After 16 years hibernating...

[renault12ts]

New tyres are not "advisable" they are a must. Tyres have a shelf life and those will be well past it.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Fantastic find & story.

Looking forward to more pics and info as the recommissioning commences.

Agreed about new tyres - a must!

 

[219]

Agreed - poor choice of wording on my part !

 

[B325YUD]

That looks in lovely condition .

There was no option of electric sunroof on the estates ( nowhere to put the motor ) .

The rear end looks to be sitting a tad low ? You can adjust the link between the rear anti roll bar and the valve for the self levelling suspension to correct this - it may even have stuck after all this time .

New tyres will certainly be advisable , but you are probably running 185 or 195/70 x 14 , I think H rated on the 230 , from memory , and these are not so easy to source nowadays in a decent brand .

If you have not already done so , also change all fluids : engine oil , coolant , ATF , PAS , self levelling ( MB ZHM mineral oil ) , brake fluid , diff oil . Also check all coolant hoses and drive belts since they may well have perished after standing for so long .

I'd also look at flexible brake hoses and possibly even getting the calipers overhauled after the car has been lying for so long - I once had a catastrophic brake failure after starting to use a car which had been standing for a similar length of time - this was my Ponton with drum brakes and a seal in one of the wheel cylinders just 'went' - thankfully , I was slowing down for traffic lights and almost managed to stop by pulling on the handbrake before 'nudging' the back of the Rolls-Royce in front ! Could so easily have been expensive but no damage to either vehicle and was complimented on my car by the gent in the RR

Since that incident , I have been paranoid about brakes and always go over the full system carefully on any car I buy .

Good luck with your car .

You should still be able to order the Haynes manual on the W123 which has a lot of useful info .

Your new best friend is Mark Cosovich , the UK's leading W123 specialist - tel 01792 846888 or 07714 089936 . Mark restores these cars and can even source some parts no longer available from MB !

Thanks. I thought the rear looked a bit low, and thought it might come up a bit after getting it running, but not so far. The previous owner said it was always like that (of course his memory might not be 100%), but the wear pattern to the inside of the rear tyres suggests to me it has been running like that? It's a shame Michelin don't still make the XVS - you're right, they're 195/70 HR 14, and I haven't found a modern equivalent yet.

So far the engine and gearbox oil have been changed (along with the filters) - the ATF was a lovely red, with no silt or anything in the pan, and it is nice to be able to drain the torque converter: something I've never come across with old American stuff. Also coolant and brake fluid done, but haven't done anything other than check the levels of the P/S and leveling reservoir. I've been running my old 518i daily for the last few weeks on the tank of 16-year-old unleaded I syphoned out

I have the Brooklands W123 manual which has been useful, but I was under the impression the Haynes one was for the oil-burners, not petrol engines?

Oh, and Ironside was one of my favourite TV programs when I was a kid!

 

[C43AMG]

I don't know if you have tried Vintage Tyres : 01590 612261. The advertise in the Mercedes Benz Club Gazette.

 

[219]

The power steering just runs on standard ATF , same as the gearbox . The SLS uses the MB ZHM mineral oil which is about a tenner a litre !

When you have a look under the back end you will see the link from the anti roll bar up to the valve - there is an adjustment in the link to set the ride height . Sometimes the valve sticks and the bracket slips on the ARB , or one of the ball and socket joints comes undone . If you get the car on a ramp so it can't collapse on top of you , you can unclip one end of the link and operate the valve ( with engine running ) until the car sits at a level you are happy with ( Mark C could probably give you a measurement for the correct height ) . I will try to find some brochure pics , or a pic of my old 280TE for reference ( traded in for a W124 300TE some 13 or so years ago ) , not without some regret , but it was getting on with 200K to its credit .

The Haynes manual does cover petrol models , including 200TE , 230TE and 280TE .

 

[Londonscottish]

Beautiful car you have there.

I'm normally not a big fan of red cars but for reason W123's (and the contemporary SL's) just look right in red to me.

Thanks for posting it on the site and welcome.

 

[dcs]

Beautiful and a great looking colour! Jealous

 

[B325YUD]

Thanks again for the tips, and the compliments.

I was offered the car as I mentioned I wanted another estate car, and they knew that I liked "old stuff". For some reason I had it in my mind that it was going to be white, and was in two minds whether to go and have a look at it - it was more money than I would normally be paying for a daily driver as I tend to make them earn their keep.

Anyway, it wasn't far to go, so I arrived - the garage door was opened and...it was RED!

It has left me in a bit of a quandary as it is really too nice to be (ab)used daily.

As requested, more pics, mainly of the interior for now (before I took the rear bumper off to polish it up).

 

[B325YUD]

Only able to upload three pics at a time, so here are the others for now, including one of the front (yes, the bonnet star was busted off in a car park once upon a time

).

Other than a dead (bone dry) battery, the engine bay was pretty good once I'd removed the store of sunflower seeds from inside the air cleaner! It looks a little grubby, but that's mainly due to the waxy coating liberally sprayed around under there.

 

[AANDYY]

As the Welsh would say, 'Tidy'

 

[219]

Very nice indeed .

It has exactly the same interior trim as my old 280TE , except my car had Champagne Gold metallic paintwork , and was only about 5 years old when I bought it so in similar condition , but not by the time I ran the mileage up to 200K !

 

[eagletower]

The interior on that looks stunning.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Superb! It deserves to be kept nice!

 

[Charles Morgan]

That is an absolute corker!

 

[brucemillar]

Stunning looking car. That is a real head turner for all of the right reasons.

Good luck and well done.

 

[alabbasi]

That's a nice looking car,I like the orthopedic seats. Something you don't see on US cars often.

 

[A140driver]

That looks utterly wonderful! I wish I could find a car in such condition after it's been sitting that long! I look forward to reading the updates on your 123!

 

[MD5]

Stunning looking car. That is a real head turner for all of the right reasons.

Good luck and well done.

x2

 

[B325YUD]

Thanks, the interior is nice - and still has some of that new-car plastic smell. allabasi, you've lost me on the orthopedic seats bit?

Haynes Manuals seem to cover everything BUT a W123 230: there appears to be one for '76-'85 W123 diesels, one for '76-'83 250 & 280 W123s (I hadn't seen this one before), one for '77-'81 USA 280 W123-models, and then it goes to '85-'93 W123 petrol and diesels. Engine apart, I guess the second one would be the most useful, although the diesel one mentions estates?