[///RMan]

Tuesday, 1st February 2022

My friend, let’s call him V, from Goa, called me a little past noon and told me he's flying down to Bombay the same night.
He had called to ask me if I'd be free to accompany him to see a couple of cars the next morning.
I said it would not be possible since I had some work the following day and it was too short a notice to cancel/postpone it.


With absolutely no plan to head out anywhere the next day, I went out for a drive that night.
The city was experiencing some lovely weather the past few of weeks and driving at night was the best way to do justice to this unexpected yet very welcome nip in the Bombay temperatures!

A non-AC, analog car was THE best way to drive around Bombay, especially with the mercury hovering around 19° C (yes this is COLD by Mumbai standards, for the non-Mumbai readers)



En route Worli - 10:15PM

The phone rang. V's name flashed on the screen.

V: Come on! You have to come along, it'll be fun!
Me: Nah, very very unlikely. Especially to confirm to you at this hour of the day.
V: Try try! I'm going to call you again in a bit, and I want a confirmation from you.
Me: Ok, where are we going again?
V: Ahmedabad, bro!
Me: Whaaaat!? No chance, not happening!
V: Hangs up on the phonecall before I said anything further.

Worli Seaface, Mumbai - 10:30PM

Just after, Loyal, my untrusty ( ) friend and trusty FNG, called -

Loyal: V called, he said you are coming along with us too! I'm seeing you at 6AM tomorrow, right?
Me: Huh? I'm told him I won't be able to join. You guys proceed. I'll see you later!

Bumped into a bunch of nice cars at Worli Seaface, this R129 SL320 looking smashing in the yellow lights at night.



Just then, dad called and said the work scheduled the following morning wasn't happening. I immediately took the opportunity to ask if I was needed around, else if I could head to Ahmedabad the next morning. He was surely taken aback at the random question, but said I could! Yay!

I quickly called up V to tell him that I'll be joining him and Loyal for the drive. While on the call, we also planned the place and time to meet the next morning.
Reached home at around 12:30AM, packed and went to bed at around 2:00AM, with multiple alarms for 5AM, as we had targeted a 6AM departure.

As last-minute plans go, this was the most impromptu trip in a long long time.



Wednesday, 2nd February 2022

The alarms were of no use the next morning. I was woken up by a barrage of calls, by both Loyal & V. They had come all the way to my house since I hadn't picked their calls! I quickly got ready, and we were off!

The Hyundai Creta was our ride to Ahmedabad.


After a sumptuous breakfast at Ahura, we proceeded onwards to Ahmedabad.

The drive was nice, although speeds were kept in check thanks to loads of traffic coming in the wrong direction. Gets extremely annoying and is seemingly rampant all across Gujarat.

Took us about ~8.5 hours to reach our destination on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Upon reaching the seller's location, we were told the car was at the washing center, and in about 10-15 more minutes, she drove in!


The first turbodiesel in the tale - this beautiful Mercedes-Benz W123 300D Turbodiesel!













The W123 generation has become increasingly collectible (for good reason!). In my opinion, in India at least, the Turbodiesel features in the the top-tier of collectible W123s. This partly because the larger engined petrol W123s are kind of unicorns, while the other petrol engines are in much lesser number compared to their diesel counterparts. Coupled with the robustness that the W123 has become synonymous with, this car seemed like a great buy, should it come at the right price.

This W123 was imported from Canada to somewhere in North India. After moving between a few owners around in North India, it was sold to Gujarat and has been with the owner since. The owner of the car has since moved to somewhere in Europe and had entrusted the responsibility of selling the car to his mechanic, who had maintained the car since it was acquired.

Finished in a greyish-blue shade that Mercedes calls Diamond Blue Metallic, the car is a 1985 model. Automatic transmission, AC, cruise control - the car is loaded to the gills!



The seller, Loyal and my friend V started their discussions, checking the paperwork et al, while I went off to see some other stuff that was being worked on by the mechanic/seller.

A lovely Beetle, getting done up.




A W123 300D, this one being the naturally aspirated one.


A second and third Beetle as well, which I did not take more pictures of since I was asked to not take any.





A Nissan Cedric too was parked in a faraway corner.


