Illinois YouTuber rescues rare Mercedes G-Wagen that had been abandoned for 'well over' 10 years

This Illinois YouTuber rescued a rare Mercedes G-Wagen that had spent more than 10 years abandoned in the same spot.

LegitStreetCars was the one to take a look at this severely neglected car.

As you can imagine, it wasn’t exactly in pristine condition.

But one factor convinced him to take a chance on fixing it.

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The Mercedes G-Wagen that hadn’t been used in over 10 years

When a car spends a long time being parked, there’s no telling what sort of condition it might end up in.

Some cars come out of hibernation looking a little worse for wear, like this MK4 Toyota Supra or this 1975 Dodge Power Wagon.

While some cars may not look too bad – as was the case with this Chevrolet Nova – most generally need some work.

LegitStreetCars took a look at two Mercedes G-Wagens from the 1980s, which had been left to the elements.

The first one was virtually no bother at all, with minimal rust.

With regards to the second one, its issues were a little more obvious.

Namely, a giant crack in the windshield.

Some parts were missing too, like an amber light and part of the trim.

LegitStreetCars was ecstatic when he discovered it was manual.

“Am I going to buy the one that needs way more work because it’s manual? Yes, I am,” he remarked.

Would enthusiasm for a stick shift prove to be his undoing?

Could the car be fixed?

Despite the damage the car had sustained in parts, it rolled well when it came time for towing.

Back at the shop, a boroscope was used to inspect the cylinder walls, which were found to be in good condition.

But ultimately, it was the battery cables and spark plugs that needed attention before this thing had a hope of starting up again.

Fortunately, after the work was done, the car started to crank up.

“It smells like old fuel and oil, and stuff. Things are moving around!” he exclaimed.

Understandably, he was ecstatic about getting the G-Wagen to run again.

“I’m super excited about this,” he said.

But it wasn’t all good news.

“We have some work to do with the fuel system, the wiring,” he then explained.

The end goal was to get this thing driving again, and hopefully the good start was a sign of things to come.

To see the beginnings of the restoration for yourself, head over to LegitStreetCars’ YouTube channel.