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Hi! As promised; the project thread for my newest aquisition. A 1984 Mercedes W123 200T. This has always been one of my top-10 dream cars - now I'm going to fullfill that dream! It's 2.0l carburetter fed engine, 109BHP. The odometer shows 331.000km. I think the milage is genuine, I found old TÜV reports in the glove box. The service check book showsthat it was maintanied at Mercede's untill about 180.000. A TÜV report from 2001 shows 301.000km, one from 2003 shows 316.000km. It had TÜV untill march 2010, but was SORN since 2005. Which at least means it had probably been moved regularily. I hope/expect damage due to idle time is not present. The long roadtrip to collect it: retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=99425   Today I examined it a bit closer. Apart from the patched and worn paint work, I think it's rather solid. It has a few bad repair welds, some spots of rust and many worn out parts, mainly all the rubber stuff. Everything seems to be present, apart from a piece of trim on the passenger side wing. The hatch and left side locks don't work, the driver's door lock looks like some had a try at braking in... The wood peeled off the dashboard (which is uncracked), the drivers seat has a rip... But I'll let the pictures do the talking.                        I'm pretty confident it wont need too much work to make it road-worthy. And ready for TÜV. What bugs me the most is the rotten rear door, these are rareand well priced 2nd hand. Onthe other side therepair panels are cheap. What's positive is the very good condition of the hatch! These are hard to find and often rotten to the core... Plans for now: repair the repairs, remove as much rust as possible, check the mechnaics, get the engine running, freshen up the interior and leave the paint as it iswhere ever possible. I love, and I mean LOVE the way it shows it's age in every corner! You can't fake patina like this. And if youremove it, it's gone forever.   Well - I said it before; it probably looks worse than it is  Bare with me, though... ;D Cheers, Jan |
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That will be a great car with just a little bit of tidying. Glad there were no horrific discoveries. I do like W123 estates. They demand a high price over here as well as in Germany. Queston: What is this?  I'm assuming it's a Mercedes egg holder. I'm probably wrong though... ;D |
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Well - see, the car got a lot of cojones! ;D ;D It's the vacuum reservoir for the pneumatic central locking system. Baffled me too when I first saw it ;D I think for sub-1000€ it was sort of a bargain, if I don't find any huge nasty surprises. The repair panel for the door is ~25€. www.mercedes-reparaturbleche.de/w_123.html Prices look OK. Cheers, Jan |
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 love these and remember seeing one when I was a kid and thought it was very, must have
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Ali...GT 3.2 V6
Christine...V6 3.0 24v 155
Spider...2.0 TS
Scoob...2.5 Outback
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ScORTED
Part of things
ITBs = Bwaaaarp
Posts: 427
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we had one of these to bus us about when i was a kid, missed it dearly when it was replaced with "the hearse" a monte-no-go estate
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"In engineering there is an answer to everything, It's just that we're usually too ignorant or too dim to see it." Keith Duckworth If you'd binned it into something that either didn't move, or survived intact (like I did, well, technically I landed on top of it, skillzorz... |
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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A rather excellent choice, Sir!
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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Thank you! Hmm - me thinks I foundwhy the engine refuses to start... Looks like the fuel pump is broken. The fuel filter (pre pump) is almost completely dry, but there's still 1/3 in the fuel tank. Air filter, dizzy cap & rotor are new, one more thing to cross from the list. Electrics are 90% functional, but the central locking doesn't work and some light bulbs are broken. But the majority of them works. Cheers, Jan |
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Bummer. The first downer. I've tried to start the engine today... But no success.  My mainsuspect was the Stromberg 175 CDT carbutrettor and the fuel pump. Turned out soon that both are sound and fuel is definately getting to the carb and into the engine. One ignition lead was dead as well.  Did a compression test after countless unsuccessfull attempts to start the engine. n° 4: 11 n° 3: 10 n° 2: 1 n° 1: 1-0.5 Bummer! Looks like the head gasket is gone... Off with the head tomorrow. Never done a head gasket on a OHC engine before, so that's sort of unknown territory for me. Cheers, Jan |
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rr69h
Part of things
Posts: 313
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Hi Jan,
before ripping off the head (it should start even with a knackered HG) try looking into the valve clearances. If these are miles out they can keep the engine from firing.