A spare Beetle engine!



While I was strolling about the space looking at all the interesting stuff that was around, I never realized Loyal and V had vanished with the car, and they only got back about an hour later, after taking the car for a 30-odd km test drive.

With the test drive done, intense negotiations ensued for the net hour and half. Multiple calls made to the owner in Europe, and then finally, the deal was done!

We quickly paid the token amount, with the remaining amount to be paid before collecting the car the following day.
The main reason for doing it the next day was that the car would get thoroughly checked before we drive it back to Mumbai, as well as the seller said he'd try and get a quick NOC for inter-state transfer of registration.

Since it was dusk by the time we got done, we headed to get some food before heading to Ahmedabad (yep, we had skipped lunch! because cars come first )

En route the restaurant, spotted this in the back of a dilapidated building.









After grabbing a nice meal, we hit the highway, with not more than 35kms to travel to the city centre.
About 4-kms before the Baroda-Ahmedabad Expressway ended, everything on the road came to a grinding halt. A couple of trucks, one loaded with liquid chemical and the other carrying huge pipes had crashed and the entire traffic had come to a standstill.

This unforeseen interruption lasted a whole 4 hours! Our ETA on the Maps showed 9:15PM when we left, while we reached the hotel only after 12:30AM.

You know you are in Gujarat when the only stall open way past midnight is an Amul stall!



An unexpectedly long day, which started at 5AM, had finally come to an end when we crashed into our beds.

The serene Sabarmati waterfront clicked way past 2:00AM. I believe that this time shows the absolute obverse version of any bustling city, be it Mumbai, Ahmedabad, or Delhi.

[///RMan]

Thursday, 3rd February 2022

We woke up quite late, thanks to previous night's adventures.
Breakfast was washed down with copious amounts of watermelon juice and we set out to see another car that a friend in Mumbai had asked me to have a look at, since I was going to be in Ahmedabad anyway.

We checked out of the hotel, and drove to the the neighbourhood, and called up the seller, who then guided us to his place.

The car I had been asked to see by a friend was a Japanese luxury barge -







The butter smooth V8!


The car barely had any rust, especially compared to cars from the coastal regions I am used to seeing. I guess having lived all its life in Gujarat was the prime reason for this.
It had the optional air suspension, which still worked like a charm!
Typical to most Japanese cars from the era, most bits still worked properly, and the car looked like a pretty decent example.

After inspecting the car inside out and making mental notes to inform my friend back in Bombay, we were ready to leave.
The seller asked if we'd like to see some other cars, he had with him.
Never the one to let go of an opportunity to see some interesting cars, I immediately nodded in agreement.

The first car he showed us was this, a W124 E220.
Manual transmission, clean fabric seats, MH registered - this was one lovely example!




The other car he showed us was a Toyota Harrier, but then something else caught my eye!

Presenting the second turbodiesel in this tale - a Toyota TownAce Super Extra!

Loyal and I both love vans. They are practical, versatile and can be amazing road-trip machines!
The moment he saw the van, all other cars we were looking at ceased to exist. He did not waste time in asking the seller if he could take for a spin. The gentleman immediately handed over the keys and we went for a quick drive around the block.
The car had its fair share of issues, yet we had a wide grin plastered across both our faces when we got back.










We thanked the seller for showing us the cars and took his leave. Drove down to the nearest HDFC Bank and proceeded to finish the formalities needed to process the RTGS transaction to make the final payment for the W123.
With the watch showing a little past noon, we started our journey back towards the W123 after getting done with the banking procedures.

We reached the seller's place in about an hour, owing to traffic that we encountered while leaving Ahmedabad city. The car was being washed as we reached the seller’s place. The fluids were being checked, as well as other final inspections were being done.
We planned to leave as soon as possible, but a major delay in getting a Fastag as well as some documentation mix-up meant we only would be ready to depart towards Bombay at around 6:30PM.

The positives of the delay was that we would be cool-er inside the cabin (where the AC was dysfunctional) and the car would run colder as well.

The negative bit being that the headlights were just about adequate, and our designated driver for the day (or night!) Loyal, would be driving a left-hand drive car for the first time!


