guys, a few years ago i was clearing out my garage, and i needed to get rid of a w114 280 that my dad owned. the previous owner gave it to my father after he couldn't afford the cost of the paint job. my dad restored it partially, and our family used it for a few years before finally giving up on it. it sat for many years at one house, and then we moved it to the garage of another house we occupied, where it sat again. when i needed the garage space, i called a friend of mine who is into vintage benzes (we both currently own several 201's and one 123), and he took it off my hands. gratis. hey, i'm a nice guy.

he spent about six months or so restoring it to drivable+ condition, and then sold it to another mutual friend who is also a member of this forum. also a w201 guy (his 2.6 with body kit is in the background of the pics below). now this guy spent some good money and time fixing this car up for his gf, and made it her daily driver. sevaral thousands of dollars were spent on this car over the last few years bringing it up and making it very nice.

until finally a few days ago my friend's gf was pulling out of her driveway, when some lady slammed into it. 'fcuking awesome!' was the quote when i learned about this

our family and my friends had some good times in this car. i remember one time we got pulled over in it with my parents and my brother. don't remember why we got pulled over, but before the cop was about to let us go without a ticket, my brother volunteers the fact that there are no seat belts in the back on his side. the cop gladly gives my dad a ticket, and later on we found the lap belt tucked under the crevice of the seat. this was before the booster seats and similar laws in the mid 80's. i'm sure my friends have their stories about this car, too.

anyways, here it is in it's final day of glory






now who needs some parts (j/k)

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That is some crunch, bet that hurt a whole lot.

To me, it sounds like the girlfriend didn't look and pulled out in front of the lady. Nothing awesome about it, lucky no one got killed in that wreck.

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Question Authority before it Questions you.

most accidents are caused by inattention. it sounds like it was a nice car. hate to see any mercs end up in the bone yard over an accident, but it does happen.

Ouch...

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

I agree, that sucks, but unless the old lady was excessively speeding or veered off the road into the car (both unlikely), then it's the girls fault. You can't expect people to stop for you pulling out, especially clueless old drivers.

Always see this in the accident pictures, look how the car took it, that's better than I've seen new cars take something like that!

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

My girlfriend was the one who was driving the car. It's a damn shame because in the last several months I've:

Replaced the transmission with a rebuilt one from sun valley
replaced:
Master cylinder
brake hoses
brake calipers
front main seal
steering gearbox
repaired section on frame where gearbox tore itself out of
distributor
added pertronix ignition
did a valve job
upper control arm work

All that was in the last three months or so. I was also in the process of restoring the trim around the front and rear windows.

This sort of thing is what has always scared me the most about undertaking big car projects. Within seconds the years of hard work and thousands of dollars can be wiped away.

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190e 3.0 5spd Zender black on black plaid
1973 280

In all it's former glory.

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190e 3.0 5spd Zender black on black plaid
1973 280

pwnt.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

The California blue alphanumeric plates are the original ones from the car in 1973

Sorry it went.

Made me think of another one too a lot like it that went...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rv2-DYgzcY

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

That was an extremely hard hit yet the windshield was not cracked and the doors stilll open.

Love that MB engineering!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Ok - serious question - no trolling attempted: I've heard time and again how well-built the w123 is, but always had the impression that the w114-w115 is less substantial. I realize that the time lapse between the design of the w114 and w123 probably allowed Mercedes to incorporate a more sophisticated body structure in the latter design, but from a build quality and materials perspective, was the w123 more substantial than the w114-115?

Not in my opinion. My 124 was a very well made car.

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1979 240D, 4spd manual, Power Sunroof, manual windows, 147k miles, Pastel gray/Black MB Tex.
1991 300D 2.5 - Smokes like it's on Crack!

My grandmother backed out of a neighbor's driveway into the path of a car driven/filled with a few teenagers.

She died within the time it took for an ambulance to finally arrive.

The teens?

The driver (Scott) ended up puking his guts out...then the dry heaves.

The other kids? One (Mary) passed out and the other two (Tim & Rick) spent "some time" in therapy.

The teens were my cousins. Yep, grandma's grandkids were in that other car that hit her.

They WEREN'T SCREWING AROUND. They came over a "slight rise" in the road and were actully going 45mph instead of 55mph which they could have legally been going.

Grandma WASN'T wearing her seat belt and she got popped in the passengers' side of her car. She flew across the seat into the door that was coming inward towards her, then she was tossed back across the seat to where she started from...very violently. Head/brain trauma was her cause of death.

No Benzs were involved in this story...just a simple drive in the country and only one person WASN'T wearing the seat belt.

The Sheriff determined that Grandma was a fault for "unsafe backing" and not having her belt buckled. The coroner determined that if she had, at least, had her belt buckled, she may have had a few serious bruises and possibly a "knock" on the noggin (drivers' side window), but it was a good possibility that she might have survived the hit and slide.

These really aren't accidents...more like situations that could have gone a completely different direction given the same circumstances, if only one or two things were done differently...like buckling up and paying attention to what's going on around you.

Danwatt...pray you and your GF are buckling up after that close call...she was buckled, wasn't she?

We're not cats...

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~