1977 mercedes benz?

Question

I am 16 and i got this car for my birthday. Its red, what can i do to make it pretty? & i strongly dislike the sound of diesel.. is there a way to make my car quieter?

Answer 1

1977 Mercedes Benz and still run well for you!! Some old car makes a 16 years old looks cool!! depend on how you carrying yourself and the car with it. If you think it's cool then the noise is add up to how cool the car is. I don't think you could un-noise a diesel car. I think that how it made, it suppose to makes noise with that kind of gas for that engine. Happy 16 to you.

Answer 2

Well first off, congrats on the Benz. If your only complaint is the diesel rap, then I think you are way ahead of the game.

Making it pretty is a subjective statement, what is pretty to you may not be to me...
I suggest starting with the body and paint. Make sure that any dings, dents or rust is taken care of, and then get a good paint job for it. Start saving some summer money now, and you will have it done in no time...

Regarding the noise, the older diesel engines had a signature sound, and there is not a whole lot that you can do about it other than make sure that the exhaust is good and tight.

There is a way to make it run quieter, but it requires a conversion to grease, and most of the kits that I am aware of require the vehicle to be started on #2 Diesel and then switched over to vegetable oil after the car is warmed up.
I do not know what the sound difference would be on the older Benz, but I have heard it is significant.
The added benefit of the conversions is that noxious emissions are reduced by over 90 percent when running vegetable oil as compared to petro diesel.

I have my 1986 F350 quadcab setup. I and a few other people built the system from the ground up, rather than buying a kit, but the next time, I will buy a ready made kit to avoid the long transition time.

Answer 3

It's actually a terrific first car. It's slow, but very reliable. And there's nothing safer in an accident. The sound is quite pleasant once you get used to it: the car actually talks, it tells you what it thinks about fuel quality, filter condition, weather, how it feels. Give it a name, it already has a personality.

It may be worthwhile to have the timing chain checked by a qualified mechanic. If the chain or tensioner are loose, the engine will shake and make more noise than usual.

As for appearance stuff, there are a few inexpensive things you can do. If your dashboard is cracked, there is a product called Coverlay that will restore it: http://www.coverlaymfg.com/index.php?crn=221

You can install alloy wheels of various sorts. You can even install chrome bling dubs if you like.

The radiator grill is a plastic insert. If it's dull, you can remove it and paint it, if it's cracked they are cheap to replace, and the aluminum insert strips are cheap. http://www.carpartswholesale.com/cpw_store/buy.php?make_text=mercedes&ml=240-d-002&model_text=240_series&year=1977&part_name=grille_assembly&brand_name=replacement&repcat=true&s=1&make_code=MB

You can get sheepskin seat covers which change the look of the interior, and are cozy. There are nice cutom carpet mats available. http://www.autointeriors.biz/Carpeting/2005_Automat_Carpet_PDFs/2005_AutoMatCustomFloorMats.pdf

Answer 4

Depends on your budget. If you have no problems doing the work yourself, I would recommend the following:

- wash the car inside and out
- get a bunch of Q tips and toothpicks and thoroughly clean every crack inside of the car. Use mild detergents only. This should take you 1/2 a day. You will be amazed at what a difference a thorough cleaning makes. It shows you take care of your car and your friends will respect the level of attention you pay to details. And it is cheap.

If the car is not rusted, I would consider buffing the car to a shine. This you may be able to do yourself ... or get your friends to help. If you need a buffer, you can rent it for a day or 2 from a hardware store, they'll tell you what to do. This is also inexpensive but will give your car a good shine. This assumes the paint is still good.

Another thing you can try is washing the engine bay. This is easy as well. Remember to use a plastic grocery bag to cover up the battery and use masking tape to seal the bag so that no water gets into it. Before you cover up the battery, be sure to remove one of the battery connections. Go to any hardware store and buy some industrial strength "degreaser". Spray the degreaser liberially into the engine bay and let it soak for 10-15 min, then use a water hose to spray off.

Let dry, replace the battery connection and off you go. This job should take no longer than 1 hour.

There are some personal taste items you can do to spice it up. Things like fuzzy dice, or stuffed animals are common, but personally I don't like it. But it is personal taste, you may like it.

Everything I've discribed above costs very little (under $50 in supplies and equipment rental). If you take it to a detailing shop, they'll charge you at least $200/$300 for a decent job.

Since the car is so old and assuming it is not a collector item, I think it is best not to invest too much money into this car. But ... some of this depends on the car's mileage and current condition.

Good luck

Answer 5

You can make it quieter by replacing the injectors (they wear out after 100,000 miles and will cause a LOT of noise, which diesel folks call "nailing") and by laying "Dyna-mat" under the carpeting and under the dashboard area where the firewall is. Also you can buy or replace the engine hood liner and engine firewall liner if it is deteriorated.

it's very hard to make a '77 Benz "pretty" but a massive detailing will at least make it smell and look clean.

Answer 6

It's a freakin tank, and will give up it's life for you. It's an excellent first car to really LEARN how to drive. Extremely safe car.


The diesel sound is more noisy at start-up, and should quieter as it warms up. Delo 400 15W-40 weight oil is an ecellent oil for your diesel, and DON'T buy an after market oil filter.

Techron(bottle) sold at Chevron is excellent to put in gas, to smooth the engine out and make it run better.

Answer 7

im not a fan og diesels myself but mercedes are great cars and know how to make a car.. you can try to get another muffler to quiet it down some, but a diesel of that age , if it sounds like marbles in a washer its running good,,
mercedes which i have owned for many years, use quality paint so a good wax, and clean the wheels up will make it look great.

Answer 8

LOL, no there isnt much you can do for that old smoker beside enjoy it. An MB when your 16. They way they inject the fuel in those older diesels is where the noise ( knock ) comes from.

Answer 9

You can probably drive it around the world and it will come back for more. Forget about the sound of the engine.