My 1985 Mercedes 300SD

Ever since I was a kid I’ve always had a diesel parked in the driveway.
For most of my youth, it was my dad’s 1983 Isuzu diesel pickup (it’s what I learned to drive in–great truck!).

During that time it also included a Peugot Turbo Diesel wagon, a Mazda 626 Diesel (never did run), a couple more Isuzu diesel pickups (one was even an ultra cool turbo diesel), a 1981 VW Rabbit Diesel, a 1981 Chevette diesel (Isuzu engine–butt uhhhh-gly!), and a 1993 Dodge Cummins Turbo.

After getting married, I also picked up a 1984 Isuzu Diesel Pickup myself and drove it for several years. I also had  a 1983 VW Vanagon diesel as well. In 2008, I sold the Vanagon and the following summer I sold the pickup. So, since last summer I’ve been without a diesel. My hope was that Honda or Toyota would finally bring their diesels to the US shores so I could get a newer one. I also read about a cool, new truck called a Mahindra that was supposed to come to the US shores with a cool, new turbo diesel in it too!

Well, the economy crashed, and Honda & Toyota put their diesel plans in mothballs and Mahindra can’t seem to get their act together, so, I went diesel-less for a while….but the diesel itch got the best of me and I started on the hunt again. This time I wanted a Mercedes.

After looking for a while I finally found one that I liked and that wouldn’t break the bank to get started on.

So, without further adieu, I’d like to introduce you to Fraulein Eda, our new diesel ride.

It’s a classic Mercedes w126 chassis powered by a mighty 5 cylinder 3.0 liter turbo diesel engine.

It’s a great S-Class 300 Series.

It has a fairly straight body on it and extremely little rust, which is really surprising for a Utah car.

It has 213,000 miles on the odometer and seems to run extremely well. The engine was dirty as could be and it had a pretty nasty oil leak under the hood (valve cover gasket), but once we got that taken care of and cleaned up the engine bay, it actually looks pretty nice under there.

The interior isn’t anything to write home about as it’s fairly worn, but the leather is in remarkably good shape and still holds up well.

Overall, for what I paid for it, I can’t complain. It runs, it’s pretty comfortable, the seats are in fairly good shape, and it doesn’t look too bad on the outside either. It’ll take quite a bit of elbow grease to get it back to it’s previous glory and still needs some help under the hood (it’s really, really slow on acceleration), but it still looks great and it’s going to be a ball to drive!

I have to tell ya, it feels so nice to have a diesel in the driveway again! Growing up with them all my life it kind of runs in the blood. I swear, there’s nothing like the smell of diesel exhaust in the morning! I don’t know where I picked up the liking for it, but man, it smells great!

It’ll be getting it’s first tankful of Biodiesel shortly and then it should be interesting to see how well it does. I’d imagine the Bio will clean up the fuel system quite a bit too.

So, Eda is now a part of the family here at Utah Biodiesel Supply. The diesel itch has been scratched and I’m sure we’ll be having a lot of fun with this old girl. She may be my first Mercedes, but I can already tell she won’t be my last.

About Utah Biodiesel Supply

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4 comments on “My 1985 Mercedes 300SD

  1. Hi Graydon, Im considering purchasing a 1985 300 sd. It would be my 1st diesel and 1st car on biofuel. im learning about it and attending production classes. Im in mesa az. Enjoyed reading your posts and seeing your pics. Thx!

    Have any recommendations?

    steven sabatier
    s.sabatier@scnm.edu

  2. Be sure to check the transmission and if possible the compression on the engine. Mine had some serious tranny issues which caused me to sell it. Also, the compression wasn't all that great either.

    So, compression check & tranny check.

    They're great cars though!

  3. awesome to hear you tried to use the car with biodiesel. currently have the car and it has ran great minus the gas gauge and trip odometer stop working, I’ve been wanting to try and use biodiesel with it. did you get to drive yours some with biodiesel?