Open Road

My wife dad passed back in January and we were just notified of a 1987 Mercedes that was his that is sitting abandoned in Salina KS area. From what we can tell it was at least garage parked, but wife's dad didn't take care of much of anything in his lifetime and I doubt this would be the exception. Still, before I just write it off, I thought I'd throw a post up and see if anyone has any tidbits about said car.

Near as I can tell, clean title and at least 150k miles on it. No other info on it at this time.

Anemic old diesel.
Will last 1mil miles easy, then you can change the oil if you really want to.

If it’s a manual, you can keep it as an EMP proof vehicle that can be push started and will run on cooking oil, cow piss and filtered manure )or a combo thereof).

Darn near indestructible. If it's not totally beat and you want to get rid of it, let me know.

Go to an MB group.
All those cars have enthusiasts.
At Least it could find a good home.

Thanks guys…. I’ll make plans to get it home and will keep y’all updated.

Update…

The good news is that it’s apparent a “semi-collector” car since it’s a one year only turbo model.

The bad news is the car should have come with its own DNR certificate. It’s pretty beat. It starts and drives, but it’s very questionable about having a positive ROI for investing any time or money into.

I’ll clean it up and post some pictures.

190D Turbos are pretty sweet. Look forward to the photos!

Not gonna lie, this would be a labor of love but if someone wanted to do something with it, well… I’ve seen worse.

It starts, it drives and it’s already a lot more clean than what we started with. But I’m still making the list of what it needs.

Hate to send it to car for kids as a tax write off, but I am not willing to put any actual dollars towards keeping this on the road. To the right person, it might be worth it.

sh944 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2023 5:10 pm Not gonna lie, this would be a labor of love but if someone wanted to do something with it, well… I’ve seen worse.

It starts, it drives and it’s already a lot more clean than what we started with. But I’m still making the list of what it needs.

Hate to send it to car for kids as a tax write off, but I am not willing to put any actual dollars towards keeping this on the road. To the right person, it might be worth it.

Get a membership one of the big MB forum and post it there.
You will get the lowest fair price and an enthusiast will get it.

@XR4Tim More details and some pictures...

The car has 161k miles on it and has a clean title from Wyoming in my wife's father’s name. I ran a carfax on it, it has no reported accidents or anomalies that show up, and the car is straight. Having said that, here's a rough run down on the condition of the car:

Exterior, the paint is completely shot (bad sun fade), but the body is straight. Yes, it has the appropriate turbo passenger fender. There is rust around the jack points on the rocker panels and a spot of rust under the trim panel on the rear passenger quarter panel, and there is a dent in the hood from where some idiot forgot to remove a tool or something before they shut the hood. The hood ornament, of course, is missing the star. There are a few minor dents in a few panels but nothing paintless dent repair couldn't fix. The factory wheels appear to be straight and relatively decent but are far from concourse quality. The windshield has a crack in it. Both headlight covers are broken but the headlights do light up.

Interior is complete but in poor shape. Apparently, someone liked to ride around on dirt roads with the windows down, I have started to clean it up but I have a ways to go yet. The dash is cracked, the seats are worn (drivers side seat has a big hole in the left bolster), door panels are in decent shape except for the rear driver’s door which has stated pulling away on the top by the window. The fan blows up to full speed, the original Blaupunkt radio does not work (I have not looked at the fuse yet) and three of the four windows work when you hit the switch (rear drivers’ side not working yet). Some switches and dash panels are worn and missing, but for the most part, they appear to be intact. The shift console wood trim panel is worn and loose, but the shifter itself works well.

