Diesel Classics

kermitpwee

Hi folks new here. I was just wondering whats peoples views on diesel classics?
I have a very sad addiction and yes they are not that old but i term the classics. Vw golf/Jetta mk1/mk2 diesels:D
Don't ask me why but I love them.

carchaeologist

All good....

Old Mercedes diesels are good too....:D

mike65

Pfft! Mercs fine, I guess if you could find early derv Pugs they would count but VW Jettas/Golfs etc are marginal to say the least.

peasant

mike65 wrote: »

Pfft! Mercs fine, I guess if you could find early derv Pugs they would count but VW Jettas/Golfs etc are marginal to say the least.

It would be very hard though to try and find an early VW Golf diesel in good condition ...they've all been worked to death.

Should you come acros a really decent example, i think you could call it a "classic"

kermitpwee

mike65 wrote: »

Pfft! Mercs fine, I guess if you could find early derv Pugs they would count but VW Jettas/Golfs etc are marginal to say the least.

Cool, can understand your point. I guess I just really like them and i'm in a group of people who get their classics before they become classics and then hold on to them. I think it's pretty neat looking at 80's and 90's cars and deciphering what will become a classic.
I do realise I could be totally mad:D

carchaeologist

The old man had an 81 jetta diesel,they are slow as a wet week,and have marginal brakes,but each to their own.
A friend of mine has a MK1 Golf GLS diesel.

jimbobjones40

I'm with you on this kermitpwee except I'm a fan of classic diesel 4x4's. I've a Toyota Landcruiser BJ40 and I intent to get a couple more if ever one comes to market a reasonable price. Also the old diesel Landrovers are great. Although I wouldn't say no to a 70's V8 petrol Range Rover.

Seems your a fan of the German diesels what do you think of the Mercedes G-Wagon ?
Have a look in the back ground in this picture taken from an advertisement on ebay:

kermitpwee

Also the old diesel Landrovers are great.

Deffo love landrovers, and old fourtrack(rusty tho)

Seems your a fan of the German diesels what do you think of the Mercedes G-Wagon ?
Don't know much about them really. If they are an old diesel then:)
Guess I like old diesels as
1. I have no need for speed.
2. Can get great fuel economy.
3. I don't need a computer to tell me what is wrong with it.
4. Love the rattle of the engine, it's nice to know there is an engine not a washing machine under the bonet:D

[/quote]

shawnee

Love the old diesels myself also, having had quite a number of them . Again it is nigh on impossible to get one in reasonable shape. Most have a couple of hundred k on them, interiors are worn and if they are Irish the potholes have knocked the shxxx off them. So if I come across a guddin , I am definitely interested , but not that hopeful...

hi5

Peugeot 504 diesel everywhere in Ireland in the late 70's,farmers favorite,most led a hard life,I have'nt seen one in about 20 years,did any survive?

Seweryn

hi5 wrote: »

Peugeot 504 diesel everywhere in Ireland in the late 70's,farmers favorite,most led a hard life,I have'nt seen one in about 20 years,did any survive?

Yes, there is one in Kilkenny in very good condition.

shawnee

Yeah , they were probably the start of the diesel market in Ireland. There were not that many mercs used by farmers etc. I suppose the arrival of the Golf changed all and there were sure a lot of them around. Again , not too many decent mark 1 diesels hanging around. The datsun and toyota diesels of the early 80's have probably rusted away also.

johnnycortina

Love the early vw diesel, definite future classics if you can get one. Have a decent mk2 jetta turbo diesel. Had loads of people come up to me, enquiring if I would sell it. Would like to buy a mk1 jetta, but very few about.

kermitpwee

johnnycortina wrote: »

Love the early vw diesel, definite future classics if you can get one. Have a decent mk2 jetta turbo diesel. Had loads of people come up to me, enquiring if I would sell it. Would like to buy a mk1 jetta, but very few about.

Mk1 Jettas are class. I really want one, just love the look of them. I had a look at a mk 1 Golf diesel in sligo last year, would have bought but it had the dreaded mk 1 sunroof and the roof was red rotten underneath. It was a nice powdery blue:)

Had a look at a mk2 jetta 88' the other day, head blown and i have a engine for it but no garage so left it:(

carchaeologist

The MK1 jetta can look good on a set of wheels..

kermitpwee

carchaeologist wrote: »

The MK1 jetta can look good on a set of wheels..

Now thats what i'm talking about;)
Those babies are the bizz

dbar

I picked up a Mk 2 Jetta Turbo Diesel in the UK for a Grand in excellent condition, the turbo makes a huge difference, the brakes were shocking though. The Sunroof leaked, but nothing a tube of silicone couldnt fix..

kermitpwee

Ya the turbo means it will keep up with modern traffic easily. If you can adjust your driving to the brakes it actually makes you a better driver. Look out for possible hazards in advance and keep your distance from the car in front. I will admit the brakes are bad but you can upgrade to gti brakes.

