Bring it back to former glory. It deserves it. I did quite a bit of maintainance and service work on those back in the days and seen several hundred thousands of km. on the cloks. It´s like a cockroach, its almost impossible to kill it.
@@hondaatcfreak420 you don’t need to restore it it’s already restored smh 🤦🏻♂️ it’s literally been done over before he bought it. Look at that reupholstered leather interior and perfect paint job.
My parents bought a series of fairly inexpensive station wagons while my siblings and I were growing up. Their reasoning was the rigors of family duty would reduce them to third world taxi status quickly. When I was sixteen they went car shopping one Saturday with my younger sister. She called and excitedly told me they had bought a Mercedes Benz and I thought "GREAT I WILL GET TO BORROW A MERCEDES"! I didn't realize that Mercedes made station wagons. I was kinda disappointed when they drove up in Hildegard as she eventually was known as. She is still in the family with 316k miles and counting...
"Everyone loved that". I hope getting this thing fixed up is as successful as the last one you bought from the series. Watching your progress and development as a content creator has been awesome!
The 300 TD was the reason the new ones do not last thanks to the CEO at the time telling the engineers to stop building tanks. Rather well documented event. Bigger turbo and intercooler beef up the trans . and go stealth with it .
The 1997 S class ( the big square ones ) were the last year of the old designs. After that, everything was plastic and a never-ending race to out-do BMW in its race to the bottom with too much tech.
Well, you've just given yourself a source of lots of channel content! Honestly, at this point the guys should just be giving you the cars for free or giving you cameos in the series. But at least this beast is free of ant colonies.
But it also needs some modern hidden improvements.... not every part needs to be original. Who wouldnt want android auto in this with rear dash cam etc... and USB chargers replacing the ash trays.
@@richardcline1337 well, if you care about it being stolen, at least hide a gps tracker/ and a dash cam is a no brainer in case of accidents for insurance at least.
Hey Elliott, I just finished watching you talk about the Maserati on Vinwiki & I dropped out of watching Car Trek to see this!!! I really look forward to seeing your latest adventure with the diesel Mercedes!!! Again, thanks for taking me along on your latest adventure!!! Your new lighting is awesome!!! 👍👍🙂
My late dad used to have two of these Mercs but sedans. I still remember the bright orange 250D and then a dark blue 300D he drove. I miss my dad and to see this car it brings back memories. Please restore it! Bring it to its former glory!
Definitely restoration. Would be great to see it restored to its former glory, it deserves it. Plus, if you decide to sell it, you'll make a pretty penny!
Welcome to the Mercedes family! Most automotive UA-camrs seem to start with an S-Class, but ever the rebel, your first Mercedes is a wagon. 😃 BTW, please restore it as opposed to the safari conversion. Please! PLEASE! 🙏🏿
Full factory restoration with the exception of adding a tasteful amount of power. Maybe there are period correct Turbo and Fueling mods that will bring life into it.
At this point, there should be a Car Trek cars reunion collaboration. Love the car, I hope you go the restoration route. That interior is so nice already.
I'd like to see at least a "light" restoration or even a resto mod to get some modern tricks into her. (Detailing, too.) It's a complete car, so I think it would be a real disservice to do anything else. BTW - Love your channel!
Renew all the Vacuum lines. Renew a few missing pieces. reseal the pump and she be a gem. Spray the beneath with film spray to reduce rust issues. Such Rugged things perfect for winter and driving around to pick up crap
Yeah! I'm so pleased you've decided to save this old grandpa of a car. 😎 Do the meacnical restoration for sure. If you flip it for good money by making it all pretty again, I'd do that. After you mechanically restore it, take it on a family camping trip or a fishin' trip with your dad and film it for us.
Definitely restore it, it has earned it! It’s restoration and ownership history it will draw even more of a crowd! Congratulations on choosing one of the world’s most durable vehicles, wishing you many happy miles!
That looks a really nice straight original car and it will still be on the road when all those new Mercedes with 19 inch wheels and electronics are long gone.. I would repair that rot though and even if you couldn’t get the 40 year old hearing aid beige paint to match perfectly it wouldn’t matter as it would just add to the patina.
@@ElliottAlvis My Mrs bought a 2011 Mercedes diesel A class the other week and it lasted two days as she took the oil cooler out on a large pothole and it would never of happened if she went old school Mercedes.
"Oops, he did it again!" 🤣😂 These old Mercedes are way over engineered, so much longer lasting than modern cars. Congrats Elliott! Hope it brings the same results for the channel as the last CarTrek car. My vote is the zebra build... Just sounds crazy lol
Definitely restore that beauty! I've seen them fixed up, with tasteful mods and omg they are good looking! And the value are still going up. So it's a win, win situation!
Congrats on the new addition! Loved that you and your dad got to enjoy another road trip together. You guys sure have had a lot of experience with non air-conditioned adventures! Lol!
