by "415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
Published 04/29/2017 at 23:58
by "415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
Published 04/29/2017 at 23:58
Tags: mercedes
; W123
; red pig
STARS: 2
I was walking my dog near the ferry terminal today, he likes to look at the pond they have with turtles and koi, he’s scared of the koi. I was wearing my Kimi Ferrari shirt, actually older shirt from when he was champion with them, it’s an all blue Finnish flag shirt and only a small Ferrari emblem, I can’t wear all the bright red stuff. Anyhooo, I have a Dakar hat on and the Kimi shirt, I had to listen to four douchey frat boy types being obnoxious at the brewery, as we left past them one said, for sure that guy is European. Ha, I wanted to go back and say, I’m pretty sure you are too!
....My W123 is a decent car, but it doesn’t have the original paint, not so perfect an example that I wouldn’t play with it.... What if I built a little red pig with a w123?! Put the 4.2L M116 V8 or some other Mercedes 8 in it? I was interested to see the real red pig was automatic. In any case I thought it would be pretty nuts to do, I haven’t found any evidence it’s been done, a couple early 70's SELs have been made into replicas. My friend could make the flares easily. Get some AMG wheels, have to be wide though, not sure who makes replicas or something close. I could mount four bucket seats in it and just do a roll bar behind the front seats. Open up the fog lights to suck in air, put external lights in front of them like the original. I think the W123 cars have enough of the older lines to pull off an homage. I do want a classic rally car.
"fintail" (fintail)
04/30/2017 at 00:04, STARS: 1
W123s actually were used in rallying back in the day, make a tribute car to something like this:
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 00:06, STARS: 0
I know, I don’t like them as much
"fintail" (fintail)
04/30/2017 at 00:09, STARS: 0
That front bumper is definitely an acquired taste.
A neglected 108 can be found for little money, but making a pig replica would probably break the bank.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 00:39, STARS: 0
The engine swap isn’t so hard according to the Merc forums. My friend can paint and make the flares, I work in graphics a lot and can make the vinyl. The W123 is a much safer car, smaller and would probably drive better once it’s been built for that. My friend’s brother could probably do the swap on their shop, they have everything. I know an older Swiss man who has worked on my Mercedes, he could tell me for sure.
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/30/2017 at 00:53, STARS: 1
This is a fantastic idea. I’d use an M113 from a W208/210/220, a little easier to deal with than an M116 in this day and age, and lighter. Loads more power too. Good as the M116 is, finding parts for K-jet is getting more difficult, and it’s harder to work on than the 113.
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/30/2017 at 00:53, STARS: 0
This is a fantastic idea. I’d use an M113 from a W208/210/220, a little easier to deal with than an M116 in this day and age, and lighter. Loads more power too. Good as the M116 is, finding parts for K-jet is getting more difficult, and it’s harder to work on than the 113.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 01:42, STARS: 0
I was wondering about which engine, the M113 is easier to deal with and powerful, there is much debate on Merc forums about swaps into W123s. Some crazy stuff has been done. I want it to sound good and make good power. I wish it would look more classic, I guess you don’t need the plastic crap on top. I’m sure I could find an AMG motor so it would be legit haha, I know the CLK500 had turbos too. With all that power I need brakes, I know people have put W126 brakes on W123s. Well my Z is almost done, essentially, I want to do a few little things like a switch panel to replace the radio, but it’s pretty close.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 01:44, STARS: 0
This guy put one in an older SL.
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"fintail" (fintail)
04/30/2017 at 01:52, STARS: 0
All I see are dollar signs :)
One key trait of the pig is the stacked lights, hard to do with a 123.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 02:05, STARS: 0
Well it won’t be exactly the same of course. It’s not so bad with a whole body and mechanics shop at your disposal. When the Z is done soon, my mind will start grinding....
"AuthiCooper1300" (rexrod)
04/30/2017 at 07:23, STARS: 1
Those pictures are from the ’77 London-Sydney. OK, it has timed stages but it hardly qualifies as a traditional rally.
When Mercedes went back rallying in the late 70s they chose the 450 SLC, later 450 SLC 5.0. They stuck mostly to gruelling long-distance events like the Safari, Bandama, Acropolis etc... except the Rally Portugal! I’ve seen films of Waldegaard going sideways through an narrow bridge after a bend and scraping the car against it - leaving behind bits of, say, rear left indicartor and front left indicator simultaneously. (Allegedtly, to do handbrake turns they just put the stick in “Park”.)