Hermy

Some of my favourite deisels...:o
Rotinoff Atlantic

Thornycroft Antar

Scammell Contractor

carchaeologist

Wonder why this is on a Q plate?

Hermy

I'm no expert on reg plates but I presume that a Q plate makes it youger than its appearance would suggest.
Might that be because it was rebuilt from other trucks.
This was often the case in heavy haulage.
I know Sunters did something similar with a Scammell Contractor.

carchaeologist

Few more...:D

kermitpwee

carchaeologist wrote: »

Few more...:D

Please please stop with the pics, I am going thru car rehab at the moment that stops me from buying old vw's and your posts are like a slippery slope:D

Seriously tho, keep em coming;)

Bitten & Hisses

carchaeologist wrote: »

Ooo, a VR6. I likey...

MercMad

i like the honesty of old diesels, simple and reliable without any performance pretensions. I intend to get an old Merc diesel at some point, having driven a friends 220d, which was slow but somehow comforting in the fact that it felt indestructable.

Love the old VW diesels too but they are hard to find, and if I was going to buy a Golf it would have to be a Mk1 GTI.

You have to laugh at the photo of that huge Scammell, witht the words "EconoFreight", I mean most likely the heaviest thing it will ever carry or lift is itself !

3ps

I miss my old 220D, except it was LHD.

MercMad

Yeah, that wouldn't bother me though !

That was a lovely car !

Blue850

Theres a LHD W115 240D for sale in this months Mercedes Enthusiast magazine for £2K

MercMad

At that price I can see lots of bodywork repairs waiting for me !

Seweryn

3ps wrote: »

I miss my old 220D, except it was LHD.

I will miss my 123T 300TD, as she has to go . It is some fantastic piece of engineering. It is 3 litre Station Wagon and does 39.5 mpg on total average (on a long run does over 40 mpg!) and needs no oil for top ups between services.
The LHD Mercs are better engineered (than the RHD) actually, as they were designed to be LHD, so everything is at the right place - for example the engine bonnet release lever in the RHD is to be controlled by... passenger. And there was no W123 and W124 Turbodiesel version in RHD models.

Regards.

Hermy

MercMad wrote: »

You have to laugh at the photo of that huge Scammell, witht the words "EconoFreight", I mean most likely the heaviest thing it will ever carry or lift is itself !

Those Scammells were rated at 250ton GTW!:rolleyes:

MercMad

Seweryn wrote: »

I will miss my 123T 300TD, as she has to go . It is some fantastic piece of engineering. It is 3 litre Station Wagon and does 39.5 mpg on total average (on a long run does over 40 mpg!) and needs no oil for top ups between services.
The LHD Mercs are better engineered (than the RHD) actually, as they were designed to be LHD, so everything is at the right place - for example the engine bonnet release lever in the RHD is to be controlled by... passenger. And there was no W123 and W124 Turbodiesel version in RHD models.

Regards.

.............yeah imagine having to lean all the way over to the left side occasionally.....far more difficult than leaning over to the right at toll booth,parking stations etc...:p

finlayspub1

i love the diesels as well lads specially the classics. i have an 85 rwd corolla van on superlites thats a daily driver. . i love it its a weapon and pumpin out a massive 48 bhp

AsphaltRisin'

love anything old and diesel myself

carlosfandango

Here's Mine!

20 years old and going strong..


CFD

3ps

Here's a pic of my old '72 W115 220D:



My wife is now running a '92 300TD:

quietsailor

Seweryn wrote: »

I will miss my 123T 300TD, as she has to go . It is some fantastic piece of engineering. It is 3 litre Station Wagon and does 39.5 mpg on total average (on a long run does over 40 mpg!) and needs no oil for top ups between services.
The LHD Mercs are better engineered (than the RHD) actually, as they were designed to be LHD, so everything is at the right place - for example the engine bonnet release lever in the RHD is to be controlled by... passenger. And there was no W123 and W124 Turbodiesel version in RHD models.

Regards.

My first car was a W124 250D. Not your first choice as a 20 yr old male. The deal with my father was he'd put me on the insurance if he got to choose the car. I reckon the only reason I got something as small as the merc was that he couldn't buy a tank :rolleyes: Obviously at 20 I hated it, until I drove it for a few years and then like a muppet traded it against a tdi passat - I only got 500 Euros for her. I saw 39 - 40 mpg on it regulary, and on cold winters nights in our local nightclub - a half mile out of the village - it was sooo popular.

