EXCLUSIVE: Mercedes Cars & Parts Collection

As some of you likely know, I am helping to clear out a large collection of salvage and project vehicles from a private owner. You can read more about the collection here. In doing so, a reader from the Atlanta area reached out and asked for our help in clearing out some vintage Mercedes-Benz projects from his garage. Barn Finds reader W. Sigley is in the Woodstock area and has several W116 cars, a W123 and a W108 for sale, all of which will need some level of reconditioning to be reliable drivers.

What Makes it Special? Many of these handsome Mercedes sedans have gone from reliable executive transport to project car status. Although each car has a need of some kind, the owner knows the detailed history of each car and exactly what it needs to run sweetly again. This is one of those sale opportunities where you can go in with your eyes wide open and have a seller who can give you the gameplan for successful resurrection. This 1978 model is a rare fine with black leather and a sunroof. According to the seller, “I bought it from the original owner who purchased it from the dealer, right here in Atlanta! It has a great story behind it. It is also one of the first 300SD’s off the assembly line. It is not running as the original owner’s daughter ran it out of coolant from a leak and I believe it cracked the engine block.” This 300SD also has the cool European headlights.

Body Condition: All of the cars with the exception of one have very nice bodies with no rust or collision damage to report. The seller notes that one of the W116s, a Manila Beige 300SD, is a running/driving parts car with rust issues. Per the seller: “This one was retained as a basically running and driving parts car. It has rust holes in the floor board, and alot of the interior has been removed (I still have the parts.) The engine is great on this car and I was in the process of getting ready to swap it before losing interest in the project.” The Manila Beige car would make an excellent donor for the black 300SD with the excellent body and interior. The seller also has a 1969 280SEL I6 car that had a complete engine rebuild before the transmission spun a bushing. The transmission is out of the car and the seller has stripped the interior for restoration. This car has had a repaint at one time in its life and has some paint bubbling.

Mechanical Condition: The 1984 W123 300D seen here was once a reliable daily driver before disaster struck. According to the seller, “I have a blue 300D that has the engine removed and disassembled. I was changing the timing chain with the help of my wife one day and I told her, “‘Whatever you do, don’t let go of the chain while I rotate the new one in!’ What did she do? She let go and the chain got jammed in the valley. Out came the engine and had to be taken apart. This car ran great before this and I would regularly drive it to Alabama and South Carolina. It is almost completely disassembled with a box full of new parts to reassemble. New timing chain, new guides, new seal kit. Lots of stuff to put it back together.”

This Walnut Brown 300SD likely brings back the most painful memories for the seller, as he put in a ton of sweat-equity before having to pull this project off the road: “I put this car through a complete mechanical restoration. Completely new brake system, new rotors, pads, calipers, hoses, master cylinder, brake booster. Every single under body rubber component, suspension bushings, flex discs, body mounts, tie rods, center links, newly packed wheel bearings, rear diff serviced with new fluid, new axle seals, rebuild rear axle shafts. Transmission was serviced with new filter, fluid, new cooler hoses. Engine has rebuilt and pop-tested fuel injectors, new glow plugs, all new hoses, brand new alternator, new starter, rebuilt turbocharger, engine oil cooler hoses, new power steering hoses with a new filter and new fluid, new water pump, thermostat, valve adjustment, the works! Finally, I took it for a spin one day and it developed a rod knock!” Wow – what a bummer. To contact the seller, use the form below. Pricing info can be found below the gallery.