Project Mercedes Benz - W123 230E & W124 200E - Both happy and working ok

[Peter C]

Prices of W124s are on the up. This unremarkable 230E in horrible dark blue, parked up for the past 4 years, obviously no MoT, cracked dash.... is up for £2k and the seller is not entertaining offers.

[Broadsword]

"Very rare condition" Surely that isn't ever going to sell though? It seems to be a trend these days to inflate the price of an old car on the basis of it being a "barn find", somehow making it special. What went into a barn in crap conditions years ago will not become less crap later on. People have been watching too many of those TV programs where they pretend to make a small fortune pulling cars out of barns. Stuff like that "Bangers and Cash" show etc. where seasoned spivs make it look easy. Most of this crap never, ever sells. I see it a lot with Jags.

[nacho man]

On 1/17/2021 at 4:51 PM, Peter C said:

 

I don’t know of any celebs who owned W124s but I know that Bonnie Tyler liked her W123 back in the day.

 

Lady Gaga has a w123, I tried to convince Mrs T they were in fashion but she was having none of it.

[Peter C]

12 minutes ago, Danterzza said:

Lady Gaga has a w123, I tried to convince Mrs T they were in fashion but she was having none of it.

[Peter C]

Another W124 for sale, no MoT, asking price £3k.

[Peter C]

Earlier today I grabbed a packet of wet wipes and popped into my workshop for 30 minutes to give the engine bay a quick tidy up. The inner wings, bulkhead, some of the wiring and ignition bits were a bit grubby and needed a clean. The photos below flatter the engine bay.

About two hours into the 30 minute job I realised that I underestimated the scale of the task.

A mere four and a half hours later I finished the tidy up. My wife helped out by giving the windscreen washer bottle a good scrub. Unfortunately the photos do not illustrate just how cleaner and shinier everything now looks.

 

[Peter C]

Not going out today!

[Peter C]

I haven't provided any updates about either of my two Mercs for sometime as both have been grounded due to bad weather and copious amounts of salt that has been spread on local roads.

Now the weather is starting to improve, I hope to use both cars more often. I started by taking the 200E for an MoT this morning. I am pleased to confirm that it passed with flying colours and no advisories. The MoT tester was impressed with the condition of the 200E, which will be celebrating its 30th birthday in December.

Whilst visiting my mechanic, I spotted a W123 230TE on a D plate. I've never seen one before. I thought that the last W123s were on a C plate and I am sure that I've seen a few W124s on a C plate too. Must have been registered very late. Unfortunately, the TE was in poor condition, despite the extensive work that has already been carried out.

 

[J-T]

That blue TE was on eBay probably about 6 months ago now, I remember it because of the D plate. It made quite strong money considering I think it was MOT-less  and in need of work at the time.

[Peter C]

6 minutes ago, J-T said:

That blue TE was on eBay probably about 6 months ago now, I remember it because of the D plate. It made quite strong money considering I think it was MOT-less  and in need of work at the time.

My mechanic is looking after it. It’s had extensive welding to the floorpan and new drive shafts fitted but it’s still a long way from being ready for an MoT.

Do you recall how much it sold for?

[J-T]

I think it was in the region of 3 grand 

[HMC]

That estate on a D  passed though motoring writer Martin Buckley’s hands a while back, I recall the reg. I’d Guesstimate about 10 years ago and that it featured in the staff cars bit of Mercedes Enthusiast magazine.

[Peter C]

Due to its sloppy steering the 230E had been a garage ornament for a number of years. I really did not enjoy driving it, the steering wheel needed excessive amounts of input whenever the road camber changed and there was far too much play in the centre position. Last year I had the steering box refurbished but due to covid, life and bad weather I didn't get a chance to drive the 230E far enough to appreciate the improvements. Until today. I took advantage of an opportunity and drove the 230E 120 miles from home (near Beaconsfield) via Amersham, Wendover, Aldbury, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Buckingham to Silverstone and home again. Wow! The steering feels superb, so much tighter and more direct. I really enjoyed the drive and to celebrate the occasion I took some arty farty photos.

The shadow to the right of the photo spoils the image but have it anyway. 

[chadders]

Was it Aldbury not Oldbury you went through as some of the pictures look like Ashridge?

[Peter C]

14 minutes ago, chadders said:

Was it Aldbury not Oldbury you went through as some of the pictures look like Ashridge?

You are 100% correct. I’ve updated the text.

Where is Ashridge?

[chadders]

Between Aldbury, Berkhamsted and Dunstable.

Aldbury is at the foot of the escarpment that Ashridge is on. You could walk up it to get to the main part of the woods.

[Peter C]

25 minutes ago, chadders said:

Between Aldbury, Berkhamsted and Dunstable.

Aldbury is at the foot of the escarpment that Ashridge is on. You could walk up it to get to the main part of the woods.

Oh, ok. From Aldbury I headed towards Aylesbury and then hit the A413 towards Buckingham. I’ve never driven north from Aldbury / Tring.