My friends and I went everywhere in it, my brother and l even got a good night's sleep at witness in it - 6 & 1/2 foot of flat floor space - oh yeah - a good nights sleep at a music festival, who'd have thought of it.

If I could find it I'd buy it back - anyone seen a white tank, reg 86 wx 1.. (you'll know it if you've seen it)

Anyway thats my story, has anyone else on here owned a W124 diesel?

Johnboy Mac

Mercedes-Benz W123 240D or the earlier version.

Johnboy Mac

Or a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.0D/2.5D

Seweryn

quietsailor wrote: »

...
Anyway thats my story, has anyone else on here owned a W124 diesel?

Yes! I just got one last Sunday. It is E300 Diesel Estate, the colour is Brillantsilber with OM606 24-Valve engine and automatic transmission. She is not in mint condition, but good with only 165k miles and will improve soon, since in my hands. I can't wait to get all the works done. At the moment the fuel system needs new rubber o-rings for the hoses around filter and the pump and then I will look after all other bits and pieces. I always wanted the 124 Diesel Estate, but for the last 2 years there was maybe one of them for sale (in very bad condition).

Regards.

Johnboy Mac

Seweryn wrote: »

Yes! I just got one last Sunday. It is E300 Diesel Estate, the colour is Brillantsilber with OM606 24-Valve engine and automatic transmission. She is not in mint condition, but good with only 165k miles and will improve soon, since in my hands. I can't wait to get all the works done. At the moment the fuel system needs new rubber o-rings for the hoses around filter and the pump and then I will look after all other bits and pieces. I always wanted the 124 Diesel Estate, but for the last 2 years there was maybe one of them for sale (in very bad condition).

Regards.

Excellent, well done. Don't forget to get the g/box oil & filter renewed.

Seweryn

Johnboy Mac wrote: »

Excellent, well done. Don't forget to get the g/box oil & filter renewed.

Sure, that's one of the first things to do. But at the moment the engine has no power and shakes a bit. I thought that the fuel filter is clogged (the car was not in use for a while), but I found yesterday that there are air bubbles running around in the fuel hoses, so the system sucks in some air and that's why... Anyway, I have the o-rings for the fues hoses ordered and should have them early next week, so can't wait to hear the engine running properly again .

Regards.

Johnboy Mac

Seweryn wrote: »

Sure, that's one of the first things to do. But at the moment the engine has no power and shakes a bit. I thought that the fuel filter is clogged (the car was not in use for a while), but I found yesterday that there are air bubbles running around in the fuel hoses, so the system sucks in some air and that's why... Anyway, I have the o-rings for the fues hoses ordered and should have them early next week, so can't wait to hear the engine running properly again .

Regards.

They are alovely sweet engine and will go forever wuth regular preventive maintenance. Oh, you can assume that the diff.oil & engine coolant were not changed and I'd advise getting the front wing liners (black plastic) removed and a good clean out of the wing area from behind just above the bumper and around the arch lip - might be worth painting it by hand will do.

Seweryn

Johnboy Mac wrote: »

They are alovely sweet engine and will go forever wuth regular preventive maintenance. Oh, you can assume that the diff.oil & engine coolant were not changed and I'd advise getting the front wing liners (black plastic) removed and a good clean out of the wing area from behind just above the bumper and around the arch lip - might be worth painting it by hand will do.

Yeah, these enginese are sweet and smooth. My friend who is a mechanic has covered in his one 1.1 milion km so far without a major trouble. The one I bought was owned by a mechanic as well, so the fluids were looked after, however they will be changed anyway. I am also looking for a diff (and the clock in km) from the saloon, as they have 7% longer ratio and I will not be towing 2 ton trailer .
The interior is actually nice - it is dark blue, which I never liked, but since I have one, I like it really. The glass is blue tinted, so cool looking .

Regards.

Johnboy Mac

Seweryn wrote: »

Yeah, these enginese are sweet and smooth. My friend who is a mechanic has covered in his one 1.1 milion km so far without a major trouble. The one I bought was owned by a mechanic as well, so the fluids were looked after, however they will be changed anyway. I am also looking for a diff (and the clock in km) from the saloon, as they have 7% longer ratio and I will not be towing 2 ton trailer .
The interior is actually nice - it is dark blue, which I never liked, but since I have one, I like it really. The glass is blue tinted, so cool looking .

Regards.

The diff might be worth while but getting a good one may prove difficult - pot luck really. The clock you should be able to source from eBay.de handy. Anyway good luck.

Seweryn

Johnboy Mac wrote: »

The diff might be worth while but getting a good one may prove difficult - pot luck really. The clock you should be able to source from eBay.de handy. Anyway good luck.

