Other than being slow as molasses...

[Howard_The_Duck]

So i have the opportunity to trade an Acura Legend I purchased a few months ago for a Mercedes 300D.

The Acura is a 90 model with 5speed V6. Peppy, but needs body and paint work, and new seats (the seats are completely automatic, and the seat computer is fried, thus they cant be positioned at all)

The Mercedes is a 1980 model with SURPRISINGLY little rust. I know the car is unable to move out of its own way since it is the non-turbo diesel, but it seems to be very solid. Nice interior, runs good.

I paid a total of 600 bucks between the Acura itself and the parts I've puton it. Is this a worthwhile trade?

(The fellow wants to get rid of the car simply because his son thinks it's too slow... which I do kind of agree with! LOL)

 

[Steve]

That darn Benz will keep going for ever, if you can keep the rust at bay, and fuel economy has to be good. Build quality was outstanding, and your insurance rates will come down. As a daily driver they take some beating. You will need to change the oil more frequently on an oil-burner, but otherwise I can see many positives......

 

[tony barnhill]

Zack - contact John Weimer & ask him about turbo-ing the Benz...remember, he had "the Tank" forever & I think he turbo-ed it.....yep, that thing will lumber along forever with little or no expense.

 

[DrEntropy]

mehheh. "UNKILLABLE!" (She's tried/is trying). Reliable as a house-brick, cheap to run (not so cheap to fix, tho) and you get to WAVE at all th' burkes who've paid tens of thousands for NEW ones (who've NO clue what that tri-star emblem stands for)!

BWUHAAHAAHAAA!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

 

[swift6]

[ QUOTE ]
mehheh. "UNKILLABLE!" (who've NO clue what that tri-star emblem stands for)!

BWUHAAHAAHAAA!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Tank is a very apt description for these. You have to floor the accelerator to get them to move and they will only do about 85mph but they will do it all day long and never complain.

The Tri-star, you mean sea, land and air. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[R6MGS]

I say go for it....You haven't much to lose-never been a big acura fan.

 

[Howard_The_Duck]

Acura = Glorified High Dollar Riceburner. Trust me thats how I feel about them LOL

 

[mailbox]

Might make a good french fry burner. Used oil is usually free. Cheap ride, free fuel?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Banjo]

GREEEEEASE CARRRRRRR!!!!!!! Yea! I'm actually keeping an eye out for one of those old Benzes.. In the dirt cheap price range, of course. hehehe
Ditch the Saki-rod! go fer the Tank! they got class.
unless, of course, you want to be able to have even the slightest amount of getup /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[swift6]

Not to throw water on the grease fire but I did just read an article the other day that pointed out that grease cars and bio diesel from home conversion units that don't use commercial fuel are technically illegal. (They use untaxed fuels.)Personally, I completely forgot about that part.

 

[tony barnhill]

Since when is it illegal to run untaxed fuel in a licensed & taxed vehicle? Not in Alabama is there anything saying I can't run my car on water if it would!

 

[R6MGS]

I am willing to bet that up here in Canada it'd be illegal...Basically anything that you don't have to pay the government for is illegal.

 

[RomanH]

Yep, here in Illinois too! If the fuel hasn't had the road tax paid on it you can't use it on the public roads.
Tried to get av-gas long ago and was turned down at every FBO I tried. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Just remembered reading an article that some farmer in France was arrested as soon as he drove off his property in his diesel-powered car. He was the local proponent of bio-diesel and made his own fuel from his own soybeans. Seems he ticked off the wrong bureaucrat and had the cops lay in wait for him.

 

[aeronca65t]

Yeah, I have an engineering student who runs a 50/50 mix of filtered (free) cooking oil and diesel in his 300D. His Dad does the same thing in their Ford truck. They played around and found that the 50/50 mix works well in the Summer (with no other modifications needed).

In the Winter they switch to pure diesel.

But I told him to shut up about this and not announce it to others, in case someone complains about the tax issue.

Here in NJ (as in most other states, I'd guess), part of the road costs are funded my motor fuel taxes. This makes sense if you think about it....the more fuel you use, the more you use the roads. If you don't pay that tax, you're not supposed to use the roads.

