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Uncle Skeleton · Apr 23, 2007, 09:37 PM

My g/f has an '83 Benz turbo diesel. We're selling it. It takes forever to start in the cold (sometimes never starts), although since that stuff she had to get it a new starter...
Driving up a medium grade hill, it maxes out at about 25 mph, with the pedal on the floor, but maybe that wouldn't be a problem with a manual. Maybe there's something wrong with it, idk.
Also we tried biodiesel on it and it started belching black smoke, constantly, for weeks. Also if the land used to grow rapeseed was instead used to grow trees, petroleum diesel would emit only a third of the CO2 equivalent emissions as biodiesel.
I do love not worrying about any sort of collision ever hurting the driver of the car, but it really doesn't run very well.
Just musing

nonhuman · Apr 24, 2007, 09:47 AM

It definitely sounds like there's something wrong with it. I don't know that much about diesel engines (yet), but perhaps it needs new glow plugs?

As for the black smoke when using biodiesel, where did you get your fuel and how was it processed? Did you clean your tank before hand? Biodiesel will dislodge the years of deposits that have formed in your fuel tank from traditional diesel if you don't clean it out first and, if you don't install an extra filter to compensate, the crap that's dislodged ends up in your engine.

As for whether or not biodiesel will have much effect on emissions, I'm not a proponent of growing crops entirely for the purpose of creating fuel oil. It would be much better, in my opinion, to just use recycled oil. The biggest advantage of a diesel engine is that it can run on just about anything. I know a guy who used old heating oil from a friend that was upgrading his house's heating system to run his car.

scattered · Apr 25, 2007, 06:38 PM

I'm looking into getting a Scion tc. Something to jet back and forth to work and class with.

nonhuman · Apr 25, 2007, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by scattered

I'm looking into getting a Scion tc. Something to jet back and forth to work and class with.

Scion's are nice enough cars, but I'd recommend you take one out for a spin first. Some people love them, but I just find them to be poorly laid out. I've driven the xA and xB and in both cases (particularly the xA) visibility was absolutely horrid, and I thought the layout of the controls were less than intuitive (which is odd, because I usually find the opposite to be true with Toyotas). I haven't had the chance to drive a tC, but they do look like nice cars.

centerchannel68 · Apr 25, 2007, 06:47 PM

They're nice cars. But again, being green= driving something old, and to the ground. New cars are responsible for an enormous amount of pollution. I'll never buy one. Ever.

imitchellg5 · Apr 25, 2007, 07:04 PM

Makes me wanna go hug a tree.

scattered · Apr 25, 2007, 08:08 PM

I plan too. I've driven my friend's xB and liked it well enough

centerchannel68 · Apr 25, 2007, 08:42 PM

too what?

scattered · Apr 26, 2007, 05:42 PM

Test drive.

Gossamer · Apr 26, 2007, 05:44 PM

It's too test drive? I hope I'm not very test drive.

scattered · Apr 26, 2007, 06:35 PM

If I ask the salesperson to drive with me to work every day, then it's too test drive.

centerchannel68 · Apr 26, 2007, 08:08 PM

Way too test drive. I like my test drives short, but that is too test drive for me.

letswastetime · Apr 26, 2007, 09:42 PM

a honda civic sounds perfect for you

centerchannel68 · Apr 27, 2007, 02:00 AM

too perfect? Only if you too test drive it though.

Railroader · Apr 27, 2007, 10:05 AM

nonhuman · May 3, 2007, 07:34 PM

Well, one way or the other we'll be buying a car next week. Need to have it by the 21st, and we'll be gone from the 12th through the 20th, so next week it is.

I've emailed a few people off Craigslist to try and set up appointments to see cars this weekend. In addition to a few diesel Mercs, I also found a '67 Volvo 122 S which I want to take a look at. Would make a great pair with the '68 P1800 we've got in Illinois. Same color even.

Regardless, I've seen a lot of what look like great deal on Criagslist lately, so this should be fun.

design219 · May 3, 2007, 07:58 PM

This is the '67 122s I just sold. It was a great car!

nonhuman · May 3, 2007, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by design219

This is the '67 122s I just sold. It was a great car!

Nice! I can't wait to go check this one out.

