Funny isn't it? My friends give me the "yeah yeah" statement but damn....

Mercedes and Volvo were definitely the world pioneers in auto safety. This may sound gruesome but they even used human cadavers in crash experiments to get the most accurate data.

I would rather drive an old Mercedes with good seat belts than any plastic car with all the air bags stuck in them.

Thanks again for all your best wishes. I've been away for a few hours, so time to respond to some of your posts.

The car still drives, but the subframe assy that holds the left rear wheel bearing assy was slammed hard enough to ruin the camber.

This hit & run had a different twist. Both of the LeBaron's occupants exited the car and disappeared into a crowd of their compadres in a nearby ranch, and no one had the cojones to turn them in. Since my son was still dazed from the collision, he didn't get a good enough look for a positive ID.

Not wanting this to become a political forum here, just an observation of the degredation of the quality of life on the Central Coast when cultures collide. I could write a book.
The LeBaron got towed too, and will incur impound fees greater than the value of the car, and the owner will have to explain to the old lady why the beater is gone.

I did like the red / bamboo combination as well- it's a great classic MB color that always looks great polished out.

I just got the champagne '84 300D insured yesterday after an 8-month layover / R&R of turbo seals and exhaust system, took it to work today and it was like seeing an old friend again. Once I verify all is OK, my son will be back in a Benz again. All the more reason to sell the Vic and get myself another Mercedes. These cars are awesome.

Thanks to all on the forum that help us keep them running!

You can see where the horizontal metal reinforcing "pipe" is in the rear door - it did its job.

Is that what the sheet metal is wrapped around :eek: If that is the horizontal bar, that's truly amazing. Glad your son is OK.

I want to know how you people get your kids to drive an old Mercedes - mine think they're ugly and I have issues because of my infatuation with them - well, except for one daughter that is of the tree hugger/sandal flapper variety, she thinks they're cool :D She has an old Volvo ;)

I'm new to the W123, and damn, I'm impressed with the strength of this car. I'm very glad your son was not injured, but sad to see another W123 get scrapped.

Hockeynut,
How to convince kids to drive these cars? Here was the deal. Our son was welcome to drive any car he wanted- as long as he paid for it. At the time he had an entry level job at an autoparts store. OTOH, we paid 1500 for the Benz and made him an offer to buy in with his share being 500 bucks. The choice was pretty clear at that point. It was also made clear from the start that the next car he got would be 100% paid for by him, especially if there was any recklessness or negligence in the demise of the '79. Happily this wasn't the case.

Now that he's making much better money, he still wants the W123 cars, especially since the '79 protected him so well.

We have a friend who bought her daughter a really nice Volvo 240 as her first car, she got rearended 3 months later & walked away from a totalled car. Her dad promptly found another one, same color even, and she loves it.

These 2 kids know which side their bread is buttered on.

Old300,
We're going to miss it too, but there was corrosion setting in around the sunroof and C-pillars that eventually would have required seroius attention. The car gave us great service as a daily driver, but it was not one that, at least on the West coast, would have deserved a major restoration. It had no turbo and the dreaded early AC servo was dead, so to bring it to pristeen condition would have been 3x the resale value of the car.
That having been said, it did its job, and gave us 5 great years of service-- but there are nicer ones out there that we would rather cherry out.

reminds me of the time my sister was T-boned by a full size van in my mom's 79 280E. It was a bit worse than your car, but my Uncle fixed it. The van pushed the car across a wide intersection and into a ditch. My sister got a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt and drove it several hundred miles home. She and her friend were fine.

tenknots, yes, that is the steel bar in the door. That is one thing that has to be present for a car to be sold in the U.S. In other words, euro 123's don't have that bar. That is one good thing about the U.S. models. The bar is pretty easy to add since it's just welded in so I assume they're added at the time of conversion?

Thanks
David

hopefully my 123 is running when I finally have kids and can keep them safe and let them have the car when they're old enough.

As a "kid" (21) who loves 123's I can tell you when I was in high school there was a cult following of mercedes diesels. They're just so amazing. A lot of kids had parents buy them new and then give them up to their kids 20 years later, so there were plenty of them back in the day. I still actually keep in touch with some 123 fans from high school. Those pictures are amazing, I'm glad your son was alright.
-Nate

I'll agree with Cannonball 100%. I fell in love with the w123 cars while I was in highschool. 4 friends of mine at the time were driving w123 300D Turbos, in addition to my girlfriend. I had always wanted a BMW 2002, but once I experienced the w123 and educated myself more about them I realized that it was the perfect blend of classic 70's styling, german precision, and durability.

These cars offer the old car charm and personality wrapped in a reliable, simple, and effiicient package; leaving out the woes assosciated with more "exotic" european sports cars of the same era. To me they are just as "cool" as a BMW 2002 or other comparable car. The W123 may not be as sporting, but it makes up for that with its grace and torque, not to mention stuctural strength!

Seems more and more younger kids like myself are warming to the friendly w123 diesels as they become older, perhaps even more classic, yet offering nearly bullet proof reliability unheard of when comparing to most other 20-25 year old cars. I think its great. And I cannot even begin to tell you how many younger people know what great cars the w123's are.... seems the word has gotten around about them.

Nate Stanley-

Sorry to hear about the wreck, but very glad your son wasnt hurt! I bet hes craving to get behind the wheel of another w123!

Nate, thanks for the thoughts-- yes, my son will be getting the '84 turbo that has served me faithfully since 2002. It will turn over 300,000 next month, but it still feels like a good Benz should.

He and his friends have learned thru the past 5 years how good these cars are. One of his buddies has 2001 Pontiac Vibe that he's always going to be upside down in, and it's costing him 357.00 per month.

Over the 5 years we had the '79, I don't think we even put a grand into it. It had a fresh rebuilt engine, and the tranny was original--and shifts like butter. That powertrain is going to be transplanted into a guacamole green / parchment '77 300D that a buddy of mine at work drives, so though the body has given its all at 268,xxx, its heart will still keep beating.

ohh and a guacamole green one too!

i seriously need another color on my shlomo. i guess the rich southerners that bought these cars around here went the safe route, theyre all gold, grey, white or blue!

i seriously want for a pea green/doodoobrown or fire red car. a manual with a crank sunroof(did they come with these?)

poor car!

cranks
 

the manual sunroofs just unlock and pull back. slick.

A friend's '80 300D got hit between the driver side doors (pillar) some time ago by an l.o.l.

He was OK and got $5K from the insurance !! The car was in fair/poor cosmetics and fair mechanical. about 275K miles. He used an alternate pricing guide to argue his case.

Most important, he was not injured.

Glad your son is OK.