Wow! ok... i just got the 120 days warning before posting... guess i'll go next, and again.
I sold the POS trooper... I'm now the proud owner of nothing but inline 4 cylinders
... one zx7r, a cb350f and cb400f, and (insert drum roll) my new-to-me, just-turned-vintage this year, well cared for one-owner '84 mercedes benz 190e 2.3.
the car still has the original first aid kit (w/ original german made bandages
) in its own special compartment in the rear window deck.
125k original miles, although its probably more like 130-140k considering the 10% speedo error.
complete records and all that jazz too.
only problem is the rear quarter panels are quite faded compared to the rest of the car... oh, and its not the hopped up 16valve version.
i don't mind though, the gas mileage is great and the price was even better... low retail was $3,700... i only paid $1,000
there was a slight glitch just after the purchase though. i noticed it was running hot but thought it was a euro car thing (dad's had a few porshes and a maserati but the 190e is most similar to his volvos). but, eventually i tried to climb a good grade and the temp climbed out of the guage and blew the radiator.
this started the saga that has been my last month or so... as i was clearing the garage of motorcycles to make room for service, all was going well, until...
i was wheeling the parts cb350f bike around by the lower triple clamp. the front wheel, forks and bars are all gone. i went to set the front end an old metal army box... in all of my fidgeting to get it to sit well on the box and centerstand... it rolled off the centerstand and mashed one finger on each hand, BAD. i still can't feel the tip of my pinky on my right hand and i'd probably be missing the last joint on those two fingers if it weren't for wearing gloves. whew! the other finger was the end of my ring finger on the left hand. my pinky got the worst of it, it completely ripped the pad of that finger off and scrunched it up to the end like a cartoon. i thought something may have happened to a finger or two before i got the gloves off, but they felt no pain. i got nearly every nerve to the point of destruction... they've only recently started to come back. when i took the gloves off, the shock set in. my pinky bled for a week. (insert smart ass smallest violin remark here
) anyway... time lapse would show that the human body has amazing healing capabilities and i can type again!
i replaced the radiator w/ one from proradiator on ebay... less than 120 bucks!!
also needed to replace the thermostat for a measly 17 bucks.
and i put studded snow tires on it since i go to the mountains alot and it is rear wheel drive. that was pricey and i don't recommend discount tires. every stud was improperly installed too high, too deep, at an angle, etc. i took them back and made them give me a new set w/ new studding and made them pay for the studding.
the car's been great... it rides like a dream.
