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Thinking about another 116

Started by 1980sdga, 17 April 2011, 01:29 PM

1980sdga















Here she is!  My new daily driver  ;D

I was REALLY dissapointed when I got down there because of the rust  ::)  But the rest made up for it. The guy did come off the price $1000 so I drove her the 600 miles home without a hitch, mostly...

I may have spent too much $$ but how often do you see one with such low miles and such a nice interior?

Oh well, It does drive like a champ though! 75-80 mph on the interstate for about 500 miles  :D

KenM

Could be worse, the interior does look very good. Looks like a pretty original car overall, if that's all the rust you have then it's a good buy I would say. Pity about the cloudiness in the aluminium trim, not much to be done

about that. From the look of the rear window seal it may well leak, I tried sealing mine up with windscreen install goop, it seems to have done the trick for a temp fix.

Cheers,

1980sdga

Well, I took it to the shop yesterday for new tires/alignment.  It had some bad negative camber on the front which had me worried :(  The front end is super tight and it turned out to be a bent tie-rod sleeve.  I'll get that straightened out next week.

I have new shocks and 2 rear sway-bar end links (Both toast) plus the sleeve on order.  The brakes look great so this'll have the suspension near 100%.

The temp gauge doesn't work so I have a sending unit on order. Hope it fixes it...

Next will be diesel purge, new filters and a valve adjustment.

Squiggle Dog

Nice interior, indeed! I'm getting excited about all of the 300SDs showing up on this forum.

You know, I had the opportunity to buy an absolutely pristine 300SD for $300 a while back. The interior was mint, it still had the original windshield with the "A Daimler Product" sticker on it, the engine compartment looked like new, and the car drove amazingly. The only bad thing about it was someone didn't like the Manganese Brown color and so they painted over it with white latex house paint. Still, what an amazing deal that would have been, even for parts. But there is just no room here for another car... I still get sad thinking about it, though.
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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Heated Seats, 350,000+

1980sdga

$300  :o  I'd have found a way...

I wish the 116 300SD's weren't a North America only car...

Casey

Quote from: 1980sdga on 02 May 2011, 10:38 AM
$300  :o  I'd have found a way...

Me too - that is a crazy good deal!  The 1985 W123 I bought was only $300, but the fuel lines were clogged from bad fry oil and it was in sorry shape besides - I never did have money to get that one running again.  For all I love about Squiggle, this is a pretty big disappointment!!  Heck, if it's just latex house paint, it'll all peel itself off in a few years anyways. ;)

Quote
I wish the 116 300SD's weren't a North America only car...

But aren't you *in* North America??

Casey

#21
Quote from: Squiggle Dog on 02 May 2011, 02:35 AM
it still had the original windshield with the "A Daimler Product" sticker on it

Mine has that, though it's so sun-damaged that you can barely read it.  "Daimler" is apparent, though.  I was going to scrape it off with a razor, but haven't yet.  Is this actually a desirable feature?


Casey

Quote from: Raptelan on 24 April 2011, 10:14 AM
If you don't want it, I do.  I wish I had the cash in hand right now.  A 1980 300SD in good condition is my dream car, and this looks like a great deal.  I definitely think that it's worth the money for something with lower mileage and better-maintained than saving $1000 for something that needs $5000 worth of work to get it it to the same condition.

The only one I've seen lately with <100,000 miles is listed at $8,000, and is a fairly hideous orange color inside and out.

I want this car!!
Haha, I forgot I'd posted this comment.  Then, a week later, I get loaned some cash and buy another 1980 300SD the same color.  How much did you end up paying for this one?  It looks like I've lucked out will less body issues, but I believe I paid more ($5300).  I've still got plenty of issues to address.

1980sdga

Quote from: Raptelan on 02 May 2011, 09:20 PM
Quote from: 1980sdga on 02 May 2011, 10:38 AM
$300  :o  I'd have found a way...

Me too - that is a crazy good deal!  The 1985 W123 I bought was only $300, but the fuel lines were clogged from bad fry oil and it was in sorry shape besides - I never did have money to get that one running again.  For all I love about Squiggle, this is a pretty big disappointment!!  Heck, if it's just latex house paint, it'll all peel itself off in a few years anyways. ;)

Quote
I wish the 116 300SD's weren't a North America only car...

