My first oil burner

[KFA-R]

Found it in a shed close to home and have since been able to get it going again and registered

Its a 1980 Mercedes Benz 300D

Was in the shed for about 8 years and basically forgotten about

140,000K's in it, Auto, diesel and it will be known as Karl

Karl world,
World... Karl!!!

Enjoy

[henk4]

what engine propels Karl? 300D 5 pot? 140k means it is almost fresh.

[Ferrer]

Congratulations.

Must be slow, but indestructible...

[KFA-R]

what engine propels Karl? 300D 5 pot? 140k means it is almost fresh.

Thats correct 3L 5 cylinder, yeah its fairly rare to find them with such a small amount of K's... still just a pup

Congratulations.

Must be slow, but indestructible...

Thanks

Its not too bad... its certainly not a racer... once it's wound up it will sit on 130-140km/h all day... it doesn't need to brake my spine in acceleration

[fisetdavid26]

Congrats sir, that's one fine car.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Yeah, nice car, just a bit too...red, being a modern MB .

[KFA-R]

Congrats sir, that's one fine car.

cheers

Yeah, nice car, just a bit too...red, being a modern MB .

the red wheel caps just are a little bit too much aren't they :P

[IBrake4Rainbows]

No Way man, the red caps set it off.

I am extremely envious of you - I want!.

Emmachizit?

[ruim20]

So you just found it in a shed? 'oh... look i found a 300d' kind of found?

Anyway, congratz, with those kms it's new!

[coolieman1220]

what is that red handle thingy in the right hand side of the dash by the steering wheel in the picture?

great car, run it till it dies. I love how MB kept their gauges the same for soo long

[ScionDriver]

I really like. I wish I would find my next car that way, just randomly in some barn. A "free" (Registration and maintenance costs not withstanding) car. Especially an old Benz or Bimmer.

When I was a kid, like real little (6-8 yrs old) I used to have this daydream/fantasy that I would go to the beach with a metal detector and find a car buried in the sand and it would become mine. I realize that's real stupid but what do you want I was just a kid.

[f6fhellcat13]

Congrats!
I am envious as well. You must hold on to Karl until he has one million kays, at least.

[Sledgehammer]

Nice find, and thats a very interesting handbrake in the third pic?

[nota]

Looks like a nice find & welcome to the Benz bretheren

With that low mileage, and if well maintained and cared for (and if you can handle the rather stately diesel performance) then your 300D should prove a faithful servant to you for years & years to come.

As others will no doubt tell you, these things are a prime candidate for converting to run on WVO (waste vegetable oil) a fuel which is commonly just given away, enabling you to run your 300D ... at no fuel cost at all!

If you're not aware of this independant M-B specialist, I recommend you try them first for inexpensive factory-genuine parts.
They also sell used bits and sponsor a classic-era M-B forum offering handy tips and advice to Benz enthusiasts.
Australia's leading Mercedes-Benz website

For trivia, emphasising the popularity of the W123 model-series was this tidbit from only a few years ago:
That the W123 comprised over 17% of all Mercedes-Benz cars ever produced, since M-B first began making vehicles in the late 1800s!

[nota]

thats a very interesting handbrake in the third pic?

You'll find this type of handbrake in almost every Benz from the mid 1960s right through into the '90s, at least in the RHD ones! Easy to use and a clever system imo; on most models the handle retracts almost fully when in use, and being dash-mounted it frees up space in the console.