1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD TURBO DIESEL, 111k miles, RARE color combo, EURO body!

OVER 100 PICS AT VERY BOTTOM!

Remember to choose the little sprocket in the lower right corner of the Youtube video and choose HD 1080p for best picture quality!

Turbo Diesel with ONLY 111k Miles, All Original inside and out! Everything works!
First off, I'mnotgonna do what dealers do and give you the whole history on the W126 for 17 paragraphs and how it impacted the auto industry, blah blah blah, and then have 2 sentences about the car. Annoying. If you're here, you are here for a reason, it's because you already know that this was Mercedes at the top of its game. You know that there was practically no development budget limit, unlike today's cars where the accountants run the show. We may never see the likes of this quality ever again, as today's cars are throwaways. These are just going up in value and feel like they are chiseled from one piece of metal.
I'm also not going to end every sentence with seven exclamation points like you see dealers do. Nor will you see me put 300 pictures of the car but nothing of what has been done to it recently or any kind of documents. So annoying.
HISTORY:
This car was built on February 28th, 1983 and sold on April 18th, 1983 at Mercedes Benz Forth Worth for $40,045.
Service advisor always was Bruce Reineke.
Has always been in rust free Texas and Arizona and garaged its whole life.
Body is straight no dents (see pics)
Paint and interior are original.
Paint is theRareAscot Grey code 751 with original Dark Navy 345 interior code. The Dark Navy looks almost black. It isn't the medium kind of "crayon" blue interior on other Benzes that most people don't prefer. See if you can find another Ascot Grey one out there with this color interior! Go ahead and Google Image it. No really, I'll wait....................................Yup. Two on the whole Internet that you and I know of with the Ascot Grey. But how many with this Dark Navy interior? So this color combination, especially in a Turbo Diesel is rare.
It hasEurobumperswhich are very hard to find in perfect condition, expensive, and are what Mercedes truly intended to have on the car. The U.S. Department of Transportation needed to have their regulations met so they put the oversized ones on that look like an underbite. (See the picture of the before and after with the U.S. bumpers and Euro bumpers). Some people prefer the U.S. bumpers, and if so, they are way easier to find if you wanted to. The car does not have them.
I didn't upgrade to the Euro headlights, as the clear look all the way across on a car this color just seemed bland to me. Something about orange markers and yellow fog lights on this color car looked better in my opinion. Again, Ebay has Euro headlights everywhere if you still want.
Also installed areH&R springsthat give it a lower stance, (see comparison pictures). The car handles much better as well without loss of comfort of the ride, but doesn't look like a 'low rider' either, looks more like today's cars. Not sure why they had the front end up so high on the diesel models.
TheTransmission was rebuiltthis year officially by Mercedes and is perfect.
The wood is shiny with no scratches. The wood on just the two front doors has cracks in the clear on the wood but no fading. Wood pieces are easy to find on Ebay.
Even the speedometer needles are bright and not faded like you usually see, and the speedometer glass isn't yellowed or scratched.
The windshield has no cracks. Has a Mercedes inspection sticker that the cars came with from the factory.
The tail lights and markers in front including fogs are all original, and are glossy and non-faded and swirl-mark free as new.
The following are those things that are usually broken on most W126's of this age:Most have radio brokenMost have antenna brokenMost have sunroof brokenMost have dash pods brokenMost have clock brokenMost have cruise control broken.
All huge expenses. On this car they all work, because someone took care of it.
It has theoriginal radio rebuiltby the original manufacturer Becker in Nov 2016 (have records) and they added a cable for your phone or MP3 player but still keeping the original look. The cassette desk works. Theoriginal antenna still worksperfectly, has 3 positions, off, automatic up and down depending on signal, or full up.
Sunroof works...
Clock workswith perfect accuracy and has been repaired with new capacitors that will go another 35 years.
Cruise Control worksas the circuit card has been resoldered and repaired.

TheA/C is coldand all the vents work when you switch from one to the other as they should.

This car even has rear AC.

Power Windows work

Power Mirror works

Door Locks including trunk and gas lid work

All gauges work

I get about 28 mpg freeway.

The cartracks straight, brakes straight, and the steering is tight with zero slop. This thing is really made for the Autobahn, and I'd trust my life with its handling.

All dome lights, license plate lights, trunk light, and courtesy lights in the doors and ceiling are white LED like the new cars. (see pics)

The interior is all original and the leather is still soft and supple, not like cardboard like most of these out there. Always garaged. The rear cloth dashes are usually faded, this isn't.

Best part about this car is no computers, you can do everything yourself if you are so inclined.

The anodizing gold colored coating is still present in the engine bay.

The door panels have been removed, window tracks greased, andsoundproofing addedto the interior door panels. This is the quietest W126 out there in terms of road noise. Of course the engine noise of a diesel is louder at speed than the gasoline models.

The pictures have an intentional range of lighting, from daytime all the way to dusk and night. I wanted to reflect the car in all different times of day. Sorry if some of the nighttime ones are more fuzzy, I'm not a professional photographer.

