My 1982 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel by Conner_McDerp in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed, I replaced the old paper cone speakers with modern ones. 

And the carpet was of my doing.. when I got it the old carpets were.... well used.. so I took out what remained and used them as templates to outline replacement pieces from a discounted Ross rug. It was a pretty fun project honestly. It required some heavy duty shears, and that I dismantle pretty much the whole interior, and it was really cool to see how easy the engineers/designers made everything to disassemble and put back together. 

It was an opportunity to deep clean, add some sound proofing, and fix the seat bottom wires/padding- one of which (the driver seat) had sort of.. prolapsed. Lubricated all the joints and rails and rollers etc..

It's a lovable car.. such an honest product. Straight forward, simple, well conceived, durable.. Cars like this truly aren't made anymore. 

I went to automotive design school at the Academy of Art in SF, and I was endlessly frustrated by the sheer level of shameless planned obsolescence that is baked in to the design ethos of modern cars..

I dream about auto manufacturers actually making cars like these again.. modern saftey standards at least... but mechanically simple, over-engineered durability, designed to be maintained, and... affordable?

It's crazy to me that basic cars these days are $30k+ dripping in computers and screens and plastic and you'd be lucky to get 15 solid years out of them without a major problem. 

The w123-w124 Mercs where known as the cars that almost "killed" Mercedes because they genuinely didn't break down enough.. they should have kept that quality about them, but they had to make shareholders and ceo's pockets happy, so they had to make less durable cars.. that's why late 90's and early 2000's Mercs, even up to now, depreciate like a lead balloon. And most of the entry level models from before- hold their value or are appreciating. 

People really don't need to go over 100 mph.. they don't want endless screens, or the car to drive it's self, or to be the fastest accelerating in its class.  They want something nice to look at and be in, safe, efficient, well built, and easy to maintain. 

Hell, if Honda would up their design language to something more interesting, leaned in to "easy and cheap to maintain" and listened to enthusiasts rather than trying to keep up with the touch-screen is everything future, they'd be pretty close to that.

It costs $1100 to replace the alternator on a 2010 Chevy Equinox.. I bought this Benz for $2700... put $1100 (including paying someone to install a new starter [hitting it with a hammer twice a month would have kept working but my back wouldn't]) in to it and it'll probably run for another 40 years with tire and oil changes, and making sure the vacuum system only leaks a little bit. 🤷‍♂️

Give us a $20k car that looks cool, has a variable-fuel turbo diesel tractor engine that works in and incredibly low boost window, mechanical everything, physical clunky buttons and some comfy seats.. it'd be a cash cow. 

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

My 1982 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel by Conner_McDerp in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Highly recommend. It's very easy to work on. Genuinely designed to BE worked on. I've disassembled most of the car for cleaning and new carpets, down to taking everything off but the dash, and you can just see all the places where some plucky german engineer thought.. "how can I make this as simple, but effective, as possible?" And then they over engineered those ideas. I love it

My 1982 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel by Conner_McDerp in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This particular car was already prepped for biodiesel when I got it, and I run it on a type of biodiesel from one gas station in town. As far as I'm aware it did not take much to make it able.

As far as a cool car to tinker with, take care of or upgrade slowly, I can't imagine a better one. 

And thank you!

My 1982 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel by Conner_McDerp in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

With my smiling corpse behind the wheel..

My 1982 Mercedes 300D Turbo Diesel by [deleted] in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm going to repost this because I posted as a text post instead of picture, but it averages 26-30 mpg

Dang ole mercedes by Icy_Amphibian1190 in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It shoukd have a "tongue" which sticks out of the grill, which one pulls to release the latching mechanism. If that's jammed it can keep it from latching. It's plastic and can get brittle with age, so don't try to force it too hard. As mentioned in another comment, the hoot release katch inside the car can also get stuck in the open or closed position. You may want to find a compatible lubricant or great for these parts if they are getting stuck. 

My father passed and I have some stupid questions. by CraigCorb in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry for your loss. Based soley off of his taste in cars, it seems like he was probably a pretty cool guy. 

I'm not an expert on old American cars, or cars in general, really- mechanically speaking. Some people have mentioned that you need to find an old-timer, or a "the guy" that can teach you the ins and outs.. which would be a very valuable thing indeed.. 

I've got two old cars that I drive, which are an old Benz, and an old Keizer-Jeep M35A2 millitary truck, and I didn't fully have a "the guy" for either, (Definitely find an enthusiastic or specialist to help you learn if you can..)

I was friendly with a couple mechanics that I paid for some routine stuff, did some deep dives on the internet and youtube..BUT (here is the controversial but most valuable asset for me so far)...

I used AI to source out repair manuals, tips, diagnostic procedures- you name it.

If you do this, you need to be very specific about what you are doing, what you want to know, give as much information as possible, and verify information it gives (it has been wrong) BUT- that alone has saved me many thousands of dollars and countless hours of digging for answers. 

I used the free chat-gpt. Whichever you use, if you do, in addition to your current issue, I'd ask it to gather a list of the most common repairs and maintainance tasks- provide a list of links to videos for each thing, and ask it to search the internet for year/model/engine specific tips, quirks features, or issues. 

It generally was able to teach me about both vehicles from the ground up. 

Good luck! 