[Six-cylinder]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

Due to its sloppy steering the 230E had been a garage ornament for a number of years. I really did not enjoy driving it, the steering wheel needed excessive amounts of input whenever the road camber changed and there was far too much play in the centre position. Last year I had the steering box refurbished but due to covid, life and bad weather I didn't get a chance to drive the 230E far enough to appreciate the improvements. Until today. I took advantage of an opportunity and drove the 230E 120 miles from home (near Beaconsfield) via Amersham, Wendover, Aldbury, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Buckingham to Silverstone and home again. Wow! The steering feels superb, so much tighter and more direct. I really enjoyed the drive and to celebrate the occasion I took some arty farty photos.

The shadow to the right of the photo spoils the image but have it anyway. 

Shame we are in Lockdown because you were less than a mile from me as you drove up the A413 to Buckingham and I would have love to have seen the W123. 

[Peter C]

25 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Shame we are in Lockdown because you were less than a mile from me as you drove up the A413 to Buckingham and I would have love to have seen the W123. 

I will happily make the journey again and meet up with you as soon as BoJo says it’s ok to do so.

[Peter C]

My love for W123s and W124s relates to an unhealthy fetish for old German taxis. I've been suffering for years. Back in the 1970s and 80s UK buyers paid a premium to drive a W123 and consequently these Mercs were seen as luxury cars driven by the elite. However, in other parts of the world W123s were seen as workhorses and a great example of this is the German taxi. 

I found these images of a W123 German taxi and fell in love.

Whilst it would be impossible to re-create a proper RHD W123 replica taxi, I wanted my hellelfenbein coloured 230E to pay homage to the car in the photos above.

So this happened:

https://autoshite.com/topic/44399-wanted-taxi-roof-bar/

Massive thanks to @Tetleysmooth for pointing me in the direction of the taxi sign. I consider it a miracle that an authentic circa 40 year old roof taxi sign for a W123 found its way to the UK and then into my ownership via EBay. I happily paid the £90 asking price (inc p&p) and the item arrived a couple of days ago.

It's the real deal.

The metal framework and fixings are in perfect condition but unfortunately the sign is damaged.

If, big IF, I could find a piece of plastic the same (weathered and discoloured) colour, I could stick it on with resin in the butt joint and gaffer tape behind. Alternatively, I could shape the missing piece out of filler but then I would struggle to find right colour paint to finish off the repair. For now, I'm going to ignore the damaged plastic and put the missing chunk down to age and patina.

The framework fits perfectly and all the fixings are fully serviceable.

And now for the money shots.

I love it and do not intend to remove it. I know that it's illegal to impersonate a taxi but I'm hoping that if Mr Plod stops me, I will be able to convince him that I am not looking for fares in a 36 year old Mercedes. Perhaps I'll do a Robert De Niro impression - You talking to me? From Taxi Driver, if you're wandering what I'm on about.

In other news, a few years ago I treated some rust and re-painted the 230E's scuttle panel, however the filler had sunk and I was never happy with the paint match. I have a good spare panel, which I removed from the W123 230E that I stripped for parts a few years ago.

Apart from a small rust blister, the panel is mint.

I rubbed the rust down with sandpaper and put some Kurust on it. I've bought a couple of aerosol cans, hopefully in the right colour and will re-spray the panel next week.

 

[Peter C]

I'm glad that I tidied up the 200E's underside over Christmas but I must confess that I did not enjoy the experience. Whilst I've got two weeks annual leave, I wanted to tidy up the 230E in the same way.

I started by getting the 230E on ramps and gave the underside a good pressure wash.

As I've already done the rear arches, I decided to work on the underside with the car up on ramps rather than axle stands.

I undersealed exposed parts of the 230E's underside a few years ago and I was pleased to find the old coatings are still holding up well and keeping rust at bay.

The underside, particularly the rear suspension, of a W123 is more accessible than the more complicated set up found on W124s. It's much easier to coat the majority of elements and do a decent a job of it, unlike my previous efforts, which left the rear subframe of the 200E looking like it was painted by a five year old. I applied fresh coats of Waxoil to previously treated surfaces as well as the wishbones, which had a light coating of unattractive surface rust. Surface rust aside, there was no evidence of other significant corrosion. Unlike the 200E, the 230E doesn't need any welding. Result! 

In other news, I prepared and sprayed the replacement central scuttle panel.

Replacing it is not a five minute job.

With the paint flattened with 1200 paper and cut back with T-Cut and polished with Autoglym, I achieved a decent finish, however the colour match is not great. I think that my 230E's paintwork has faded. Looking at photos of German taxis on the internet, my 230E's cream finish looks more pale. 

Finally, I gave the 230E a wash and tucked it back in the garage. I've decided that I need to spend less time polishing it and worrying about minor paintwork issues and more time clocking up the miles and picking up fares.

 

 

[Peter C]

How to get twenty five 4.2m and five 5.7m decking boards home from the timber merchant? On top of a W124, of course!

