Looking at a WVO conversion - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Graplr · #31 09-21-2012, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertfordnc

OK, i saw the car.

It turns out the seller is an aircraft mechanic at the facility where i work. THat changes a lot in my interpretation of what he tells me. These people are pretty meticulous and place a high value on doing things right.

I saw the car- it has a complete and properly installed greasecar kit with a 15 gallon heated tank in the back, switches and lights on the dash, etc. He's had the car for 6 years. Did the conversion a few years ago. He's put the last 60K miles on the car and done reasonable maintenance.

That greasecar kit probably cost him about $800 at the time and has copper IN-TANK connections. To upgrade it to make it correct would cost some money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertfordnc

The rear suspension drops a bit when parked but works fine.

Most likely a leaking SLS Valve. There is a member on here that sells rebuild kits for ~$10. I believe his user name is Biodiesel300TD

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertfordnc

He stopped driving it and is not running on WVO right now. But he drove it to work for me to look at.

To me this means he got sick of working on it and some things have become neglected. That can be fine if you go into this knowing that you will have a lot of work and money to put into it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertfordnc

The car is hard to start unless he plugs it in. Does that suggest glow plugs or injectors?

Likely issues would be glow plugs on a non-WVO car but on a WVO car many things from bad IP, air in the lines, clogged filters/tank from improper purging procedure, worn seals, rings, pistons, compression. Unless you can diagnose the issue I would assume the engine will need a lot of work and factor that into the price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertfordnc

The interior is nearly perfect but evenly faded and worn, a few cracks on the dash. Headliner is prstine, mechanical sun roof works fine.

Fairly normal for this age.

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Originally Posted by hertfordnc

Vac problem to the interior, door locks do not work.

More signs of neglected maintenance. Expect more to show up.

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Originally Posted by hertfordnc

AC has leaked down and no longer works.

You have to assume that you will need to replace many things to get the AC operational. It may just be a leak but even then finding it and replacing the leaking issue will cost you a few hundred dollars at best. Worst case assuming you do the work yourself it will be about $1000 in parts to get it working, more if you have to spend money on labor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertfordnc

heater fan is broken but comes on occasionally when you go over a bump.

Sounds like a bad motor or bad connection, but again neglected maintenance.

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Originally Posted by hertfordnc

The body is pretty perfect. The paint is oxidized and cracked. If it was not white I imagine it would look pretty horrible.

For nearly $3000 the paint should be in good shape.

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Originally Posted by hertfordnc

Does $2900 sound like a decent target price?

With all the maintenance required, it sounds high to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hertfordnc

I do place some value on the WVO conversion

This kit sounds like the old basic Greasecar kit. To me this was not a good kit. It used in tank copper fittings that could leak. I'm assuming the pump is shared with the stock lift pump. If so this could be the issue with starting (air leaks and pulling rather than pushing through filters). So the kit may add SOME value to you but definitely not that much as it will need updates and work to get working properly.

Also, Dana Linscott was shady at best. I spent a great deal of time creating a detailed drawing of my centrifuge filtering diagram and posted it for others to use as an example in one of the veg forums. Ahwile later, I found out he had took it and was using it as his own original diagram on his site for his profit. He never asked me permission. Not illegal since I posted it on a public site but again, shady at best. Personally, I think he was full of it and did NOT ever convert "fleets" for businesses. I know this area (where he is from) pretty well as I grew up near there. I have never heard of one single company that runs converted trucks as he claimed he made a living off of.

And FYI, I haven't ran WVO in years. I gave it up as it wasn't worth it to me since the cost savings were really marginal unless I was driving LONG shots at once (a long trip) and my commute was 30 miles one way and it wasn't worth it. Driving a $3000 TDI would have been more cost and time effective as my mileage with proper purges on a 20-30 mile trip would net me about 40-50 mpgs combined WVO/diesel. So a TDI would do that and all I would have had to do was pull into a gas station rather than spend many hours every week collecting and filtering.

ROLLGUY · #32 09-21-2012, 01:42 PM

I will add my .02. Being a Biofuel guy, I would say the wagon may be a good buy for you. I say MAY, because of your statement about the availability of these cars in your area. Since you are ready to take the WVO plunge, no better way than to get a car that is ready to go. The price does seem a little high though (I wouldn't pay that much around here), considering that any 25+ year old MB may need the same attention, WVO converted or not. It may not be high for your area though. However, for me Personally, I don't use a conversion anymore. Trying to remember to switch back and forth is too much work for my forgetful mind (made worse if only a 1 gallon start/stop Diesel tank). Years ago, I researched Solvent Thinning (blending), and decided it was the best for me. If I were you and considering buying this car, I would only offer around $2,000 (especially because of hard starting issues). If a deal was made, I would take it home and remove all the WVO related equipment and sell it on craigslist. Blending has served me (and my brother) well for the past 8+ years, with many hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles on practically free fuel.
Yes I know that this discussion has taken a turn, and should have been moved to the alternative fuels section many posts ago. I suggest starting a new topic in the above mentioned forum and linking it here. Again, just my .02....Rich

Zacharias · #33 09-24-2012, 01:40 PM

Got time for a nice drive to NY State? (Or a few hundred $ for transport?)

List member Funola is selling his 300d. He's been around here quite a while so you're dealing with someone who knows his **** from Shinola, has been running the car on WVO, and has written a meaningful for-sale posting:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-cars-sale/326067-83-300d-turbo-whitestone-ny-%242000-%243000-best-reasonable-offers.html#post3016856