Educate me on Mercedes W123 cars

As some of y'all know, I'm looking to buy another car to goof around with and hopefully turn it into a road trip adventure in the process. I have always been intrigued by the W123 series of Mercedes cars and I see a fair number of them in a low-buy-in price range. So I'm scratching my head wondering if one of these little 240D cars would be worth messing with.  I am attracted to those slow clattering diesels that last for eons. I'm old, slow is fine. 

Mainly, what I want to know, from those who have been there before, is are they fixable ? Are these the cars that MB legendary reliability was built upon ? I know they're quite complex with vacuum doodads and luxurious whatnots. I don't mind fixing cars as long as they can be fixed. In other words, can I get parts for all the little trickery those Germans built into these cars ? I thought I had heard that MB was highly regarded as far as long term parts availability. I don't mind doing the work and I don't mind paying the man for parts, but I don't do well with obsolete. I'm not patient enough to scour the country trying to find some obsolete little widget that isn't broken.

And, last question, I do want a 123 over the never cars right ? To me they just look proper and I could see my dumb ass using it for date night with my wife. 

I'm also looking closely at 240 Volvos but that's probably another conversation.

Yes, very fixable. You can even rebuild the window switches if it has electric windows.

Make sure that the front swaybar is in good shape. They break if rusted and it runs up high on the cowl, its a pain to replace.

240D will be VERY slow, but you know that. A 4 speed manual would be best.

The 240s are slow enough to be borderline dangerous in modern traffic.  Finding a 300 turbo avoids that, but keeps all the slow and flattery charm you are looking for.   My mom had a series of these through the years.  The 240 auto was tragic, 240 manual slightly less so, 300TD was acceptable 

Agreed, 240D puts the 'S' in Slow. Even a non-turbo 300D is a much better choice in modernish traffic.

Mechanically, as long as they're halfway looked after, these things outlive cockroaches. What kills them is rust, so I'd look for the newest possible one you can find as especially the mid-70s ones are horrible for rust. Overall they're pretty simple cars though and pretty repair-friendly.

Personally I'd look for a 300CD (the couple version).

240D has the binary accelerator pedal. It's either on the floor or it's off entirely with the 4 speed manual. Check that the accelerator cable hasn't stretched out, adjust it and it will be slightly better. 75 mph is top speed, downhill....

Speed is of no concern to me. None. I do not drive in traffic. I drive 45mph secondary streets to work or around town and most of my miles are between 4 and 6am. I haven't been in a hurry since George Bush was in office. I've daily driven 36 and 40hp Volkswagens and old trucks with inline 6 engines and 4.10 gears. It's all fine with me.

I just want a project that is worthy. Learning new stuff is fun. I have the Bentley manual for the 240 Volvo and it's stellar. Maybe I should order the one for the Benz and do some looking.

In reply to JFW75 :

But it will do 75mph all day, forever  

There is something magical about the way Mercedes of that era are built. Most things are rebuildable or adjustable for wear. Even the window regulators and glass guides are adjustable for wear so with a lot of disassembly and a bit of fiddling 50 year old stuff will work like new. 

That being said it can also be a "how deep do you wanna make the hole" situation.  As a hobby car they can be rewarding if you are just picking one item to improve at a time, as a customer car that wants it all done right, it can be way too much work.

I have never found the driving experience to be rewarding enough to want one, but I appreciate them.

Given how slow a 300D is, I can't imagine how slow a 240D would be.

W123s are fanastic cars though. I'd say look for at least 300D from what I remember it isn't like there is a massive price difference.

Yes, very rebuildable, and imho more so than the newer MBs like the w124, w201, etc. 

Don't worry about the "luxury" stuff. The majority is just vacuum pods and the troubleshooting is pretty easy after you get the hang of it. Buy a miti-vac or the HF equivalent. 

If you need AC consider updating the york compressor to a sanden. There should be brackets available, and with so few ponies available it can be worth it. 

If you can't find a rust-free w123, consider a rust free w114/115. They are earlier models but have similar engines, IRS and disk brakes all around. I actualy prefer the looks of the w114, ymmv.

The MB manuals from the era are just awful. You can start with one but will definitely need a haynes and bently at some point.

A 240d, with a manual, is the one to get. I had one and after deleting the mechanical fan, setting the valve lash, and inflating the tires, it would do over 80 on a flat level grade. I once hit 88 going downhill. 

