1991 Mercedes 300 TE-24 "Das Boot"

[mrabody]

I love this country. Where else could you buy one of these:





Powered by one of these:



Fully equipped with leather, cruise, air-con, power seats, power windows, walnut trim, and factory alloys:



All for £500.

It's got about 140,000 miles and is rust free. Interior is very good except for two aftermarket speakers in the front door cards.

Central locking doesn't work, nor does the passenger side electric mirror. Aircon needs regassing, the struts for the rear hatch need to be replaced and it has a small dent in the front nearside wing which I think can be got out without the necessity of a repaint. It runs and drives nice asided from being a bit hard to start when cold (but KE-Jetronic is pretty simple so I should be able to get that sorted quickly) and a bit vibration in the front end which I suspect is a wheel out of balance.

So, the list of niggles is pretty short, and mostly fixable by me. And best of all it qualifies for classic car insurance.

[bortaf]

Any hint to what it is ?

[ezpez]

Pics = fail for me... anyone else in the same boat?

[surprisingskoda]

yes, failing for me too. really want to see it too!

[xbo11ox]

Hey it looks awesome! Oh hang on a sec - I can't see any pics of it.

[mrabody]

Sorry guys, had my photobox album set to private. Should be fixed now

[Colonelk]

pics working just dandy for me

[GeezerGarage]

barganatious!

[madcabby]

looks a real bargain

[mclellanmac]

Love old Mercs, Expecally the Rouched Leather on the door cards, Classy! lol

[mrabody]

Time for a brief update. The Merc has generally served me well for the past 10 months. I've had a few problems along the way:
-Worn out ignition lock/key
-Spark plug failure six months after they were changed

I've also effected some repairs and general maintenance:
-replaced central locking pump
-replaced Over Voltage Protection Relay (to cure the poor cold starting)
-new plug leads (but they fit really poorly so will need to get custom ones made)
-Transmission filter replacement.

The car has done about 16,000 miles since I bought it and has come in handy hauling car parts, materials for home renovations, furniture etc. More pics to follow.

[inline8]

cool car. Theres nothing like an estate that can kill most cars from the lights. Interesting that you replaced the Voltage Relay, I always figured it was the cold start valve on these KE Jet 300-24 valvers.

[xbo11ox]

Whats it like on juice? I would love one like that.

[inline8]

They are ok if you take it easy. They are V VC engines so not really trying until you hit 4k, then they scream and go like crazy. Rated at 230 without a cat and 240 on high octane fuel. I had one and it was a brilliant car. The cylinder head was designed by Cosworth, has double valve springs and revs to 7k. No I'm not confusing it with the 190.

[Mark]

I'd definitely drive one of them. Lovely car.

[milfordcubicle]

The multivalve ones are pretty rare, I didn't realise they were so powerful. Must have been a mega-pricey car in its day.

I am setting my sights a bit lower and looking out for 300Ds, GR8 4 GOIN SLOW

[inline8]

they were 40 something grand in 1990. That could buy you a house then. The leather interior was a 1.5 k option. Mine had a momo steering wheel which was a £300 option. They are soooo cheap now though you might aswell just go for the one you want the most, whichever one that is. The 300-24 is a real sleeper.

[Knugcab]

My uncle (which I haven't either seen or heard of for 10 years, but well, that's a different story ) had a 300E 24 in the late 90s (not TE though)... Traded it for an E420 however... But it really was a nice car, yes...

[mrabody]

Aug 10, 2009 15:31:19 GMT xbo11ox said:

Whats it like on juice? I would love one like that.

If I keep the trans in economy mode and keep my foot out of it it'll just about reach 20mpg tootling around locally. If you keep to reasonable speeds on the motorway it'll do about 30mpg.

[mrabody]

The car came to me on it's original 15 hole 15" sport chassis wheels. The tires on them were pretty much finished so I swapped on the 16" rims from my wife's 190e (like these) but they just don't suit the car, and besides I've had two flat tyres in the last two months.

While I like the look of the original wheels, I feel that on a car this size they just don't fill the wheel arches properly.

I've been looking at other Mercedes rims and I'm trying to decide between a couple of sets.

These ones are off of a 300 SL they are the same design as the originals but in a 16" x 8" rims.

cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110421745333&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


Or a set of AMG rims 17" X 8"

s14.zetaboards.com/mercedes_190_club/topic/6577560/1/#new

I'm leaning towards the SL rims since they will look stock to most people.


I'm also willing to consider other Merc rims if anyone has any bright ideas. Basically I'm looking for your suggestions and advice.