Fire Engine Red: 1983 Mercedes-Benz 300D
This next car comes as a tip from David in Tampa who writes: I’ve had a succession of diesel Mercedes: a mint condition manual ’75 240d in burnt orange, a burgundy ’82 300d, a white ’82 300sd and finally an ’81 300sd. All bought on the cheap and all of them ready for a long second life after I fixed their issues, but I’ve never had one as nice as this. While most fans pine for a wagon, this coupe in red with enough miles to be barely broken in makes my eyes water and my legs a bit wobbly – and all for less than a used late model Corolla. Find this 1983 Mercedes-Benz 300D offered for $16,000 in Clearwater, FL via fakebro metacrap.
From the seller:
1983 Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz 300 D
$16,000
Listed 8 hours ago in Clearwater, FL
About This Vehicle
Driven 146,000 miles
Automatic transmission
Exterior color: Red · Interior color: Gold
Fuel type: Diesel
2 owners
This vehicle is paid off
Seller’s Description
Very clean 300CD turbo diesel coupe hard to come by rare car everything works
See a better way to drive something red? tips@dailyturismo.com
Sold already! It definitely has style, even if it’s probably slower than the 1.6 Capri.
Slow doesn’t begin to describe. The only car slower is a 240D. I bought a 300TD (non turbo) with a 4 speed. Fun car driving around LA. Then took it on a trip north. Going over Shasta at 35mph in third, semis restricted to the right lane piled behind me, I waited for a gap and moved into the next lane. The cars behind were, uh, angry and all the trucks passing on the right honked and waved.
Sold it and bought a 300TD with turbo.
We had a 190D and a 220D
You think the 240 was slow, ha.
The Mercedes OM617A turbo diesel when functioning properly is a joy to drive making a lovely and satisfying symphony when either idling or accelerating. The trick is to have no vacuum leaks, a properly working injection pump, bench flowed injectors, a properly shifting automatic and a functional kickdown switch. The wastegate can even be tweaked for additional herspers.
Somebody somewhere just parked this in their garage and they’re sitting on a folding chair staring at it and thinking about how they’ll keep it for the rest of their life.
Lucky bastard. I wonder if it still has its OEM Becker radio …
“no vacuum leaks, a properly working injection pump, bench flowed injectors, a properly shifting automatic and a functional kickdown switch” ….ummm…all of the 240s, and 300s I had over the years had NONE of these things. But my favorite was a white 240D with a manual gearbox — I swear I could out drag a 300Turbo with that 4-speed to 30 mph. The joys of burning oil.
Ah yes, never mind the power of the engine. A big honking flywheel at redline and deft clutch engagement = burning rubber until you get to 15mph or so. The only way to drive on San Francisco hills. Get a tire on a cable car track though and all bets are off.
My 1982 300D turbodiesel has no problem getting up to speed. It is especially good 50mph-75mph when the turbo, gearing, and torque all come together. The key is injection pump timing and properly adjusted valves.