I asked about these in the bodywork forum, but perhaps more coverage here.

Has anyone abandoned the front fender liners on a W123?

Mine are in good condition, but when fitted there are all sorts of pockets where salt and dirt could collect.

Without them, the upper part of the fenders and the rear part between the cabin wall and the fender are exposed to elements. But at least those areas could then be hosed clean.

I have one installed, but having second thoughts.

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Graham
85 300D,72 350SL, 98 E320, Outback 2.5

I would keep it and just take it off for cleaning. Interestingly, my 300D has a fender liner on the driver's side but none on the passenger's side, and the passenger-side rocker is rotted out at the part that the fender liner should be covering while the driver' side is beautiful.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Hard to say after so many years.
FWIW, my first two pre-82 W123 240Ds with the partial front-fender liners had far more widespread fender rot than my two later W123s with the full liners.
In fact I went ahead and added full liners to one of the early cars before I sold it.
However, those first 240Ds were already serious rot-boxes when I got them!

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

i am all for removing unneeded parts, but are these liners candidates for stuffing with closed-cell foam to make a sound barrier?

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.