Any w123 Coupe fans, Is it worth it?....Restore 77' grey market manual w123 280c M110

[jwalk1972]

Originally Posted by vwnate1

Nice if tatty looking car .

Before you turn the engine much, open the rocker box and use a pump oiler to squirt ATF on the valve stems so they don't seize as you begin the waking up .

Keep us posted! .

thx, I'll keep that in mind.

[vwnate1]

Welcome .

Long before it was a cool T.C. Show (? I don't think so) I was dragging oldies out of barns, the Desert and so on and putting them back on the road, there's more to id than most realize .

Unless the engine was bad when it was parked, usually it's possible to re awaken it and have it run fine and last .

It just requires care and patience ~ don't just slap some jumper cables on it and crank away as you pour/squirt fuel into the intake .

On the odd chance this car turns up junk, I may need some Coupe specific parts off it .

[jwalk1972]

Originally Posted by vwnate1

Welcome .

Long before it was a cool T.C. Show (? I don't think so) I was dragging oldies out of barns, the Desert and so on and putting them back on the road, there's more to id than most realize .

Unless the engine was bad when it was parked, usually it's possible to re awaken it and have it run fine and last .

It just requires care and patience ~ don't just slap some jumper cables on it and crank away as you pour/squirt fuel into the intake .

On the odd chance this car turns up junk, I may need some Coupe specific parts off it .

thx vwnate1! I'll keep that in mind. I'm with you on restorations, I enjoy the process.

[alabbasi]

Looks savable. I have a 79 Euro 280CE parts / project car (Maroon with black leather). Ran the last time I ran it which was about a year ago but not great as the fuel system needs going through. It lives just north of Dallas.

I was going to do something with it but I have way too many cars.

[rocky raccoon]

First, I have and daily drive a Diesel coupe and have had it for 8 years. A superb car and I don't want to drive anything else but .....

I would say your car is too far gone to bring it back. You need so much that it would be far less expensive to buy the best one you can find and start from there. There will still be plenty to do to make it a daily driver you can rely on and be proud to be seen in.

The fact that the floors are rusted through says a lot about the rest of the car. An engine replacement or rebuild is small stuff compared to structural damage. Add to that a new interior, suspension and steering rebuilding. When you are finished, you will have a gas coupe with a rare but fuel-hungry 280 engine. I love that dohc engine but it gobbles fuel like crazy. They are good in an SL but in a big body coupe, not so much.

Unless you are a home-equipped expert body man and are bringing it back as an expensive hobby to simply spend time wrenching on, I would part it out. It is quite possible to part that car and actually make some decent money on it since coupes are rare.

I overpaid on mine eight years ago at $11k but it was a desert dweller with no rust, a replaced Diesel engine, a fully replaced interior and a fresh paint job. I will never let it go but it still has been expensive and time-consuming maintaining it in excellent condition.

[Benz Dr.]

Originally Posted by Frank Reiner

A second for Mike's view. The M110 is quite durable; 210K kilometers/126K miles is mid-life. Parts & whole engines are available reasonably. Chassis condition is more important.
All interior door and window pieces should be present; they are unique to the coupe.

The 280 engine can be a nightmare if not properly cared for. Most owners never adjust the rockers which leads to heavy cam lobe wear and the timing chain can wear so much it will jump teeth on the distributor drive gear.
The solex carb will usually start running rich and cylinder wear is often very heavy. Most are ready for a rebuild at 125K miles.

I drove three different examples that had all of those problems plus warped heads and cam housings. Like everything MB, great when it's working right. Nothing like the sound of that twin cam at 5K RPM.

[vwnate1]

As much as I hate it, it's important to understand that any old Mercedes will always be a labor of love ~ I too daily drive (800 miles every 7 days) a battered old W123 Diesel Sports Coupe, it passed $12,000.00 some years back and these are not rare in the cence of any value, just really nice cars to drive and enjoy .

If you can do the rust repairs your self or on the cheap, by all means GO for it ! as mentioned the M110 twin cam i6 engine is a real stormer if rather thirsty .

Just go in with your eyes open, DO NOT take the car all apart, that way lies madness and sadness when you eventually scrap it having never driven it .

Rather carefully make it run and go from there .

plenty of dirt cheap unwanted M110 engines out there, look in low mileage tatty W116's that no one wil give scrap price for if you need an engine or fuel system parts....

[Mxfrank]

Just so you know...the coupe interior has very few parts in common with the sedan. seats, carpets, door panel, headliner, center console are not the same. So factor that in. But it does have good bones.

[my83300cd]

The body style, the stance, the lower roof height, and driving it with all the windows down makes up for so much.
The coupe specific body, glass, and interior bits are the hard parts.
I daily drove my 83 from 254k miles to about 370k before the floors surrendered to the elements and I had to call it quits. It sat by the barn for another 4 yrs, drove my wife nuts; I just liked looking at it.

[Jorn]

My first Mercedes was a ‘78 300CD, loved that car. And with true love comes unfortunately spending a lot of money. For example , the weather strips at the bottom of the back seat windows were $250 each fifteen years ago. The w123 dash is NA and so are many other parts. W123’s and especially the coupes are completely gone at the junk yards these days.

I’m starting to restore a 300CE and I’m already running in trouble getting parts for it, multiple that by 5 for the 300CD.

If you don’t care about perfection, go for it, they are amazing handling cars. And mostly fun to work on.

[gonesurfing]

I have a 300CD and can attest to lack of coupe specific parts. You're going to spend a lot in that interior. Carpet, headliner, and mbtex seats are easy. The door cards and rear trim is astronomically tough to find.

I can't speak for that engine but the interior alone gives me pause.

I'd either buy it cheap for engine parts or keep looking.

[jwalk1972]

OK! thx for all the great feedback. With all of the wisdom from previous owners, I will not go down this rabbit hole. I'm choosing to play with a euro w123 wagon and a 73 w108. As much as I love the look of the coupe the M110 engine is too foreign for me and the floors need too much help. I'm selling it on craigslist or eBay. I figure someone could use it as a parts car. I think the manual tranny and bumpers are good for something.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[jwalk1972]

thx for feedback

[vwnate1]

There are good ones out there, just don't expect to make a single penny on one no matter what .

On the other hand, I just came back from three dayze, over 1,000 miles of largely wide open driving Death Valley and other Desert climes, all the time with the AC blowing 42* F dry cool air (THANK YOU RICH !) and never having to slow down for any hills (9 miles of 9 degree upgrade for example), you really have to DRIVE a W123 coupe hard to understand , they're not just beautiful cars .

[jwalk1972]

Originally Posted by vwnate1

There are good ones out there, just don't expect to make a single penny on one no matter what .

On the other hand, I just came back from three dayze, over 1,000 miles of largely wide open driving Death Valley and other Desert climes, all the time with the AC blowing 42* F dry cool air (THANK YOU RICH !) and never having to slow down for any hills (9 miles of 9 degree upgrade for example), you really have to DRIVE a W123 coupe hard to understand , they're not just beautiful cars .

@vwnate1...Sounds like your is dialed in...someday I'll find a decent one to enjoy but this is not the one. I think I'd rather find a 300cd. I have a little more experience with the M130 engine. I love the look of the pillarless windows.