So since some idiot totaled my 2000 Jetta GLS TDI, i decided to go in a different direction as far as a replacement car. I purchased a 1986 Mercedes 300SDL with 170k on the clock. Black with Silver two tone paint. We flew into SFO airport and drove the car back to southern california. It was a bit of an adventure, after quite a bit of inspection i was certain the car was mechanically sound, however once on the open road i found the car lacked the power to maintain speeds up a slight grade. This proved to be very interesting as we made our way up the grapevine at a mere 45 miles an hour and blew the emergency flasher relay and ended up with electrical issues.
I was a bit disappointed, and even regretted purchasing the car. however my outlook changed considerably when i found the lack of power was due to a simple plugged vacuum line that controller turbo boost. after repairing this small vacuum line and cleaning the connection on the intake manifold the car was all i was hoping for.
I immediately began purchasing some upgrade parts and maint parts and got to work building my new toy. here is a partial list of the parts I’ve purchased:
- closed cell foam bolsters for the front seats (to increase stability of seats and provide more support, these are a factory part number from Mercedes)
- Bosch pencil style glow plugs
- an updated custom grill
- Depo smoked tail lights
- Euro style headlights with h3 fog lights and city lights (glass lens)
- Smoked corner lights
- Monark Diesel Nozzles for the injectors
- Replacement fuel lines hard and soft
- Replacement passenger side vanity mirror (mine was broken)
- new fuel filters
- Oil change with Shell Rotella 5w50 Synthetic Diesel oil
now here is what still needs to be done:
- Fix A/C
- Paint car with new black on black paint
- Balance wheels
- Alignment
Fun things i’m looking to do in the future
- Variable Geometry turbo charger Holset HX35 turbo
- Custom Turbo controller from Hella or Fleece performance to control the vanes of the turbo
- Fuel Heater element
- Electric Lift pump by the tank
Here are a few pictures from the fun:
