1984 Mercedes 300SD from California

1984 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Description

This car has been in my family for about a decade- my dad bought it in California in 2008 and used it all over the Southwest until he came east a couple of years ago. It saw two Vermont winters on the road, and has sat in the yard for about a year and a half now.
It still doesn't have much rust- there are spots, but nothing like what you would expect for a car of this age. The body has damage on the left rear quarter (see photos), and the rear bumper has been pushed in at least once. Other than that the body is quite straight. It has dark tinted windows and a trailer hitch.
The paint is very faded and oxidized, and the car shows lots of evidence of its many highway miles.
The interior is very worn, lots of cracks and broken bits.
The odometer quit working at 305,000 miles, but that was years ago. It may have over 400,000 by now. It was a serious cruising vessel, and was used to drive long highway trips to places like Mexico and Wyoming regularly. It pulled a tiny teardrop trailer from California to Vermont.
The car will still run and drive, but I don't think it is road worthy right now. It needs lots of work. I would consider it a candidate for restoration or a parts car. I don't know all the things it might need, but I would assume it needs everything. It is complete, except for the hood ornament.
What makes the car worth fixing is the general lack of rust and the overall quality of these cars. It has the incredible bombproof Mercedes five-cylinder turbo diesel motor.