Citizen Khan's Merc - now with nude content!

[fordperv]

I say get it to m.o.t standard and drive it

[phil_lihp]

That came up well!  MIG time.

[stripped fred]

I would have cleaned and polished it too. Helps you know what you're dealing with. Why not try and get the engine running to see if it's OK mechanically and some quotes for the welding? If you don't have time to get it roadworthy someone off here might take it on? Or if you can make a fair bit from the parts I suppose that might be the financially wise decision.

[hauserplenty]

Shit'll buff out. [/Joe dirt]

[Ghosty]

Weld it!

[Peter C]

I had to make the car presentable mainly because it deserves to look dignified but also because it's parked outside my house, which is in a pretty suburb just outside Beaconsfield, where neighbours (most of whom are friends of mine) would comment and probably complain. Also, it would be easier to sell, if I decided to go down that route. Wash + T-Cut + polish took two hours, so hardly a massive investment.

 

My wife, who was initially pissed off about having this thing parked on our lawn is now indifferent about it being parked there, which has bought me a bit of time before I decide what to do with it.

 

I am not going to restore it. I can't weld, my garages are filled with my keepers (W123 and Boxster), all my cars require regular TLC, I work full time and have a family. I simply don't have the time.

 

Breaking it is like sending it on a one way trip to Switzerland but for me it's the most lucrative option. I can save the following:

 

Externally: headlights, grille, indicators, rear lights, badges and trim, including four good wheel trims. All the panels worth saving are bolted on, so I'd probably strip those too. The front screen is unmarked (rare) and all but one window are good.

 

Interior: I want the dashboard for my son's bus (a timber shed I made that is garnished to look like a bus). Driver's seat aside, the interior is actually in very good condition and would be of use to someone. I've already taken the Becker out, it's mint and it works (worth circa £100 on Ebay). The clocks are good as is all the switchgear and steering wheel.

 

Oily bits: I would definitely have the steering box (it has zero play), fuel injection system, distributor, alternator, starter motor and water pump (which are getting hard to find). The brake and clutch hydraulics seem fine and the calipers are worth having as new replacements are sold on an exchange basis.

 

The plastic couling that goes around the radiator fan is cracked on my W123, this one is mint. My offside front indicator is a cheap repro item (original got smashed by a Nissan Micra driven by a complete fucking penis), the yellow car has mint Bosch (original) units. And so on...

 

Alternatively, I'd like a better man than me have a go at restoring it. Are YOU that man?

 

Raffle? Maybe, if I got my £280 investment back. At six quid each ( there are 49 numbers in the Lotto draw, right?), you won't find a cheaper way into W123 ownership.

 

Decisions decisions.

[spartacus]

I don't know how many numbers there are in there lotto draw but there always seems to be 59 roffle numbers available.

I wouldn't blame you if you broke it, particularly as you can use so many parts on your own car.

No roffle numbers for me I'm afraid, I'm up to my knees in projects.

[eddyramrod]

59 numbers is correct; I usually go for number 59 as it's the year I was born!  At a fiver a pop you'd make a small profit assuming they all sold.  I'd even put my hand up for no59 although I have no want for this at all, nowhere to put a project, no appropriate skills such as welding and no money to throw at it.  But it would get the ball rolling, ja?

 

Edit: given the above, I'm obviously going to win it!

[HillmanImp]

I don't think you would find 59 people willing to take a chance on this TBH. The cost of getting it trailered to most places would probably be more than the cars worth.

 

I would love to have a crack at this but am sadly brassic and have no time to deal with the other cars I have already, let alone this one.

[Lacquer Peel]

Break it with no guilt. Keep other W123s going with its parts.

[eddyramrod]

I think I've got a mk1 Granada dash that should do the job for you, if the Merc goes intact.

[Peter C]

[Peter C]

I've exchanged correspondence with Mark Kosovich (W123 guru) and he says there's no point in trying to restore it, the cost and hassle would far outweigh the value once done.

 

Once the weather improves I'll start stripping it. In the meantime having it on the lawn makes me look like a winna.

[Peter C]

I've been busy stripping the old Benz.

 

Here's a couple of pics of the interior stripped bare.

 

 

 

 

And a pervy pic of the engine, stark bollock naked.

 

 

The fuel injection system looks knackered, everything is filthy and corroded, there's no point in trying to remove it.

 

Two bolts have rounded off and the driver's seat won't budge.

 

More soon.

[For Fiats Sake]

We will want a picture of the dash fitted in WTT 866T.

 

Presume it is a hover bus with the green skirt showing?

[Peter C]

I've already checked, the dash will fit a treat in Charlie's bus (aka the UPS van).

 

The green skirt (damp membrane) is now concealed with timber boarding - I posted an old photo.

[billyboy406v6]

image.jpeg

Hey Junkman, another reliable Merc ?

[Cavcraft]

I reckon you'd have seen a result on your £280 if you'd found an exporter. This must be absolute prime South African fodder.

[mercrocker]

Or somebody might buy it so they can open their garage door and make the world think they have a mint old W123 in there.

[Peter C]

Quick fleet shot before Citizen Khan's car gets fully stripped.

 

[sierraman]

I reckon you'd have seen a result on your £280 if you'd found an exporter. This must be absolute prime South African fodder.

Nigeria more likely, they love old mercs and elderly Toyotas.

[Pillock]

Worth seeing if an exporter would want the shell plus engine and anything else you leave on? Even if they're only paying a bit more than scrap, better than the crusher if some Nigerian prince can be cruising around with yellow doors on his motor

[Peter C]

Doors will be coming off very soon so the prince will have to do without.

 

Looking at the state of the cam cover (heavily oil stained), the engine must have been suffering from excessive crankcase pressure, common problem with the M102. It's fucked.

 

I'm going to try to remove the diff by grinding through the driveshafts. Likewise I propose to remove the steering box in a similar fashion.

 

The shell is rotten from the rear doors all the way to the rear bumper - ideal for a bob-tail conversion!

 

There won't be much left and what will remain will only be good for scrap.

[spartacus]

You don't 'look like a winner', you are a winner, you've got cars parked on your lawn, that's good enough for most of us.

[Claphamrangie]

You'll wake up one morning to find it gone and on its way to a new life in North Africa, where they will comment on its previous owner's fastidiousness and attention to detail

[sierraman]

I once found some W123 headlights in a chicken shed I took over on an allotment, sold them on for £20 a piece. In it also was a hoard of Nova spares, being no market for it at the time I slung the lot.