Another Tribute To W123 Design
 

Saturday night my son was t-boned by a hit & run 1984 LeBaron convertible. Approx speed of oncoming car was about 40mph, the impact slammed the Benz sideways until the opposite wheel hit a tree trunk and stopped.
The back window popped out in one piece (!).

The best news, My son walked away with a little soreness and some glass in his pocket.

Ironically, we were just about to post pix to sell the car this week, but at least a friend has expressed interest in buying the engine and tranny.

We has also just put in a rebuilt axle shaft on the side that got hit.

If anyone is interested in front fenders, hood, bumper and other misc parts, please PM me.

Glad your son is OK
 

It is really amazing how these cars are ahead of their time. Amazing.

thanks for the best wishes, JCD--
Yeah, take a look at the middle photo. The lower door hinge took a lot of force but didn't bend or break.

Not only that, the doors open and close normally on the passenger side of the car.

the B-pillar did move about 4" inward, but showed no signs of breaking or buckling. These are truly tough cars!

If you don't mind, I'd like to save the pictures and show a few people why this is one of the reasons to buy an old mercedes. thanks!

a friend of mine hit a telephone pole at 40mph head on at the right headlight assembly and walked away with only seat belt rash.

just well built cars :)

Be my guest, it's great advertising.....

Does it run and drive?

Just joking / Glad to hear your son is fine
look for the La Barron down the street there is no way it could have gone far.

Hit and run. So the 84 LeBaron drove away. Even if it only made it a little way that's even more amazing.

I'm glad the MB did it's job.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Yeah, that was my question. After doing that to a W123, the perpetrator drove away? That is amazing. Jim

damn!

glad your son is ok.

sorry about the car loss

re: the topic - case in point

i feel sad viewing these photos, i thought a white model was what i wanted, but im teally liking the red/tan combo lately. too bad i cant just swap colors!

it was so shiny too!

Thank God your son was OK,that's first.

This really speaks for the durability and solid construction of these 123 chassis,I have a couple of other testaments to their strength in the face of collisions.

One thing I fondly recall from my Fintail diesel,grease fittings on the door hinges,these still exist on 123 chassis but there are filler plugs in the place of the grease fittings.

I bet you can walk around to the other side and both doors open and shut like new - have seen old Mercedes that were T boned and other than the obvious damage, the body was still rigid and undistorted. I can't believe the other car drove away either.

Don't let them kill you in a plastic car.

great pics
 

i had two kids rear ended both times the mb was totaled. once my son was hit by a narcleptic who piled into him at 40. he was stopped and was pushed into two cars ahead. mild whiplash. my #3 daughter was hit on ice by a vw beetle (new) no injury but totaled car. we got good settlements on both cars, fixed them and went on down the road.

Thats quite a bit of damage to walk away from basically unscathed. Just great when you do not have to deal with an injured family member as well. Many of the cars produced by the big three fair very poorly in comparison as I see them at a local towing yard frequently. Common problem is roof is down to seat level on light rollover. Or front passenger area collapsed on leg area in fairly modest hit.These cars should be labled as unsafe. You have almost no chance of not being injured. In fact I do not believe they should even be sold to anyone.

safety
 

yeah, i agree totally. i wont put my kids in anything but a benz. i have before but always ended up with a nice safe 123. cheap, strong, safe. as you say the others fold up in bad places.

gm and some others are bragging about the crush zones as if it is a new deal. mb did it in 1961 on the fin tail... i think it was the first.. most of the safety systems that were in my '61 fintail are now on most all cars.