1st Gen Lunchtable Thread - General Discussion

Just google image search "canvas ute canopy" and go down the rabbit hole

 

Pretty big difference between the Mahle and the old one.

 

Got Sofia and Dex to myself for the next few days, gonna take them to the dog beach today and see how Dex likes the ocean. I have a feeling he's gonna dig like he's never dug before

 

A daily driver AWD wagon would be nice.

 

*Jesse Pinkman has entered the chat

 

There will never be another car like the 240 or OM606 Mercedes. I’ve been wanting a TDI wagon but @Speedytech7 shot that idea down lol

 

I would love another 3rd gen Camry or OBS Impreza wagon as well.

 

The diesel Mercs are cool, I still want one, but rebuilding this OM617 has told me they're not fun to work on, so buy it in good condition and keep that diesel injection pump clean. We had to look far and wide to find someone that works on the pumps and even then they don't use new parts to repair them cause they don't exist. Cost $2750 to have the pump rebuilt and calibrated with used parts

 

Those generation Tercels are really cool. They were called the sprinter carib in Japan if I'm not mistaken. They're just awfully slow and none are left in decent shape.

I've seen multiple Toyota Corolla & Camry wagons and one JDM 1995 Sprinter Carib (Corolla) appear for sale locally this year. With the JDM Carib being the only AWD one, but also the only automatic. I think the goal will be something newer like an IS SportCross or something.

 

I've mentioned it before but that's why all the diesel Mercedes sit in fields down here rotting. I had an old housemate that did a ton of work on one, had put new tires and a windshield on it, but it needed the injection pump gone through. So he gave up when he determined the cost.

 

I would have given the rebuild a shot myself cause I can get more used pumps for cheap but there's no info in the Merc manual on setup and calibration of that old Bosch pump and there's no Bosch manual for it either. Either way it should be set for another 285k mi now. That's how long it lasted before, also we really didn't need to rebuild this the bearings are all beautiful and in spec and the bores are just ever so lightly glazed.

 

My buddy's Hawkeye Impreza was a fun little car to drive; bought it new and I got to put some miles on it since I only had a motorcycle at the time.

 

@Speedytech7 definitely not wrong. But I suppose it also depends on how you're going to be with repairs, etc and if you just wanna say fuck it I'll give it a go. People like the Passat TDI wagons and seem happy to hunt them down.
Example: https://jalopnik.com/i-bought-one-of-the-best-diesel-wagons-ever-made-for-ch-1847947469

Just gotta figure out what you're willing to deal with. For a daily, ideally I'd like a balance of something I enjoy driving and with less headaches, so newish/well maintained. For something I'm more interested in and would really like in the driveway, then I'm cool with hurting a little more.

Sometimes I just get weird bugs...like right now for some reason an E38 7XX sounds really nice.
I'd need a Motorola StarTac to go with it.
And some Persols.
And driving gloves?

 

3k doesn’t seem unreasonable for a pump rebuild, especially when that engine is almost indestructible. “Runs forever” and “a million miles” is usually BS, but that engine will actually come close to that. They were popular for Lemons racing since they just don’t break, even with unthinkable abuse. The Volvo Redblock and Ford 300 ci deserve a shout in that regard too.

 

They just seem so comfy. Like slow tanks puttering around. Always turn my head when I see one.
And I see more than I feel like I should.

 

Theyre all over Seattle area still. Barely able to do 55mph and white smoking in parking lots haha. But in all fairness I think they did that when new too. Knowing what it takes to rebuild the pump now, I wouldn't be running hippy oil/biodiesel through them though, one pump rebuild negates the cost savings and if you have to replace injectors that's even worse.

 

Seems pretty risky to run the bio then. I haven't thought about that in a while. I remember when that sort of had its trending moment and there was some VW bus guys locally who I'd see around town and they'd be talking about how they were basically gonna run on French fry oil. Great in theory.
A nice 300TD wagon though? Sounds nice to me if I'm in no hurry haha

 

Wasn't my decision. He put well over $3K into the car, got it from the original owner, etc.

The car is pretty ruined now. Goats and cows did a number on it's bodywork and windows. Not to mention softball sized hail.

 

Even the turbo ones are that slow?

Id heard only good things about the OM617 and I figured they’d be pretty dead nuts simple to work on, but I guess they have their quirks.

 

I hate the blue interior, but I still love the styling