Wow, Your car is just....WOW. Whats the story on your car?

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'84 300D w/ 120,___
I wish I had money to buy new shocks.
:-(

In my excitement I forgot if they had it powdercoated or simply painted. Sent the wheels to Tru Wheel in N. Hollywood, CA.

Can you imagine one of the bad 15" Bundts looked like this?



It's actually the first nice 15" Bundt I posted, that used to be like that.

Thanks!

Color is Manila Beige (option 681) and it's single stage paint without clear coat.

Olympus C8080 Wide Zoom (not an SLR) maybe I'm not just yet used to tinkering with it, but the colors appear bland so I just saturate it a bit in PS, and bring it back to how the actual image is supposed to look like. I also remove sensor dust!

Thanks. Got it from my grandma who passed it down to me in 2004, after taking care of it for the first 21 years of its life in Ridgecrest and Torrance, CA. First day of ownership, I savored the moment and cleaned it with a damp towel. No go, so I read about detailing and used Cleaner Wax (Mothers smelled so good, like bubble gum!) but still did not have that luster. After a few weeks of cleaning it slowly while taking classes at the same time, I learned about Meguiar's #26 (yellow wax) and #7 (pure polish). #7 did the trick for me and gave it that deep, dark glossy appearance. Been a long time since I used #7 and it still shines today. Needs to be clayed once more, since I use it daily.

@Greg, I've seen the reflectors too. But I think those are for the round Euro W123 headlights. The reflectors are round on those, but on the square Euros the reflectors have a cut off at the top and bottom.

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Euro lights on a W123 in the USA clearly denote a true enthusiast that is aware of the lighting performance and aesthetic enhancements delivered in spades when these are installed on the car, as Mercedes Benz originally meant them to be.

Good job!!!

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I'm going to join the minority here and say that I find the new look quite a bit more appealing, just personally. Great job

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Jim,

It was a pleasure meeting and chatting MB's with you, among other things we talked about. I hope your plan works out as you head to your other meets with various other members. Next time, when you bring your SEC, let me know so we can do a photoshoot. Hopefully the cars did not disappoint!

Thanks for taking the time to go down here and meet up. It's always nice to meet new people.

I kept forgetting to tell you of a friend of mine who has a 240D (turbocharged) with Euro lights, Euro light wipers, Euro wraparound bumpers, rear tow hook, rear headrests, warning triangle, Euro interior trim, AMG pentas and Vogtland springs. Got carried away with all the other stuff we talked about. Too much to share, too little time!

Patrick

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Late last night, as I have to leave Pasadena, shortly, today, I got ahold of Patrick, who I had never met, and I wanted to, as I had seen pictures of that beautiful looking car of his, and hoped to have a chance to look at it.

He invited ne to come down to Orange County and meet him and see it


I got there shortly before midnight and met him and looked over the car carefully.

As depicted in the pictures, it's indeed one of the best detailed and well kept up W123 sedans I have ever seen - and I have seen a lot.

The 15" Bundts are beautifully refinished and ready to go.

It looks magnificent with the euro lights on it, and I would urge all W123 diesel owners to get them; these are what came from the factory, and only the US sealed beam headlight lobby convinced Congress to make them illegal
At night they throw a beam pattern that is perfect and you would love the wonderful lighting performance with them

Patrick took me for a long night time test drive through Orange county and put the car through its paces. It really pulls the hills well, too.


His car is a real gem of a W123, he's equipped it with a trunk triangle, rear seat headrests, German license plates UNDER the original California blue plates (as required by law here) and has polished it to a fare-thee-well.


With the care it has had, I think it could possibly last him a lifetime. It's that beautiful, both inside and out and runs very quietly after startup, for a 300D.

It's a beautiful car, I just rode in it the early hours of this morning and Patrick is an extremely knowledgeable guy about these autos, and a very gracious host and a real good guy

The pearl black W124 TE he has looked magnificent too




(Thanks Patrick)

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

This is how we roll...

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

15"!!

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1982 240d automatic 188,115miles as of March 18, 08
0-60: Never

I'm loving the new ride feeling too! The wheel wells look more full now, and with less rubber on the profile.

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Aside from the looks, how do the 15"s affect the ride? Handling?

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

before looks better

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1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)

You don't like the 15" bundts?

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1982 240d automatic 188,115miles as of March 18, 08
0-60: Never

It's more responsive of course, with less side wall flex. I'm still trying it out and I keep forgetting to check the tire pressure. On the 14" if the pressures were above 35psi each then the front would just wander on the freeway. This one has not yet done that so far so we'll see.

It's not for everyone I guess.

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Well, I've been de-Euroing the last item on my grey-market '84 300TD - the rear bumper. While I like the looks of the Euro bumpers, a PO already replaced the front one with a US version, and the remaining Euro rear bumper was badly smashed on the left corner. Unfortunately, there's no way to retain the Euro trailer-hitch with the us bumper shocks needing to occupy the chassis holes where the hitch reinforcing bars were installed. I would need to fabricate brackets and fasten the US bumper to the Euro hitch, like the original bumper is setup now, which would eliminate any impact protection the bumper-shocks would provide.
Also, while some might lament the additional weight of the US bumper, I believe the Euro rear bumper/hitch combo and it's four heavy steel chassis reinforcing brackets, weighed as much, if not more than the US bumper.
Of course, I'll save the Euro bumper/hitch assy in case I eventually decide to look for a decent set of Euro bumpers. Meanwhile, I must deal with the rust and other damages uncovered when I removed the old bumper.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Your car really looks fantastic all the way around. I particularly enjoyed the variety of photo's that you shared with the group. It's almost like posting pictures of my children lol...the way that you posted yours. I betcha feel that way about your car *grin*. Anyway, I like the classic look of the old lights, but also can appreciate the euro's as well. A wonderful car no question!

Andy

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'95 E300D 313k miles
http://www.ourfullhouse.com