Lowering a 1984 300d. Can it be done right? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Hip001 · #1 02-01-2010, 09:42 AM

Before you guys flame me with negativity I just want to explain.

I have a beater car that I got for cheap that I use as a daily driver. It is not a good cannidate for restoration so i am thinking it would be fun to make it a lil different.

I do not like over done cheezy paint jobs, flashy graphics, or untasteful custom stuff. I just want a clean smooth car & I love the look of a low rider!

Is there someone who has slammed a 123? Air bags, springs, etc... My preference would be to do this properly and not "presidential solution" it. (sorry for the non PC reference) I know the "wrong way" is to heat or cut the original springs. Any help or ideas would be great!! Might even "Mac or Murder it out" which would be flat black the entire car. This is a popular trend in the Custom Car, Hot Rod, Low Rider gatherings.

I know you Mercedes purist hate this idea which I understand and respect. I would of NEVER done this to my other 3 cars which were VERY nice examples of these fine German cars!

Thank you for looking!
Hip

leathermang · #2 02-01-2010, 09:48 AM

"Lowering a 1984 300d. Can it be done right?"
No.

Hip001 · #3 02-01-2010, 10:01 AM

Thanks Leather!

leathermang · #4 02-01-2010, 10:28 AM

For the record.. I am not speaking as a ' Purist' ... except that I do think that Steering Geometry ( affected by height off the ground) ... meaning things like the tires giving you normal length life are important.

Hip001 · #5 02-01-2010, 10:33 AM

Camber is a important setting for sure! I drive 500+ miles a week so this is an valid consideration!

leathermang · #6 02-01-2010, 10:39 AM

If you will get hold of the chassis manual for your car and see the trouble they went to to try to get everything just perfect.... you will feel better about dropping this basically ' Hot Rodding' desire as to height of your car. Having everything as close to stock and correct is more fun for some cars than others... if you have excess energy.. which is perfectly ok... think about doing a really nice rust proofing and long lasting beautiful paint job on your car. I know of nothing which takes more energy and dedication than correctly painting a car.

Hip001 · #7 02-01-2010, 11:17 AM

Again Thank you Leathermang. But as I stated up front, this car is a beater and not a good cannidate for the time, effort, & expense that a proper restoration would take. The car may be worth 4-6k when completly restored and for the kind of paint job I want, It would cost at least half up to almost that much just for the paint job. And that is before any interior restoration begins. I am TOTALLY anal when it comes to paint work so nothing but prefection is acceptable. Unless you know of someone who does this kind of work cheap? A $200 Macco quick paint job is not my idea of improvement and actually makes me like the car less. I believe good paint jobs can be found but are VERY hard to find! And to add to this I have dents and rust(although minimal rust)and discolored chrome to deal with. I do not mind doing mechanical stuff myself but the paint and body stuff I leave to the pros!

Hip001 · #8 02-01-2010, 11:25 AM

I was hoping someone out there had experiance doing this, but as Leatherman said I may be better off bailing on this idea.

Anyone lowered one of these 123's? Anyone ever seen one lowered?

#9 02-01-2010, 11:29 AM

IMO, lowering the car would reduce it's value. I have never seen one lowered, and I certainly wouldn't buy one that would require several $1000 to restore to the correct specifications.

Hip001 · #10 02-01-2010, 11:37 AM

Craig,
Thank you for your reply. I understand and respect your opinion.

Maybe the problem is I was not clear in my initial question. I just wanted to know if it could be done and if it had been done?

I got this at a price so low that If it lit fire today I would pull my tag off and walk away not feeling much loss. I love Mercedes Diesels and am still on the hunt for a nice one to keep in the garage, BUT, this one is one I would consider doing "non traditional" things to just for fun!

leathermang · #11 02-01-2010, 11:48 AM

Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself :

Do I mind having the tires squeal when I turn a corner ( at any speed ) ?
As an old conservative kind of guy I am embarrassed by tires squealing since I know they are not supposed to do that.

Do I mind spending a lot of UNnecessary money on tires ?

Hip001 · #12 02-01-2010, 12:03 PM

Ok Leatherman,
Now you got me totally confused. Is it the 4 wheel independant suspension that causes this problem? Or the rear wheel drive? Because I've personally owned 3 trucks(Nissan, Toyota, Chevy), Honda Accord & civic, and Toyota Avalon. All lowered 2-4" with none of them squeeling tires(unless on the clover at 60mph). All properly alligned camber after the lowering was performed. I admit I'm no alignment engineering expert but I ran high dollar Michelin tires on all with no wear problems. And this was when I drove even more miles than now covering a service area across 4 states.

