1985 Mercedes-Benz 300CD... 214k miles

Okay guys, I recently asked about a gorgeous 300SD I found and as much as I love it, many of you persuaded me to:

A. Go for something cheaper, that way I have some extra money for any fixes

B. Not buy a "perfect" car, cuz then I'll feel guilty actually using it

I agreed with this, so the search continued. I then came across the 300CD and fell in love. Firstly, I don't have a family so a 4D family sedan is not needed and while the sedans are still nice, the coupe is a cool car. The pillar-less design has me hooked.

Now, I was warned that it can be hard to get parts for them because they are rare and... well that's okay I think. I just love this car.

So anyways, I found this guy. It is by no means perfect, but that's kinda the point, while still being nice and having a good paint color and interior. Plus, it's $5k instead of $10k and I think I could talk him down...

In the last two photos, there was some rust he "repaired" under some of the floorboards (I will finish repairing them myself... it looks like he just didn't weld it completely) but he says there is otherwise no rust and really no issues.

Rather than explain it all, I'll just copy the description:

• Every oil change is either Rotella T6 5W-40 Turbo or Mobil-1 5W-30 Full Synthetic for Winter with Mann PF 1055 oil filter.
• Every year fuel system is treated with a Liqui-Moly Diesel Flush hot purge and that's like a tuneup in itself. Look it up!
• Replaced the battery with AGM H8
• Serviced glow plugs Repaired block heater plug
• Replaced belts
• Replaced water pump
• Replaced coolant expansions tank and cap
• Replaced tires (cracked now and ready to replace)
• Replaced front speakers
• Replaced fader switch
• Upgraded stereo to modern mp3 compatible deck as original Becker stereo was damaged.
• Replaced vacuum pump
• Replaced heater control valve with modern upgraded one to allow for superior heating control.
• Rebuilt heater control switch
• Flushed power steering system
• Replaced steering damper
• Replaced injector drain lines
• Replaced suction side fuel lines
• Replaced "cigar" hose
• Replaced valve cover gasket every two valve adjustments
• Replaced oil pan gasket
• Replaced turbo-drain seals
• Replaced wastegate vacuum line
• Replaced brake master cylinder
• Replaced brake pads and rotors all around (ATE)
• Replaced rubber brake hoses Flushed entire brake fluid system
• Replaced Rear stabilizer/swaybar links
• Replaced front shocks with HD Bilstein Flushed fuel tank
• Replaced pickup screen in fuel tank
• Replaced primary and secondary fuel filters yearly
• Replaced fuel primer/lift pump
• Flushed and filled rear diff
• Serviced transmission filter and fluid
• Replaced transmission shifter bushings Replaced Air filter housing supports Upgraded headlights to European E4 specs and Hella 65W bulbs

He said he drove it as his daily for 5 years, up until the last 3 months after his work got him a rig. I also asked about long drives, as I will use it for road trips a lot and he said he has done multiple 600 mile (round trip) drives with no issues.

What are y'all's thoughts? I feel like if I can get him down to $4k or even $4.5k it wouldn't be a bad buy. Even if there's stuff to fix, I'll have some extra cash and the ability to fix anything I find.

Thanks!... again lol

What is the point of this window below the speedometer? Mine just looks into the cavity behind the gauge cluster, which doesn't seem like it's intended. Is there supposed to be something in there?

My clutch went soft and was leaking fluid so I was trying to find where it was leaking from. In my search I found this line completely disconnected. It was just laying there on the bell housing. I can’t seem to find where it would go to, but it connects to the bottom of the oil filter housing. Thank you

TLDR: I'm working on a project for my own consumption, but curious if it's the sort of thing anyone else would find interesting and maybe want if I did a group buy of parts down the road

I really, really love the "purity" of driving an analog, no-touchscreen w123. It's one of the reasons I love the car (even though it's not entirely exclusive to these). Driving is sensory, zen-like... something I totally enjoy as its own activity.

Still... especially for longer drives to new places, it's really nice to have driving directions. Yep, Google maps has addled my brain and I'm too impatient to use a print atlas any more. 😆

But smartphone mounts are annoying, and then my phone is there in front of me with all of its distractions.

I'm kinda sick of smartphones in general, too. My phone died, and then after a few days of no phone, and then using a Lightphone III for a minute, it hit me... you know what would be really cool? A non-flashy, primarily text directions system that would look factory-option-ish, sorta like the old Becker radios with driving directions that were an option a few years later (but aren't really still usable today).

I looked and couldn't find anything I loved available, so I started making it. I've written some code, think I've figured out the hardware side, about to start ordering parts at the rate my microbudget allows.

It'll mount into the clock slot (sorry analog clock, I love you but you're an easy sacrifice here), in the instrument panel. No modifications to start beside tapping into an ignition-controlled power wire from elsewhere in the instrument panel (clock already gets constant-on and ground).

Default: clock.

Press the clock adjust button: 80s sounding chime, and voice recognition to input where I want to go

Clock knob single press to confirm location or twist to cycle through options (if I search "Home Depot," for example)

Then- text based directions and a turn direction arrow. Maybe I'll have it read them aloud, or give a "turn soon" chime. 80s LCD looking, easy to read bold font, amber orange on a black background or vice versa if it looks more legible. It'll have its own compact speaker so I don't have to futz with integrating into the audio system.

There's a lot of other simple functionality I intend to bake in eventually: searching along route for fuel stops (filtered for diesel availability), keeping journey active and loaded even when I shut the car off for a meal break, etc. For now, I'll have it quietly tether to get internet for looking up directions via a phone app that'll like via Bluetooth. I'm figuring out the API so hopefully that gets installed once on my phone, and then getting into the car loads that without needing to take my phone out of my bag.

COULD I just turn my phone on night mode and do not disturb and use android auto? Absolutely. Do overwrought obsessive projects like this being me joy? That too, so I think I'll do it.

I want to keep it simple, but a couple other things I'm tempted to implement:

Backup camera, for another member of my household whose spatial sense has gone soft due to modern automobiles

Built in battery/alternator monitor (would run in background, just generate an alert if it sees something notably off)

Thoughts? Ideas? Anyone find this interesting, appealing, something you'd spend money on, absolutely stupid, all of the above?