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  #1  
Old 08-29-2011, 11:24 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Valrico, Florida
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W123 Interior questions

Hey guys,

So I had been fixing up a w116, but due to some unforeseen issues with it, I had to sell it. As much as I did like the car, I knew I didn't want to get another. I had been wanting a w123 for as long as I could remember, so I decided I'd get one. I first kinda wanted a 280e, but I realize they are just not common. There was one close to me, and when I checked it out, the sill had rusted off. lol So I decided I really wanted a Turbo Diesel. When I was about to give up on that, I found the perfect car. Well maintained, 1984 300D turbo. The paint is beautiful, no rust anywhere, guy's already had the mechanicals all fixed up, it's great. Even had the suspension bushings all redone. And proof of all the work. I had brought a huge list of things to check for when buying a w123, but the guy had already addressed most of them. haha

The only thing is the interior needs some attention. The seats look good, they just need some cleaning. They're MB Tex, they mainly need some cleaning and I think they'll be good. I don't have possession of the car just yet. I don't mind the interior needing work as that consist of cleaning what can be cleaned/fixed, and replacing what can't. The carpet needs to be replaced, which I don't mind. I was looking at this set...

Mercedes® Carpet Set, Loop Pile, 123 Chassis - Mercedes Parts and Accessories

That's the same style carpet in my w116, which I always liked. I can't decide between bamboo, or tobacco brown. Both so nice. My question is, anyone ever gotten one of those w123 carpet kits? Are they good? Shaped well, etc?

Next, the dash. It's there, but as is common in Fl, the top is cracked here and there. I see the plastic type Dash caps that you can get, but for whatever reason, I just don't want that style. I swear I've seen a different style. The one I remember was like a carpet material, but it was fitted to the dash. Anyone know what I'm talking about? And if so, where can I get one? I've searched for it, but I just keep finding the other style. Does what I'm thinking of even exist? haha

All of the center console wood was pretty banged up, so I might just replace it. I see on ebay there's some new production wood pieces. Anyone know what company makes that? I need to get the proper wood to fit around my style of A/C control and all. If I can't get the proper wood part, I can get the standard plastic climate control face. It has this style climate control in it...

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/attachments/sale-wanted-trade-giveaway/145857d1192320847-fs-w123-climate-control-unit-sale02.jpg

The wood around the climate control is really rough. Anyone know where I can get a face for that, plastic or wood? I've been looking, but it's the one part I can't find.

I'm gonna do some research on cleaning the mb tex and fixing the sagging headliner, but if anyone has some good links/resources on those issues, feel free to share.

Thanks for all the help guys, I look forward to joining the w123 community!

Also, on a side note, anyone have any pics of a tobacco brown interior?

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  #2  
Old 08-30-2011, 12:41 AM
Stretch's Avatar
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I get the feeling most people sand and re-varnish knackered wood as it can be expensive to replace.

A sagging head liner could be just the head liner but it might be the sound insulation fitted between the head liner and the roof. It is quite straight forward removing the head liner to check and glue it all back in place (in my opinion).

I've seen the carpet dash caps on American cars for sale over here - don't know where to get them though...
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Old 08-30-2011, 02:40 AM
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Location: Valrico, Florida
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Army View Post
I get the feeling most people sand and re-varnish knackered wood as it can be expensive to replace.

A sagging head liner could be just the head liner but it might be the sound insulation fitted between the head liner and the roof. It is quite straight forward removing the head liner to check and glue it all back in place (in my opinion).

I've seen the carpet dash caps on American cars for sale over here - don't know where to get them though...
Hmm, I'll have to look into refinishing the wood. As I said, I'm all about fixing up what can be fixed. If my mind recalls right, the wood was pretty cracked and looked to be warped/peeling off of its base. Can that still be fixed? Suppose it's time for google. haha

I figured as much the headliner would be straight forward, just wanted to make sure.

And I wanna say I saw the carpet dash cover in a video of a w123. Maybe I'll just have to get one of the normal ones. Perhaps I can Velcro it instead of gluing.
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Old 09-02-2011, 06:53 PM
JimFreeh's Avatar
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Location: Hampton Roads, Virginia
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In my opinion, the dash carpet looks cheap.
The plastic dash caps, if installed correctly, are hard to detect.

Jim
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  #5  
Old 09-02-2011, 07:13 PM
Yak Yak is offline
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Replacing carpet or floor mats? I'd suspect you should be able to find OE carpet in good shape if you're a little patient. Post a WTB in parts, see what turns up.

For example: Parting out 81 300D

For the dash, I presume black. There are still some crack-free examples out there, but rare. I've seen both the hard cover and the carpet cover. A well-made, well-installed hard cover is hard to tell from the original and better than cracks. And if you don't like it, you can always add the carpet on top of that.

For the wood, it depends on the condition of the veneer. If the veneer is intact but the clear finish is flaking, you can dissolve/strip the coating and do a reasonable DIY pretty easy. If the wood veneer itself is flaking off, then it's a bit more complicated but still within range of DIY - you strip it down, but then re-veneer it with a new material of your choice. I use the term "dissolve" because the finish is more like a plastic coating than varnish or polyurethane. There are various threads on that, too. I've heard that pure acetone on the clear coat does wonders. Sanding it off is not a great idea due to the hardness, clogging the sander and the high-level of control needed not to sand through the thin layer of veneer.

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