WOW, what a difference that 18 ponies makes between the 240d and the NA 300d. I was reading the other day that the factory 0-100 kph (62 mph) numbers for the 240d's are 32 seconds for the auto and 31 seconds for the stick. Amazing that the 300d with only 18 more flywheel HP can shave 13 seconds off the time. You sure that 88 for the NA 300d and 70 for the 240d are the flywheel HP numbers and not the HP ratings at the wheels, tgatch?
Anyway, I got to test drive the 79 300cd today. Felt pretty good. Decent acceleration - better than I expected actually. I think I could drive one every day. Sure missed that "kick" of the turbo at 1500-2000 RPMs though.
I decided to pass on it. Not because of its performance, but because of its problems. It has been repainted from silver to maroon, and it was not done well. They went to a lot of trouble to paint all the door jambs and such, but didn't do much (if any) prep work in terms of sanding the original paint so that the new paint job would stick, and is peeling in a couple of places. Plus they obviously used cheap paint so it is oxidized, faded, and wearing thin in places.
On top of all that it had no headliner on the sunroof panel, the tranny is shifting very "soft" instead of firmly, and reverse barely works at all. Pretty sure the tranny is on its last legs. Although I want to swap in a 4 speed, I don't want to do it right out of the gate, because if I'm going to buy one to replace my Jetta, I need it to be a reliable daily driver initially - until I'm actually ready to do the swap. So, I'm still hunting.
Got a new question though. How hard is it to swap the steering wheel in one of these beasties? Once I buy mine that HUGE truck-like steering wheel will have to go. No way I want to drive around with that thing in my lap all the time....