Surat Thani is a mid sized city in southern Thailand. It is home to about 120,000 people and is a regional centre for agriculture. The main business is trade in crops such as Rubber, Coconuts, Palm oil etc. It is not a tourist destination, but it does function as a connection point for those traveling to islands like Koh Samui via ferry. I’ve...
In 1968 the new mid-size Mercedes-Benz range made its debut. This was a pretty important model from Mercedes-Benz – it would set the basic platform for their model range for the next twenty years. While stylistically it took cues from the old W108/W109 range, underneath was a far more modern car. The 107, 116, 123 & 126 models would all share an ancestry from...
In April 1982 Mercedes-Benz was pretty much king of the hill when it came to mainstream luxury cars. Rolls Royce was in a league of its own, and Jaguar was at its quality nadir. BMW were just releasing the E30 which would propel them to a leadership position in the small, luxury market. They still could not touch Mercedes-Benz in the mid or upper...
by John Tawadros · Published May 26, 2020 · Last modified September 15, 2024
The club guys were right about the bug. You know, the one you catch after buying your first classic Mercedes. It’s not that the W108 3.5 wasn’t enough, but after a couple of years you feel an irrational (yet somewhat justified) urge to have a Mercedes for every occasion. Rescuing all of these beautifully engineered machines from an untimely demise is a noble cause,...
I went to preview the 2020 Shannons Sydney Summer Auction today. If you had a budget of about $20-$35,000 AUD, there are a lot of interesting cars to choose from. Shannons do a pretty good job of finding a good variety of cars for each of their auctions – both in price range and types of car. They are a bit more...
I am currently in the USA and had a few hours to spare in Cincinnati Ohio before I headed out to the airport. When I lived in the USA, I used to go to the self service junkyards to grab bits and pieces. These junkyards are larger in the USA and they have standard price lists for parts, no matter what car you...
Today I got back behind the wheel of my old W123 280CE. The 15 minute and 5km drive is actually the longest I ever took in that car! This was a car I rescued more than purchased. The previous owner had it up on ebay with no reserve, had mis-spelt Mercedes and it was claimed to have a leaky radiator. Despite...
The 280CE came back for a visit this week complaining of groaning power steering. Turned out that the belt was slipping once the wheel got toward full lock. On further inspection, the belt had become too loose – not because it was stretched, but because the bolt that allows the belt adjustment had lost its threads in the critical area and it...
The W123 Mercedes has developed a reputation as workhorse the world over, with dilapidated examples still plying their trade as taxis 30-40 years after they rolled off the production line. But finally a transition is occurring. The W123 is rightfully being considered more than just a workhorse – cars are being restored, books written about the model and images of war torn countries...
The 280CE was back today to get a radio installed. When I purchased the car, the previous owner had removed their radio, so there was a great big hole in the dash. Luckily, my brother who purchased the car from me already had a Sony radio he had removed from his previous 280CE. The W123 radio is a standard DIN fitting. Unfortunately...
It is hard to find somebody who prefers four door cars on aesthetic grounds. Sure, four door cars may be more practical, often cheaper to insure and easier to live with, but when buying a classic car, those considerations are not nearly as important. Mercedes Benz have always provided a range of handsome coupes in their range, which are still even years...
I’ve always been partial to Mercedes-Benz pillarless coupes, owing a 450SLC, and having owned two 560SECs and a 250SE coupe. That means I was unable to resist a 1982 W123 280CE on ebay that I wasn’t planning on buying. The CE looked like fundamentally a nice car that needs a few things done to get it back to where it should be....
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