The way they drive is simply sublime. They lean like crazy, but somehow the 185- wide tires keep grip, probably through sheer force of German will.  The brakes are great.  You can pummel down a dirt road at 50 miles per hour and it feels like an interstate.  The sunroof is so big it almost feels like having a convertible. 

I miss mine. 

I’ll second CrustyRedXpress on considering the W114 / 115 series.   My Dad had 3 different Mercedes between 1983 and 1996; the first was a 1974 230 (gas) W114, followed by two W123 300TD, 1983 and 1985.  The 300TDs were slightly larger and had some more options compared to the older car but I always felt the 230 drove better and was a handsome car that still looks great today.  It was easy to work on and built like a tank, I remember the power windows and climate controls on the 300TDs being finicky.

Y'all have painted a pretty positive picture of the cars. I did order a Bentley to look through while I'm hanging around at work. I thank everyone for the responses. I've added the W123 to my list of car searches. 

Now to learn about Volvos.

Above the budget limit you mentioned, but maybe worth a look. 

‘71 220d manual - one owner

We've been racing a W123 300D TD for 7 years now. It gets driven at full throttle for hours on end. Never complains and puts down 17mpg  the whole time. Parts are cheap and plentiful. It's very easy to work on. The 722.3 is bulletproof at that power level.

In reply to Slippery :

100%

Used a brick as cruise control a few times.

Putting the S in slow doesn't even start to explain it.  I worked on all these throughout my college years at a German Car Specialist.   Back in the late 90's before they were even more worn out than now, they were unsafe to pull out onto any street with any traffic.  I remember once going up a slightly steep hill, starting at 40 and getting half way up getting afraid I would actually roll to a stop and start rolling backwards.  I think I got to the top at about 12 miles an hour, foot floored the whole time.

A 300 is a much better, and closer to safer car.  A Turbo gets you into almost acceptable to drive in modern traffic.

Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) said:

Y'all have painted a pretty positive picture of the cars. I did order a Bentley to look through while I'm hanging around at work. I thank everyone for the responses. I've added the W123 to my list of car searches. 

Now to learn about Volvos.

Volvo 240's are overrated piles of E36 M3. 

Fight me.

In reply to cfvwtuner :

Having owned a (non-turbo) 300D and a 240D, it seemed to me that the manual-equipped 240D was about as sprightly (or not) as the heavier, automatic-equipped 300D.  The 240D was noticeably less nose-heavy, and got about 20% better fuel economy, too.  Also, the 240D has a shorter rear end ratio, which helps with acceleration. 

I don't understand anyone saying they're unsafe.  You just have to adjust your expectations and your approach to driving.  And develop a very keen sense of topography. 

volvoclearinghouse said:

In reply to cfvwtuner :

I don't understand anyone saying they're unsafe.  You just have to adjust your expectations and your approach to driving.  And develop a very keen sense of topography. 

I've been shrugging my shoulders at all of the dialog about being too slow. I know my driving and my environment and it's no problem. 

Slippery said:

Above the budget limit you mentioned, but maybe worth a look. 

‘71 220d manual - one owner

While I do like these, one thing to keep in mind is that they're about as rust prone as the early W123s, if not more so. Definitely needs to be inspected carefully.

I have updated my other thread about the fly-n-drive. I have committed to Seattle area so I'm narrowing down my search to that locale. My search includes these Mercedes as well as 240 series Volvos, old Toyotas, even even older S10 pickups. I'm trying to buy something in the Seattle area next month when I'm up there and road trip it back to Texas. Then I'll goof around with it once I get it home. This is all an adventure to me.

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

Sounds like you are going to be making a cool trip! Hopefully you document the trip as well as the car!

We'll see. I'm completely at ease with the road trip and being in an old car. I'm taking a Pelican case full of tools. But I'm worried about the logistics of meeting up with people and getting the car bought to start with. 

I suspect that when some dude with a Texas accent from 2000 miles away starts peeling off 100 dollar bills and pulls out a set of Texas license plates that they will get a bit nervous. 

Volvo 240s were built long enough that there are parts interchange issues. The small changes over the years make them a pain to work on. One part may have changed the year before your car, and the part next to it may have changed 5 years prior.