Engine compartment/drivetrain: The engine was covered in about two inches of dirt and gunk that I have started to clean up. It looks much better already and has a lot of room for improvement. The good news is that there does not appear to be a lot of "creative wrenching" that has taken place, most of the components/hoses/wiring appear to be factory installed. When started, the only dash light that lights up is the Anti-Lock light but from the little driving I have done with the car so far, the brakes appear to work fine. It has a rough idle and rattle, but it smooths out and is relatively quiet once you accelerate the engine. It shifts into all gears and changes gears while driving smoothly. I haven't heard any concerning whines or squeals while driving it, but again, I have only driven it a short distance in the parking lot of my garage condo where I currently have the car parked inside. The shocks seem a bit soft when you push down on the four corners but it doesn't bounce, it just rebounds once and then settles in. I am not familiar with Mercedes so I don't know what to expect there; from a Porsche perspective, I would be replacing them. I expect to find some oil leaks under the engine based on the amount of oil sludge collected on the valve cover and turbo side but since I was cleaning the engine compartment with a degreaser, I won't be able to tell yet what was dripping because I was spraying vs what was coming out of the engine on its own. The underside of the car looked surprisingly good when I snuck a peak at it while it was on the trailer, but I haven't put it up in the air on my lift yet to inspect it. I may get around to that, it remains to be seen... I'd prefer to send this to a new home before I get that invested in the car.
This was before we cleaned it a little... it looks better but obviously its like putting lipstick on a pig.
Engine compartment before cleaning...
Engine compartment after cleaning...

I will say, the more I run the car, the better it drives. All new fluids and filter, tires, brakes and shocks and this car might run forever...

lol Tim, come get this thing quick before I change my mind. I am doing an oil change on it on Saturday and cleaning bits and pieces of it, it keeps getting better and better. Let me know if you want me to do the brakes (rotors, pads and fluid), but you need to plan on paying for the parts... If I do that, it might not be the most luxurious ride you've ever had but it would probably circle the globe without issues assuming no electrical issues crop up and you don't mind no AC.

I already treated the rust spots, by the way...

As long as it's got enough brake pad left to get me home, I'll just do the brakes here. Otherwise, I'll plan on bringing some extra money. If you want to give it a fresh paint job though, I wouldn't turn it down

And ruin the patina?? No way!

I’ve driven it a little bit, and will say that I am not fond of the condition the tires are in but they are holding air. There is also a definite squeal when braking that is a concern but it hasn’t felt like it wouldn’t stop or imminently fail. I have not pulled any wheels to look.

Let me know if you like to talk more about it. In my younger years, I’d probably have gone for it, the older, wiser me would’ve more been more cautious.

Can you tell if the squeal is from the front or rear? I'm pretty sure I have some new caliper hardware and an extra set of rear pads from the last 190 project that I could bring along if needed.

Pretty sure it’s the rear, but I’ll put the car on the lift and take a closer look. If you have time when you get in, maybe we could plan on doing a basic service before you hit the road.

Sounds like a good plan. As long as the flight isn't really late, I should have time!

I just spent a very nice afternoon and evening with Tim and his wife Tiffany. I picked them up at the airport, then we went and got dinner and then headed over to the garage condo where Tim examined the car and then after some minor wrenching on it, shook my hand and then he and his wife took off in the Mercedes.

I think this is a great community. Tim may change his mind about that depending on how far the car takes him, but I can say that at least they were still speaking to me when they left. Lol

I think they might come from the other side of the globe and wave as they drive by before that car beeaks down, haha.

No issues to speak of on the first leg of the trip (except for the third brake light disintegrating ).

Big thanks to Scott for his hospitality!

To be fair, that light disintegrated a long time ago…. Lol

Safe travels!

Made it home with zero breakdowns. Parked it next to the garage, and it already looks like it's been there for years

Also found the window sticker in the glove box!

The color match to the garage is amazing, almost like your hired Joanna Gaines to find the perfect car that says "Tim!"

Congrats!

Very nice!

