180e brakes

[MLC]

hi all
i have a 1991 180e and have some questions about brakes.

1. since these things are pretty thin on the ground it will probably be another 180e owner who can best answer this one, but were ventilated front discs standard equipment? since this is the el-cheapo 190e (eg. no abs) i'd guess that solid discs were standard and ventilated discs were not even an option, but some specs i have seen say that they all had ventilated front discs.

2. are the calipers for the ventilated discs the same? i'd guess not because the ventilated discs are about twice as thick but if they are the same it will make for a pretty easy upgrade.

3. what other australian w201 models had ventilated discs as standard? i am thinking about an upgrade and want to stick with parts from the same series. if i am going to go to the trouble i'd probably go ventilated front and rear. i understand that the later 2.6L models had ventilated discs all round but i am flying in the dark a bit here.

4. is there that much of a difference between solid and ventilated discs performance-wise? while i think this is a great little car, i'd only rate the brakes as average, but don't want to go to the trouble of changing if it won't make a signigficant difference. i don't drive it very hard (apart from the odd italian tune-up) but even in normal traffic conditions the brakes aren't that impressive. i haven't had any problems with them (pads changed very recently and no leaks or any other problems were evident) but they are just a bit ordinary.

thanks
mlc