1985 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

You are bidding on a 1985 Mercedes 300TD w123 stationwagon.  This car is thought to beoriginally from Texas but that is unknown.  However, the car has no rust.  Zero – except for one quarter-size spot beneath the reardriver's side window.  Other thanthat it is bone-dry rust-free.  Norust-through in the place it occurs first, which is behind the rearwheels. Mileage shown is 225k but true mileage is unknown.

Under my ownership we have gone through the car and made ita very together car.  I will listwhat we have done below.  The bodyneeds to be gone over, and I have a straight hood from another car, which isincluded with the car if desired.  Toget the body really right it would be best to use it.  The hood pad for the existing hood is not there but caneasily be replaced.  There is adent in the right front fender, a couple of little waves in the lift-gate, andvarious paint chips from years of parking and use.  Other than that the body is quite straight.  The interior needs to be gone over allbut the front seats.  I had both ofthem restored by a well-known collector car interior specialist.  They are re-done in MB-Tex.  They were leather originally, and therear bench seat and seat back remain in leather, but need to be re-done. 

Mechanically the car is excellent.  At operating temp and at idle, about 700 RPM, there are over2 ½ bars of oil pressure.  The oilpressure gauge pegs, 3 bars plus, at about 800-825 RPM.  It starts cold immediately when doneproperly, even in very low temperatures. The mileage of the engine is unknown but based on the oil pressure itappears the compression is right. We have adjusted the valves on schedule and changed the oil, oil filter,air filter, and two fuel filters also on schedule.  It pulls strong, the turbo works perfectly, and overall runslike a champ.  I would have nohesitation to drive the car from Denver to New York or California as it is.

The transmission is excellent and the car shiftsbeautifully.  That brings up thevacuum system.  The transmission isincluded in the vacuum system, and it shifts properly because the vacuum systemis tight and works.  The door locksall work except the lift-gate, which is isolated from the vacuum system and soneeds to be locked and unlocked with the key.  (Replacing the vacuum element for the lift gate andreconnecting the line would make the lift-gate work with the rest of thesystem, but I have neither looked for this element nor replaced it.)  The driver's door master vacuum elementis relatively new.  The variousHVAC diffusers work, including the center vents, which on many cars don't work,because replacing the vacuum element that opens and closes them requiresremoving and reinstalling the dash. I removed and reinstalled a (virtually) crack-free “new” dash, andreplaced the various now accessible vacuum elements at the time.  The engine shut-off works. 

The air-conditioning works.  It was completely gone through not very long ago and has a newcompressor and a new receiver-dryer. It is converted to R-134.  Everythingelse in the car works except the cruise control and the electric antenna.  It is possible to either find areplacement cruise-control amplifier or have the existing one re-done ifdesired.  Access for remove andreplace is not difficult.  I have areplacement radio antenna if desired. Everything else electrical works including all lights (yes back-uplight, and they have new lenses) the heater fan, wipers, turn signals andhazards, and radio.  There is USBand play-from-your-phone capability connected ands they work along with theradio.  The radio is a one-stepupgrade from the original, and it comes from a w124.  It looks correct and works properly. The sunroof is manualand works.  The headlights areHella H-4 instead of old-fashioned sealed-beams, and the illumination isexcellent. 

The steering and suspension are right.  Front shocks are relatively new.  The rear suspension is what Mercedescalls SLS, or self-leveling suspension. If a load is put in the car, especially something heavy in the back, thecar returns to the same height position it started.  Among other reasons, this is important for keeping theheadlights properly aimed at night. There are no shocks per se, rather, there are two hydraulic pistonscontrolled by what's called the SLS Valve.  Shock to the hydraulic fluid is absorbed by in-lineaccumulator spheres.  Those werereplaced within our ownership.  Ibought the car 8/11/2017 and titled it 1/17/2018 so we have had it for fouryears.  The hydraulic fluid wasjust flushed and replaced, so is new, and the SLS valve was just replaced also,with a new old stock (NOS) unit, which is nearly impossible to find.  The result is the car rides perfectlyand has the proper stance loaded or unloaded.

Brakes are relatively new and the tires are quite new.  A full set of four snow tires, mountedon wheels, goes with the car if desired. The wheels were professionally restored not too long ago and looknew.  They are the correct AstralSilver (Astralsilber) painted two-stage with clear, just as original.