Wanting to lift the front of my w123- Is anyone mad? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dinman · #1 01-18-2018, 07:26 PM

Yes, i want to lift my '83 w123 300D in the front.

I figured this would upset some purists.

My car is in great mechanical shape now for a $400 find.. that is after a ton of new parts being installed.

I really just want to lift the front end maybe an inch? I see some pics of 300TD's that look great, front end sitting slightly higher than the back. that is how i want mine.

I've searched and found where people supposedly installed springs from other cars, but i've never found anything specific that says "hey, i installed x and here is what it looks like" It's obviously possible because i see a good amount of them floating around.

Also planned on installing a slightly larger tire. So that would bring it up some as well.

Again, not worried about lifting the rear. Just want to get the front off the ground

As of now, i have bottomed out a few times on pretty tame gravel roads. I will also make a skid plate of some sort for it.

Not wanting to tear the car up, i just want a old diesel Mercedes that i can explore off road terrain in. I think it would be hilariously awesome.

Cosmetically? My car's clear coat is gone, paint is fading, passenger fender is just primer+ missing the trim piece, front bumper is slightly bent, passenger bumper trim is missing, rear bumper is missing the impact strip, and the hood has a pretty nice crease in the passenger side.

So i'm not worried about it getting scratched up, getting a few more dents, etc.

I'm keeping this car forever unless someone presents a ridiculous sum of cash i can't refuse. So i want to enjoy it.

Thanks guys. Here is my car for reference.

tyl604 · #2 01-18-2018, 07:42 PM

You have the wrong product. Buy an old Land Rover, maybe a Disco. They are just giving them away now because they require so much upkeep. But they have all the off road capability that you could ever need and they are easy for an average skill guy to fix. And they have everything else - heated seats, radios with Bose speakers and CD players (which generally do not work), cruise control, front and back AC, moon roof(s), fold down seats for a lot of carrying space. For the money, they cannot be beat. But be prepared to spend a lot of time keeping one up.

I have had them for about twenty years now.

97 SL320 · #3 01-18-2018, 08:16 PM

Look through this thread and _IGNORE_ the original poster.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/performance-paddock/342744-w123-racing-setup-serious-questions-within.html?highlight=afco

Diseasel300 · #4 01-18-2018, 10:56 PM

Installing fresh springs and the "thick" spring pad will probably get you about where you want to be. If you're going that far and you haven't already done it, consider the "heavy duty" shocks. My SDL has been lightly off road many times and has never bottomed out with the Bilstein HD's. Obviously it's not a car to take for serious off-roading, but this being Texas, it's done it's share of mild stuff. The rear springs are the ones in my car that need replaced, it has the typical LWB W126 "saggy-ass syndrome".

dude99 · #5 01-18-2018, 11:16 PM

Ignore the original reply. These cars were actually offered in an african spec that had an uprated higher suspension and skid plates.

If all your looking for is an inch or so then as mentioned above new springs and pads should get you there easily.

Tere was a thread somewhere on here or benzworld w123 (can't remember) where a member with I believe a 240D lifted it up with new springs to get bigger tires on it... can't remember where I saw it though.

Simpler=Better · #6 01-19-2018, 10:24 AM

You can also either replace the upper pad with a jeep "budget boost" polyurethane lift block, or something to that effect. Basically just add a durable, secure spacer to the front coil spring.

Off topic-I'm trying to see if ball joint spacers could be used up front. Maybe get 1.5" from a set of ball joint spacers and 1.5" from a spring spacer. We'll see.

dinman · #7 01-19-2018, 01:56 PM

Well if it's that easy, i may go a little higher. I love the way this wagon sits.

http://www.auto.de/magazin/customs/uploads/auto/2010/12/Mercedes-Benz-W123-T-Modell-ab1977-mxom.jpg

BillGrissom · #8 01-19-2018, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diseasel300

... it's not a car to take for serious off-roading, but this being Texas, it's done it's share of mild stuff. ...

This recalls an interview I read decades ago with a rich west Texas man (oil, I recall). He preferred luxury sedans, but drove them hard on dirt roads. He was currently driving a M-B sedan because he said it held up much better than the U.S. sedans he had gone thru. It might have been a W123. In general, older designs are more rugged. The Ford Model T was designed with clearance for rutted dirt roads. I have seen photos of 2000+ M-B cars whose sheet-metal control arms broke on asphalt roads. The W123 has rugged forged control arms. The K-frame appears to be the weakest part.

vonsmog · #9 01-19-2018, 03:48 PM

This might give you some ideas!

Mercedes W123 Expedition 300TD - Expedition Portal

AND MORE.
http://autoweek.com/article/classic-cars/1985-mercedes-benz-300td-new-life-exploring-its-california-home

tyl604 · #10 01-19-2018, 04:52 PM

Very interesting. Never realized a TD could do all that.

Diseasel300 · #11 01-19-2018, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillGrissom

This recalls an interview I read decades ago with a rich west Texas man (oil, I recall). He preferred luxury sedans, but drove them hard on dirt roads. He was currently driving a M-B sedan because he said it held up much better than the U.S. sedans he had gone thru. It might have been a W123. In general, older designs are more rugged. The Ford Model T was designed with clearance for rutted dirt roads. I have seen photos of 2000+ M-B cars whose sheet-metal control arms broke on asphalt roads. The W123 has rugged forged control arms. The K-frame appears to be the weakest part.

The 123, 126, and 124 cars were common here on peoples ranches and farms. I had several friends growing up whose mothers drove old Mercedes diesels (the fathers almost universally drove Cummins Dodges), the newest of which was a '96 E300D. They prized the diesel because they could buy diesel fuel in bulk for a few cents a gallon and run everything on the ranch and their road cars with it. Worth mentioning that they bought taxed fuel, so it wasn't the red stuff...

97 SL320 · #12 01-19-2018, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillGrissom

I have seen photos of 2000+ M-B cars whose sheet-metal control arms broke on asphalt roads.

If these are the same pics I've seen, the failure was due to long term rust + seizing lower ball joints causing the arm to flex / break near the ball joint.

Skid Row Joe · #13 01-20-2018, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diseasel300

The 123, 126, and 124 cars were common here on peoples ranches and farms. I had several friends growing up whose mothers drove old Mercedes diesels (the fathers almost universally drove Cummins Dodges), the newest of which was a '96 E300D. They prized the diesel because they could buy diesel fuel in bulk for a few cents a gallon and run everything on the ranch and their road cars with it. Worth mentioning that they bought taxed fuel, so it wasn't the red stuff...

Where I've grown up in Texas, no one drove W124s, or W210 diesels. Sans two of us - and those were mistakes. Mostly EARLY W126es. Lots of bucks Up Texans drove W126es. Posers drove the W123s. But that was a long time ago. No one drove 20 year old W126es, not that I knew anyway. They'd moved on Up to the 21st Century.

Clemson88 · #14 01-20-2018, 07:37 AM

lol

leathermang · #15 01-20-2018, 10:14 AM

IF you consult a paper FSM for your car...
You will probably find it is more than one inch below what stock is.. Thus just a new set of springs would bring you up to higher than you are asking for.... and by making sure the pad under it is in good shape you will avoid any ' derivative ' problems which some solutions can add... somewhere in the archives I have posted pics of the Chassis manual for a 123 with the spring numbers on it....
I have long advocated people renewing their springs because I have done it on many cars and both the look and FEEL of driving the car is so improved. Old cars with leaf springs can be redone also.... a local shop specializing in re arching springs can do wonders for a car or truck...Even coil springs can be re arched . . I worked at one during a summer between school .. so I got to drive many of those fixed on test drives...