Great buy and will love to see it restored, as someone who was alive and driving in the ‘80’s, we did drive “modern speeds” and A/C was a normal thing in cars….you speak of the ‘80’s like they were the 20’s!
I was watching with my wife and said at least you UA-camrs make me look less insane. She scoffed. Also loved your dad's Atari shirt. I wasted many an hour with a 2600 as a young teen in the early 80s.
8 gallons of gas into a diesel, recipe for a fantastic running diesel. I have an 87 300sdl with over 325k miles on it so I'm excited to see how the wagon turns out, hopefully really well. Good luck on it. Oh ya, look into adjusting the alda if Tyler hasn't done it already because it makes a huge difference in how it feels speed wise.
@@mattbeckner2427 but it's a s123, you can cut up one of those, the benz guys will kill him. I'm one of them but i would just find it cool, not sacrilege like others would
I grew up 30 miles north of I-285 just off I-75. Have made the trip up 75 to Chattanooga many times. Nice to see some familiar sites on your channel. Never been closer to your town than St. Louis MO. Glad you survived Atlanta traffic. Keep the cars going
The bushings on the shifter linkage are gone (disintegrated into dust long ago, common issue). Putting the shifter into Park doesn’t mean it actually goes into Park, the transmission can still be in Reverse.
@@ElliottAlvis the bushings in the shifter linkage are likely completely gone, and the transmission was in Reverse while the selector was in park. (Common age related issue, not hard to replace)
I think you should resto-mod it, update the inefficient 80s parts, sort out some form of intercooler for the turbo, tidy it up and daily it A good turbo, no leaks and an intercooler should result in a safe 180hp bombproof Merc Tank
Another thing you could do to it Elliot is giving it the notorious Polizei- livery. This baby was used by the german police back in the early eighties. It's kind of iconic in that format to us old-timer europeans actually.
Since you asked: Restore it to some extent, leave a bit of patina, and make sure you do an undercoating and spray a load of wax into the doors and sills, as they are the first things to rot away. Cheers from Germany (from a guy who drove a '78 300D -nonturbo- sedan as one of his first cars)
I mean, it's an 80's Merc, I'm shocked the guardrail wasn't smashed to pieces! I'd love to see it restored, and Tyler's "fixes" corrected properly. This car is close to the miles from here to the moon and mechanically it seems to be completely nonplussed and so I'd love to see get the TLC that kind of reliability deserves. Somehow, that interior looks really, really nice, even with 80's square-ness everywhere. Get the seats redone and that is probably a really nice place to sit!
@@ElliottAlvis hmm... i created that name but i wanna create this club hahaha Old DIESEL, MERCEDES, WAGON owner here, a 98' C250 TURBODIESEL WAGON WITH THE RARE MANUAL
@@ElliottAlvis I hope you look after it well. Those cars are phenomenally well built. Not sure if it's something you've considered on the channel before but it seems like a prime candidate for a full restoration?
I have a friend in Santa Barbara who has a brown Mercedes wagon like Elliotts. He drives down and back to LA as his commuter car. The car runs like a top and has 1/4 to 1/2 inch or surfboard wax on the roof as my friend throws his boards on top and surfs while his kids swam at the beach club.
Monark nozzles, valve adjustment, tighten up stearing box/rebuild, fix the worst dry rotted stearing components, flush all your hydraulic fluid/filter change, power steering flush and filter, hell mine as well flush all fluids out, adjust your bowden cable since its not shifting at the correct times, injection pump timing , then drive the shit out of it. Hell filter some wvo oil for free from a family owned local resturant and drive in the summer for free. Fuel filters always need changed,... hoovies condom fix is hillarious, a all metel monark primer pump is 40$ and is easy to fix with some crow socket wrenches. And last bonus, their is a in tank fuel screen on the bottom of the tank that sometimes gets clogged and robs preformance... all my w123's are slow, but not embarrasingly slow like the one in the vid:) best of luck, it will be around awhile unless the rust wins. 🤙
"Collecting CarTrek cars like SuperBowl rings" You got some SuperBowl rings too? LOL If so, cool. If not...well congrats on the 2nd CarTrek car!! Is the non-family friendly fix still in place after all those miles? Interesting purchase, but the best of the three from CarTrek 5, well of their 1st cars....I'd have taken Tyler's SLS...over Freddy's Fusion and Ed's batch of fast Lambo parts.
Elliott, you might want to consider moving your bank of lights back a bit. What happens when they're close like that is the light falloff happens rather quickly so you end up getting lighter and darker as you walk around the car. Moving the lights back will lessen that. Also consider dimming half the bank to create a bit more contrast and sense of depth. Third, watch your filming angle, you had the lights behind you showing in the video, either lower your filming angle or move the light higher. They were the brightest thing in the image and the eye is drawn to bright things. One last thing, and I don't know if you've already done this, but get yourself a tripod, tripod head, or adapter that has an Arca Swiss compatible mount, put the other half on your camera and you'll be able to put your camera on and off the tripod quickly and it's probably more securely attached than the tripods stock mount. If they have rubber or cork or some other material between the mount and the camera it will have a tiny bit of wobble and tend to slip if shooting vertical images. I put an aluminum bracket on my cameras to mount lights and/or a mic and it has a built-in Arca Swiss mount. Cost is $25 + depending on brand and type, L bracket, or cage. They can get into the $$$ range. I always liked to have a broad diffused light to fill in shadows and add a smaller light to produce more contrast and specular highlights.
