The summer issue of The Star profiles a lovely '82 240D, and reprints the spec-sheet for the car as available on the US market.

They mention a MANUAL SUN ROOF in addition to the power one.

Has anyone seen a W123 with one of these? How hard would it be to retrofit into a dead power sunroof? The manual sunroof on a friend's fintail seemed a robust piece of work that would be hard to wear out.

Very curious.

I have a manual sunroof on my 81 300D parts car. I am thinking that would be a major job to swap with a power version. Don't really know.

Yup, my 84 300TD has (had -- she's now sold) one. VERY nice, if you ask me. I'd take manual over electric any day.

Chris

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1992 300D 2.5T
1980 Euro 300D (sadly, sold)
1998 Jetta TDI, 132K "Rudy"
1974 Triumph TR6
1999 Saab 9-5 wagon (wife's)

My 240D stick is manual sunroof/manual windows. The roof is fantastic. Just reach up , twist the handle, snap it back, twist to lock. Its done in one easy motion.

No cables or motors to worry about. Doesn't stick.
I wish they were all that way.

I haven't really looked at it but I don't think it would be hard to retrofit into an electric. Just need the donor car.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

All of the 123 wagons have manual sliding roof mechanisms- there was no place to route the cable and house the motor in order to power it. I am glad!

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94 E320
71 350SL

The manual 123 sunroofs in the sedans is like the sunroof in the TD wagon, I haven't done a side by side comparison but conversion to a manual sunroof should be cake...

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Over 21 years I owned several:
w108
w110
w111
w115
w116
w123
w124
w126
w212

I have a powered sunroof in my w123 coupe. 2 door.

However the cable is kinked and no longer available anywhere. Can't use the sedan 4 door one unfortunately.

Any advice ?

I have the power sunroof in my 83 240D. It's been closed and weather tight since I bought the car a few years ago. I will not tempt fate and try to open it. At least, not until every single other "issue" with the car has been addressed (which will probably be never).
IMHO, the sunroof was the most idiotic option ever designed for any car.
"Hey guys, I have a great idea, let's put giant hole in the roof (directly above the driver and passenger) and seal it with a sliding panel of metal or glass. What could possibly go wrong?" SMH

Agreed.

I live in Australia and well, it's for those who want to be roasted by the sun...

It's just one of those things that needs to be sorted for " completeness " of the car to say everything works...

My 1980 W116 300SD had a power sunroof, and I converted it to a manual one with parts from a W123 300TD.

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Stop paying for animal enslavement, cruelty, and slaughter. Save your health and the planet. Go vegan! I did 18 years ago. https://challenge22.com/

DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

Any chance you could show us what parts you needed/used and any modifications you done to get it all working ?

Here you go. It was pretty easy (except for actually getting the whole thing in and out of the car). My Custom 1980 W116 300SD Project

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Stop paying for animal enslavement, cruelty, and slaughter. Save your health and the planet. Go vegan! I did 18 years ago. https://challenge22.com/

DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

Plenty of US-spec 240's had manual sunroof, as well as all wagons.

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'82 300CD
"Pearl", the very first turbo diesel 123 coupe
Totaled 11/23/18, rebuild in progress.
'85 300TD, "Artemis".
'78 300D euro, "Ol' Red", mostly retired.
'85 300D, "Gandalf".

Yes, most European cars had this fine sunroof, it almost never sticks .

I was thinking bout changing the dead electric sunroof in my '84 coupe over but the damned junkyard wanted well over $100 for the roof section and I had to cut if off the car...

Either way to have it working well you need to spend some serious time first cleaning it of old rock hard grease then lubing then re assembling it and the cables on the powered roofs have to be 'timed' ~ ever one tooth off and they'll never work right .

The manual roof locks with an easy twist of the handle in any position .

When I was a young man I loved sun roofs and had them and used them often .

Now I don't really care, I'd like to have it work just because but there's more important jobs to do .

If you're planning this, don't buy a removed manual sun roof ! cut the top off a junker, this way you'll have every part, screw, bushing and slider etc...

I've rebuilt / overhauled / serviced more Golde sunroofs than I can recall, none were difficult, all were fiddly ad time consuming and *very* rewarding when finished .

My phsycho-***** ex G.F. was very fond of auto sex with the sunroof open or convertible top down....

The vicissitudes of youth .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I absolutely loved using my manual sunroof in Washington anytime it wasn't raining. When I moved to Arizona, I stopped using it entirely unless to vent the interior when parked in the shade.

But, one day something snapped, and now the wind deflector that pops out in front won't go down unless I push it down while closing the lid. The grease also got gummed up, so now it's permanently stuck shut until I can replace whatever it is that broke.

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Stop paying for animal enslavement, cruelty, and slaughter. Save your health and the planet. Go vegan! I did 18 years ago. https://challenge22.com/

DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles