There is always something satisfying about the Mercedes-Benz W123 chassis. Even more so when it is preserved like today’s example. This 1979 240D up for sale in Florida is finished in the wonderful Caledonia Green with matching hubcaps and a light beige interior. The odometer says 68,000 miles but I usually only trust these odometers as far as I can push them; though, all things considered, this one might actually be a low-mileage car. It’s all roses until you see the price.
Tag: OM616
One thing about Mercedes-Benz brand is that if a vehicle segment exists, they probably make something in it. As a result of that, you can basically buy everything from a GT1 homologation car all the way to a cement trunk. Falling in one of those segments is basic vans that no one bats an eye at in Europe, though they are a real novelty if you see one running around in North America. Today, we have of those with a little twist.
This is a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 207D that was probably built new as a box truck. Somewhere along the line, someone took off the box and added a pair of transporter ramps that you would think would make a great little car hauler truck. You would think. However, I am here to tell you that this cool little truck isn’t hauling anything.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1984 Mercedes-Benz 207D on eBay
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I recently said goodbye to one of the cars in my fleet, a 1983 Mercedes-Benz 240D, that I maintained and cared for since 2016. It was a charming and very satisfyingly car that I’m glad I got to experience, but a prime example it was not. While it was finished in the lovely shade of Labrador Blue with a navy MB-Tex interior, it did have nearly 300,000 miles on the odometer. That meant various dings on every panel, rust scabs in all the wrong places, some suspiciously different-colored body panels, and a non-working air conditioning system. If all that was working, it would be a car to keep nearly forever and enjoy, but it just required too much effort considering the list. If I could buy a perfect example, sure, but at what cost? It still only had 68 horsepower when new and was right on the limit of being dangerously slow while trying to merge on the highways and climb long hills. Well, today we do have a nearly perfect example. But it comes at a very steep cost, as you might have guessed.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1983 Mercedes-Benz 240D at Mercedes Motoring
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Long live the W123, may it ride forever. It probably will too, if not for one eternal enemy that we’ll get into in a moment. There seems to be no mechanical limit to these machines as long as a reasonable amount of effort is put into regular maintenance and repairs. A few weeks ago we saw a 1979 300TD with over 782,000 miles sell for nearly $10,000, and that probably wasn’t even nearing the end of it’s life.
Today, we have the trust 240D with the OM616 paired with the basic 4-speed manual gearbox. There is no much to go wrong with this, except maybe the clock turns fast than you are able to accelerate. This example is finished in English Red, which is more like bring orange, but none the less a great color. The catch? Well, I wish it was easier to fix.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 240D on eBay
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Take a look around the collector car market and you’ll see 1970s to 1990s SUVs are very hot right now. Either bone stock or $300,000 restomods, people want them. The typical suspects are always the most in demand like Land Cruisers, Broncos, and Defenders, but now it seems like people are digging up G-Wagens from across the globe to dump off on Americans flush with cash. Even better, they are using cheap labor and materials from countries in Europe that are economically challenged then selling them under the guise of “restored,” which is a term that has lost all meaning whatsoever given how often it is used under false pretense. Case in point, today’s 1984 Mercedes-Benz 240GD in Poland.