ROI? That thing will $.02/mile. My sister got a early 1980's equivalent of that (Manilla colored - you know it) while she lived in Germany (husband in the Army). Drove it for 3/4 million miles or so, it then became the starter car for her five kids, then it sat in the garage for a while. She was going to ditch it at over a million miles but she had it refurbished (Paint and had the interior reupholstered in actual leather, refreshed the suspension, etc). She lives in Herndon VA and uses it as her DD with around 1,750,000 miles. It's outlived every other car she's ever had. It's got a little less than zero horsepowers but who gives a shit?

Currently taking the car through the Lemons Midwest "Rust Belt Ramble Rally". It's been terrific, only needing a $17 battery cable so far.

Right on Tim, and remember we're all rooting for you so (um, awh) keep yer stick on the ice

Finished day 2 of the rally. I only had to remove the parking brake cable ends that got jammed inside the right rear drum and started making a horrible noise by the time we got to the motel. I don't have any pictures of that, but there were lots of people taking pictures and video, so it's probably on Instagram somewhere

XR4Tim wrote: ↑Sat Aug 19, 2023 9:57 pm Finished day 2 of the rally. I only had to remove the parking brake cable ends that got jammed inside the right rear drum and started making a horrible noise by the time we got to the motel. I don't have any pictures of that, but there were lots of people taking pictures and video, so it's probably on Instagram somewhere

Well, that didn't take long...

Love it! Lisa and I are happy the car found the right home and wish you many miles of happiness and road side wrenching! Lol

Seriously, we hope the car treats you well.

Made it through day 3 of the rally with no failures! I had to catch a flight, so I couldn't stay for the awards and I don't know how we scored yet. But it was a lot of fun, and the 190D performed very well for the 1,100 miles.

I see it’s got a new hood ornament, replace the front passenger tire yet? Lol

I actually made the 3-point star in the hood ornament with zip ties
We brought a new spare tire, but didn't end up needing it. The sketchy plug held just fine, even through some perilous gravel roads.
I did replace the driver's seat and fuel hoses before the rally though.

https://thembmarket.com/1985-mercedes-b ... -5-speed-1

Seems like a hood starter car for my nieces?
What’s it worth?

TRAKCAR wrote: ↑Wed Aug 23, 2023 8:42 pm https://thembmarket.com/1985-mercedes-b ... -5-speed-1

Seems like a hood starter car for my nieces?
What’s it worth?

With mileage that low and no rust, probably $6k-$8k.

I found one with even less HP lol.
72

The nieces won’t be speeding haha….
Who knows what I bought but this thread was a bad influence and I’ll drive it back from AZ to FL.

https://thembmarket.com/1985-mercedes-b ... -5-speed-1

1985 2.0L diesel Euro Spec.

Then again…. Somehow someone made it go fast.

My old 2.3L 190E would cruise at 120 MPH, it just took a while to get there. I took the 2.5 turbo diesel to 111 MPH recently, and it got there a lot quicker than the 2.3 gas engine. It also had a lot of the rev range left. Both cars were extremely stable at speed. The 2.0 Diesel looks to be the same way, just needs a lot of space to get up to speed.

XR4Tim wrote: ↑Sat Sep 02, 2023 11:58 pm My old 2.3L 190E would cruise at 120 MPH, it just took a while to get there. I took the 2.5 turbo diesel to 111 MPH recently, and it got there a lot quicker than the 2.3 gas engine. It also had a lot of the rev range left. Both cars were extremely stable at speed. The 2.0 Diesel looks to be the same way, just needs a lot of space to get up to speed.

You don't build speed, you just gather momentum. ;)

3000 miles AZ FL
90% full throttle 35-40MPG.

Even did about 20 miles unpaved.

Not a hiccup

Orthopedic seat still work!
That was very nice after 12 hours of full throttle last night haha.

Removed rear spoiler and put oem grill back on

Is that car for your nieces or you?

Looks so much better with the stock grille!

sh944 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 24, 2023 4:01 pm Is that car for your nieces or you?

I have my own hahaha….

Well, the 190D is now on its way to a new home. The buyer is driving it home to North Carolina right now, so it will continue to be a well-traveled beater.