The SDL within the identify of as we speak’s Good Worth or No Cube Mercedes signifies class, engine sort, and prolonged wheelbase. That’s loads to glean from simply three easy letters. Let’s see if the value tag is simply as informative.
Just like the Queen of Hearts in Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland, the mantra of Beverly Hills-based American Customized Coachworks within the early Nineteen Eighties was “off with their heads.” The 1983 Datsun 200SX we checked out yesterday was simply one of many automobiles the coachbuilder transformed into drop-top kind. That made it distinctive, however, in keeping with your feedback, not all that fascinating. Not less than not on the $9,995 value the vendor was asking. The outcome? An 81 p.c No Cube loss.
Have you ever ever been concerned in a rivalry? It may very well be good-natured, comparable to rooting on your favored sports activities crew over a cross-town rival, or vindictive and harmful, just like the feuding households in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz have maintained a long-held rivalry over which firm can construct one of the best and most technologically superior automobile for its time. Each firms have flagships—the 7 Collection in BMW’s case and the S-Class for Mercedes—every used as a showcase for his or her car-building prowess.
Within the Nineteen Eighties, this ‘Battle of the Manufacturers’ was getting underway in earnest, and the 1986 Mercedes-Benz 300 SDL now we have earlier than us represents one of the best that Stuttgart may muster for that period. It was fairly rattling good, too—so good that this automobile nonetheless appears to be a aggressive every day driver as we speak, virtually 4 many years later.
As we famous on the outset, the SDL within the automobile’s identify represents the mannequin: S for Sonderklasse or Particular Class, D for Diesel, and L for Lengthy, which means it has an prolonged wheelbase over the non-L variations. The 300 signifies the engine displacement—kind of. It’s probably not 300 of something however a 3.0-liter inline six that, with its turbocharged induction, makes 143 horsepower and 201 lb-ft of torque. The usual Daimler-designed four-speed 4G-Tronic computerized transmission backs that up.
These automobiles have been typically constructed like proverbial tanks, and this one doesn’t appear to have ever been egregiously mistreated, displaying solely a few dings within the bodywork for its years of service. Fortunately, it’s freed from these terrible chrome wheel arch covers that plague so many of those ’80s automobiles. The telephone dial-style wheels are a little bit of an surprising alternative for the automobile, however not less than they’re maintaining it within the household. And, in fact, it has the splendidly eclectic fluted tail lamp lenses wrapping the rear corners.
Issues look even higher within the cabin. This automobile seems to have MB-Tex upholstery, which appears to stay as much as its indestructible repute. Carpets, wooden, and the sprint cap additionally appear to have survived the years admirably, and the middle console even nonetheless has its unique manufacturing unit Becker stereo. The house inside the usual S Class is ample, and in these lengthy wheelbase editions, it’s merely epic.
In response to the advert, the automobile registers 184,000 miles on its odometer and has loved $5,000 in upkeep work inside simply the final two months. That included the substitute of the Bosch gas injection pump on the OM 603 six, which is made evident by how shiny and new it appears within the under-hood photographs. All of the fluids have been modified on the similar time, as have been the glow plugs and all 4 tires. The automobile is touted as being “accident-free,” and it comes with a clear title. The asking value is $7,995.
What’s your tackle this traditional Benz and that $7,995 asking? Does that really feel like a deal for a tank of a automobile that in all probability will go for many years with out a lot fuss? Or does this automobile stand within the shadow of all of the extra fashionable and succesful automobiles that is also had for such an quantity?
You resolve!
Portland, Oregon, Craigslist, or go right here if the advert disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
Assist me out with NPOND. Hit me up at [email protected] and ship me a fixed-price tip. Keep in mind to incorporate your Kinja deal with.
