Mercedes 1985 300TD Station Wagon

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1985 300TD 225k
I think the car started its life in Arizona or moved to AZ shortly after being sold in CA as it came with the CA emissions. From AZ to the Richmond VA area. I have had it for seven years. In the time I have had it I have :
Rebuilt the SLS system, new accumulators, rebuilt the control valve, rebuilt the high pressure hose, and replaced 1 leaky hydraulic shock.
Replaced the windshield
Installed new front calipers
Replaced the hatch struts
Replaced tie rods, center link, and rebuilt the idler arm
Replaced the driveshaft flex discs, and center support bearing
New front shocks, Koni orange, adjustable, set to middle
Replaced oil cooler lines
Replaced belts
Replaced all glow plugs last fall
Replaced the CA mainfolds and turbo with a federal setup from a 79sd so there are no egr connections at all, kept the CA air cleaner, cause I like how it looks better and I dont got to mess with it when I adjust the valves.
Tires about 3 years old with only a few thousand miles on them
Transmission fluid and filter at 200k
Adjusted the valves pretty dutifully at 12k
Changed the oil with rotella at 5k intervals
Probably did a bunch of other stuff that I can’t remember
The cold compression numbers were 340 320 340 320 320 when I checked last. Has the 3rd row seat, which people seem to like for some reason which I can’t really figure out myself. Has a set of cross bars for the luggage rack. Its an 85 so it has the 2.88 rear for optimal highway cruising.
The above information is what I would consider the good. What follows is the, just ok, or less good. Some rust detailed in pictures, behind wheel passenger rear fender. That’s the worst spot and it’s really not all that terrible. There were 2 small spots that bubbled up behind the front passenger wheel, lower on the panel. On the front and rear rust spots I sanded the rust down, sprayed with neutralizer and primed figuring I would get back to it later. The hatch is not original, It has some rust starting to bubble up around the window gasket and on the bottom. I have in the past knocked it down, neutralized and painted but it needs attention again. There was also a rust hole where the passenger rear area window turns above the tail light by where the sunroof drains come out. I took that window out and patched the hole. Seems like a common trouble spot. The body overall is probably fair to good, has some paint chips and small dents, minor scratches. I think it looks decent from ~10 feet away. Paint cleaning and some polish would do it a world of good. The transmission shifts great but it will clunk when downshifting into first, which I understand to be a vacuum issue. Only does it once things get heated up, does not do it when it’s cold. I was never able to get it figured out. The AC does not work. No gas. Compressor will come on if you jump the low pressure switch. The door lock system has some leaks and is disconnected. Cruise control is hit and miss. Antenna mast has started only coming up after the car has been running for a while. Headlight plastic trims are not great, one is pretty good the other less so. Dash pods for center vents and footwell vents don’t seem to be working, I have the footwell vent doors propped open. The drivers door has been replaced and the pin stripping does not match. The rear window regulators have recently stopped working. I have a full set of manual regulators that you can have if you want. There is water getting into and around the tailgate and tailgate area, been around and around with that trying to get it figured out where it’s coming in from, never did, took to covering it up with a tarp whenever it looks like rain. The cargo area carpeting is pretty faded and dirty. The passenger area interior is fair to good, front seats are faded, drivers seat has a tear but is otherwise ok (springs not dead). Dash has some small cracks but looks pretty good. There is some junk growing in the fuel tank. Been treating with killems. When I took the fuel sending unit out to clean it, I dropped it and the little silvery wires came loose. I tried to get it all back in order, and sometimes the fuel gauge does work, most of the time not. Full disclosure, for a short time I ran this car on a heated 2 tank vegetable oil system. It did not fit my driving routine, lots of short trips around town not long highways cruises, so I took it out. The veg oil system is not what introduced the crud in the fuel tank, that happen much later after the system had been removed.
I think this is a really solid, very low rust candidate for further restoration or drive it like it is. I have lots of spare parts that go with the car, including the entire kit of parts necessary for the 4 speed manual transmission swap from a 240d, only thing left to do on that other than the install is to shorten the front driveshaft section.
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