Got snookered. Did not know what I was buying and was ignorant about what to look for in a benz. Yep, you summarized it very well. It was a POS with decent paint and body. It was a disaster mechanically. But I have put it back together. I would put it up against anyone's car at this point for mechanical soundness. I am still working the list but it is down to a very few items. Replaced the check ball in the fuel pump and have the other plastic latch on the back lids on order to be painted to color match.

Still not convinced the front ride height is correct after the spring and pad replacement but will have that discussion after another month of settling time. I do enjoy driving the car and have become a better person due to the adversity.

 

I had all 4 springs and rubber spring seats replaced. Front had to be done twice. Started with thickest seat and ended up with smallest. You would not believe the difference 10mm makes. There must be more to it. Ride is now factory height all the way around. Had the remaining plastic latch mechanism on the back shelf replaced in the rear pax side.

I was looking back at earlier photos and I have to say that the front is a little higher, the biggest difference is in the rear. That had sagged quite a bit over the years, it is probably 1.5 inches higher than it was.

I was checking out the Dutch Royal families 380sel convertible online. Man what a ride. I was salivating over the interior, what a great job of restoring that car.

I have made arrangements to do both rear axle boots, the metal/rubber pumpkin mount in the center and both rear body to frame rubber bushings. Will also take care of the axle seals at the differential as long as it is all apart.

Car is still running pretty good. I have not had any performance issues in a long time and the ride gets better and better. I'll post some pics if I get a chance.

 

I thought so but just wanted to check. you scared me..lol..because I'm in the market for a 300SE,SEL or 420SEL...definitely something in w126 or w140 and I've been looking for 2 years and almost everything I come across is a total POS or a total Pristine dream and I can't seem to find the middle ground..LOL

 

I just did something that you are NEVER NEVER suppose to do. I added up all my receipts and now I have a very sick feeling.


Supplier Action Date Cost
Purchased 09/01/07 5000
Radio 09/21/07 609
Group 1 10/11/07 6000
BAP Cap/rotor 10/15/07 66.57
BAP Gearbox/Shocks 10/17/07 1333.29
Midway RR AC/Gear 10/22/07 1265.33
Hoy-Fox Seatframe/pad 10/23/07 427.76
Special T WUR 01/21/08 265.45
Glass doctor windows 02/11/08 469.53
Hoy-Fox Lots 07/19/08 5970.63
Specialists R/R speakers 07/25/08 281.57
BAP Exhaust 07/25/08 806.02
BAP Exhaust 07/30/08 49.67
MBT condensor pad 08/02/08 17.5
MBT Heatshield 08/07/08 35.62
Craigs 08/08/08 485.77
Craigs 08/22/08 515.62
Craigs 08/29/08 697.51
BAP 09/08/08 42.43
Craigs 09/12/08 498.34
Craigs 10/03/08 1683.75
Craigs 12/02/08 1263.4
Craigs 02/23/09 41.39
Craigs 03/13/09 727.1
Craigs 04/24/09 139.99
Craigs All ac diaphrams 05/12/09 1626.32
Craigs 07/31/09 142.08
Craigs Rebuilt A/C 08/10/09 1987
Craigs 08/14/09 128.84
Precision alignment 09/11/09 85.5
Madera concepts 09/29/09 352.5
BAP CC actuator 10/03/09 286.47
Craigs 10/23/09 359.6
Craigs Fuel pump relay 12/03/09 333.97
Craigs 01/08/10 496.33
MBT 01/16/10 2046.41
Firestone Tires 01/29/10 435.73
MBT new injectors 02/16/10 2651.32
MBT 08/27/10 375
MBT sunroof motor 09/11/10 968.53
MBT 01/03/11 458.56
MBT back plastic catches 02/11/11 134.27
MBT back plastic catches 03/24/11 325.1
MBT rear boots 04/21/11 2129.38
MBT new door latch/ac work 06/29/11 1659.41
MBT carrier bearing 07/27/11 667.24
MBT vacuum pump 08/12/11 656.89
MBT window reg 08/26/11 526.05
MBT 30k mile mtx 09/23/11 782.51
MBT Anti-lock 10/07/11 1257.28

Total spent 49565.53
Cost per month 1011.54

50 grand!!!! unbelievable. I still have a POS worth 3.5k in the driveway on a good day. For all those of you shopping for an old MB, just say no. OMFG, i should have bought a killer restored tri-five chevy or whatever. What a waste. Guys, it all adds up. Do not, I repeat do not do what I just did. Just smile and enjoy your cars and don't think too hard about it.

On some semblance of a positive note, it rides like a brand new car, of course the original sticker was only 49.2k, so it better. I fixed everything on this car but the paint and the interior. Interior priced out at 7k for carpet and upholstery by a top shop. Wife says no more, oh well, almost made it.

E

 

Here are some pics:

 

here is the horror in all of its gory detail. So to all of you posters with, gee I have this erratic idle but it runs fine otherwise, or seems like it is missing, or it dies when I slow down, or the vents don't quite work right, or why is that anti-lock light on, or why is it damp by the rear axle seals, or why is there an oil stain on the driver side of the engine block, or why does that pump in the trunk keep running longer, or gosh my reception on the radio is kind of crummy. Well, boys and girls, let papa olson tell you, you have no freakin idea just how many things can go wrong with these cars. If you are asking those simple questions, then you are too naive to own a MB, just put it up for sale for 10 or 20 dollars, or better yet, free to good home, and save yourselves a fortune. Consider the purchase price a relatively cheap price to pay to dodge the much more expensive hail of bullets coming your way.