@@ElliottAlvis You may not want to get this involved with your lighting but for those interested in getting into photography or video work there is something to be aware of, color temperature of your various lights. If you use fluorescent lights, unless they are specifically daylight balanced to around 4800* Kelvin, they will give off a greenish tint.(and in my experience the daylight ones still look a little on the green side) Incandescent light, your typical light bulb) gives off a warm light. Even 'daylight' color balance is a moving target when shooting outside. The higher the altitude the bluer the light gets, from a few hours after sunrise and the same before sunset the light gets warmer. Overcast day are much bluer as is the shade. I shot with studio strobes which were daylight balanced to 4800*K and would use simple shop lights to provide some warmth to the images like the effect of morning light coming through a window. It's after 1am so I'll make this quick, you can create some nice effects using different color temperature lights. Under the right conditions using a warm light in the foreground and cool light in the background can give your image/video an almost 3D depth. There are many sources online that can tell you about all of this in more detail, especially useful are the more technical film making channels.
The comfort level and ease of driving of these are their best points. Yes restore it, but add some horse power - add an intercooler and whatever else would make it run better, fix the steering/handling as well. As for what to do with it - put the seats down and use it as an errand wagon, add a draw bar and haul trailers with it, fill it with a tent, chillers etc and take it on a camping holiday. Actually they do most things well, but don't take it to the track, you don't need to be very smart to realize they were never intended for that.
I had an exact twin to your car. 1983 300TD. What a wonderful car and a true tank. MercedesSource should be a place to find out about some maintenance stuff. The car can run much better with not much expense and time. Remember this is a momentum car so watch way out front and drive it like you stole it. Use that gear shifter and run it up fast going down hill and then close the throttle to create a lot of vacuum to pull out the carbon. You stole it at $3k. Just keep fixing stuff as it breaks. It will be fine.
The first option of fixing whats needed is the best of you are tight on cash, but the second option while the market is hot for them could give you the most profit
I think you got the best of the 3 cartrek cars. This car was just about peak mercedes when it was introduced. It was way overbuilt. And by the look of it it can easily be turned into a bullitproof reliable classic car. Mercedessource channel would probably approve of your aquisition. About the vague steering, it has a recirculating ball steering box and those are probably adjustable. You can probably dial out most of the sloppyness. As for the engine. A good tune up like valve adjustment, pump timing check, boost check, new air + oil + fuel filters might improve performance a bit although it will never be like a modern car.
1. Detail / de-cartrekify - that should give you some episodes. 2. Fix some basics (aircon, seals, rust, hinges on the 3rd row), 3. Restore 4. Power upgrade (intercooler, turbomod) - 200hp should be possible without impacting reliability, but improving driveability significantly
I live in Europe and I had 4 different w123. None of them turbocharged and A/C equipped. The last one did 800’000 km with the original engine refreshed.
Hey Elliot! Great video and love the Mercedes. Thanks for the 'Dad - cameo!' Always good to see your old man! I'd go for the restoration! It's a sweet ride!
I find it absolutely amazing that you have your father with you in this video.this shows the respect that you have for your elders and this in turn earns you respect from people who adore the kindness that the kids must show to their parents when they grow old. Cheers mate!!
A fun fact: you can fit a 4x8’ sheet of plywood in the back, which makes it a better hauler than some pickup trucks… Perfect for a surf wagon or classy AF work vehicle
While I'm not a huge fan of the car, I would say restore it. If possible, make it showroom quality again. See how close you can get it to looking and performing as new or better. That would be fun to watch. The safari idea, crazy, but I dunno about that one personally.
These types of diesel are rock solid. I bought and sold a 1980 300SD Turbodiesel. My wife called it an Adult Car. It was listed as $30K new in 1980. I think about that car all the time and I sold it 14 years ago. It got 30 miles to the gallon of diesel and when I moved I should have brought it with me. this wagon, like my Adult Car, turns heads wherever I went.
Fix it up and as a daily driver. I had a similar car, 1983 300SD, same engine/tranny etc. Had 305,000 miles when I got rid of it...best car I ever had! Brought my first daughter home from the hospital in it (2011) and drove it from California to Virginia during a military move. One of the other party tricks is pull starting it, even with the automatic transmission! Came in handy when the starter went bad!!!
Gotta agree with Mark Bennett, I'd go the restoration route and auction it off, the listing you demonstrated showed $41,000, already selling for more than this one cost Retail in 198X.
That QT in Columbia, MO was instantly recognizable. I've stopped there on the way to my grandparent's house many times over the last 25 years, and I was just there on the way back on Sunday. Weird timing...
Restore it. I just finished restoring my "83 300SD. It now runs like a Swiss Army Knife. I noticed a good bit of smoke when you were accelerating so the injectors and fuel delivery systems will need servicing (maybe valve stem seals and definitely valve lash adjustment) but you will be amazed at the performance improvement after you get the mechanicals in order. Granted it will never be "fast" but it WILL be safe and smokeless. The cosmetics are pretty easy. It just takes time. EVERTHING on these is serviceable with parts readily available and reasonably priced. These deserve to be saved if possible. Don't turn it into a clown wagon!
Bring it back to former glory. It deserves it. I did quite a bit of maintainance and service work on those back in the days and seen several hundred thousands of km. on the cloks. It´s like a cockroach, its almost impossible to kill it.
They are like cockroaches in the best way!
Restore...for sure....will be waiting on the next clip...
Restoration, for sure. Nothing beats a car that looks like it did when new.
I would say cut the roof and truck it
@@hondaatcfreak420 on a perfect example classic car like that, that is rising in value fast? Are you crazy?
@@Rekt-M8-v4 nope just know can't restore every car
@@hondaatcfreak420 you don’t need to restore it it’s already restored smh 🤦🏻♂️ it’s literally been done over before he bought it. Look at that reupholstered leather interior and perfect paint job.
@@Rekt-M8-v4 that car isnt restore lol take it to wizard and see the list of hidden problems
I’d go for a restoration as it’s an even bet you’ll be able to get more than purchase price for it if you decide to sell.
He might want to sell the Mercedes
Boring
They've gone up in the last month ffs
i would drive the snot out of this car as is...great winter car for Michigan if it's got a block heater...well i would fix the leak of course
Collectors seem to like those. It can fetch north of 12 grand in mint condition.
For an old grandpa car, that thing has a lot of charm. I honestly can't wait to see more content on it. Definitely work towards restoring it.
Thanks Chris! I'm excited to have it!
My parents bought a series of fairly inexpensive station wagons while my siblings and I were growing up.
Their reasoning was the rigors of family duty would reduce them to third world taxi status quickly.
When I was sixteen they went car shopping one Saturday with my younger sister.
She called and excitedly told me they had bought a Mercedes Benz and I thought "GREAT I WILL GET TO BORROW A MERCEDES"!
I didn't realize that Mercedes made station wagons.
I was kinda disappointed when they drove up in Hildegard as she eventually was known as.
She is still in the family with 316k miles and counting...
Haha, I love the name! Great story William. Thanks for sharing and for watching!
Road trip with your dad again. That's cool. Making more memories .
Heck yeah. That’s what it’s all about!
Elliot's a lucky guy he gets to see his dad regularly.
"Everyone loved that". I hope getting this thing fixed up is as successful as the last one you bought from the series. Watching your progress and development as a content creator has been awesome!
Thanks Jonathan, that means a lot!
The 300 TD was the reason the new ones do not last thanks to the CEO at the time telling the engineers to stop building tanks. Rather well documented event. Bigger turbo and intercooler beef up the trans . and go stealth with it .
The old Deisel moters were you indestructible
"Stop building them so reliable! We need people to buy more of them, not less!"
Thats hilarious that that actually happened! I'm glad to have caught one on the correct end of being built correctly!
The 1997 S class ( the big square ones ) were the last year of the old designs. After that, everything was plastic and a never-ending race to out-do BMW in its race to the bottom with too much tech.
The 3rd row seat is awesome! Can't wait to see some repairs and maintenance on this!
Thanks man! The third row seat seems to be missing some installation hardware, but thats all part of the fun!
See if Euroasian bob have any of these old mercs in his salvage to find parts to pick.
Well, you've just given yourself a source of lots of channel content! Honestly, at this point the guys should just be giving you the cars for free or giving you cameos in the series. But at least this beast is free of ant colonies.
lol right on all accounts there! lol😂
I would actually do a full exterior, interior and mechanics restoration
I agree, the car is to nice to cut it up for a safari build.
But it also needs some modern hidden improvements.... not every part needs to be original. Who wouldnt want android auto in this with rear dash cam etc... and USB chargers replacing the ash trays.
@@Kitty-oy5nj I don't think that anyone would like to rape a classic Mercedes like this...
@@Kitty-oy5nj If that is what floats your boat then go buy a newer one but leave this classic as a real car!
@@richardcline1337 well, if you care about it being stolen, at least hide a gps tracker/ and a dash cam is a no brainer in case of accidents for insurance at least.
Hey Elliott, I just finished watching you talk about the Maserati on Vinwiki & I dropped out of watching Car Trek to see this!!! I really look forward to seeing your latest adventure with the diesel Mercedes!!! Again, thanks for taking me along on your latest adventure!!!
Your new lighting is awesome!!! 👍👍🙂
Thanks for all of the support today, and always Christopher!!
