123 wagon question
 

Unfortunately, I am having a dispute with a vendor on the swap shop classifieds board over a bumper I bought for my 1979 300TD wagon. The bumper I received had the two cutouts for the backup lights, but there was no metal behind them to receive the bolt on the back-up light units to secure them to the bumper. On my old bumper, when I get underneath and look up, I see this piece of metal (I call it a bracket) that appears to have been welded to the bumper; there is a hole in this piece of metal, and through this hole is a bolt from the back-up light. The unit is secured with a 10mm nut attached to the bolt.

I need someone with a wagon to confirm my impression--or correct it, if it is wrong--on just how the back-up lights are attached to the bumpers.

My MB dealter parts guy looked up the 123 wagon bumper on his computer, and there does not seem to be a separate bracket--in other words, it appears that my impression is correct, that the metal to which the back-up light is attached is in fact part of the bumper. It appears to me that it is welded on before the bumper is chromed.

To correct the problem with the bumper I received, I would have had to fabricate some sort of replacement metal, weld it to the bumper, and therefore ruin the chrome in the process.

The thoughts of knowledgeable 123 wagon owners would be most appreciated.

Joe Bauers
404 N. Willis Avenue
Champaign, IL 61821
217-359-4640
bauersjo@soltec.net

I just went out and checked out my bumper, and may I say..damn is it cold. Anyways, it does appear that it is a angled piece of metal that is welded in place. I gather what Mercedes did was take the bumper for a W123 sedan, notch it out for the lights, then add the angled bracket. You'll notice that the area around the light it'self has a rubber seal on it. I am guessing that this to cover up the cut in the bumper. So you bought a bumper that has the notches cut out, but no means of attaching the lights themselves?. I would ask this vendor how exactly you're supposed to attach backup lights to the bumper he/she sold you.

Thanks Rick for your help. It was good to have my view of the thing confirmed. As to the vendor, we have agreed to disagree--I'm sending the bumper back to him. He kept insisting that I was making a big deal out of it, that the "brackets" to which the back-up lights were attached were somehow detachable from the bumper. For the life of me, I could not see how, unless you broke the weld. I asked him, repeatedly, how these "brackets" were attached, if not by a weld; he had no answer, only lots of anger. It is obvious to me now that the brackets had simply rotted off on the bumper he sent me--it had other signs of rot, such as a rust hole clear through, that he had also not mentioned prior to me sending my check.

Anyway, to go out in the cold to help me out was above and beyond. Thanks much.

Joe Bauers
404 N. Willis Avenue
Champaign, Illinois 61821
217-359-4640
bauersjo@soltec.net

Joe, you are welcome. There have been so many times that someone from this site that have gone above and beyond for me, so it's only right to return in kind.