G4ME · May 3, 2007, 08:51 PM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

In addition to a few diesel Mercs

one word of caution, watch out for rust, depends on where they are from and how they were driven but those tanks of diesel mercs can also become tanks of rust.

but i guess you could say that about any car driven year round in the salt.

centerchannel68 · May 4, 2007, 02:02 AM

Originally Posted by G4ME

one word of caution, watch out for rust, depends on where they are from and how they were driven but those tanks of diesel mercs can also become tanks of rust.

but i guess you could say that about any car driven year round in the salt.

I've had rusty cars but the gas tank never got rust in it. Maybe you're using bad gas or something.

G4ME · May 4, 2007, 12:13 PM

i guess my adjective tanks discribing mercs got a little mixed up

nonhuman · May 6, 2007, 10:39 AM

Well, we found our car. It's an '83 Mercedes Benz 300sd turbo diesel. The current owner is a mechanic, and this has basically been his pet for the past 6 years or so. He's rebuilt or replaced just about everything in it, even the interior which he pulled out of a '90. He's selling it because he's basically gotten bored with it since nothing ever goes wrong. The only 'problem' with it is that the driver-side power seat switch is broken so it's currently permanently adjusted for his height (he's a little taller than me and I'm 6'1") which is a problem since Jessi (who's about 5'4") will be the one driving it most of the time. He's going to fix that for us this week (never did it before because he was the only one who drove it) and then we'll buy it off him. He's even got the original mechanics manuals for the car that he's going to throw in. He went through them a little with me, and they break everything down into incredibly simple processes. Apparently Mercedes engineered the car so that everything about it is rebuild-able, even that power seat switch. He went over just about every mechanical aspect of the car with me, and the thing is rock solid.

Besides the mechanics it's also an absolutely beautiful car. '83 is early enough that it's still got some nice curves in it's lines, and the paint is nearly flawless except for a few spots that he's touched up to stop it from rusting (there's some rust on the left-rear fender, but it's been sealed and isn't spreading, and he's got a replacement fender in the trunk that he just hasn't installed yet so it's not a big deal). I can't wait to bring it home and take some picture of it. Apparently in '83 these cars sold for $40,000 (which would be about $81,000 today adjusted for inflation

), and they look like it. There's no doubt when you see the car that this is one hell of a nice car. And we're getting it for $3500.

ghporter · May 6, 2007, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by centerchannel68

I've had rusty cars but the gas tank never got rust in it. Maybe you're using bad gas or something.

Gasoline and diesel are two VERY different animals in terms of what a car tolerates as impurities in the fuel. Gunk that would stop a gasoline engine dead (maybe permanently) a lot of diesel cars just ignore. And older diesel cars that have been fueled with "not quite perfect" fuel (maybe truck-quality fuel) over the years, could have guzzled down some nasty stuff. Ever notice how many semis have stainless steel fuel tanks?

centerchannel68 · May 6, 2007, 12:58 PM

Sweet car dude. Post pics!

PS: GHporter, apparently game likes to call the cars themselves tanks, despite the fact that America built bigger, heavier vehicles.

So the stainless steel tanks, while neat, are completely unnecessary. It's all about having a fuel filter.

nonhuman · May 6, 2007, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by centerchannel68

Sweet car dude. Post pics!

PS: GHporter, apparently game likes to call the cars themselves tanks, despite the fact that America built bigger, heavier vehicles.

So the stainless steel tanks, while neat, are completely unnecessary. It's all about having a fuel filter.

Don't worry, there will be plenty of pics.

Kevin · May 6, 2007, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by centerchannel68

too perfect? Only if you too test drive it though.

Care to explain this post to the class rob? :/

Mediaman_12 · May 6, 2007, 02:02 PM

a question about that (83) era of EU cars in the States, how come they where fitted with such ghastly headlamps? Example, Here is the US version of the car that nonhuman has just bought (i think or he MAY have the newer version)

But the EU version has a nice glass cover over both sets of lamps

My dad had one of the coupé versions for years, looked really quite cool in a 70's sort of way, handled like a barge though.

