Man who rescued '80s G-Wagen restored it, but one thing really didn't end well

This man rescued a G-Wagen from the ’80s that had been abandoned for the last 10 years and worked hard to restore it, but one thing really didn’t end well.

He was shocked by the condition he found the car in, considering that it was over 40 years old and had been abandoned for a decade.

It was a tricky clean, certainly harder to clean its mechanical fuel injectors than those a comparable ’80s car, like a DeLorean, would have had.

He believed he would find the remains of an ex-rodent that could cause issues. But his biggest problem was yet to come.
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What state is the rescued 80s G-Wagen in?

When you find a car from the 80s, it is always a bit of a gamble whether you’ll be able to get it up and running again.

It’s an even bigger gamble when you consider that this specific G-Wagen had also been abandoned for 10 years.

Alex Palmeri, better known online as LegitStreetCars, was pleased with his G-Wagen purchase. He was trying to get it fixed up to get back on the road.

The car actually seemed to be in a surprisingly excellent condition on the outside. Even the inside looked good, from the disassembled engine through to the timing chain, cam lobes, and guides.

He used an air gun technique to clean the mechanical fuel injectors and pointed out that the hard fuel lines made this trickier compared to other ’80s cars, like the DeLorean.

One thing really didn’t end well

While it all seemed to be going as planned, there was one issue that simply wouldn’t budge.

Alex found a mouse nest when he was cleaning out the car, and was particularly nervous about finding a mouse inside the fuel tank. Luckily, it seemed like he’d avoided having any secret rodent passengers.

The former home for rodents wasn’t his biggest issue, though.

He then had to drain a lot of gross fuel from the tank and rebuild the overly complicated fuel system.

The YouTuber attempted to start the G-Wagen after cleaning the fuel system and flushing the injectors. But although the engine turned over, it was a real pain to try and shift gears or move smoothly.

There may have been problems with the clutch or the transmission, especially with years of abandonment under the hood.

While Alex was mostly pleased with his new – old – 80s G-Wagen, it was clear the gears were an issue that needed a lot of attention.

Was his purchase worth it? We’ll just have to wait and see…

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