1984 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series Sedan Grey RWD Automatic DT

1984 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series DT

Vehicle Details

Main Description

Of all of the 1984 mercedes 300D’s I have ever owned, this is one of them. I took this on trade for another project and have been working on it little by little over the last year. I was originally going to use it as a parts car but it is too nice in my opinion. Let me be clear, MANY people would treat this as a parts car and I would not exactly blame them. Years ago when these were still cheap I may have just parted it. These aren’t those days anymore. It needs a lot of normal work but would make a great daily driver that you don’t have to worry about getting scratched. Before we waste any more time here is what I have done, and what is wrong.

What is the good news

It fires right up. Runs smooth, goes forwards and backward (doesn’t stop), shuts off with a key and doesn’t smoke inappropriately. Other than the later described and contained rust the body is great. The interior is as good as any I have seen in quite a while other than those gorgeous garage queens on here. There are some small dash cracks and the driver seat will give you the opportunity to learn upholstery. I have replaced The wheel bearings, rotors, pads, calipers, and hoses. My next project was the brake booster when I got a job offer which requires moving. A project like this will cramp my groovy new lifestyle but I would still like this car to be saved. I am not asking a lot for it as I know it has nearly 400k miles. No this is not where I give the tired old adage about these things lasting a million miles on veggie oil and poor maintenance. This is just surprisingly good still.

What kind of mess would you be getting yourself into?

Well, you have a mostly solid body with good paint, a tight engine, operationally functional but uninspected transmission and rear end. All of the dodads are here. Caps, Covers, Containers, and things starting with other letters too. If you weld or fiberglass the body will not be a huge deal. You will obviously want to replace the steering and suspension components on any of these cars unless it has been recently done. The only thing stopping the brakes from being complete is a new brake booster. I am including the master cylinder. The engine leaks from I presume the oil pan. It also seems to be leaking from the injection pump which is pretty standard. Which means new motor mounts and transmissions mounts. Of course since you're down there you should do the flex discs too. This is all pretty standard stuff. This car appears to have been taken care of very very well by the first owner for a long time. It then sat at the second owners for a number of years. The turbo seems good. The vacuum system is great. The engine bay has been cleaned but not detailed. The valves have been recently done by the previous owner who I trust for he has the secret knowledge and is a holder of the wrenches. Plus I cannot stress enough, this thing fires up faster than my 85 with 145k on the clock. That’s why I didn’t redo the valves myself. I think he may be better than me. So what kind of mess? Just fixing up an old car. It’s worth it in my mind.

Rust: There are 3 major rust points and one minor that will become major.

Rear driver side trunk and bottom fender area. I did a temporary fiberglass/Foam/Bamboo skewer lattice thing that did what I think is a hilariously good job just to keep critters out. It will be easy to remove but did the job. (Please keep it and report back on its longevity :)

Passenger side between the two doors on the floor and into the rockers. I cut this out and it is ready to weld panels in. Unless you want it prettier. This was temporarily sealed up as well but I have removed it. This hole encompasses the right rear mounting point for the passenger seat. You will need a new mounting point when you replace the panel. I have the passenger seat. It is in good shape although the back netting is finally sagging like all of us ‘80 models these days.

Passenger “cab corner” rear rocker: not affecting the jack point but I have cut it out, sprayed mold release for easy removal and lightly filled it with some spray foam to keep critters out. The spray foam is very clearly not being used as packing for body filler. It was not in the car when I got it and there is no evidence of any foam trickery on this car. I can remove it before you get it if you would like.

The rear windscreen has some corner rust bubbles forming. Not immediate but anyone who knows these knows that it is easier to fix earlier on.

Other than that it doesn’t have some of the more common rust issues. The battery tray is rusty but not perforated and I will clean that up before the car goes. The firewall is not rusted through either.

Brake Booster: Needs rebuilt or replaced. I have and will include a new master cylinder

This is an all around great, affordable project that you don’t have to worry about keeping all beautiful and original. I miss when these cars could be purchased cheaply and just driven like cars. I wish I could keep this one. I was going to daily it.

• Make: Mercedes-Benz
• Model: 300-Series
• Type: Sedan
• Trim: DT
• Year: 1984
• Mileage: 380000
• VIN: WDBAB33A0EA099357
• Color: Grey
• Engine size: 3.0L Diesel I5
• Number of cylinders: 5
• Fuel: Diesel
• Transmission: Automatic
• Drive type: RWD
• Vehicle Title: Clean
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