Having said that, I seem to remember back in the day pictures of a W123 (coupé?) competing in the German Rally Championship - maybe driven by Hubert Hahne?
"AuthiCooper1300" (rexrod)
04/30/2017 at 07:24, STARS: 0
That front “bumper” is in fact a sand ladder. The other one was at the back.
"AuthiCooper1300" (rexrod)
04/30/2017 at 07:29, STARS: 0
Some ten years ago one of the staffers of Practical Classics – a British magazine - fitted a V8 from a 560 SEL in his W123. There was a very brief series or articles on the conversion, but I think it they did not go into much detail.
If I remember correctly it was not horribly complicated. Cannot remember whether it was a manual or an automactic, probably the latter.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 12:12, STARS: 0
I was reading on a forum that because they use diesel and petrol engines in them and various options, they have a lot of room.
"fintail" (fintail)
04/30/2017 at 13:40, STARS: 0
Interesting. The 123 was a fresh and modern platform that year, which might explain its competition presence. Close enough to a rally for me, or for a 4 door MB, especially if it wear sand ladders. Not exactly like the successful fintail rally cars, but probably more than most were doing with similar cars.
I have seen photos of a competition 123 coupe, too. I suppose the SLC strategy was use brute force.
"fintail" (fintail)
04/30/2017 at 13:40, STARS: 0
You must have a lot of time or money to deal with :)
Want to do a concours factory correct restoration of a fintail? Gratis, of course :)
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 0
Mostly time, my friends have the facilities and if they do work for me it is second to other things they have to do. The Z has taken a couple years to get to this point. I’d probably just do the engine swap first and paint the engine bay red before the new engine goes in. Then it can drive and we can take all the time in the world to do each stage, no hurry.
"fintail" (fintail)
04/30/2017 at 16:49, STARS: 0
I think you should find a cast-off 108 for the project. It will be more technically correct, and probably no more expensive than using a 123. I can find non-runners here for little more than a similar 123.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
04/30/2017 at 16:59, STARS: 0
By the time I would actually do it I will probably look around and maybe sell the w123. I have a few things to do with the Z, it will take time.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
05/02/2017 at 01:28, STARS: 0
Well I went to my friend’s shop today and he reminded me that to do the swap it has to be older than 1976 to be exempt in CA. So it would be better to be the older car. Funny though since a W123 is really a legacy model and was being made in 1976.
"fintail" (fintail)
05/02/2017 at 09:20, STARS: 0
Ah California, have fun with that. In my area (Seattle), if you are over 25 years old, you are good to go.
But that’s maybe for the better - I think a W108/109 would be more satisfying when completed, and they can’t be hard to find in CA.
IIRC, 123 production started in 76, here for the 1977 model year. Amazing how many I still see on the road, nearly every day.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
05/02/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 0
Here in Marin/SF there are still lots of Volvo 240s and W123s, they never die, they will inherit the earth. My Z is of course exempt and my w123 is because it’s a diesel. But if I changed the engine to petrol I guess there is an issue, I don’t see why since a newer car engine should pass a test, but it’s how it is. I would of course rather have the older car.
"fintail" (fintail)
05/02/2017 at 21:22, STARS: 0
Another solution of course is to simply move from CA :)
Do they care if you swap engines in smog exempt cars? Like putting a V8 in a 6cyl 108?
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
05/02/2017 at 21:51, STARS: 0
We can’t move, my wife is from Japan and works for a Japanese company and my work is only possible in cities with shows. I hate Vegas so I won’t go there. If the car is old enough they don’t care what you do since it’s exempt no matter what, I don’t think they ever look at it, I didn’t have to bring my 240Z into be inspected. I could probably put a V8 in the W123 and it would continue to be registered as a diesel and would never be inspected.
"fintail" (fintail)
05/03/2017 at 09:40, STARS: 0
Ah, have fun then :) But yeah, if a diesel is never inspected, you can probably go for it within reason, I doubt any cops would know or care so long as it was even mildly subtle.
"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
05/03/2017 at 12:03, STARS: 0
I did look for early 70's sedans and there was one in AZ for cheap, says it can run and drive, but very rough. Which is fine because we would ditch it anyway. It was bagged too, but we would do better suspension than stock anyway. So I guess it wouldn’t be too hard to get a rough one. We are only keeping the dash inside really.