What's a road-trip without some adventures though!? So, at about half an hour past 7, with the sun far beyond the horizon, an '80s Mercedes and a 6-month-old Hyundai hit the Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway, with a plan to drive non-stop to Mumbai!

Just as we left the sellers place, the very iconic W123 front end looking as timeless as ever.







On the highway!


Dinner stop at Bharuch, where the car gathered quite some crowd around it. One person even figured that the one of the doors was unlocked, opened the door and sat inside!






We continued to drive at slower speeds than we usually would do highway runs at. It was the sensible thing to do so because
- The car had not done such a long run in a long long time. Over stressing it would only increase the risk of breakdowns.
- Over taking on the highways in an LHD car wasn't as easy as it seems.
- Truck traffic was a big pain to manoeuvre through.

The last break we took before crossing over into Maharashtra, at an IOCL petrol pump.





Modiji's state did look after us well!



After driving for over 10 hours through the night, the nearly 40-year-old Mercedes-Benz successfully made it to Mumbai when we parked the car at Loyal's workshop at 6 in the morning.
Not a single breakdown, not a single glitch, not a single complaint (except that the bonnet latch would go loose at certain speeds, and it had to be slammed shut every time that happened)
It is this rock-solid engineering that has made these older Mercedes cars so coveted and collectible in the past few years.


This spontaneous trip had been an absolute blast! The journey back as a passenger in the W123 was the cherry on the cake for me.
But, while the cherry on the cake is always nice, it would not be as exciting if there were no cake at all, right?

So, what took the cake? Shall hopefully go to Town writing about it, hopefully soon

Till then, hope this travelogue is as fun to read as the trip was for us!

[aah78]

Note from Support: Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

[DicKy]

That was one heck of a trip!!!

Sorry to see that Cedric. Hope someone from your gang picks up either the LS400 or the TownAce.

[denzdm]

Wow - I felt like I did the trip with you all. Loved all the gorgeous cars in your pictures, certainly old cars exhibit a certain charm. While the story was sweet, it was a bitter moment to see some beauties neglected by the roadside. Wonder why the owners have just dumped them rather than just selling to a car lover.

To end on a happier note, congratulations to your friend on owning this lovely car and cheers to friendship for being a part of this journey and experience.

[A.K]

Originally Posted by ///RMan

[b][u]
So, what took the cake? Shall hopefully go to Town writing about it, hopefully soon

Till then, hope this travelogue is as fun to read as the trip was for us!

Writing as enjoyable as ever RMan! Spent a better part of half hour reading and this and savoring the photos, the work I had chalked out had to wait. No regrets though.
Get on the Ace writing for the cake too now!

[///RMan]

Originally Posted by DicKy

That was one heck of a trip!!!

Sorry to see that Cedric.

The Cedric is a goner sadly :(

Originally Posted by DicKy

Hope someone from your gang picks up either the LS400 or the TownAce.

Haha ! You'd be surprised

Originally Posted by denzdm

Wow - I felt like I did the trip with you all. Loved all the gorgeous cars in your pictures, certainly old cars exhibit a certain charm.

Glad you did, that is exactly what I intended for the write-up to do!

Originally Posted by A.K

Writing as enjoyable as ever RMan! Spent a better part of half hour reading and this and savoring the photos, the work I had chalked out had to wait. No regrets though.
Get on the Ace writing for the cake too now!

Thanks. I shall soon have my cake and eat it too

[shashanka]

Lovely post RMan and thoroughly engrossing! I felt deeply saddened to see the pathetic state of the Mercedes fin-tail (W110?). We used to admire one in Lucknow as we cycled to school in the late 60's. Despite the jarring fins (a nod to US preferences of the times!) there was something regal and elegant about this model.

Thanks again for a great read!

[AlphaPetrolhead]

Lovely post there RMan.

Doing an almost Non-Stop run in a W123 is indeed an achievement

Please do let me know if you need any help around Ahmedabad or in-fact Gujarat. TeamBHP GJ Family is well spread-out & we usually meet once in a while

[Ithaca]

Originally Posted by ///RMan

Tuesday, 1st February 2022

My friend, let’s call him V, from Goa, called me a little past noon
The first turbodiesel in the tale - this beautiful Mercedes-Benz W123 300D Turbodiesel!

