.org/library/becker_upgrade

Awesome mod 

[Casey]

My wonderbar didn't work at first but some careful disassembly and lubing with contact cleaner/lube got it working again.

I also did this:

http://www.w116.org/library/becker_upgrade

The wonderbar works on my other Becker that won't tune in any stations but always emits white noise.  So maybe I can combine parts.  For now I think I'm just going to tear it apart and figure out how it works.  I need to get a testing setup with a power source and speakers.

I plan on doing that mod but will not put the audio input on the face of the stereo, but rather somewhere else on the dash - I was thinking the vertical section at the back of the center console wood trim, under the power window switches.  And not in this car, that'll be in a W116.

No pictures because I don't have a camera, but only an iPod Nano 5th generation which is video-only.  Maybe I'll post up a video later though...

[1980sdga]

I used a DC power source and a cheap antenna for bench testing. Once the mechanism was lubricated it came to life and has been ticking along.

Good idea on putting the plug in the console. I may do that to mine in the future.

My camera stopped working today...