1977 Mercedes-Benz 240D 107xxx miles, 3 owner car, well-maintained
Description
You are looking at a well-preserved and maintained 1977 Mercedes-Benz 240d. I am the 3rd owner of this car. The original owners were Czech immigrants to Lexington KY who bought the car new. I purchased it in 2010 (while living in Lexington) from an elderly friend of theirs who had it for a little over a year before deciding he didn't like the car. I believe it had 94,000 miles when I bought it. I had it looked over by my Mercedes mechanic (this is not my first or last Benz) and had all fluids drained and refilled with MBZ spec fluids. I will attempt to recall everything I have replaced or had worked on during my ownership below:
First, I upgraded the glow-plugs to the more modern style. They now can work independently of each other rather than in-line, as the older w123 was designed to do. This is a common upgrade. Bosch plugs.
From 2010-present, replaced motor and trans mounts, starter (new, not remanned), brake master cylinder, trunk seal, negative battery cable, injector nozzles (used an Italian made brand, don't remember the name), water pump and belts, alternator, exhaust hangers and oil pan.
Valve adjust and valve cover gasket in 2010, 2013. It is due again and i will include a new Victor Reinz gasket. Slight injector leak will need tightened during valve adjustment. Zerex coolant replacement in fall of 2015, along with coolant hoses. brake fluid replacement with Pentosin done in 2014 with master cylinder. Power steering fluid with new Hengst filter replaced in Spring, 2016. Car is ready for an oil change and I will include two filters. Will also include a Bosch primary and Bosch secondary fuel filter. Not yet time to change but I won't be needing them anymore.
Let's talk about the body - it has had the usual W123 rust. I had the passenger floorpan professionally replaced in 2011. There has been some amateur body work done as you can see from the pics. I have considered this car a daily driver, not concourse-level show car. I give it an annual "spa day" in Spring where I find rust, grind or sand it out, rust-proof, and paint with Rustoleum "almond" spray paint. It has worked very well, but I also hardly drive it in winter. No rust in the engine bay or interior wheel wells, which is great news. PA inspected through 8/16.
Interior looks great. Driver's seat needs restuffed, a common problem with these cars nowadays. Fuel gauge recently starting acting up. Not sure why. Odo and trip meter work, clock moves but is slow so I never use it. Original Becker Europa radio works great and lights up. A few interior bulbs need replaced. One tiny crack on the dash below the right speaker is it - no other cracks. The headliner is robust. I like to joke that the interior is Stuttgart-new. Not exactly, but for a 39 year old daily driver, you'll be very pleased. Backseat is in perfect condition, springy like Mutter's sofa!
Starts up and runs nice and slow, like the 4cyl OM 616 should. Shifts as it should. Very little smoke despite its pedigree attests to the health of the engine. 4 new (< 3k miles) Vredestein Quatrac 3 tires hold it to the road nicely, and deal with rain winter weather very well. Full-size Vredestein spare too. If you aren't familiar with Vredestein, you should check them out. Currently my favorite tire company, and I have them on both of my other vehicles.
Selling because I had an opporunity I couldn't pass up on a W201 diesel with 70k original miles. This 240 has served me faithfully, and I am reluctant to sell, but I can't keep all the toys and would love someone to do the body work and restore completely to its former glory. A great runner, I wouldn't hesitate to drive this car across the country (but with the 4cyl, you'd need to budget twice as long to get to California!).
Included will be a spare injector pump, the AC unit (I removed a few years ago for more HP), two spare taillights, a passenger side mirror if you'd like to add one (optional equipment in '77 and not installed on this one), another steel rim with the original West German spare tire still attached(!) and the aforementioned filters and gasket. Original booklet included. Missing one hubcap. Cruise control is not working, and power locks are intermittent. In the next 12-18 months it will need the windshield gasket replaced. Think I covered everything - thanks for looking.
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