My late dad used to have two of these Mercs but sedans. I still remember the bright orange 250D and then a dark blue 300D he drove. I miss my dad and to see this car it brings back memories. Please restore it! Bring it to its former glory!
Did they make 250D’s or did you mean 240D?
I am glad you have those fond memories of your dad and his cars. It means a lot that you'd share that with me.
@@CupwakeRBLX You are right. it was 240D
MrRootMusic I knew it
Definitely restoration. Would be great to see it restored to its former glory, it deserves it. Plus, if you decide to sell it, you'll make a pretty penny!
Dad's are to be treasured. You obviously do, and it's lovely to see father and son being together 👍All the best.
Honestly which other 70s/80s car will make it so far. These old Mercs are amazing whether you admit it or not.
You're absolutely correct. This car is an amazing feat of engineering and reliability.
Glad its in a good home now. Looking forward to the progress! My favorite car on the show.
Welcome to the Mercedes family! Most automotive UA-camrs seem to start with an S-Class, but ever the rebel, your first Mercedes is a wagon. 😃 BTW, please restore it as opposed to the safari conversion. Please! PLEASE! 🙏🏿
Thanks John! I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks for watching!
Full factory restoration with the exception of adding a tasteful amount of power. Maybe there are period correct Turbo and Fueling mods that will bring life into it.
There is No problem to get about 500 hp out of it😛
What a GREAT Experience with your Dad !! I miss my Dad SO Much !!
From one notary public to another, I love the channel man! Keep buying these super interesting cars and fixing them up. We love to see it bud!
Notary Public gang! Thanks Keith!
At this point, there should be a Car Trek cars reunion collaboration. Love the car, I hope you go the restoration route. That interior is so nice already.
being friends with Tyler I'd have thought you'd know to NEVER buy one of his actual cars lol
I should’ve known better, but the opportunity was too good to pass up!
@@ElliottAlvis As Hoopties go, this was a surprisingly solid one aside from Tyler's condomfix.
@@ElliottAlvis Why was it hard to pass up? You spent $1000 in plane tickets just to get the thing. Just do your own thing, man.
If everything is serviced these gems are ready for the road , plenty of miles and smiles , your pops is cool for joining the adventure .
The hood's "service mode" is absolutely fantastic! I wish all cars did that. Congratulations on the road trip with dad. So happy for you!
Thanks Paul! The service position rules. It provides so much extra room without removing the hood!
I'd like to see at least a "light" restoration or even a resto mod to get some modern tricks into her. (Detailing, too.) It's a complete car, so I think it would be a real disservice to do anything else.
BTW - Love your channel!
Renew all the Vacuum lines. Renew a few missing pieces. reseal the pump and she be a gem. Spray the beneath with film spray to reduce rust issues.
Such Rugged things perfect for winter and driving around to pick up crap
1 - convert to biodiesel
2 - lift it
3 - come run the HooptieX with me this weekend
Put Amg Rims on it😂 paint it, European headlights and bumpers and it will look amazing.
Haha, that would look pretty cool!
Yeah! I'm so pleased you've decided to save this old grandpa of a car. 😎 Do the meacnical restoration for sure. If you flip it for good money by making it all pretty again, I'd do that. After you mechanically restore it, take it on a family camping trip or a fishin' trip with your dad and film it for us.
Thanks Shauma! I like your suggestions!
Thank you for buying her! I’m really glad! I’ve been telling u for months now, please save her n take good care of her
Definitely restore it, it has earned it! It’s restoration and ownership history it will draw even more of a crowd! Congratulations on choosing one of the world’s most durable vehicles, wishing you many happy miles!
That looks a really nice straight original car and it will still be on the road when all those new Mercedes with 19 inch wheels and electronics are long gone.. I would repair that rot though and even if you couldn’t get the 40 year old hearing aid beige paint to match perfectly it wouldn’t matter as it would just add to the patina.
I like the way you think!
@@ElliottAlvis My Mrs bought a 2011 Mercedes diesel A class the other week and it lasted two days as she took the oil cooler out on a large pothole and it would never of happened if she went old school Mercedes.
"Oops, he did it again!" 🤣😂
These old Mercedes are way over engineered, so much longer lasting than modern cars. Congrats Elliott! Hope it brings the same results for the channel as the last CarTrek car. My vote is the zebra build... Just sounds crazy lol
Thanks Ant! I'm just thrilled at the opportunity to have this car!
Restore it sir! Thanks for the entertainment as usual!
Definitely restore that beauty! I've seen them fixed up, with tasteful mods and omg they are good looking! And the value are still going up. So it's a win, win situation!
Congrats on the new addition! Loved that you and your dad got to enjoy another road trip together. You guys sure have had a lot of experience with non air-conditioned adventures! Lol!
Yes, good to see Dad making a cameo and loved his facial expressions.
Glad you got the wagon. Definitely my favorite of the groups first cars.
It has a lot of charm! Thanks for watching!