Yes in that bling gold colour, and no he isn't some sort of pimp. (here is a better pic but not in the right colour)

ghporter · May 6, 2007, 06:27 PM

I remember trying to test drive a Mercedes Turbo Diesel in 1983. I'd just installed a car phone (WAY before cell phones, guys!) and the Mercedes was notorious for being a crappy car phone platform because the whole body was mounted on rubber washers to eliminate noise-though it made the whole body a multi-plate capacitor and induced horrendous noise. Well long story short, I tried to enter traffic at a stop sign and nearly got nailed by a big pickup that had been about a quarter mile away when I pushed on the gas-that turbo never did kick in until AFTER I had missed a date with that truck by inches. This wasn't like a feeder road straight onto a freeway, but rather a side street onto a city thoroughfare with a 45 MPH speed limit. From this, I concluded that a) the '80s vintage turbocharger in a Mercedes is made of poo and fail, and b) that car is tank-like enough is size and mass that I would classify it as a tank if the situation ever came up.

Oh, and centerchannel68, while a fuel filter WILL protect the engine, it won't keep the crap in bad diesel from eating away the nickel plating (or galvanizing) inside a fuel tank, which is what I thought I was getting at. Rereading my post, though, I can see that I stressed engine effects and didn't stay focused on tanks.

G4ME · May 6, 2007, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

that car is tank-like enough is size and mass that I would classify it as a tank if the situation ever came up.

yeah our 77 300D was deathly slow heavy and very durable the reason I called it a tank.

G4ME · May 6, 2007, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by Mediaman_12

a question about that (83) era of EU cars in the States, how come they where fitted with such ghastly headlamps? Example, Here is the US version of the car that nonhuman has just bought (i think or he MAY have the newer version)

i am guessing different types of fog lamps, our 77 had both clear ones.

Mediaman_12 · May 7, 2007, 06:44 PM

Ghporter, part of the reason for that slow response time (in an overtaking manoeuvre) is that lake lots of the 'fancy' stuff on that age of Merc' is that the 'kickdown' button under the gas peddle is worked via compressed air, not an electronic micro switch. I think it was an effort by Mercedes to keep the car silent. compressed air tubes operated all kinds of things like the central locking (including the fuel filler cover) and the button for tipping the seats to get in the back of the coupé.

ghporter · May 7, 2007, 07:06 PM

I knew about the door locks and trunk lid (all opened automatically when you unlock ONE door-lovely security!), but NOT about the "kick down" switch. Sheesh! Silent doesn't help when the semi runs over your whole car! Thanks for the explanation, but overall, I still think the turbo system on those cars was still made of poo and fail.

Have Mercedes done better with modern turbos? Is the Kompressor equipped Mercedes actually worthwhile?

nonhuman · May 11, 2007, 07:55 PM

Well, the car has been bought. It's still in the driveway of the guy we bought it from though, because we're going to be out of the country next week and didn't have anywhere else to store it.

Expect pictures on the 21st.

centerchannel68 · May 13, 2007, 11:11 PM

Weak.

iMOTOR · May 13, 2007, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Have Mercedes done better with modern turbos? Is the Kompressor equipped Mercedes actually worthwhile?

Kompressor is actually a supercharger, btw.

nonhuman · May 24, 2007, 11:31 AM

Managed to snap a few shots this morning before Jessi drove to work:

And just because I love that hood ornament:

Laminar · May 24, 2007, 12:13 PM

I like it.

nonhuman · May 24, 2007, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

I like it.

Haha, nice.

For the record, my flare is all-natural.

Dakarʒ · May 24, 2007, 12:25 PM

I don't know, just the first thing I thought of when I saw the pic.

Laminar · May 24, 2007, 12:30 PM

Nice.

centerchannel68 · May 29, 2007, 01:29 AM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

Managed to snap a few shots this morning before Jessi drove to work:

You did it all wrong. When you get a new car, you need to take a pic of the headlamps:

nonhuman · May 29, 2007, 07:27 AM

Originally Posted by centerchannel68

You did it all wrong. When you get a new car, you need to take a pic of the headlamps:

You can see all the lamps in mine...

The important ones are those headlamps anyway. Apparently the guy we bought the car from felt the need to put off-road lights in there and they're actually twice as bright as the legal limit...