Few things make more sense to me than a W123 300TD. In my opinion, it’s everything you might ever might need in a vehicle. Durability?…
1 CommentTag: OM617
Powered by the legendary five cylinder OM617, the sort of motor for which Mercedes-Benz earned their reputation as manufacturers of “million mile engines,” the W126 300SD was a classy and reliable ride, offering a frugal option for S-class owners not perturbed by a clackety-clack sound coming from the front end of their luxury car. This engine would be replaced in 1985 by the OM603 six cylinder unit (later enlarged to 3.5 liters) that, while offering more power, was susceptible to a number of very serious problems (a fault with the trap oxidizer – part of the emissions system – that could ruin the turbo, cylinder heads prone to overheating and cracking, bent rods and head gasket failures). So those looking for a diesel W126 would do well to consider an early, first generation car like this one.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Mercedes-Benz 300SD
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I’m always on the lookout for golden era Mercedes in rare colors to add to my small collection (more on that soon!). We’ve reached the point where despite millions of these cars being built and nearly all standing the test of time well, any nice one is starting to creep up in value — even more so if it’s in a color that isn’t earth tone. Today’s car that is up for sale in New York is the ultra-rare Inca Red paint that I’ve only seen on a handful of Mercedes over the years – let alone a W123 coupe.
CLICK FOR DETAILS:Â 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300CD on Hemmings
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”Those old Mercedes diesels will run forever!” That’s what I constantly hear when someone who is a ”car person” sees or hears I drive an old Mercedes diesel. Usually I just smile and nod in agreement because they don’t want to hear about valve adjustments, multiple filter changes, purges, diesel fuel additives and everything else that goes into keeping an old Mercedes diesel running forever. ”Nope, you’re right, just pour whatever liquid you want into the tank, it’ll run. Sure.” That brings me to today’s car. An OM617 diesel that is half way to running forever with only a tick over 585,000 miles. Now since you’ve heard about these cars that are capable of doing a crazy amount of miles, let’s take a look at this 1980 300D in Scottsdale, Arizona.
CLICK FOR DETAILS:Â 1980 Mercedes-Benz 300D on eBay
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Another day, another old diesel Benz. I know, I know. But when I saw this one I couldn’t resist. Yesterday I wrote up an ‘87 300SDL. While that car presented very nicely, in truth the better W126 diesels are either the early, short wheelbase models (’81-’85), like today’s car, or the very late ones (’90-’91), during which time the short and long wheelbase diesels shared the same engines. As noted yesterday, the diesel motors in the cars in the period in between had a few design faults that could potentially affect their longevity (quite unusual for a Mercedes product). This particular car is an ’85, the last year in which you’d find the legendary OM617 engine under the hood.