Changing the gasket on a M102 isn't that hard. But if you plan to do it tomorrow now is the best time to attack the manifold bolts with a healthy dose of WD40. They snap off too easily!
Viel Glück und viel Erfolg!
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"Racing drivers never carry cash"
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Argh, bad luck. But still, all fixable! Is it me, or is it odd that all cylinders have no compression? Usually when head gaskets have blown on me it's been between two cylinders or between cylinder and water jacket etc. Could the head have warped due to overheating from the blown HG I wonder? Still, all will be revealed when you strip it down! If that engine uses the internal hex head bolts like the M117 and M115, I would recommend getting a very high quality Hex key socket if you don't already have one (8mm I think...) as those things are damn tight and I've rounded out a couple which led to very careful surgery with an angle grinder.  *Edit* Hi Jan, before ripping off the head (it should start even with a knackered HG) try looking into the valve clearances. If these are miles out they can keep the engine from firing. Very wise advice! |
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Last Edit: Mar 8, 2011 15:31:24 GMT by BenzBoy
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Well, it did start once, on the seller's yard. It's on the verge of firing, but doesnt... Mmmh - valve clearances. Might be a good idea to check before ripping of the head. bb: No, number 3 &4 have healthy compression, only 1 & 2 are down. So I suspect the gasket's gone between 1 & 2. On the other hand - doesn any of you know it a W124/230E head does fit on the 2 liter engine? As these have hydraulic lifters... |
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bb: No, number 3 &4 have healthy compression, only 1 & 2 are down. So I suspect the gasket's gone between 1 & 2. Ah! I use metric for most things but with pressures I'm still using "old money" and read the figures in psi! ;D  I understand now. My mistake! |
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Yeah, sorry I'll remeber next time to add the unit. I'm from a very metric country ;D
My Mojo is back now. Forecast says 13°+ (celsius ;D) and sun - so should be nice for working. Also sorted two 230E engines wieth one full loom and injection and ECU. HMMM.
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levismerc
Part of things
Learning all the time...
Posts: 205
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You mention the central locking not working but these have vacuum powered locks so there'll be no vacuum in the system until the engine's been running for a while.
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'83 Merc 280CE  |
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Your right. I assumed they had an electric pump like the W124s. But they don't. Which makes sense as there's that huge reservoir in the rear Thanks! Cheers, Jan |
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I love these cars ;D Soooooo much character.
A mate of mine pulled a W123 240 diesel estate from a barn up near Fraserburgh. It hadn't run for nearly 10 years but, with a fuel pump of unknown origin and a fresh battery, it fired up!
He took it for an MOT and the tester only failed it on a slight brake imbalance and lack of bite on the handbrake.
Bodywise, it was in similar condition to Dieselweasel's 123.
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So. Short update. I've replaced a dead ignition lead with one I still had from my old K10. Adjusted the valves... Don't need a handbook, everything is writen down on a sticker on the slam panel. Nice!   Basicaly all valves were much too tight... After that I had this: Urgh. Doesn't sound healthy... Second compression test confirmed my initialy suspected head gasket failure...  Off with the head! Cheers, Jan |
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Well, it was best to eliminate the valves. Shame the head has to come off, but it will run very nicely once that's done... unless you were thinking of putting the 230E engine in?
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Well, it was best to eliminate the valves. Shame the head has to come off, but it will run very nicely once that's done... unless you were thinking of putting the 230E engine in? I'm still in two minds about the 230E swap... I'm going to have a talk with my TÜV engineer - if I can get the W124's EURO1 emissions standard, I think I'll do it. If not - I put the money in a Euro 1 kat kit for the 200 engine Head's almost off, but it got dark and the two bolts holding the chain guide took me ages to remove...  But hey - I've driven her for the first time today... ;D (1,5 meters out the carport and 1,5 back in - BUT I drove her!) Cheers, Jan |
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As current w124 estate owner, and previous w123 owner I cannot wait to see this progress. Bad news on the head tho  |
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Bare with me, though... ;D
love these and remember seeing one when I was a kid and thought it was very, must have 
I understand now. My mistake!