Complete original restoration. Then invite Hoovie on for the reveal.
Great buy and will love to see it restored, as someone who was alive and driving in the ‘80’s, we did drive “modern speeds” and A/C was a normal thing in cars….you speak of the ‘80’s like they were the 20’s!
Restore it. Old Benz do maintain their ability to keep going on. It'll be quite the good car for years, if properly brought back to working order.
You're right Michael. Either way, this car deserves to go on!
I was watching with my wife and said at least you UA-camrs make me look less insane. She scoffed.
Also loved your dad's Atari shirt. I wasted many an hour with a 2600 as a young teen in the early 80s.
Haha, glad we could take some of the heat off of you Scott. Atari rules!
Bring it back to its former glory. This car is an appreciating asset mate!!
Wishing your dad the best. Glad you guys got to have this road trip
Looks like your trying to collect as many car trek cars as you can wondered which one you bought. would be nice to see it restored
I'm a big fan of ex-Car Trek cars!
8 gallons of gas into a diesel, recipe for a fantastic running diesel. I have an 87 300sdl with over 325k miles on it so I'm excited to see how the wagon turns out, hopefully really well. Good luck on it. Oh ya, look into adjusting the alda if Tyler hasn't done it already because it makes a huge difference in how it feels speed wise.
Safari build, the do some sort of adventure in it.
@@mattbeckner2427 but it's a s123, you can cut up one of those, the benz guys will kill him. I'm one of them but i would just find it cool, not sacrilege like others would
@@johncrone4047 I’m sure you are right lol. We are running out of good old steel anymore.
I grew up 30 miles north of I-285 just off I-75. Have made the trip up 75 to Chattanooga many times. Nice to see some familiar sites on your channel. Never been closer to your town than St. Louis MO. Glad you survived Atlanta traffic. Keep the cars going
If only he had managed to get it into park BEFORE exiting the car.
To be fair, the car does roll in park quite a bit lol
The bushings on the shifter linkage are gone (disintegrated into dust long ago, common issue).
Putting the shifter into Park doesn’t mean it actually goes into Park, the transmission can still be in Reverse.
@@ElliottAlvis the bushings in the shifter linkage are likely completely gone, and the transmission was in Reverse while the selector was in park. (Common age related issue, not hard to replace)
Imagine if Tyler watched this! Great video Elliott now u just need one of ed's cars!
I *hope* Tyler watched this 😂
I think you should resto-mod it, update the inefficient 80s parts, sort out some form of intercooler for the turbo, tidy it up and daily it
A good turbo, no leaks and an intercooler should result in a safe 180hp bombproof Merc Tank
Thats a great suggestion!
Another thing you could do to it Elliot is giving it the notorious Polizei- livery. This baby was used by the german police back in the early eighties. It's kind of iconic in that format to us old-timer europeans actually.
Since you asked: Restore it to some extent, leave a bit of patina, and make sure you do an undercoating and spray a load of wax into the doors and sills, as they are the first things to rot away.
Cheers from Germany (from a guy who drove a '78 300D -nonturbo- sedan as one of his first cars)
2 option…and then a long trip for testing it 😉 anyway have a nice day 🙂
Thanks!
now all you need is one of edds cars and you'll have a whole set
Hmmm.... You've got a great point there 🤔
@@ElliottAlvis buy the s4? I'd love to see more of that
DO THE THIRD OPTION, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME, and complete the fleet, the sports car, the practical sleeper, and (if you do this) the offroader beast!
Good point Kaden!
I mean, it's an 80's Merc, I'm shocked the guardrail wasn't smashed to pieces! I'd love to see it restored, and Tyler's "fixes" corrected properly. This car is close to the miles from here to the moon and mechanically it seems to be completely nonplussed and so I'd love to see get the TLC that kind of reliability deserves. Somehow, that interior looks really, really nice, even with 80's square-ness everywhere. Get the seats redone and that is probably a really nice place to sit!
Restore this car to OEM spec and you will be welcome to the old bezes club
Please restore it!
The Old Benzes club does sound nice!
@@ElliottAlvis hmm... i created that name but i wanna create this club hahaha
Old DIESEL, MERCEDES, WAGON owner here, a 98' C250 TURBODIESEL WAGON WITH THE RARE MANUAL
Still think it’s hilarious that 25+ mpg is “insanely efficient” 🤣🤣
For driving it at 3/4 throttle most of the time, 25mpgs is amazing!
@@ElliottAlvis I hope you look after it well. Those cars are phenomenally well built.
Not sure if it's something you've considered on the channel before but it seems like a prime candidate for a full restoration?
I have a friend in Santa Barbara who has a brown Mercedes wagon like Elliotts. He drives down and back to LA as his commuter car. The car runs like a top and has 1/4 to 1/2 inch or surfboard wax on the roof as my friend throws his boards on top and surfs while his kids swam at the beach club.
That's such an awesome Californian thing to do. I love it!
That's a good memory to have with your dad!
