I just finished skimming through this thread which you started a few years back. Sounds as if you spent a fair amount of time patching Ol'Betsie together and hopefully were able to enjoy a few good years of service from her.
I'm happy to read that you were able to live the dream of owning a W123 and that one played a role with your family in your earlier years. It's also good to read that you were able to find a suitable buyer to take Ol'Betsie to the next level.
Good luck to you, and thanks for sharing from beginning to end.
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'85 300D mine, '93 300E gave to nephew, '11 C300 hers