[katz]

Well, to make a long story short, my wife wanted a project car, too. I have my '58 Corvette I've been restoring for the past 5 years. She's always loved Mercedes and hated the fact she had to part with the E-Class she had access to temporarily. We found the following deal on e-Bay and we'll pick it up in about a month. I don't even know what model it is, but it shouldn't be too hard to fix up (ha-ha!) Hopefull y'all can help me out along the ride.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2402925017

... I think it is a 240D?

So, first off, what is it?

 

[StrichAcht 240D]

What you have bought there is a fine Mercedes Benz - a 1973 220D Diesel (W114 chassis). Th...

What you have bought there is a fine Mercedes Benz - a 1973 220D Diesel (W114 chassis). They are extremely reliable and not as slow as thier cracked-up to be! A very fun little car - they're light (around 2950lbs), have a great ride and superb handling thanks to wishbone suspension in the front and coil-over shock/spring assemblies in the rear. The engine is a 2.2L 4 cylinder Diesel engine with 60hp and about 90 lbs.ft. of torque.

Storage cars can be quite tricky sometimes as "sitting wear" is sometimes worse than "usage wear". The main thing I would think judging by the situation and apperance of the car would be to get new front and rear windshield seals and possibly trunk and door seals as well - this will prevent the car from rotting itself away. The engine compartment looks like it needs a little freshing up - parts are realitvely cheap, altought you may be suprised by a few things. The interiors usually go quickly on these cars if not maintained. That is pretty costly. Best thing to do in my opinion is to look on Ebay and/or wait around till you find someone selling either MB Tex or preferably Leather seats from a 1968-1976 (W114/W115) chassis Mercedes. Get a new set of tires, a battery and let that sucker pre-glow for a few minutes and I bet she'll start right up. Also change the fuel filters! Good luck!!

 

[katz]

Re: What you have bought there is a fine Mercedes Benz - a 1973 220D Diesel (W114 chassis). Th

Get a new set of tires, a battery and let that sucker pre-glow for a few minutes and I bet she'll start right up. Also change the fuel filters! Good luck!!

Thank you for the info and well-wishes. I know to check seals, gaskets and replace fluids and filters before trying to get her to crank. I've also read on grabbing newer glow-plugs. Given the snow and snow and cold we've had lately (and that I don't have a heated garage yet) that's probably a good idea.

I'm worried about water in the fuel. Is there a such thing as a water-seperating fuel pump I should add-in/replace the existing one with? Is this a Turbo Diesel or just a natrually aspirated one?

Thank you, once again!

 

[heckflosse]

Looks Nice!As said it's most likely a 220D as the VIN number on e-bay seems to be the ...

Looks Nice!
As said it's most likely a 220D as the VIN number on e-bay seems to be the engine number (112). It will have the M615 4-cylinder natrually aspirated diesel as shared with the 200D but with the stroke taken from 83.6mm to 92.4mm. The engine and transmission will most likely be sound but the auto tends to be prefered to the manuals.
The weak spot on these cars tend to be rust. Check the rear arches and the underside, especially behind the axle were the suspension and fuel tank are mounted to the chassis.
Out of interest it was the most popular in the 114/115 range with over 420,000 models produced (54,121 during 1973).
Some specs;
Engine: 4-cylinder 2197cc OHC
POWER: 60bhp @4200rpm & 92lb torque @ 2400rpm
MAX SPEED: 82mph
0-60: 25.3secs
STANDING 1/4 MILE: 23secs
OVERALL FUEL CONSUMPTION: 32 MPG (Imperial)

 

[heckflosse]

Looks Nice!As said it's most likely a 220D as the VIN number on e-bay seems to be the ...

Looks Nice!
As said it's most likely a 220D as the VIN number on e-bay seems to be the engine number (112). It will have the M615 4-cylinder natrually aspirated diesel as shared with the 200D but with the stroke taken from 83.6mm to 92.4mm. The engine and transmission will most likely be sound but the auto tends to be prefered to the manuals.
The weak spot on these cars tend to be rust. Check the rear arches and the underside, especially behind the axle were the suspension and fuel tank are mounted to the chassis.
Out of interest it was the most popular in the 114/115 range with over 420,000 models produced (54,121 during 1973).
Some specs;
Engine: 4-cylinder 2197cc OHC
POWER: 60bhp @4200rpm & 92lb torque @ 2400rpm
MAX SPEED: 82mph
0-60: 25.3secs
STANDING 1/4 MILE: 23secs
OVERALL FUEL CONSUMPTION: 32 MPG (Imperial)

 

[StrichAcht 240D]

Yes this is a Naturaly Aspirated diesel - the Turbos didn't come from the factory untill '...

Yes this is a Naturaly Aspirated diesel - the Turbos didn't come from the factory untill '82 (well in the smaller chassis' at least - in the form of a W123).

About the water separater, don't bother - they cause more trouble than good. Mercedes never offered one on this or any other chassis diesels. The fuel may be geled however, in which case you will want to add some anti-gel fliuds - can be purchased at any Marine or PepBoys type autostore. If you suspect serious fuel issues (I.E. water in the lines) then take off the pre-filter, drop the lines from the tank and drain the tank. The drain plug is at the bottom of the tank - it's quite visable from below. I would think that just some anti-gel and a couple of gallons of fresh diesel should get it going.

Oh, If you don't know how to pre-glow the pull starter cars (like your 220D): Pull the starter knob out all the way just before it catches the starter, and watch the small circular metal thing just above the steering column. There is an actual glow plug coil in there that will glow just as the ones in the engine do. If it will not glow - the 114/115 chassis cars had glow plugs in parralell (I think thats the one - either parralell or in series) which means if ones out, they all go out. Anyways - good luck and have fun (semi-)restoring it! It may seem overwhelming at first (if this is your first) but they come around eventualy!