I wonder what a restoration would have cost, probably would have been cheaper. Something to consider. All the griping aside, it is a nice car to drive when running right, has very classic looks, has an A/C system that will freeze you right out of the car which, in Tucson, is a very good thing. Parts were not that bad in hindsight, no more than any new car, but the labor is a mother. There are no cheap shops in my area that do good work. That will be real important for you if you intend to take the intrepid plunge.

I could not upload since the file was too big, I'll try something else.

 

The engine would begin stalling and being hard to start up after my initial start up and turn off of the engine.

I replaced the ignition coil, ignition rotor and distributor cap. It continues to do the same thing.

When someone would push on the larger (of the two) boots(plug ins) on the Magnetic Pick up plate, it would start right up but then stall again.

I purchased a Magnetic Pick Up, but the car would not start at all. The engine turns over but would not catch to start.

Is it possible there is a break or loose wire in the cable that goes to the larger(of the two) boots(plug ins) on the Magnetic Pick Up plate? OR do you have any suggestions as to what is causing this? I'm so frustrated right now, any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks Susan

 

It must have been on another thread, but someone suggested following the gray cable over to the distributor to clean the sensor so the magnetic pick up can acknowledge and count revolutions enabling the car to start. I am going to try that - hopefully, the weather will be good enough for me to do that today. Ugh, Nebraska weather!

After reading all of the comments, I've decided to keep my 380se 1985. I was thinking of selling it but now after looking at what I paid for it and cost of repairs and maintenance - the cost per month has been only $95 per month over the past five years.

Thanks for all of the detailed information you've posted. It's given me the confidence to at least have an idea of what to fix or check when I have problems. It really bites not having an owner's manual.

 

hey guys i just bought an 85 380se and have some issues. the car runs like it has a bannana stuck in the tail pipe. the car is very clean with 120,000 miles and have all the original stickers on engine and very well taken care of. looks like, so far i changed the distributor cap, sparkplugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter, ignition rotor, i checked on the converter and they told me its good, i took it to a mb dealer and they told me they dont know how to work on it. can some one please help me pin point the problem? im not a mechanic nor i know how to do alot of mechanic stuff. the car either cuts off or hesitates when i give it gas then boom it goes. when its cold it do not want to move at all i have to warm it up for like 10 min even when its very hot outside. please help me with that one thanks

 

You need to find a reputable MB mechanic that knows this car.

Could be in need of camshafts (worse case), a new timing chain (due to stretch/wear) or a fuel pressure issue.

Have you changed the T-stat? Make sure you don't install it upside down.

Good luck.

 

I know this post is a couple years old - but from experience -- vacuum leaks. Lots of them. Most of your hard plastic hose couplers are going to be cracked or broken. Good news is that most are available and cheap. But ---- Long sigh ----- it will take you a while to track them all down -- including all the ones under the dash.

But the good news is that once all plugged up the car will be responsive and run pretty good. I did not have any bad sensors -- just the lines hooked up to them, and actually the hard lines were pretty good shape, I did not have to replace any, just the couplers.

 

Just replaced the fuel distributor and warm up regulator (again). Fussing with fuel leaks at the moment. Those hard line compression fits do not age well. But seemed to run smooth as silk. Just need to get the leaks fixed.

 

Hey Folks, New to the forum with an 85 380se. It runs fairly well after a new fuel pump,accumulator, filter and ignition rotor. I do have a fuel leak under the tank and in front of the pumpkin - the fuel line appears rusted. And tips how to get at that?

 

I was cruising the internet and found my old posts.

Sold the car spring 2019. I think I got 2800 for it, maybe 3400, I can't recall, it didn't matter to me at that point whether I got 50, 500 or 5k. I just wanted it gone. I had just completed the annual saga of emission testing which always required new plugs, an oil change and a lambda tune up to get it to squeak by. Buyer sent over a mechanic to inspect, I posted the car with my 1 inch thick stack of receipts as one of the pictures and he just laughed as he went through them all and said ahh I see you are one of those guys. I was honest with what I had done and the experience I had. Said, its perfect right now, but give it 20 minutes and it very well could deliver you a 2500 repair bill, no joke and make sure the guy understands that. When the guy came over to see and drive it, almost had a heart attack when I could not get the power moonroof to work, I was just hitting the wrong button which I think the guys girlfriend figured out. I was laughing maniacally at the time, probably pretty rude on my part. Clearly PTSD from owning this thing. Basically, I told him I thought I had it all fixed with receipts to prove it, but like dirty harry said -- are you feeling lucky, transmission could go out tomorrow or on the way home.

New owner had all the exterior plastic redone including the bumpers, detailed the paint and interior, he sent me some pics. It looked phenomenal.

A few months later I was driving by a local Walgreens and I saw my car in the parking lot and not in a space, but in a driving area, with the hood up and new owner and some others staring down at the engine bay with quisical and bewildered looks on their faces. I put my head down, drove past, and did not look back.