I found the diff in the UK with similar mileage and the guy says it is a good one (the donor car is drivable), but the shipping cost may be high. The speedo - of course, will have a look at German eBay. There is unbelievable amount of stuff there for these cars , but surprisingly some parts are dear. I was watching an auction with the self dimmable rear view mirror for W124 - it went for nearly... €170 second hand (the same in UK went for 16GBP). People are a bit mad out there about these cars.

Johnboy Mac

Seweryn wrote: »

I found the diff in the UK with similar mileage and the guy says it is a good one (the donor car is drivable), but the shipping cost may be high. The speedo - of course, will have a look at German eBay. There is unbelievable amount of stuff there for these cars , but surprisingly some parts are dear. I was watching an auction with the self dimmable rear view mirror for W124 - it went for nearly... €170 second hand (the same in UK went for 16GBP). People are a bit mad out there about these cars.

To be candid with you I'd skip changing the diff.

There's little point in buying one with the same mileage as your own, which a lot will have by now and also you won't know the true condition of the 'new' diff until it's fitted. Diff oil changes don't happen to often if at all.

The saving on fuel would not be worth the 7% increase in ratio or costs involved as the return will less than 7% extra mpg, I suspect you may only get half that. 3.5% x 10,000mls p.a. @ 35mpg = 10gal or 45lt & 103c = €46 or €92 if you got the full 7%. It would be several years before it paid for itself.

On top which you have less drivability due to higher gearing. But that may not be a great concern with the torque developed by your diesel eng.

A cheaper option, easier and more cost effective would to to increase the rolling radius of the tyres/wheels. When tyres are required you could always fit plus one wheels (2nd hand and you buying a know condition rather than a diff) and appropriate tyres. It's a very easy way to change the gearing without damaging the ride comfort once not taken too far.

But if you car needed a replacement diff then by all means go for the higher ratio that would be more cost effective.

John.

Seweryn

Johnboy Mac wrote: »

The saving on fuel would not be worth the 7% increase in ratio or costs involved as the return will less than 7% extra mpg, I suspect you may only get half that. 3.5% x 10,000mls p.a. @ 35mpg = 10gal or 45lt & 103c = €46 or €92 if you got the full 7%. It would be several years before it paid for itself.

A cheaper option, easier and more cost effective would to to increase the rolling radius of the tyres/wheels. When tyres are required you could always fit plus one wheels (2nd hand and you buying a know condition rather than a diff) and appropriate tyres. It's a very easy way to change the gearing without damaging the ride comfort once not taken too far.

Thanks John,
My car does not require a new diff, but I would just do it for myself, not to save any money on fuel, just as a hobby - the same thing with the speedo (which would have to be changed if I change the diff due to ratio difference). I did the calculations as well and the higher profile tyres would just give you no more than 3% extra.
But anyway, the estate version of W124 was designed for high loading capacity and that's why the diff has a bit lower ratio than the saloon - you can put 650kg on board and you can pull 2100kg trailer (1900kg with manual transmission)! Which other passenger car can do it? Not many I believe.

Regards.

Johnboy Mac

Seweryn wrote: »

Thanks John,
My car does not require a new diff, but I would just do it for myself, not to save any money on fuel, just as a hobby - the same thing with the speedo (which would have to be changed if I change the diff due to ratio difference). I did the calculations as well and the higher profile tyres would just give you no more than 3% extra.
But anyway, the estate version of W124 was designed for high loading capacity and that's why the diff has a bit lower ratio than the saloon - you can put 650kg on board and you can pull 2100kg trailer (1900kg with manual transmission)! Which other passenger car can do it? Not many I believe.

Regards.

I see, that's cool.

+1 wheel/tyre combo will give exactly 6.05% higher gearing.

Anyway you got my few pennies worth. Enjoy and if I see you anywhere I'll say hello after slowing down!:)

Seweryn

Johnboy Mac wrote: »

I see, that's cool.

+1 wheel/tyre combo will give exactly 6.05% higher gearing.

Anyway you got my few pennies worth. Enjoy and if I see you anywhere I'll say hello after slowing down!:)

Thanks John, I appreciate it.
I will put the car on the road within the next few weeks (there is no tax on it and I still drive my 123T 300TD Estate which I am going to sell once the 124T is in fully working order). So if you see the silver E300 Estate with blue windows, that's me .

Regards.

Johnboy Mac

Seweryn wrote: »

Thanks John, I appreciate it.
I will put the car on the road within the next few weeks (there is no tax on it and I still drive my 123T 300TD Estate which I am going to sell once the 124T is in fully working order). So if you see the silver E300 Estate with blue windows, that's me .

Regards.

Will do. I'll be driving usually quickly, a Smoke Silver (very light met.gold) 190E (2.5-16, with badge delete option). It's not really noticable exactly what it is, which is nice until one does a double take. Cheers.