Janis Jalopy

Woozle writes:

Janis Jalopy is the name we gave to my Mercedes Benz after recovering it from Georgia. The Benz is a 1983 380 SEL 4-door sedan imported from Germany by my dad, who basically gave it to me in 2000. After foolishly renting it to some people (when they asked and I desperately needed the cash), it ended up sitting out in a field near Athens for about a year, with expensive consequences.

• VIN: WDB12603312029494
  • some of the information embedded in this number apparently does not match the car's actual features
• Manufactured: Stuttgart, April 1982
• GVWR: 4697 lbs; front: 2255 lbs., rear 2442 lbs.

Some relevant links:

• An account of the ill-fated Benz Rental
• An accounting of same
• receipt for the repair work Janis required in order to be drivable again, after recovery through the court system
• Some pre-wiki photos of Janis, just after returning home to NC
• Someone in Australia has a 1981 version of Janis... and he can actually afford to keep it in good shape.

Technical stuff:

• The 380 SEL is apparently of the W126 line
• Janis appears to have a mechanical injector, which may be at the root of the smoking problems...
• Chilton manual for Janis

Mileage

The mileage chart seems to be missing, so keeping this info here for now

date	odometer	gallons	$/gal.	notes
2008-04-22	177029	15.063	$3.469	Costco fill-up (also about 1/4 tank) -- odometer does not seem to be advancing, though the speedometer works fine
2008-02-11	177029	15.427	$2.939	Costco fill-up with Josh (about 1/4 tank?) I think I entered this on the same day

Parts

• Window motor, right front door: Bosch FPE 12V 0 130 821 019
  • Import Parts Specialists $185.15