The revival of the W123 Coupe

[jarnam]

Current Pic

So here I am after lurking on the forum for a few weeks! I have been looking for a classic car project, and love the way the old school mercs look, so I spent many hours on the internet at what to look out for/common problems.

I didnt want a complete car as I prefer a challenge, I have conquered the fast (had a 205Gti) and then I got into the 4x4 scene and built a L200 monster designed to go anywhere.

So finally purchased a project car 2 weeks ago and have spent many hours working on it between work... It hasnt seen much action in 14 years and sat in a garage for 13 and the last owner had it for a year and decided to sell it on.

Car hasnt had an MOT or Tax and the engine ran like an absolute pig when I got it, so after running it for 10 seconds it was switched off and never started again until a full service was performed, there has been a few rust spots found but nothing major so far

So all parts ordered new oils, filters, spark plugs, belts, HT leads, rotor arm, coolant, Radiator, injectors refurbished.

And finally on Friday I started it and it sounds sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!! running on all cylinders!

THE PLAN
Now my main task is to get it through an MOT firstly, then lower it and maybe airbags at some point


Anyways less babbling and more pictures


The day she was collected


Interior stripped/soundproofing removed to see if there is any rust lurking under the seats


No rust under the battery tray :alright


Some of the parts finally arrive


Full service begins with new rad

Injectors removed and refurbished using a pressure tester




Brakes were seized so callipers were completely overhauled with all new internals

I really don't like the existing wheels but love the look of the steelies, so I got myself some 16x7 ET37 genuine Mercedes steels from Germany, they got a full strip down this weekend, lips polished and centers primed ready for black paint.


Arrival


Stripped


All done

And thats it for now folks!

[grifterkid]

That looks very nice indeed...! These Coupe's are timeless...

[Oldbus]

Nice to see another old Merc getting the treatment it deserves!

[mbbelgium]

Nice!!!! And nice color too!

I will be following this! Have a coupe too with almost the same history :-) And have almost the same plans as yours. But mine have to wait some more months :-(

[jarnam]

Thanks for the compliments, the car didn't come with any service history either so that's why it's getting a proper overhaul! But while changing things around I.e. Brakes, filters etc they've all been genuine Merc so somewhere along the line it was serviced properly but don't know when or by whom...

The oil filter housing was completely clogged when removed and had to be soaked in carb cleaner for 3 hours to get whatever it was at the bottom off!

Anyways spent a few hours on the wheels today, post pics later

[Ray Singh]

Good work. Whats the engine in this? I had one of these, it was the 280CE. Lovely engine.

[mbbelgium]

judging on his 10th pick, it's also a 280CE, or am I wrong?

[jarnam]

Mar 26, 2015 21:22:16 GMT Ray Singh said:

Good work. Whats the engine in this? I had one of these, it was the 280CE. Lovely engine.

Hi Rav it's the 280, hopefully get to test it out this weekend

[jarnam]

Worked on the wheels tonight, and they're finally getting there!!! Just a few more hours polishing and il be a happy man

[jarnam]

and a few of the waterpump!!! What a nightmare job!!!! (belts were also changed at the same time)

[Ray Singh]

Keep us up to date. I will be watching this thread closely.
These are real classics, well built and sweet looking. I love these.

[markbognor]

Lots of love for a w123 coupe here, good luck with it.

[79cord]

Interesting wheel choice, makes me think they could be made to look like a bigger version of your old alloys painted dark gray with small silver or even stick on chrome strips between the vent holes. Is the a Mercedes center/bearing cap available that covers the bolt mounting area but exposes the wheel nuts/bolts, especially in chrome for the older look?

[jarnam]

Mar 28, 2015 10:38:12 GMT 79cord said:

Interesting wheel choice, makes me think they could be made to look like a bigger version of your old alloys painted dark gray with small silver or even stick on chrome strips between the vent holes. Is the a Mercedes center/bearing cap available that covers the bolt mounting area but exposes the wheel nuts/bolts, especially in chrome for the older look?

Been thinking about this long and hard, and iv just acquired a set of pagoda centre hubs but I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how il mount them... Iv seen stuff on the VW forum where they have special clips... So that might happen but I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any.

On another note, I bought the tyres today 205/55/16 for the front and 225/50/16 for the back... Adds around an inch to the back... Oh yea and they're getting white walled

[jarnam]

Right people, i need some advice

1st of all 30mm or 50mm lowering springs?

2nd. Also ran into a major problem while changing the rear handbrake shoes, the brake plate is completely corroded which means the springs that hold the shoes into place don't exist/have perished(as soon as i removed the old shoes the metal fell apart) and for the life of me i cant find replacement brake plates.... So what are my options?

[Mercdan68]

Great car, just lower it 30mm, think that will be just right

[jarnam]

So almost gave up on this car, its sort of fought me at every step, If you know how the rear brake plate is attached you will know how much of a pig it is to change (the whole wheel bearing needs to be removed and changed) new tool had to be made as the Mercedes tool required for the job is £££££

Making a tool to remove the bearing




Putting the F***** bearing back all because the old brake plate rotted!!


Front and rear lowered using H&R springs also replaced shocks with OEM ones

[jarnam]

Lights surrounds done

[markbognor]

Where abouts are you? I have a front and rear screen, n/s door and bonnet in Bognor Regis that you can have for cider.

[jarnam]

Aug 30, 2015 21:29:36 GMT markbognor said:

Where abouts are you? I have a front and rear screen, n/s door and bonnet in Bognor Regis that you can have for cider.

Hi Mark, I'm in cambs but do travel down south once in a while for work, are the parts all for a coupe? id buy you more than one cider if all the parts are rust free