I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Make it a notary mobile! The Motory Notary Service vehicle :)
Haha, I like the sound of that!
@@ElliottAlvis also shoutout to your dad for making the journey with you. Real MVP!
I just got done watching car trek and I saw him list it lmao
And here it is! Lol
I would fix it and drive it everywhere! Get it to a million miles. Take road trips, go camping and just use it everyday
Monark nozzles, valve adjustment, tighten up stearing box/rebuild, fix the worst dry rotted stearing components, flush all your hydraulic fluid/filter change, power steering flush and filter, hell mine as well flush all fluids out, adjust your bowden cable since its not shifting at the correct times, injection pump timing , then drive the shit out of it. Hell filter some wvo oil for free from a family owned local resturant and drive in the summer for free. Fuel filters always need changed,... hoovies condom fix is hillarious, a all metel monark primer pump is 40$ and is easy to fix with some crow socket wrenches. And last bonus, their is a in tank fuel screen on the bottom of the tank that sometimes gets clogged and robs preformance... all my w123's are slow, but not embarrasingly slow like the one in the vid:) best of luck, it will be around awhile unless the rust wins. 🤙
"Collecting CarTrek cars like SuperBowl rings" You got some SuperBowl rings too? LOL If so, cool. If not...well congrats on the 2nd CarTrek car!!
Is the non-family friendly fix still in place after all those miles?
Interesting purchase, but the best of the three from CarTrek 5, well of their 1st cars....I'd have taken Tyler's SLS...over Freddy's Fusion and Ed's batch of fast Lambo parts.
I should probably start collecting Super Bowl rings...
No time to recharge the AC .... so you're driving with Hoovie's condom under the hood.
I am indeed. Constantly.
Elliott, you might want to consider moving your bank of lights back a bit. What happens when they're close like that is the light falloff happens rather quickly so you end up getting lighter and darker as you walk around the car. Moving the lights back will lessen that. Also consider dimming half the bank to create a bit more contrast and sense of depth. Third, watch your filming angle, you had the lights behind you showing in the video, either lower your filming angle or move the light higher. They were the brightest thing in the image and the eye is drawn to bright things.
One last thing, and I don't know if you've already done this, but get yourself a tripod, tripod head, or adapter that has an Arca Swiss compatible mount, put the other half on your camera and you'll be able to put your camera on and off the tripod quickly and it's probably more securely attached than the tripods stock mount. If they have rubber or cork or some other material between the mount and the camera it will have a tiny bit of wobble and tend to slip if shooting vertical images. I put an aluminum bracket on my cameras to mount lights and/or a mic and it has a built-in Arca Swiss mount. Cost is $25 + depending on brand and type, L bracket, or cage. They can get into the $$$ range.
I always liked to have a broad diffused light to fill in shadows and add a smaller light to produce more contrast and specular highlights.
Robert, thank you for the super in-depth comment! I will take all of this into consideration and make adjustments!
@@ElliottAlvis You may not want to get this involved with your lighting but for those interested in getting into photography or video work there is something to be aware of, color temperature of your various lights. If you use fluorescent lights, unless they are specifically daylight balanced to around 4800* Kelvin, they will give off a greenish tint.(and in my experience the daylight ones still look a little on the green side) Incandescent light, your typical light bulb) gives off a warm light. Even 'daylight' color balance is a moving target when shooting outside. The higher the altitude the bluer the light gets, from a few hours after sunrise and the same before sunset the light gets warmer. Overcast day are much bluer as is the shade. I shot with studio strobes which were daylight balanced to 4800*K and would use simple shop lights to provide some warmth to the images like the effect of morning light coming through a window.
It's after 1am so I'll make this quick, you can create some nice effects using different color temperature lights. Under the right conditions using a warm light in the foreground and cool light in the background can give your image/video an almost 3D depth. There are many sources online that can tell you about all of this in more detail, especially useful are the more technical film making channels.
The comfort level and ease of driving of these are their best points. Yes restore it, but add some horse power - add an intercooler and whatever else would make it run better, fix the steering/handling as well. As for what to do with it - put the seats down and use it as an errand wagon, add a draw bar and haul trailers with it, fill it with a tent, chillers etc and take it on a camping holiday. Actually they do most things well, but don't take it to the track, you don't need to be very smart to realize they were never intended for that.
Leave it as is.
I am a big fan of stock!
WÄGEN 👁️👄👁️
You love the long boi.
@@ElliottAlvis uncle Tyler could show you how to manual swap it and make it far more interesting to drive.
She deserves a complete restoration. Even the safari theme will be wild.
I had an exact twin to your car. 1983 300TD. What a wonderful car and a true tank. MercedesSource should be a place to find out about some maintenance stuff. The car can run much better with not much expense and time. Remember this is a momentum car so watch way out front and drive it like you stole it. Use that gear shifter and run it up fast going down hill and then close the throttle to create a lot of vacuum to pull out the carbon. You stole it at $3k. Just keep fixing stuff as it breaks. It will be fine.
