Diesel Survivor: 1978 Mercedes-Benz 240D
After the OPEC oil embargo of the 1970s, some U.S. automakers dabbled with diesel engines to stretch the dollar as the “gas” pump. Oldsmobile was probably the one to have the most success, but they were not alone. German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz was already good at building these kinds of machines and the 240D (D for diesel) became popular in some circles. The seller’s example is from 1978 and looks to be in very good condition overall and – at 70,000 miles – should have plenty of life left.
Most of the 240Ds sold in the U.S. between the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s had a 4-cylinder engine with a 4-speed manual transmission. But the seller’s version has a 5-cylinder motor and an automatic transmission. These were far from performance cars but could get around well enough, and you could follow one from the black diesel emissions. They were well-engineered and roomy automobiles, which should explain why this one has survived so well.
The body here is solid though there are a few small dents and dings, and the paint (probably original) still shines up nicely. The interior seems to be in tip-top shape, though the seller’s photos don’t help much in that area. The M-B runs and drives as it should and has some new fluids (brake and oil). It comes with an auxiliary fan, which we assume was an option.
New sun visors might be the only thing you’ll need to spring for if you take this survivor home. It’s spent much of its time inside and out of the Sun, which is a plus. Located in Shorewood, Minnesota, and available here on craigslist, the first person to come forward with $10,000 gets to drive this one home. Another fine tip brought to us by “Zappenduster”.
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Comments
Shame it’s not the turbodiesel. Otherwise expect 0-60 to take until sometime next week
It uses a sun dial instead of a speedometer.
These were great dependable cars until the vacuum lines started cracking and you realized that even the power windows and locks and I think windshield wipers ran off of vacuum
Not quite. The vacuum pump controlled the climate control, power locks, and the engine shut down servo. So you had to physically stop the engine by pressing on the linkage on the injection pump. Everything else was electric.
240D meant 2.4 liter diesel. These were 4 cylinders, not 5. The 300D was the 5 cylinder version and originally came naturally aspirated and then turbocharged.
I always appreciated these cars for their quality and reliability. I especially liked the lines of the coupe, which found it’s way on to my bucket list of cars to own. I eventually encountered a 300CD going cheap at an auction, and grabbed it. It was a running/driving car, but had been stored for sometime and needed full recommissioning. It was an easy project, parts are plentiful, and kinda fun to work on. After driving it only a few times, it earned it’s place on my other car list: “Cars I regret buying”. After being used to V8 Sls , coupes, and sedans, the diesel was painfully slow. I ended up trading it for a plasma cutter and cash.
If you want one of these iconic cars, test drive it first, and decide if you still want one. You may find the improved performance of the turbo-diesel a more palatable choice. If mine had been a turbo, I would probably have kept it. I now know why it went so cheap at the auction.
Clean and straight. Maybe a good car for someone with the technical ability to tackle all the aged components. Diesel and auto will be slow and steady. Kind of like running an inline gas engine, use the low end torque rather than the floorboard to accelerate. Slowly.
I had a 1968 220D. An empty tractor trailer would outpace me at a stop light.
Why call it a 240 when it is a 300? The 300 was a good but gutless car. The 240 needed a tailwind to go downhill. I drove many of both. Also they didn’t last forever. Excessive blowby at 150k miles (especially the turbo) was normal as was hard starting. How do I know this? I was a dealer mechanic from 1968 until 2001. The 123 series is one of the good ones.
Yea, that’s a 4cyl OM616 engine. So it is a real 240D not a 300D. Slow as slow can be. It’s in beautiful condition and definitely worth the asking price for someone with a lot of patience to drive on public roads. Definitely a weekend driver on rural country roads. Just be courteous and move over for others to pass while you enjoy the fall scenery and recall an era where life moved at a more comfortable pace.
I had a 76 240D and it had the 4 cyl, the 5 cyl are 300D, steady, slow well built cars…..The Tex Nex interiors last forever but someone who gets this needs to know about the maintenance on this old diesels and it would make a great car….not to sure about the price tho on this as seems way high!!!!
Jake Loring, it’s MB Tex interior not TexNex
Danny from Oz….I know, its MB Tex- have owned several Merceds but no way to go back and correct what I typed…..the stuff lasts forever
You actually get 5 minutes to edit.
1,000,000 miles on one of these is common. Last forever, if you don’t mind going slow!
My uncle in Maine had two of these. Got 500,000 miles out of his 300D. Yes. Very slow and wirh today’s “I gotta get there in 15 seconds” drivers not safe to be driving one in traffic. It is insane how people drive today.
Assuming it’s actually the 2.4 liter OM616, it’ll have 71 hp and about 100 lb⋅ft of torque. That’s… that’s not much.
I drove a carbureted Subaru Justy with a 1200cc triple; it was not PAINFULLY slow, but it was slow. The motor made 66 horsepower and 70 pound-feet, so I was down 5 hp and 30 lb-ft of torque.
Then again, my Subie had a 5-speed stick and weighed 1100 pounds less than the Benz. I’d love to have that Justy back, but I’ll pass on this poky pig.
1) I would not call the GM/Olds 5.7 conversion diesel a success. Unmitigated disaster is more like it. My father drove Cadillacs for almost 30 years, until he bought an ‘80 Eldorado diesel. In his words it “broke him of Cadillacs”.
2) I don’t have stats, but the vast majority of diesel Mercedes in the U.S. were automatics, not manual shift.