I slammed the brakes to check on what I thought was a 240D for sale on the side of the road. Upon forther inspection the identification badge on the trunk lid-----250-----and nothing else????? I called the guy selling it and he said it was a 1981 6cyl inline gasser. Everything else about the car screams 240D. W123 chassis, manual A/C, manual windows, painted hubcaps, banana yellow version of my china blue 240D. Trying to do research now, the guy is asking $1500. with no A/C. Says everything else works fine. Problem is I'm trying to figure out the validity of this "250" MB. Never heard of it. Anybody ever heard of these?

The "250" is a valid model for the W123 lineup.

Basically, Mercedes had the following line (available worldwide) at the first half of W123 production:

200
230
250
280
280 E
200 D
220 D
240 D
300 D

The 250 was a rare beast indeed, in most markets it sold at very low numbers, although most magazines and techs appreciated its power and reliability. Why it sold so badly then? Well, since it was a six-cylinder unit, it was more expensive than a four-cylinder 200 or 230. Most prospective buyers who were eager to fork the expense for a six cylinder would chip in for the 280, or even the 280 E.

Basically, the 250 was made to counter attack some markets were cars with displacements higher than 2.5 liters were heavily taxed (as the 280/280 E was a victim of). One market I remember at the time was Italy.

I would say the 250 on the W123 lineup was the equivalent to the 260 SE on the W126 and the S 280 on the W140. Peculiar models which all sold at very small numbers.

Actually, I remember an article on the official M.B. magazine in the early 1980's that the 250 was actually taken out of production for selling so slowly and not by having a new engine replacing the specific model.

It is indeed an excellent car, although I have heard from independent techs here that parts are almost impossible to get anywhere. As I understand, the engine was a smaller block version from the 280, but many engine parts were especifically made for the 250. Not being a popular model has made availability of spare parts a mess.

Hopefully the info would help you.

__________________
A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

Here is a pic of the six-cylinder engine fitted to the 250.

Some tech data about the 250:

Displacement 2,525 cc
Horsepower 140 CV @ 5,500 rpm
Torque 200 Nm @ 3,500 rpm
Batttery 12V/55Ah
Tire Size 175 SR 14
Max. Speed 185 Km/h

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

This is the front cover for the brochure for the 200/230/250 in early 1980.

The 250 was always marketed along with the two small four-cyl brothers. The 280 / 280 E had a separate brochure as same with the diesels, which came on a separate catalog too.

By the way, the 250 was ONLY made as a four door sedan. No 250s coupes or wagons were ever made.

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]

Thanks for the info A. Rosich . The interior on the car is really nice. Outside has some small rust issues. I wonder how hard it would be to put in the engine and drivetrain out of one of my parts 300D's. Its a W123 chassis so I would think some minor bracket changes, exhaust, swap fuel lines and tank.

There were wagons also like the 300sd but not in US.They had rear hydro. suspension and they were popular with Police,health and service agencies.

I'm pretty sure that the 250 motor had a single row timing chain. Not that it's a bad thing on that model.