I do understand some people think it is a waste of time and money to lower a car and they would not buy a car that is lowered. I keep all the parts I change and return it back to the original specs before I sell/trade the car.

With ALL that being said I still like the look of a lowered car if done right!

#13 02-01-2010, 12:12 PM

I know you can buy some lowering springs for these cars but am not sure how much they would lower the actual car. I think it only lowers it by like an inch or 2. But that might be preferable to other more costly/time comsuming things.

leathermang · #14 02-01-2010, 12:20 PM

They make a precision drilled template which can be put under the car..
you can not afford to buy it....LOL
but if you get on flat concrete and measure out the grid properly and use the chassis manual you will find the height that certain parts of your car are supposed to be for you to be able to put the suspension into the proper condition for both steering where you point the car and not wearing out the tires unnecessarily fast...
These and most other cars this age are just naturally lower than they started out...
if you had a new car and lowered it to the current condition you would have lowered it the amount you claim to want it lowered... but since you got the car old...and only see other cars of this design in the old condition ( with a few exceptions ) your increased lowering I think will put you out of the parameters within which your suspension can be set to work correctly.
Nothing makes an old car look new faster and cheaper than a set of new stock springs. And that does not even count the restored seat of the pants feeling of riding in it...

MBZ123 · #15 02-01-2010, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hip001

Maybe the problem is I was not clear in my initial question. I just wanted to know if it could be done and if it had been done?

I got this at a price so low that If it lit fire today I would pull my tag off and walk away not feeling much loss. I love Mercedes Diesels and am still on the hunt for a nice one to keep in the garage, BUT, this one is one I would consider doing "non traditional" things to just for fun!

Hell yeah...PIMP that ride!

But DAMN clicking on that search button can be a *****, huh? Tons of threads round these parts showing this done, I know cuz I read 'em all wit my own eyes. Here's an idea seen mentioned here before. Instead of using the forum's search function, ease on over to google advanced and fire away. Restrict the search to peachparts.com (there's a box to input domain name restriction er something along those lines) and voila! Some say it rox yer sox. I say it's a better investment of one's efforts. Try it, Mikey likes it.

Wait, 'nother idea. They just don't wanna stop! Hit the wrecking yards and locate some springs from W123 body with softer rate. Even diff. models benzs interchange w/ respect to springs. Options are endless, that's what I read. And further, while at the JY, spy some newer shocks to help as much as possible w/ reclaiming lost ride quality. See those things all the time over here. Minor financial investment, big bang results. Maybe you get what you're looking for. Already on the wrong side of the tradeoff equation, enjoy your time there. Would it be considered "done right?" who knows. We all know that changing and adding random variables to perfectly solved engineering equations, just because, has the extreme affinity to borg it all up. You did say if the target beater caught fire you wouldn't attempt to spit on it would you? K just makin sure. Who's behind the wheel? Who's house is it parked in front of? Who's resources are these? Who's gonna be lining his trousers with charmin? Seems to me that your opinion is the only one that really matters, eh chief? I see no issue with your stated goal. Sometimes, errr, MOST times, emotion rules both logic and fact. Tends to cloud one's perspective. Pay no mind to the periphery, it's all about perspective. Or, as so eloquently put by der sex pistols: "Nevermind the Bollocks!"

Wait, here we go again. Idea: You posted earlier about "flat black" over the exterior. Never heard the terms mac or murdering it out. I'm picturing two different solutions for getting highly similar results, though. Are you talking epoxy primer in black or dark grey in place of traditional paint, ala base/clear? Or are you referring to completely stripping exterior and prepping for that wrap style material they commonly use for putting advertising on cars. I recently saw the latter over at cartopia? (site re: detailing) in a thread by someone who acheived sweeeeeeet results on some euro style van with, what I consider, not much work or resources invested. Black and carbon colors dominated with no "shiny" or "sparkling" was the result. I was thinking of doin the same to a 123 body wagon, myself. Musta been the novelty factor of it all. I'll revisit this later to make sure, convinced as of now. Got just the donormobile for it, too. On the other hand, prepping for an epoxy primer with the ultimate goal being a decent outcome? Whoa, talk about energy! Not so sure bout that route. But before someone mentions perspective, I'm out. Winded too.

FNHB