AridZoner

Bought it new as a 7 passenger van.
I've removed 2nd row capt swivel seats, and installed a cabinet or two.
It's been across the US 4 times, and currently has 130,000 miles.

AridZoner

I own a newer (2014) Express built by Explorer Van Co.
They are in Warsaw, Indiana.
Check my post here, the top, etc looks very similar.
Best of luck!

Express 3/4 ton van owner

I have a similar van, and I've been looking for a bumper/grille guard/winch setup similar to what you have. Do you know where I could get one like that? About how much would it cost me? It's very nice!

Drivingmad44

My 2005 Express AWD 1500 Has 155K miles and still runs like a top. What I really like about it is it has the double side doors on both sides and its AWD which makes it awesome in the New England winters.

RubiconMike

Here's my current ride, a 2014 Express 2500 with 6.0L - it's a great tow vehicle.



Here's the 1989 G20 Beauville that I had for 20 years - 6.2 diesel, got 20mpg on the freeway, but underpowered for towing and would overheat if pushed hard. Still, wonderful van.


Towing a hot air balloon at the ABQ balloon fiesta.

cmac2012

Nice! I was aware that the 6.2 diesel was one of the available engines for that vehicle but you are the first person I’ve heard from in any way who had one. I had the 6.2 in a Grumman step van I once owned, not bad.

I previously really wanted a diesel in the G20. I knew it would be very hard to drop one in. Since that time I have acquired two Mercedes, Diesels - ‘84 300D, ‘86 300SDL. The latter has a better engine, the 6 that followed the legendary 5 that the former has. Doing 90 or 100, you could swear are you doing 60, it just doesn’t seem to get any louder, and it gets 25 mpg highway.

If only diesel cost less than petrol like it did in my youth I’d have it going on. However, the ratio around here is about 4/5.5. Multiply 20 by that and you get 14.5. Still slightly better than the 13 I get with my 5.0 but nothing to jump up and down about.

For my SDL, 25 translates down to 18. Oh cruel world.

RubiconMike

The 6.2 diesel was an uninspiring engine that GM created with fuel milage as the main requirement. Didn't have much power (160hp, 275lb-ft torque), and the cooling system was marginal. I was able to get 20mpg on the highway, and back in the '90s I could find diesel at truck stops for $0.99/gal. Reliability was OK, in 20 years I had the fuel pump leak which required a rebuild, and the transmission broke which also required a rebuild. I also had a 1999 VW New Beetle with the TDI, that got great milage and was nice to drive, but an accident removed it from our personal motor pool and was replaced by gas-engine vehicles. Back then in CA diesels didn't have to be smogged, and I didn't have to buy DEF.

Would I buy a diesel again? Probably not. Diesel is more expensive than gas, there is a large price increase for diesel engine vehicles, if repairs are needed they are much more expensive and harder to find mechanics, and gas engines have gotten a lot better by comparison. I know there are diesel fans out there who wouldn't have anything else, and that's fine, but going forward I doubt I'll buy diesel again.

cmac2012

I absolutely understand. I am fortunate to have a really good Mercedes mechanic nearby. He learned the trade in his native country Vietnam, where they have a lot of Mercedes diesels. He has two of the 350SD variants, which was a lightly produced model that has the 3.5 L version of the same six-cylinder in my 300SDL, a 3 L. I do a lot of my own work, but some things are out of my realm, and he is a bona fide expert - really smart.

Here in the People’s Republic of California, the hippie-groovy energy/air quality board arranged to import a second generation biodiesel called HPR. By many accounts, it is vastly superior to the first GEN bio diesel and actually better fuel then dino diesel. Flower children don’t like it because part of the fuel stock is waste animal fat, rendered from the vast amounts of organ meat waste that nobody knows what to do with.

It’s great fuel, but I have no illusions about it somehow saving the world from the need for petroleum based fuels. There just isn’t enough waste fat to make much of a dent in consumption.

It’s only available in the Bay Area (raises hand), Sacramento, and LA. And I am virtually certain the state subsidizes it because it always goes for about $.10 less than dino diesel. God only knows how much it would cost on the free market.

I’ve never experienced one, but I’ve heard rave reviews about Chevy’s Duramax diesel. I’ve also heard that if you want to buy one, bring money.

But I hear you on all of the downsides. I do get a kick out of the way my Mercedes both start the instant you turn the key, as long as you let the glow plugs heat up - no grinding needed, pretty wild. The not needing to smog is a nice feature, I forget, ‘97 or ‘99 is the cut off year.

But the dirty little secret about Mercedes diesels is, yes, the engines do last practically forever, but everything else breaks like any other car, and more and more stuff goes NLA all the time. If it wasn’t for a robust aftermarket so far, we’d be screwed. My SDL has an all aluminum radiator from China. Something to see, it works very well. For several years before 2018 or so, SDL owners needed to adapt some other radiator at some effort if they needed one.

RubiconMike

Are you in the Bay Area? I'm in the Santa Cruz mountains just north of Santa Cruz.

HvyChvyG20

This is my 93. Picked it up in 2017.

Things I've done. LED Headlight conversion, Hellwig front sway bar, Addco rear sway bar, dual exhaust, Bilstein shocks, powder coated 8" truck rallye wheels, Detroit True-Trac LSD w/3.73 gears, TBI spacer (who knows if that really does anything! lol), and all new brakes from stem to stern. Future plans include basically redoing the whole interior, rebushing the front door hinges and I need to finish installing the new door weatherstrips.

A couple of years ago the windshield was pulled and the frame and upper rain gutter area was completely cleaned up epoxy primered and painted. No more leaks.

Just turned over 100K last week. The picture are a few years old.....I need to take new ones!