Well, I did it. I got myself a car. Here it is.
My 190D 2.5 Turbo
Far from perfect but the car has aged pretty well when it comes to looks. I have some more pictures of pure 190 porn below but just remember, I am no professional photographer so they are a little put of focus on some of the pictures.
Some pictures
Sorry or the low quality but I could only get this one to save as a gif for it to fit on imgur.
About the car. So it is a 1987 190D with the 2.5 turbodiesel. Originally it had a 4 speed automatic but 6 years ago a 5 speed manual from a 190D 2.2 (2.0 in Europe) was put in instead. It has 1995 E420 front brakes, rear springs, rear subframe swap, etc. 3.07 rear differential (normal is a 3.27) for some quick. It’s got a lot so I’ll word for word paste what the owner told me.
All the stuffs
1995 E420 Front brakes installed along with stainless steel brake lines
E420 rear springs
Rear subframe swap with all new Meyle arms and Hedgehog bushings
3.07 gear swap
Full 2.5" exhaust
New Glow plugs by Bosch made in France
New Viton delivery valve seals and o-rings in the lift pump along with new monark nozzles which were pop-tested
New Head gasket
New INA lifters internally during head gasket change over
New Timing Chain Tensioner during head gasket change over
New Lemforder Ball Joints, Tie Rods, Drag Link, Idler Bushing
New Bilstein sport shock/struts
New A/C components - compressor, drier, condenser, and pusher fans
Some recent maintenance
07/23/2017 - Oil / Filter change by previous owner
02/15/2018 - Oil / Filter change *Rotella T6
02/15/2018 - Air Filter change
03/15/2018 - Air Filter change to Cone filter
03/15/2018 - Fuel Filters change
03/15/2018 - Diesel Purge
Ok, what do I think about it? Pretty good! If I could rate the car overall I’d say 8/10 right now. It definitely has some issues (see below) and that is mostly body damage and wear. some hail damage on the roof, trunk, and hood and has some rust spots but nothing major. The suspension is stiff but it keeps to the road well. The 5 speed is completely different from the 6 speed in the Jetta. The Jetta has a pretty high 1st gear but the 190D had an average 1st gear originally and now with the slightly larger wheels and especially the rear differential the 1st in it is low. I haven’t stalled it (edit, I forgot I stalled it twice yesterday but not today) but I have made it jump a bit quite a few times as I am used to being able to go around parking lots in 1st, not 2nd. It will take some getting used to but already I have gotten a lot better with it so just give it a week. The steering is amazing! It has more feedback then the Jetta and is reasonably tight but not too much. The turning radius is great too. The brakes are spot on, it can stop on a dime and I haven’t even gone over 1/2 on the brake pedal yet. The interior is for the most part nice but some of it is showing its age, especially the seats. All around it’s pretty good.
Some pictures of bad stuff, mechanical stuff, and lift pics
Here are the lift pictures
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pLyXo71Qz2B6tt302
Weirdness, the HVAC. So, If you look in the picture dump above you will see a picture of what looks like a plumbing valve. That’s because it is a plumbing valve. This is a pretty ghetto HVAC fix that the car has. It works but you can only choose one at a time with that valve. Open for heat and closed for AC. It works but it seems to have messed with the glow plugs as they stay on whenever any part of the HVAC is running, which is an issue. The switch next to the shifter is also for turning on the blower fans in the front for the AC. That is on the list for getting fixed, speaking of such. The list for getting things fixed.
The List
High Priority
- Getting it into a body shop and touching up the rust. I will probably have them do the scratches and maybe do the hail damage and some new clear coat depending on the price.
- Door Locks, the drivers side front door and both rear doors have different locks, only the passenger door is original. That was done because the power windows stopped working so it was a quick fix to put manual window doors on but the locks don’t match and sometimes don’t lock. That’s why it has a club right now. I had to get it today
- Parking brake, have to use 1st to hold it right now as the brake is pretty weak
- Glow plugs, that might come with the HVAC though.
- Taking the blue LEDs out of the exhaust temperature and boost gauges, they are just annoying at night
- Getting a correct width exhaust, the current one is loud but more importantly gets really hot whenever the car nears 3k rpm, especially on the highway. The former owner says damage starts at about 600 Celsius and it will get close to that whenever I am passing on the highway or accelerating at a light.
Low Priority
- New speakers, the current ones sound terrible and tinny and only two out of four work.
- HVAC, it’s annoying but not the end of the world
- Getting new interior panels for the doors as the current ones are cracked from the sun
- New dashboard, it is also cracked
- Front seats, they have lost some of their cushion and more importantly their support, the back seats are fine though.
- New head unit, something that doesn’t look out of place in the car and if possible something with 3 or 6 CDs as I still use CDs almost all the time. A yellow display would also be nice to match the cars interior lighting.
- Fixing the power windows
- New/repaired steering wheel without cracking, it feels fine but doesn’t look good
- Overall detailing of the car
- Antenna motor, it is right now stuck up
- Putting the front left headlight back in place
*Replacing the hood insulation to quiet it down - Finally, the original air box. I would prefer that as it forces the air to come from outside via the side intake vent but next filter change I can do that. It is in the trunk of the car.
I am sure I will find more to get fixed soon enough.
Here are some fun videos of its startup and wiper, say hi to my mom and dad in the wiper video.
Videos
Big shout out to @cpufreak101 for finding me a bunch of maintenance information and guides for the car. it really helps a lot.
Well that is all for now. it is now my daily an my money hole. I will definitely enjoy driving it around town and I hope yous guys enjoy my adventures with it.