I took a Greyhound down to El Paso last fall, bought this car, and drove it home. I started cleaning it up this spring. The original paint looks... well, I just don't think they paint cars like that anymore!

The car is a real pleasure to work on, drive, and look at.

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1977 Mercedes 240D. 4-speed transmission. Windows, A/C, and sunroof: all manual. Medium Red. 204K miles.
1988 Subaru GL wagon. Dual range 5-speed 4X4. Daily driver w/ twin parts car.
1994 Subaru Loyale wagon. 5-speed 4x4
1966 International 3/4 ton 4X4 truck. Ooh yeah!
1952 Ferguson TO-35 farm tractor.
1984 Snapper rear engine riding mower. Just like Forest Gump.
1988 Nimble 20 sail boat
--Older stuff is built better--

wow... original paint...

nice find! I like that color especially when it's shiny.. really classy!

Good luck with the car

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2008 BMW 335i Coupe

Looks real nice. Are those foglights just a bit darker than usual? To me, they look like someone tinted them to make them darker. I like the darker look. It looks so much nicer with dark orange/amber than faded yellow. I say spray some armor all foam on those tires, and you got yourself a real head turner, although I turn my head for ANY MB diesel, regardless of condition.:p
-Joe

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

Nice looking car! Those are definitely not the original fog lights. On this car they're supposed to be clear. Later models had light orange ones.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

This "Medium Red" color is just the right shade of red for people (like me) who have always hated red cars.

I live way out in the country---with several miles of dirt and gravel roads until I get to hard pavement. There is NO WAY I want to begin fooling around with detailing my tire sidewalls! By the time I get to town, the car has the look of "having been through some serious ***** to get here!" On some days (depending on whether my neighbor has let his horses and cows out of their pasture) that last sentence is literally true...! If I were to ever repaint one of my beater cars, I'd take a handful of dried mud from the road and tell the paint store guy: "Here, match this!"

As for the fog lamps, see: Amber Fog Lamps (for $2). Yeah, I probably could have gone a shade lighter... maybe next time.

I keep forgetting to remove that front license plate holder.

Here's another view:

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1977 Mercedes 240D. 4-speed transmission. Windows, A/C, and sunroof: all manual. Medium Red. 204K miles.
1988 Subaru GL wagon. Dual range 5-speed 4X4. Daily driver w/ twin parts car.
1994 Subaru Loyale wagon. 5-speed 4x4
1966 International 3/4 ton 4X4 truck. Ooh yeah!
1952 Ferguson TO-35 farm tractor.
1984 Snapper rear engine riding mower. Just like Forest Gump.
1988 Nimble 20 sail boat
--Older stuff is built better--

yep really nice find, The fac MB paint is the smoothest in the industry. You would never see any "orange peel" on MB's back then. I haven't looked at a new one lately.

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Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)

The old paint on Mercedes cars is truly amazing. I parked next to a black 500CL, the paint on my car looked much smoother.

NIce car, I like the color.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).