Thanks Mike! That’s a great idea. I appreciate you watching!
I sent so much time in the backseat in one of those in the earl 80's. It was the local school ride since we were too few kids for a real bus.
The first option of fixing whats needed is the best of you are tight on cash, but the second option while the market is hot for them could give you the most profit
Good points John!
Id go for a restoration. The car deserves it!
I think you got the best of the 3 cartrek cars. This car was just about peak mercedes when it was introduced. It was way overbuilt. And by the look of it it can easily be turned into a bullitproof reliable classic car.
Mercedessource channel would probably approve of your aquisition.
About the vague steering, it has a recirculating ball steering box and those are probably adjustable. You can probably dial out most of the sloppyness.
As for the engine. A good tune up like valve adjustment, pump timing check, boost check, new air + oil + fuel filters might improve performance a bit although it will never be like a modern car.
I honestly hope your channel gets as big as hoovies, keep up the good work buddy
Thanks man, that means a lot!
I'd definitely look to restore it. It looks in good condition given its age. 👍👍 Look forward to seeing what you do to it.
Thanks Ben!
Please keep the way she is. Being Howies ride makes her special!
1. Detail / de-cartrekify - that should give you some episodes. 2. Fix some basics (aircon, seals, rust, hinges on the 3rd row), 3. Restore 4. Power upgrade (intercooler, turbomod) - 200hp should be possible without impacting reliability, but improving driveability significantly
I live in Europe and I had 4 different w123. None of them turbocharged and A/C equipped.
The last one did 800’000 km with the original engine refreshed.
Hey Elliot! Great video and love the Mercedes. Thanks for the 'Dad - cameo!' Always good to see your old man! I'd go for the restoration! It's a sweet ride!
Thanks Tim! I appreciate you watching. I'm glad my dad was able to come along for this one.
I find it absolutely amazing that you have your father with you in this video.this shows the respect that you have for your elders and this in turn earns you respect from people who adore the kindness that the kids must show to their parents when they grow old.
Cheers mate!!
A fun fact: you can fit a 4x8’ sheet of plywood in the back, which makes it a better hauler than some pickup trucks… Perfect for a surf wagon or classy AF work vehicle
While I'm not a huge fan of the car, I would say restore it. If possible, make it showroom quality again. See how close you can get it to looking and performing as new or better. That would be fun to watch. The safari idea, crazy, but I dunno about that one personally.
These types of diesel are rock solid. I bought and sold a 1980 300SD Turbodiesel. My wife called it an Adult Car. It was listed as $30K new in 1980. I think about that car all the time and I sold it 14 years ago. It got 30 miles to the gallon of diesel and when I moved I should have brought it with me. this wagon, like my Adult Car, turns heads wherever I went.
Fix it up and as a daily driver. I had a similar car, 1983 300SD, same engine/tranny etc. Had 305,000 miles when I got rid of it...best car I ever had! Brought my first daughter home from the hospital in it (2011) and drove it from California to Virginia during a military move. One of the other party tricks is pull starting it, even with the automatic transmission! Came in handy when the starter went bad!!!
Yes a fricken rally wagon absalutely !!!
Restore this beauty!! She deserves it!!
Full restoration. With auction prices you could Restore, Sell, and use profits to fully fix up/restore the Maserati haha
I like the way you think!
Definitely a restoration for this vehicle.
Please
I love this wagon.
I cant wait for you to put it up for sale.
Please restore it slowly for more great episodes
Gotta agree with Mark Bennett, I'd go the restoration route and auction it off, the listing you demonstrated showed $41,000, already selling for more than this one cost Retail in 198X.
The market on these cars is wild, I can't believe it!
Awesome Gran Turismo purchase intro once back in your garage! The new light setup is looking great!
Another station wagon you should stick with that theme, very nice the drive with your dad. Keep as is and enjoy it just fix the issues
That QT in Columbia, MO was instantly recognizable. I've stopped there on the way to my grandparent's house many times over the last 25 years, and I was just there on the way back on Sunday. Weird timing...
Change all the o-rings in the ac system and it'll work fine. Mine had the same problem.
Thanks for the suggestion! I'm going to take a sniffer to it as well just to see.
I am getting ghostbuster vibes from this vehicle…perhaps an Ecto-1 homage build?
Great Video Elliot, your getting a quite a range of your own Hoopties.
Cannot wait to see you hit 50k real soon.
Restore it. I just finished restoring my "83 300SD. It now runs like a Swiss Army Knife. I noticed a good bit of smoke when you were accelerating so the injectors and fuel delivery systems will need servicing (maybe valve stem seals and definitely valve lash adjustment) but you will be amazed at the performance improvement after you get the mechanicals in order. Granted it will never be "fast" but it WILL be safe and smokeless. The cosmetics are pretty easy. It just takes time. EVERTHING on these is serviceable with parts readily available and reasonably priced. These deserve to be saved if possible. Don't turn it into a clown wagon!