WORK DONE:

Hood Cable Replaced 83k, November 2007

Oil/Filter 83k, November 2007

Air Filter 83k, November 2007

Diesel Purge 83k, November 2007

Fuel Filter 83k, November 2007

Fuel Primer and Pump, 83k, November 2007

Alternator 83k, September 2007 $200

Engine/Motor Mounts 83k, February 2008

Engine Shock, 83k, February 2008

Valve Adjustment, 83k, February 2008

Oil Separator O-Ring, 83k, February 2008

Turbo drain O-Ring and Seal, 83k, February 2008

Fuel Injectors 83k, February 2008

Window Tint in 2010

Emissions Pass April 2013

Valve Adjustment 106k, February 2014

Vacuum Modulator 106k, February 2014

Battery 107k, April 2014

Rear Sway Bar Link/Arms 107k, October 2014

Fuel Filter 107k, November 2014

Glow Plugs 107k

Differential Fluid Change 108k, March 2015

Valve Adjustment 108k, November 2015

Engine Shock Bumper 108k, November 2015

Oil Filler Cap Gasket 108k, November 2015

Valve Cover Gasket 109k, March 2016

Oil Change, 111k, November 2016

Transmission Fluid Change 111k, November 2016

Fuel filters 111k, November 2016

Brake fluid change 111k, November 2016

Differential fluid change 111k, November 2016

Adjusted valves 111k, November 2016

Wheel Bearings front 111k,November 2016, $500

Brake Rotors and Pads front 111k, November 2016

Transmission Seals Leaking After 30 years, so it was Rebuilt by Mercedes Factory 111k November 2016, $1,600

H&R Springs 111k, November 2016

Radio Rebuilt by Original Manufacturer 111k, November 2016

Two new front tires, as before we realized it was really the wheel bearings, we tried tires.

PROBLEMS:All these problems are shown in the pics and the YouTube video:

Aesthetically:

- Battery acid made a drip on the right front quarter panel

- The paint is cracked (lacquer crack) on the right rear quarter panel

- The wood on the two front doors has hairline cracks in the clearcoat

- Dashboard is cracked, there is a molded dash cover on there now which no one would ever know it was a cover. (see pics)

- Paint on roof has some deep swirl marks that most likely will come off with heavy rubbing compound buffing

- Drivers seat has a spot where it looks like someone may have repaired a rip (see pics)

Mechanically:

- Shop verified that #3 fuel injector or prechamber is making it knock and shake slightly, and if it is the prechamber said to not worry about it for another 100k miles. The car shakes only at idle and smokes only at startup in the morning because of that fuel injector or prechamber. See my videos, you can tell it's not shaking itself to death. Upon ANYthrottle increase it smooths right out and the knock disappears. The thing cruises perfectly and and is very responsive and powerful as you can see in the video.

FEATURES OF CAR:

3.0 Liter, Inline 5 cylinder Inline Turbo Diesel Engine with 123hp and 181 ft/lbs torque

4 Speed Automatic Transmission

Power Windows

Power Seats (8 way)

Power Door Locks

Power Steering

Power Brakes (Disc all around)

Power Side Mirror

Electric Antenna

Cruise Control

AM/FM Radio with cassette (and now with MP3/Ipod input)

Visors with Lighted Vanity Mirrors

12v Power Sockets up Front and in Rear Doors.

Analog Clock

Analog Speedometer

Analog Tachometer

Analog Oil Pressure Gauge

Analog Temperature Gauge

Automatic Climate Control for Both Heating and Cooling

Rear A/C Vent

Rear Folding Arm Rest

Rear Reading Lights on Pillars

Lighted Glove Box

Courtesy Lights in all Four Doors

Low Battery Warning Light

Low Coolant Warning Light

Low Brake Fluid Warning Light

Low Washer Fluid Warning Light

External Bulb out Warning Light

Wiper Washer Squirter

Green Heat Insulating Glass

Crumple Zones to Absorb Impact of Accidents

Seatbelt Pre-Tensioners (seatbelts that have motors that pull you back into seat during accident)

CELEBRITIES KNOWN TO OWN:

Stan Lee (see pics)

Ayrton Senna

Hugh Hefner

Johnny Cash

Johnny Carson

Sylvester Stallone

John Gotti

Lionel Ritchie

Willie Mays

George Harrison

Michael Jackson (see pics)

Lucille Ball

Paul McCartney

The Pope

Joe Dimaggio

Clint Eastwood (see pics)

Willie Nelson

Nigel Mansel

Gary Busey (see pics)

Cheryl Tiegs

Arthur C. Clarke

Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers

Mc Hammer

Malcolm McDowell

If it is good enough for all of them, it is good enough for me. And it has been. I got rid of my late model year weekend car to have this one for weekends and I'd do it all over again. I also liked the feeling that it is widely associated as a movie bad guy/villain car. People really do get out of your way with respect when you are behind them. Unfortunately, I'm moving and won't have a garage so it has to go.

$500 deposit due within 48 hours via PayPal. Remainder of payment in full within 7 days. If you'd like an inspection, it will be at your expense and before you bid, not after you auction as this is sold as-is. If you have questions please ask, at 33 years old it isn't absolutely perfect. I reserve the right to end this auction at any time in the event someone buys it from me locally.

Local pickup or buyer arranges and pays for transportation.