But aren't you *in* North America??

I am but it would be cool to share the fun  ;D  It would be nice to have some in other countries so it would add to the body of knowledge about them.  Especially ACC troubleshooting info  ::)

Casey

Quote from: 1980sdga on 02 May 2011, 09:44 PM
I am but it would be cool to share the fun  ;D  It would be nice to have some in other countries so it would add to the body of knowledge about them.  Especially ACC troubleshooting info  ::)

Yeah, that's true...the more the merrier.

I'm ditching the ACC.  It's just a question of when.  I'll be sure to take tons of photos when I do. :)

But the ACC was in other W116's too.

P.S.  You have pictures of specific things on your car, but do you have any overall pictures of the whole thing from a little more distance?  I'll bet it looks decent when you're not staring at the issues up close.  I'm wagering you've probably got a door I want. ;)

Casey

#25
Quote from: 1980sdga on 27 April 2011, 05:51 PM


Your fusebox seems really odd.  From my identical car, I don't have the red wires crossing different fuses, and my fuses appear to be arranged totally differently.  Do yours match the paper insert under your fusebox lid?  Mine seem pretty much correct, although fuse 3 (A/C) should be red, not blue, according to the diagram I dug up (UPDATE: Confirmed my underhood label matched the following picture, and swapped out my fuse #3 for a red one.):




1980sdga

That car of yours looks like a real gem!  You can see the rust on mine...

Yea, the jumpers in the fuse box are some kind of hack job. I need to check it out and clean the contacts/replace the fuses. The only fuses I can find are cheap plastic with rounded ends that don't fit well. I'd like to have some copper/ceramic fuses to use.

Check your injector return lines  ;D  I have 2, 1980 300SD's and both have popped the end plug off and sprayed fuel everywhere  :o

I'll post a pic if you don't know what I mean.

Casey

#27
Quote from: 1980sdga on 04 May 2011, 10:51 PM
That car of yours looks like a real gem!  You can see the rust on mine...
...but the real question is...is your driver door free of rust and other damage?  If so, I wants it. ;)  Hehehe...

QuoteThe only fuses I can find are cheap plastic with rounded ends that don't fit well. I'd like to have some copper/ceramic fuses to use.

I found them at a Bosch-authorized service center.  You might try looking one up in your area.  To quote a guy on another forum, "The fuse holders are copper and using aluminum creates a chemical reaction where the dissimilar metals meet and invite corrosion, sometimes you can't see it but it will eventually cause unexplainable problems and quirks."  I also recommend using a dab of dielectric (conductive silicon) grease on each end of each fuse, after thoroughly cleaning the copper contact points.  I've read of people who use wire brushes, but my feeling is that's a bit harsh.  You can buy copper cleaner, but a cheap and very effective route is to scrub the surfaces with (the outside/orange side of) orange peels - with a little elbow grease it works a treat on copper.  Whether you use that or a cleaner, rinse them well with water and dry thoroughly after such treatment.  I'm going to pick up some new fuses in another couple weeks and do this job on this car - I'll post pictures when I'm done. :D

Quote
Check your injector return lines  ;D  I have 2, 1980 300SD's and both have popped the end plug off and sprayed fuel everywhere  :o

I'll post a pic if you don't know what I mean.

Yes, please...  ???

1980sdga

#28


It's on the injector nearest the firewall.  Both of mine had a piece of that braided line with a metal "nail" in it. It looked like a hack but I believe it was factory. One was leaking and the other blew off  :o  Diesel all over the engine  :o

I plugged both of them with vacuum line caps from the parts store.  


Casey

Quote from: 1980sdga on 05 May 2011, 07:27 PM
It's on the injector nearest the firewall.  Both of mine had a piece of that braided line with a metal "nail" in it. It looked like a hack but I believe it was factory. One was leaking and the other blew off  :o  Diesel all over the engine  :o

Ahh yeah, mine was fine.  But other of my injector fuel lines were leaking (will post pictures in my other thread).  I replaced them all today.  That little piece on the end was the biggest pain of them all.