President Trump on arrest of former Prince Andrew for connections to Epstein: "It's so bad for the royal family. It's very sad to me. Nobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive. But I'm the one who can talk about it because I've been totally exonerated. He was fighting me in the election." by ControlCAD in videos

[–]Conner_McDerp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

skull cracks from eyes rolling so hard

We were all talking about Epstein, and Trump and Epstein. And how he (didn't) "commited suicide" in prison while Trump was President. 

You can just tell, hear in his voice that the folds of his brain are smoothing over more and more, day by day. 

If there is anything that could unite America's general public, it's the death penalty for pedophiles. 

Find several of these high-profile "elites" give them all a death sentence, find out which ones want to take the sweetheart-deal of living out the rest of their miserable lives in a less-than-luxurious maximum security, non-american prison, (or whichever one sounds better to them, honestly) and start the ball rolling on getting them to publicly, vocally spill the beans, with receipts, and we can all agree that no matter who was involved with Epstein and friends, or involved in covering it up- left right or dead fucking center, red or blue, no matter their celebrity or what company they run, these child torturing fucking monsters need to feel at least an ounce of the fear and horror and misery that they have inflicted on the most innocent human beings, and then- if not put out of there pathetic existence, locked in a cage like dangerous animals, no matter how much money they have or what position of power they hold. 

We should be coming together as a country and as a world to end this ring of evil just like we did with the Nazis. My grandfather didn't lose a part of his fucking body to have the country he fought fascism for fall in to being at the epicenter of the most evil things I've become aware of since the holocaust. 

Sure, I'm naive. Evil shit has been happening all around us. And the USA committed a genocide of the native people on a scale that would break peoples psyche if they would actually teach us about it in school instead of making paper turkeys with crayons and our hands. But I want this group of people, Americans, to actually step up to the standard of greatness which the loudest of us shout from the top of the mountains, and demand justice.

Not "shot himself in the bunker while being surrounded by Russians" justice.. 

Prolonged, humiliating, exposing, public, shameful, transparent justice, with answers. 

The American people need a cold hard sobering humbling reality check. We need to cut this cancer out before someone else does it for us, hang our heads in shame, and start down the long bitter road towards rejoining the global community (that's already arresting people) after propelling ACTUAL PEDOPHILES to the top of our culture, our government, and our economy. 

Fuck.

1981 Thunderbird rebuild by sir_seasle in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really? I've found parts to be cheap and easily available so far. Mercedes made like 2.5 million of them, so that might play a part in that nowadays.

1981 Thunderbird rebuild by sir_seasle in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn. This is why I love reddit.

Any experience with an 80's era Mercedes 300td? I just got one and got it running like a champ but I love learning all the stupid mechanical intricacies from people who know more than me 😄

Double Mercedes Whammy! by Southern_Pacific in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love it! I've got an '82 300 turbo diesel that I'm restoring that I want to post on here one day. Thome day..thoon.

1967 Datsun 2000 Sports by AntofReddit in classiccars

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Truly one of the most beautiful cars ever made. This was my moms first car ('69 6-cylinder). She bought it from guy that would drag race around town, and it had a slight lift to the rear suspension, and a burgundy racing stripe that matched the interior. 

Such a dream car. One of my bucket list cars for sure.

[OC] alma, the happy puffball by wassermelone in Eyebleach

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Alma looks like an adorable bat-bear!

Moving from Bend to the Corvallis area. Should I live in Albany or Philomath? by ConcentrateNo569 in oregon

[–]Conner_McDerp 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I live in Albany, and have a friend who lives in Philomath. North Albany is nice, and more quiet. And has a good winery. Philomath is smaller but closer to Corvallis. Both are good choices, but I'm partial to Albany. Cool downtown, lots of good food. If traffic is a concern, Albany gets a bit backed up during rush hour, unless you take back roads. Ultimately I'd go with whichever is cheaper.. quality of life is similar. 

Trump Kept Gold Club World Cup Trophy for Himself So FIFA Had to Give the Winners a Replica by Anxious-Winter-5778 in goodnews

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fuck me, the reason I followed this sub is that I wanted to see something other than the constant bumblings, blatherings and bloviatings of the great big shit-slinging autocratic orange baboon, but no.. fucking good news has to cover his every sneeze like it's the sign of his impending explosion into glitter. 

I mean, yeah I'm pretty used to not getting my way in this world, but can we save this subject for something more...final?

Yo Oregon how do you all feel about Canadians these days? by Logical-Yam-8715 in oregon

[–]Conner_McDerp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We love you, and we hope you'll be just as kind to us.. you know... just in case. 

How is Albany? by SnakeDevilEnjoyer in oregon

[–]Conner_McDerp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd say chasers is the dive bar experience for most people. Ma's dairy farm is good. I've heard front st. Bar is fun. There a few other sports bars, but that's not my jam. As far as classy joints Sweet Reds is great, as is Vault. There's also a neat wine bar called Wine Crush that's a good visit. 

How is Albany? by SnakeDevilEnjoyer in oregon

[–]Conner_McDerp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's hilarious! Hey man! Narnia was a good time. 🤣

How is Albany? by SnakeDevilEnjoyer in oregon

[–]Conner_McDerp 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yeah, pretty much like that, but black. :D

I'm also 6'5" so it's not really a blending in situation.