I bought a 1985 Mercedes Benz 300D, a W123 chassis. I wanted a piece of equipment to work on that had the minimum number of computers and electronics – a 40 year old Mercedes ticked the boxes.

The interior on this car is pretty nice, it’s been redone, the car was wrapped but mechanically and electronically the car needed work. The day I bought the car was about 30ºC and it started beautifully. The initial list of issues:

• The car would have a hard time starting if the outside temperature was below about 15ºC.
• The climate control would only blow hot air.
• The cruise control was broken.
• The clock was broken.
• The rubber seals on the doors were all perished.
• The rear driver window would slip down slightly and the regulator wouldn’t function reliably.
• The button to move passenger side mirror was broken off.

I got a stack of old paper work from previous owners (though not the one that I purchased the car from), so I can pin point when work was done. Looking at when the wrap was done it has held up pretty well over the years.

So here is what I have fixed:

• Glowplugs
• Outer Window “Brushes” – to stop rain running down the window and into the door.
• Door seals – aftermarket Üro seals
• Installing a Becker 1692 Radio – from a 1990s Mercedes
• Bilstein Shock Absorbers