 

[tony barnhill]

Here in Alabama, we share the road with big tractors & combines who are taxed completely differently & use off-road fuel (& everybody who owns a farm knows how easy it is to stop by the tractor pump & fill the pickup).

....then there's those bicyclists - they abuse (er, use) the road also /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif Personally, I think that if I have to get my mrotcycle licensed & pay taxes, they should also!

 

[Howard_The_Duck]

Yeah, here in Louisiana, we have people getting plastered on "trail rides" where they and 50 of their closest friends with horses take to the highways.

For those who don't think autocrossing matters, try slaloming through horse excrement so you don't funk up your freshly cleaned ride!

Of course if I get this 300D, it'd be more like waddling around the stuff... LOL

 

[DrEntropy]

Once it's up to "Ramming Speed" you could just use the horn and scatter 'em... or re-mount th' turrets and "clear" 'em! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

 

[swift6]

The legal/illegal issue will really be tested if it becomes more mainstream and the various departments of Revenue start to see an impact in fuel sales at the pump. Can you imagine 'Revenuers' stalking through the woods and down neighborhood cul-de-sacs looking for the 'stills'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Actually, it could happen, but probably only if you get on the wrong side of the wrong beuracrat (like the guy in France) or fuel tax revenue is affected.

Tony, if you look into it you will probably find that there are concessions in agricultural areas for agricultural equipment to move from one field to another on public roadways but using farm implements with off-road fuel as a commuting vehicle is frowned upon.

On the bicycle front though I tend to fully agree with you. In Boulder, CO a few years ago there was a Bicyclist group that would do very large group rides. They began blocking traffic, by spreading their group across the roads as they rode, as a way to gain attention about motorists needing to be aware of cyclists for increased safety. They were mostly a pain that people seemed to put up with until they blocked an ambulance and a fire truck from responding to a medical emergency. Public opinion turned on them after that. I never heard how it all shook out but I would have liked to seen them all charged with obstructing an emergency vehicle and if the person needing the medical attention suffered from their selfishness, see them go after each cyclist independently in civil court.

I don't mind sharing the road with cyclists, but a lot of cyclists need to understand that sharing goes both ways. They are on the losing end of the physics equations afterall. If they don't want to share then they should stick to bike paths and if they do ride on public roads then all the same laws apply to them. Like stop signs.

I'll step down off the soap box now though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[DrEntropy]

Stay up there, Shawn! You are spot-on. Road useage is a Priveledge, not a guaranteed Constitutional birthright. It comes with responsibilities. That seems to escape most folk.

 

[swift6]

Yeah, I've had the 'right' vs. 'privilege' discussion with many people before. Many people seem to think that they have a constitutional right to do anything they please.

My sister is a local PD Officer and she told me about ticketing a bicyclist the other day. He was riding on the sidewalk and was approaching an intersection at a high rate of speed and blinded by a fence so he couldn't see traffic. As he was about to cross the intersection (from the sidewalk) a car pulled up to the intersection and the bicyclist rammed the side of the car. He wasn't hurt. Some scrapes and bruises (biggest bruise was to his ego), was even checked out by paramedics before he walked his crumpled bike home. The bicyclist got a ticket for failing to yield. She said if she could have written him a ticket for being stupid she would have. The ticket was held up by the DA's office and the Judge, as was the ruling that the bicyclist needed to pay for the damage he caused to the car. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Fort Collins is a bike friendly town and there are tons of bike lanes on most streets as well as a large network of bicycle/jogging/etc... paths where motor vehicles are not allowed. As a result, bicyclists on sidewalks are generally frowned upon, especially bicyclilsts riding at high rates of speed. But, when they are on sidewalks they are expected to follow the same rules and common sense as pedestrians (like looking both ways before crossing an intersection), just as they are expected to follow the same rules as cars when riding on the streets. See stop sign comment in previous post.

Every fall it seems that some CSU students find out the hard way that you can also get DUI's on bicycles. Part of that riding on the street and being subject to the same rules as automobiles things. Really makes their semester. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif