a 1973 mercedes 280 with a six in it. Fresh paint, new carb and exhaust. Owned by an attorney looking to get rid of it. car seems to be in real nice shape and the price is right.


any thoughts on this car, anybody owned one?

Since its a sedan and cheap i feel less badly about driving it year round. With the new exhaust and carb i figure it could last a little while I don't drive to work very far.

just as long as it's not that nasty diesel thing... peeeeeee-ewwwwwww

Yeah, they smell but they also last about a gazillion miles. A good friend is a Mercedes parts manager, and says the only thing that is a problem with the diesels is that hoses and fittings are drying out and are often NLA on the older cars, so you have to make up your own.

Either way however, the model is a reliable, good design, put together much better with quality parts, than the current cars.

This is a very reliable model - I used to maintain one for a local client in MS. It had over 450K miles. Spectacular CIS injection and dead simple electrics. Were it not for the fact this gentleman drove the car with a busted radiator hose for over two weeks (read:no coolant) I would not had have to replaced his block. Also it is built like a tank and a set of nice wheels and tires dramatically improves its looks while retaining Connoseur` (sp?) status -

I thoroughly enjoyed road testing this car - even with original suspension it was smooth as glass and the motor has good amounts of power on tap.

To put into perspective just how well built any mercedes diesel really is consider this:

There is a new diesel aircraft engine on the market. It is called the Thielert Centurion. This engine is based 100% on a mercedes auto diesel 4 cylinder block and head!!! Basically the same design in production for over 30+ years. It is fully certified and had to pass an unbelievable stress test to reach this goal. Not only this, but MB SUPPORTED the entire idea from day one!!!! Not a single solitary other auto manufacturer can lay the same claim!!!! (edit: Porsche DID build and certify an aero engine based on the air-cooled six, but has since pulled out of the market and demanded return of all engines in service ,"Mooney's", however, they did all R&D, not an outside source like Thielert)

Reaffirms my experience of pulling MB diesel heads to replace the gasket, and still seeing a perfect cross-hatch. And no head warping or valve distress on ANY engine that averaged 375K miles.

Many people in the experimental aircraft market are pulling turbo sixes out of 300 series sedans and mounting them on their fire-walls. Many of these receive only a freshening up of hoses and gaskets along with a dedicated built reduction drive. Can't beat flying at 200+ MPH with a MINISCULE fuel burn compared to continentals and lycomings -

I've got one, a 1974 280c (the 2 door). Has the 2.8l DOHC 12v engine and a 4-barrel carb. I have yet to get it baselined at my local repair guy though. I'm the 2nd owner and the car had been sitting for 5-7 years before I bought it. Still drove home 3.5 hours on a 95 degree day
Check this site out:
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/index.php

Au Contraire, my friend.... Convert that diesel to SVO and smell like french fries...

That's what I want for my next ride.

I have a 83 300 CD turbodiesel(coupe) it has a five cyl and has over 400,000

miles, so far no problems with the car itself and the engine is bullet proof.

What year 300 came with a six cyl diesel?