[Ricky_63]

Hi All,

Had been hunting for a nice diesel Mercedes for a long long time, but it had to be a W123 or a W124, as those are the two cars, I had told myself, I "will" own some day. One of those things that stick to your mind even when you are much older.

The search was sporadic & a long drawn process. Disheartening at most times. It was pathetic how people had treated their once precious possessions with such utter neglect.

And then I came across this car, though "Old" but one which had aged gracefully. No accidents to speak of, no peeling paint, no withered interiors, no broken suspension etc etc. One of the BIG plus being that this was a Delhi car & had no rust to talk of. (Even below the side claddings, as I were to discover later)

To cut a long story short everything that mattered was working - or so I thought. Discovered the very first day that the Aircon needed a gas recharge, got that done, but the gas would not hold beyond a day. The wipers would not work nor would the power windows !!

So here I was driving what I wanted for a long long time, with the windows rolled up & no Airconditioner to talk of !! It was like a free steam bath each time I drove it.

Getting the airconditioner sorted & driving it would be an easier thing to do. Instead I decieded to get the whole car re-done to factory spec or better. Afterall I had wanted this car for a very long time.
The tyres were at the end of their lifespan. There were some dings on the alloy lips (road rash & some nice pot hole hits)

Thus started my quest for the right person to do the car up, back to factory spec. The only "small problem" I was on a budget.

Started with looking at the mechanicals. Everything seemed fine, so the only thing we did was change all oil seals of the various pumps !! Then changed the V-Belt (which snakes around so much I wonder why it is called V-Belt)

Well went & showed the car to Authorized Service Centers, most were impressed with the mechanical & physical condition given the age of the car.

Here are some pics of the car on a lift, the mechanicals being sorted. So once we were done with the engine bay being sorted, we moved to the body work.

The body appeared in very good presentable shape, but what I wanted was not just "presentable" I wanted OE spec finishing or better, greedy me !!!

So the body was put into the denting routine, the denter would have to look hard to find an area to work on, but believe me he did find areas which needed work, previous repair jobs but more "jugaad" Hence the denter spent a good 3 days bringing the lines back to perfection.

The car as it stands today - has got it's coat of primer in the paint booth. The alloys have been corrected & primer applied. (They look as good as new) Hence no upgrades (read 17's for now)

Will be back with more pics of the bodywork & the OE alloys, till then Cheerio

[wanderernomad]

Could you divulge the prices too, of both the acquisition and the subsequent restoration.

[Ricky_63]

Not comfortable giving away numbers randomly, so let's just say the cost + restoration will come to around 7-8.



Cheers

[abhaymagal]

W124 a nice choice indeed.can you give more details about the model, kms done etc plz?

[jubin]

aah the E250D though i sold her recently but she is still close to my heart .
the car runs like a dream,and handles like its on rails.
the gills on the right fender are enough to give you a kick.

just give her a oil change, check the heater plugs n brake pads( i suggest your stick to asbestos)
check if the ABS and the oil pressure pump is working.

rest be rest assured she'll serve you for another decade or so
happy motoring.

[FlyingSpur]

Wow dude. You're on quite a roll when it comes to fulfilling your ambitions pertaining to cars from the bygone era. First the Paj and now this. Good stuff.

[Anand123]

Congrats Ricky on being a Merc owner! Can you please give more details of the car. Which model year is this? Please post some pics showing the entire car.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by abhaymagal

W124 a nice choice indeed.can you give more details about the model, kms done etc plz?

It is a 1992. Mileage on the odo is around 1.17lac kms (not sure), a cared for car though it has changed hands over the years.

Originally Posted by jubin

aah the E250D though i sold her recently but she is still close to my heart .
the car runs like a dream,and handles like its on rails.
the gills on the right fender are enough to give you a kick.

just give her a oil change, check the heater plugs n brake pads( i suggest your stick to asbestos)
check if the ABS and the oil pressure pump is working.

rest be rest assured she'll serve you for another decade or so
happy motoring.

Couldn't agree with you more.
As for the maintanence - I am doing EVERYTHING needed. Brakes are perfect, engine runs very smoothly, Oil pressure pump is fine, I am still getting all oil seals etc changed, ABS is fine.

Thanks for the inputs.

Originally Posted by flyingspur

Wow dude. You're on quite a roll when it comes to fulfilling your ambitions pertaining to cars from the bygone era. First the Paj and now this. Good stuff.

Yeah, these were all pending dreams, thought it was about time !!

Originally Posted by Anand123

Congrats Ricky on being a Merc owner! Can you please give more details of the car. Which model year is this? Please post some pics showing the entire car.

I will post some WIP pics.I am getting the car back in Showroom condition "bumper to bumper" It will also be re-painted (though it could have been avoided)



Cheers

[Ricky_63]

Here are some WIP pictures as promised. The car has been given a whole new coat of primer after removing the little dings, here & there.

Post the primer rub down, putty check & then the paint.

I plan on keeping it all white. Only the bumper strips will be dark grey or matt black, so as to be in tandem with OE. The door handles on this car are also black with chrome insets.

The 15" alloys will be painted hyper silver, though I had thought of Graphite Grey initially. I felt that may not go with the character of the car.

Any suggestions welcome.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

It is a 1992. Mileage on the odo is around 1.17lac kms (not sure), a cared for car though it has changed hands over the years.
Cheers

Congrats! is it manual or A/T ?

Are you experiencing the dreaded wiring loom problem?

92 means its an imported+type-1 and not the made in India. Are you planning a type-2 conversion?

OE wheels looks the best and choose the right shade of white (Pearl is best I feel). The chalky whites look too taxi-ish.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Congrats! is it manual or A/T ?

Are you experiencing the dreaded wiring loom problem?

92 means its an imported+type-1 and not the made in India. Are you planning a type-2 conversion?

OE wheels looks the best and choose the right shade of white (Pearl is best I feel). The chalky whites look too taxi-ish.

Hey Mpower - thanks - it is a manual

No wire loom problems just yet (thank God)

Spot on - it is an import & I plan to keep it stock, no type 2 conversion for me.

Keeping the OE wheels (in the picture). The white is going to be what comes on the Audi - a BRIGHT white. It is definately not chalky white !!





Cheers

[lsp]

Congrats Rickyji!!

You seem to have a thing (or two) for the old school beauties. The Pajero and the Merc!! Anything else you are hiding??? We would love to be surprised.

BTW, didn't u have a scrapped W124 to sell in the classifieds a while ago? What's the story with that??

[desideep]

Congrats Ricky jee, this is what i have always loved. lets see if i can get one ever for myself.

[VLOCT]

Nice, I like it when old cars come to life. Please keep updating the thread when you can.

Cheers.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by lsp

Congrats Rickyji!!

You seem to have a thing (or two) for the old school beauties. The Pajero and the Merc!! Anything else you are hiding??? We would love to be surprised.

BTW, didn't u have a scrapped W124 to sell in the classifieds a while ago? What's the story with that??

Thanks Isp. Ya I do have a thing or two or three for these over-engineered timeless classics

As for the scrapped car in the classifieds, that is a W123 300D not a W124. Ya I would need to get rid of it unless I can get a donor car or have the patience to re-build that beauty.

Originally Posted by desideep

Congrats Ricky jee, this is what i have always loved. lets see if i can get one ever for myself.

Thanks desideep

Originally Posted by VLOCT

Nice, I like it when old cars come to life. Please keep updating the thread when you can.

Cheers.

Sure will keep it updated VLOCT This car was in perfect running condition, I am just re-doing things to make it come back to OE spec showroom condition. This would possibly be a car I will have for good.





Cheers