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But is there any other Mercedes engine that can be paired up with a manual from that era?
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
But is there any other Mercedes engine that can be paired up with a manual from that era?
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Why do you even want one from that era? The W203 is the worst of the C-classes as it came out at the height of Mercedes Rot. You hardly ever see those any more - the W202s greatly outnumber them on the street.
 
It doesn't have to be from that era, I just can't afford a really recent one. I'm looking at cars under $10k.
 
Aren't many Mercedes manuals deemed kinda shite in terms of feel?
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
It doesn't have to be from that era, I just can't afford a really recent one. I'm looking at cars under $10k.
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The *320s could come with a 5 or 6 speed manual though few people ordered them that way.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5935542232.html

The *240s could have manuals behind them as well, though their 2.6L V6s sometimes had balance shaft problems.

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5936120279.html

Or you could buy something from when Mercedes actually meant something.

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5900039646.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/5931017682.html

You could get an R129 with a manual. (One of about 200 300SLs imported to the US before they quickly replaced it with the auto-only and more troublesome SL320.)

http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/5939118488.html

Though given your occupation and evident politics, this is probably more your speed...

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/5933454610.html

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rickhamilton620 said:
Aren't many Mercedes manuals deemed kinda shite in terms of feel?
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'Agricultural' is an adjective often used to describe many of them, yes. But remember - in HV's world, even the shittiest manual is better than the greatest automatic, even if the auto can be manually controlled, shifts faster than he can shift a manual, and doesn't explode under full power (unlike, say, the T5NWC does behind certain V8s it came with.) Even if buying a manual means that the car it comes in is quite suboptimal in all other respects. :mrgreen: :evil:
 
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Spectre said:
The *320s could come with a 5 or 6 speed manual though few people ordered them that way.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5935542232.html

The *240s could have manuals behind them as well, though their 2.6L V6s sometimes had balance shaft problems.

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5936120279.html

Or you could buy something from when Mercedes actually meant something.

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5900039646.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/5931017682.html

You could get an R129 with a manual. (One of about 200 300SLs imported to the US before they quickly replaced it with the auto-only and more troublesome SL320.)

http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/5939118488.html

Though given your occupation and evident politics, this is probably more your speed...

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/5933454610.html

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'Agricultural' is an adjective often used to describe many of them, yes. But remember - in HV's world, even the shittiest manual is better than the greatest automatic, even if the auto can be manually controlled, shifts faster than he can shift a manual, and doesn't explode under full power (unlike, say, the T5NWC does behind certain V8s it came with.) Even if buying a manual means that the car it comes in is quite suboptimal in all other respects. :mrgreen: :evil:
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I didn't know the R129 came with a manual in the U.S. I need to look into those, as that is one of my all time favorite cars.

I simply asked a question about a car, but you had to go personal... No, contrary to what you infer, I actually hate the W123. What I do for a living, or my political inclination, has very little or nothing to do with my taste in cars. You can tell me it's a shitty car, but don't try to rationalize it with my personal and professional credentials. We have a politics section, let's stick to cars in this particular thread.
 
I'd rather go with a 124 or 126 than any newer Merc. Better car and more reliable.
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
What I do for a living, or my political inclination, has very little or nothing to do with my taste in cars.
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You are a foreign-born academic in a northern college town that drives an old Volvo. The only way it would get any more stereotypical is if you constantly walked around in a tweed jacket with elbow patches. :lol: And what were you shopping for? An old Mercedes sedan, which is one of the alternative cars for the stereotype. :lmao:

I just figured that as long as you were confirming the stereotype, you might as well do it properly and get a biofuel-converted old diesel Merc being advertised with an anti-Trump message. :mrgreen:

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_HighVoltage_ said:
I didn't know the R129 came with a manual in the U.S. I need to look into those, as that is one of my all time favorite cars.
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Don't take too long to 'look into it', there's less than 200 of them in the country and they don't come up for sale often. That one's even in your budget.

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Dr_Grip said:
I'd rather go with a 124 or 126 than any newer Merc. Better car and more reliable.
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I would too - hence my comment about "from when Mercedes actually meant something." Built to a size, not to a price.
 
Spectre said:
You are a foreign-born academic in a northern college town that drives an old Volvo. The only way it would get any more stereotypical is if you constantly walked around in a tweed jacket with elbow patches. :lol: And what were you shopping for? An old Mercedes sedan, which is one of the alternative cars for the stereotype. :lmao:
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You forget that I bought the first Volvo when I was still in college and had my eyes set on a non-academic career. The switch to the academe was after the fact.

I'm also not terribly interested in a Mercedes, this one just caught my eye as it was local, within the price range, and with a manual.

Realistically, if I were to move away from Volvo, I might go the LeVeL route and get an Acura TL. I always liked the way they look.
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
You forget that I bought the first Volvo when I was still in college and had my eyes set on a non-academic career. The switch to the academe was after the fact.
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I didn't forget. It just doesn't matter how you got there. The fact of the matter is that you're there now. :p

I'm also not terribly interested in a Mercedes, this one just caught my eye as it was local, within the price range, and with a manual.
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Buy one of these manual transmission cars and be done with it, then. You have nothing to lose but your academic stereotype chains. :mrgreen:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/cto/5937422403.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/cto/5934064682.html
 
I do like the GTO a lot. A friend has one, but he recommended I avoid the 5.7 and get the later 6.0 cars.
 
_HighVoltage_ said:
I do like the GTO a lot. A friend has one, but he recommended I avoid the 5.7 and get the later 6.0 cars.
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The 6.0 is a performance increase, but it comes at a cost. The dual exhaust on the 6.0 cars was an afterthought and fitting it required them to take a significant part of the trunk away. It also doesn't have adequate heat shielding with the dual exhaust so the trunk gets surprisingly hot, which can ruin your day if you're carrying food back there.

The other significant differences between the stock 6.0 LS2 cars and the 5.7 LS1 cars are that the LS2 cars have better brakes and better shocks plus upgraded sway bars. However, it is very easy and relatively cheap to bring an LS1 car up to the LS2 spec or even greatly exceed them. The LS2s have more potential if you want to go after power increases with new cams, intakes, etc., but the LS1 cars are no slouch in the aftermarket department either. If you don't intend to immediately do significant engine mods to play at the drag strip every weekend or play Ricky Racer at the Stoplight Grand Prix, the LS1 car is just fine and the savings over an LS2 car can be significant. In fact, if you're just going to leave it alone, go buy an LS1 car and spend the price differential on even better brakes and even better suspension bits than the LS2 cars came with and call it a day.
 
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I vote getting that blue GTO. Then slap some Holden badges & grille on it and call it a day.
 
Even as a Mercedes fanatic I'd take the GTO over a w203, easily. The 1.8 engine has some severe issues even in Europe, so I assume they are much worse on every-good-european-car-gets-awful-when-crossing-the-atlantic country. Also the 6 speed gearbox is super sensitive about correct fluid level. Filling it up normally will cause it die fast, and most repair shops do not believe the fluid must not be topped like in pretty much all other manual boxes.
 
That manual R129 <3. DO IT!
 
Probably hardly anyone here who could understand the love for this but I just found a 987.2c with bucket seats, upgraded suspension and the sports exhaust for a very reasonable price. Dream car. <3

$_57.jpg


$_57.jpg
 
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I understand that. It's the Porsche I would buy if I had the money.
 
MWF said:
I understand that. It's the Porsche I would buy if I had the money.
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Pretty much, with the caveat that if I found an old widebody non-turbo 3.2 I'd go for that instead.
 
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