Congratulations to Mr V on finding this iconic turbodiesel. Kudos to Loyal & you for doing this road trip with him and bringing her to Mumbai.

Could you update on what repairs / upgrades are planned by Mr V & Loyal on this vehicle. I see an upgrade for the headlights, repair to the bonnet latch and an overhaul of the AC system are due.
Are there any other plans. Or is she headed to Goa where she will be worked on.

Kudos once again on an excellent write-up of the road trip.

[///RMan]

Originally Posted by shashanka

Lovely post RMan and thoroughly engrossing! I felt deeply saddened to see the pathetic state of the Mercedes fin-tail (W110?). We used to admire one in Lucknow as we cycled to school in the late 60's. Despite the jarring fins (a nod to US preferences of the times!) there was something regal and elegant about this model.

Thanks again for a great read!

Yep, that's a W110. Apparently in the same spot for over a decade and half.

Jarring is an apt word, the W111 carries the fins off with much more grace I feel. However, all old Mercs are special, and it is always sad to see one in neglect.

Originally Posted by Ithaca

Could you update on what repairs / upgrades are planned by Mr V & Loyal on this vehicle. I see an upgrade for the headlights, repair to the bonnet latch and an overhaul of the AC system are due.
Are there any other plans. Or is she headed to Goa where she will be worked on.

Kudos once again on an excellent write-up of the road trip.

Apart from what you mentioned, the car needed tending to the below mentioned things -

- Changing the automatic transmission fluid.
- Replacing engine mounts.
- Changing/fixing exhaust mounts.
- Replacing all fluids.
- Servicing the sunroof.
- Brake service.
- Looking at the rust spots and treating the existing rust.

Originally Posted by Ithaca

Are there any other plans. Or is she headed to Goa where she will be worked on.

She will head to Goa after the work is done. The transfer of registration from GJ to GA is already in process.

Originally Posted by Ithaca

Kudos once again on an excellent write-up of the road trip.

Thanks! Glad you liked it

[ysjoy]

Hi @///RMan,

Thanks for the travelogue!

Probably stuff that BHPians dream of!
Potent mixture of an impromptu road trip, with friends, to check out/ vet/ buy some examples of superlative automotive engineering marvels!

Congratulations to Mr V

Cheers!
ysjoy

PS: await next episode: the cake

Originally Posted by ///RMan

Tuesday, 1st February 2022

My friend, let’s call him V, from Goa, called me a little past noon and told me he's flying down to Bombay the same night.
...

[.HEM]

Congratulations on the W123. Welcome to the collectors club

I have a 1978 W123 200D, while picking my car we drove it for 500kms overnight journey and it sailed through like a breeze. The W123s are becoming expensive now and getting a good one is a dream.

[///RMan]

Originally Posted by AlphaPetrolhead

Lovely post there RMan.

Doing an almost Non-Stop run in a W123 is indeed an achievement

Sorry I missed your post while replying earlier.

Yes, indeed! It was quite the experience. The car did it effortlessly though, which itself speaks for the build quality.

Originally Posted by AlphaPetrolhead

Please do let me know if you need any help around Ahmedabad or in-fact Gujarat. TeamBHP GJ Family is well spread-out & we usually meet once in a while

Sure thing! Thank You.

Originally Posted by ysjoy

Potent mixture of an impromptu road trip, with friends, to check out/ vet/ buy some examples of superlative automotive engineering marvels!

Oh yes indeed. It was an amazing trip. I would've been kicking myself if I'd missed this one.

Originally Posted by ysjoy

PS: await next episode: the cake

Haha! I'm too excited for it myself

Originally Posted by .HEM

Congratulations on the W123.

Hey! I've not got the car, my friend has. Shall pass on your wishes to him.

We did a similar distance in the W123 as well, and it did the journey without breaking a sweat!

[black.beauty]

Driving for the first time a LHD, I would want to know more on that experience. What challenges did your friend face beyond the regular judgements and the whole left right inversion? I was on the edge towards the end, the suspense on whether the car would break down. Guess, W123 would never let anyone be in suspense since it's always an assurance that the car is made to be durable.