Ahh... since I have little else to do with my spare time other than sip whiskey and piddle with my cars.. I figured I would share a new project with everyone.
So just a little back-story here (all great projects have one, right?)..
I did a "so-so" restoration on this car a few years back. Here is a link to the original post: Complete Restore: 1987 190D 2.5 Turbo (Lots of pics!)
Well.. life happened. I run the wheels off the car (literally... twice, anyone with a 201, 124, etc knows the front ball joint fun) and finally.. the transmission gave up.
That was 2016.
Around October of 2016, I actually came across ANOTHER '87 2.5 Turbo - all original (in Seafoam Green). It had sat behinds somebody's home for around 12 years parked (never once moved) until they passed away. Son came in, found the car and sold it to me for $500. Ran and drove great. I actually put a hitch on that one and drove it w/ a trailer between middle Tennessee and Central Mexico (the country, NOT the state) for 2 years.
During the time I drove the GREEN 2.5td... I ended up using the other (GOLD) 2.5td as a "parts car". The car literally sat in the woods behind my friends repair shop... ON THE GROUND... in the dirt... under trees for over 2 years. Mice literally ate the damn seat belts!
Fast forward to 2019. I sold the running (GREEN) 190D for $2500 to a dude who wrecked it first week he had it. Ended up buying it BACK for $200. Not a bad deal eh?
So here I am: 2 factory '87 190D 2.5 Turbo cars. The gold one has a good engine, bad trans, and EXCELLENT body (except for a couple isolated rust spots). The green 190 is a running/driving car technically... but driver side is completely crushed in.. It has a SOLID engine, transmission - all interior parts work 100% and are in good-to-excellent condition.
So.. I figured: I am going to do the ULTIMATE 190D restoration. After all.. I have TWO of these cars - I should be able to put one really mint car together.
Ultimate as in: no expense spared. Is it worth it? Probably not.. But crazy as it sounds: I actually prefer driving these little 190's MORE than my 2009 CLS550. Just something about the "feel" of these little cars that really makes them a joy to drive.
Let's start with some pics of the car as it sat this past December....
(pics to follow next post)
So just a little back-story here (all great projects have one, right?)..
I did a "so-so" restoration on this car a few years back. Here is a link to the original post: Complete Restore: 1987 190D 2.5 Turbo (Lots of pics!)
Well.. life happened. I run the wheels off the car (literally... twice, anyone with a 201, 124, etc knows the front ball joint fun) and finally.. the transmission gave up.
That was 2016.
Around October of 2016, I actually came across ANOTHER '87 2.5 Turbo - all original (in Seafoam Green). It had sat behinds somebody's home for around 12 years parked (never once moved) until they passed away. Son came in, found the car and sold it to me for $500. Ran and drove great. I actually put a hitch on that one and drove it w/ a trailer between middle Tennessee and Central Mexico (the country, NOT the state) for 2 years.
During the time I drove the GREEN 2.5td... I ended up using the other (GOLD) 2.5td as a "parts car". The car literally sat in the woods behind my friends repair shop... ON THE GROUND... in the dirt... under trees for over 2 years. Mice literally ate the damn seat belts!
Fast forward to 2019. I sold the running (GREEN) 190D for $2500 to a dude who wrecked it first week he had it. Ended up buying it BACK for $200. Not a bad deal eh?
So here I am: 2 factory '87 190D 2.5 Turbo cars. The gold one has a good engine, bad trans, and EXCELLENT body (except for a couple isolated rust spots). The green 190 is a running/driving car technically... but driver side is completely crushed in.. It has a SOLID engine, transmission - all interior parts work 100% and are in good-to-excellent condition.
So.. I figured: I am going to do the ULTIMATE 190D restoration. After all.. I have TWO of these cars - I should be able to put one really mint car together.
Ultimate as in: no expense spared. Is it worth it? Probably not.. But crazy as it sounds: I actually prefer driving these little 190's MORE than my 2009 CLS550. Just something about the "feel" of these little cars that really makes them a joy to drive.
Let's start with some pics of the car as it sat this past December....
(pics to follow next post)