The roof was flexing a fair bit to the point that I could see the sunroof panel deflecting whenever I drove over a bump. As soon as I removed the decking boards I checked the (electric) sunroof and I am pleased to report that it is working ok, it has not suffered any damage.

 

[artdjones]

On 3/16/2021 at 5:01 PM, Peter C said:

I'm glad that I tidied up the 200E's underside over Christmas but I must confess that I did not enjoy the experience. Whilst I've got two weeks annual leave, I wanted to tidy up the 230E in the same way.

I started by getting the 230E on ramps and gave the underside a good pressure wash.

As I've already done the rear arches, I decided to work on the underside with the car up on ramps rather than axle stands.

I undersealed exposed parts of the 230E's underside a few years ago and I was pleased to find the old coatings are still holding up well and keeping rust at bay.

The underside, particularly the rear suspension, of a W123 is more accessible than the more complicated set up found on W124s. It's much easier to coat the majority of elements and do a decent a job of it, unlike my previous efforts, which left the rear subframe of the 200E looking like it was painted by a five year old. I applied fresh coats of Waxoil to previously treated surfaces as well as the wishbones, which had a light coating of unattractive surface rust. Surface rust aside, there was no evidence of other significant corrosion. Unlike the 200E, the 230E doesn't need any welding. Result! 

In other news, I prepared and sprayed the replacement central scuttle panel.

Replacing it is not a five minute job.

With the paint flattened with 1200 paper and cut back with T-Cut and polished with Autoglym, I achieved a decent finish, however the colour match is not great. I think that my 230E's paintwork has faded. Looking at photos of German taxis on the internet, my 230E's cream finish looks more pale. 

Finally, I gave the 230E a wash and tucked it back in the garage. I've decided that I need to spend less time polishing it and worrying about minor paintwork issues and more time clocking up the miles and picking up fares.

 

 

My next door neighbour had a 200 on a T plate in the mid 80s in German taxi beige. Of course most people didn't know it was taxi beige then, as not many had been to Germany. I suspect his wife wouldn't have been best pleased to know, as she was rather aspirational, although decent enough.

[artdjones]

38 minutes ago, Peter C said:

How to get twenty five 4.2m and five 5.7m decking boards home from the timber merchant? On top of a W124, of course!

The roof was flexing a fair bit to the point that I could see the sunroof panel deflecting whenever I drove over a bump. As soon as I removed the decking boards I checked the (electric) sunroof and I am pleased to report that it is working ok, it has not suffered any damage.

 

You're just an amateur by Azerbaijani standards.

[nacho man]

I was bored last night so was planning a road trip for when we can in my w123. I googled w123 road trip, and your trips to Poland came up.

Was a good read. Looks like yours enjoyed the long run.

https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/european-road-trip-in-my-w123.87137/

I want to go north Germany and tip into Scandinavia. Hopefully soon we can get out and about properly!!

[Peter C]

8 hours ago, Danterzza said:

I was bored last night so was planning a road trip for when we can in my w123. I googled w123 road trip, and your trips to Poland came up.

Was a good read. Looks like yours enjoyed the long run.

https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/european-road-trip-in-my-w123.87137/

I want to go north Germany and tip into Scandinavia. Hopefully soon we can get out and about properly!!

Good old days! I took the W123 to Poland and back twice, it performed perfectly on both occasions. I also took my W124 E220 for the same run two or three times. Again, it performed faultlessly.

I would love to take the W123 across one more time but I’m getting too sensible for such displays of bravery.

I’ve lost count how many times I made the journey in moderns but one of the most memorable trips was about 15 years ago, when I caned a nearly new Honda S2000 across German autobahns. It happily cruised at an indicated 155MPH.

[Six-cylinder]

This is what we did to ours as soon as we got it!

[Peter C]

As proposed, I have taken every occasion to drive the 230E over the past two weeks (whilst I've been on annual leave). Weather permitting, I've been out in the 230E to take rubbish to the dump and to visit DIY stores. I've made new friends on route, seems people are enjoying seeing a taxi sign atop a tidy old Merc.

After driving the 230E I realised that the 200E's driver's seat was set too high. The height adjustment mechanism didn't work, time to investigate.

I took the seat out. Amazing how Mercedes can make a seat weigh 100kg. In the process I uncovered 29.5 years of dead skin, which got promptly hoovered up.

As soon as I removed the seat, three coins dropped out, one of which was marked. With the coins on the floor, the seat height adjustment mechanism worked a treat. Putting the seat back in was easy, job done.

I know I said that I'll spend more time driving the 230E and less time polishing it, however I could not resist the opportunity (rainy day) and I slapped a coat of Autoglym High Gloss Polish all over it. It gleams! Unfortunately, the polish also shows up every mark and scratch. The 230E's paint has seen better days. Let's call it patina and move on.

 

[bezzabsa]

would love a waft in a w123

[Talbot]

Same here.  My ideal would be a LHD 300 turbodiesel estate with the OM617 TD unit.  Unfortunately these are now £FUCKME expensive.

LHD because the RHD models weren't available with a turbocharged engine and the N/A OM617 is a tadge slow.