Euro Land Yachting In An '85 Merc 300TDC (W123)

Street Cred Master

  It's crazy how unpredictable life is. One moment you're walking down the road and next thing you know, a piano falls on your head. Then, you have to sound and look like an accordion for the rest of your life. Or, something awesome happens out of the blue. In our story, the latter is the truth. I had yet to drive a car without the owner by my side, let alone an old car. To be more specific, an '85 Merc 300 TDC (TurboDieselCoupe), black with a beige interior and full of extras. It's from the last year of the legendary W123, a car that is still being used at rugged terrains in Africa. Hats off to Mercedes for designing such a cool, simple and well-engineered car in... 1976. It's kinda sad to know that now Benz is producing cars that'll last only a little bit longer than your phone. But the W123 will still be soldiering on!

Such a beautiful roofline!

  Anyways, I was at the car meet last Sunday. There were few attendants since it was "Bicycle Day" at the CAR meet. I'm just as surprised as you are. However, we still got to check out a couple of E30 320is and a mint  '64 Chevy Corvair Monza Spyder. Just for the anecdote, the Corvair and the Olds Jetfire where the first two production cars to ever have a turbo... in '62. That's around 11 years before the BMW 2002 Turbo from 1973. After getting an eye-opening briefing on the the little quirks of the Corvair by its owner, Thierry (the owner of the Merc and my new car buddy) and I went to investigate his 300TDC, a car I had yet to observe close up. The car is originally from California, its original paint job being a classic West Coast color: Cream White. At some point in its 33 year life, it was repainted black for gangsta presence. Apart from the color change, the car is quite stock and in good nick. The thing that makes this W123 special is that the coupe and sedan were only sold in 300TD guise in North America, making it a rare gem in Europe. The car comes with a beige interior, MB-Tex seats (vinyl perforated seats), automatic air-con, sunroof, fully electric windows, and probably a few more things we can barely call extras in our days. It even has its original Becker cassette deck!

Curvy Rear View

  The way the car  looks just screams Mercedes. It is very well proportioned, has the classic Mercedes plastic/chrome grille, a long flatish hood with the emblem on the edge of it. For me, gazing at the 300TDC from the front and little bit on the side, I didn't think the car was as long as it actually is. It looks kinda stubby, which is not the case. Nevertheless, one of my favourite design details is the curvy rear window. It compliments the car's lines as well as offering you improved visibility. Another feature that you don't see today for safety reasons are the pillarless windows. You end up feeling you're outside, like in a cabrio, while being protected by the roof. So, the best of both worlds, especially when it comes with a sunroof! Of course, who could forget the super quirky, 14 inch "bottle cap" wheels and slatted tail lights. This was during the times when Mercedes still didn't really make properly fast rides. When you bought a Merc, you had enough money that you didn't need to be in a hurry to go anywhere, you got the prestige of the brand, a very sturdy build quality and a properly comfortable ride. And that's all. No gazillion gadgets ready to go kaput in the next five minutes. No sporty suspension. Which is how a real Merc should be. Who really needs buttloads of technology anyways when you have all of these awesome and obsolete design queues and timeless style?

5cyl turbo diesel

  Under the hood lies the Benz's 3lt, 5 cylinder turbo-diesel that'll keep on going forever and ever if you take care of it. For me and for many other people, the 300TD is the best motor you could possibly get in a W123. There was also a 2,8lt 6 cylinder twin-cam with 170-180 hp but didn't come close to the 245 N-m of torque of the turbo diesel. It only has 125hp but who cares! You're  not going to set any lap records around the track or go hardcore canyon carving. This car was made to cruise in the most comfy, effortless (kinda) and reliable way possible. You pop the hood and everything is right in front of you. The turbo lies right next to motor, wearing it with pride. No plastics and other crap hiding the important stuff. And if you wanna spend less money on fuel and save the penguins, after a few mods, you can even run your Benz on veggie oil!
 

Quality over technology

After having studied every single centimeter of the car with Thierry, he offered me to take it for a spin around the parking lot. By the way, I had asked him an hour earlier to drive it on the road and he said no because the Benz's brakes had an issue. Of course, I accepted his offer. Then, Thierry offers to Erik, another buddy, to ride with me. As I mentioned earlier, first time I drive anybody's car by myself. As my passenger sat next to me and the Merc sparks into life, I'm thinking to myself  "Holy Shit! This is happening". As you do when you try out something for the first time... with quite a bit of responsibility added in the mix.  I slam it into "Drive" and the car squats when it takes-off, not because of the mind-bending power figure but because of the suspension. I started by taking a left turn at the first tree and crossed the the four-five row parking lot. Between each row there was asphalt that led to the parking spots, with drains on either side, so it created kind of a speed bump. The Merc crossed each bump without breaking a sweat. It soaked up the bumps as if they were almost not there. Then, I did a 180 turn around one of the trees on the first row. Making sure that all of the space available was used so the Benz a)doesn't turn tight enough and I have to go into reverse and b) I don't scratch/ crash it into the trees. The Benz took the turn no problem, it having a surprisingly quick steering rack for a car of its size. That gave me more confidence to make an improv slalom track of the parking lot.  The Merc leaned from side to side as it took the tight turns between the trees, its suspension creaking. Meanwhile, the radio is playing, out of coincidence, the most appropriate song for the right moment: "Hold The Line" from Toto. What a perfect moment: doing slaloms in an '85, black Merc coupe, while listening to a period correct song, one of the soundtracks from GTA San Andreas, a game where you do crazy random stuff. And you best believe that Erik and I were both  doing stupid activities and giggling our ears off like little kids!

Legendary bottle cap wheels

The good thing with a slalom is that you get a feel for the handling of a car without going too fast. I think the max speed I went was around 30-40 kph. The W123 300TDC is an incredible classic car. It has the aura of a REAL Merc, all the cool design features and the right amount of amenities to make you wanna drive it all the time. And the car will keep on going because it's probably the most well designed and reliable car the Three Pointed Star has ever built. The "clack" of the doors is like closing a vault. As for how it drives, it is wafty like almost any old Benz but very agile for it's size. The fact that it leans so much while taking the turn and it still gripping is what makes this car so fun to throw around. The 5cyl turbo-diesel has the right amount of torque for the car not to feel completely sluggish and to give you enough confidence to take the coupe on a long, relaxed journey. The seats are bouncy, comfortable and durable since they're MB-Tex. Another thing that I adored in the Merc was the glasshouse-like visibility, especially with the rear curved window. And since the car is so square, it's quite easy to find the corners of the fenders when you have to park.

North American version better than the Euro one

  In conclusion, after having driven a top of the line W123 coupe, I can't even imagine how sluggish the N/A diesel or the smaller engined ones must feel. The 300TD is the perfect motor for the car and its weight, because with all the other engine options, you won't get the degree of relaxation you get with this one. Also, I prefer the coupe over the sedan (which looks like a taxi) and the wagon (which reminds me of the Peugeot 504). Its roofline is beautifully flowing and you can drive with all the windows down while having lots of open space. Up until now, I have been in E46 M3s drifting up the mountains, 383 Chevy Novas doing crazy burnouts and Jeep Scramblers on three wheels. But I've yet to have as much fun as doing slaloms, in a parking lot, in a 300TDC going 30-40 kph and ME driving the car. My fellow readers, slow car car hooning is the funnest activity and I highly recommend you give it a try!

Much thanks to Thierry who only knew me for two weeks before letting me drive this beautiful Benzo. And for giving me loads of happiness on the way!   

Oh and here's a little taste of the hooning ;)