We all know the challenge as enthusiasts of being faced with a rare car that is undoubtedly worth saving but sadly, may be past the point of rescue. These days, with the increasing difficulty that comes with finding a body shop willing to work on a project cars without a frame-off budget, makes rescuing derelict vehicles even more challenging and certainly not feasible cost-wise. The car shown here is a rare, one-year-only 1987 Mercedes-Benz 300TD wagon, powered by the legendary OM603 turbodiesel engine. Sadly, significant bodywork needs and years of neglect may render it a parts car, so check it out here on eBay where the auction closes later today.
The seller has listed it with an opening bid of $500 which is reasonable considering the value of the drivetrain. When Mercedes offered this setup in the states, it created a turbodiesel offering that had plenty of power for high speed interstate cruising, and more than enough for puttering around town. After years of diesel-powered W123s showing the world just how durable a Mercedes diesel engine was, the W124 offered car shoppers a highly refined driving experience that also showcased just how smooth and powerful this gas alternative could be. Sadly, Mercedes only offered this combination of the turbodiesel in a wagon body for just one year in the states; a sedan was also available.
Power-wise, the OM603 made around 140 horsepower and 195 lb. ft. of torque. This engine is well known for racking up huge miles, and with 243K on the clock, this example is getting up there – but it’s still rather low in comparison to what owners in third-world countries have pushed this platform to. The seller notes he purchased this wagon as a running car but replaced it with another 300TD and left this one parked. It seems like he knew it was a special vehicle, but perhaps the market hadn’t caught up to the fact that the turbodiesel wagons were a rare breed among Mercedes 300-series lineup.
While the interior is filthy and in need of deep cleaning (or just replace it entirely with a junked 300E’s interior that’s been looked after), it’s the bodywork you have to be concerned with. Every car is restorable and plenty of 300Es are still out there in southern and western climates that will give up their doors and rockers for a car like this. The wagon’s tailgate and hood can also be replaced with clean parts, but the rear quarter panels on both sides will require the help of a bodywork expert. If you have access to a cache of parts, it could make sense to initiate a restoration attempt, but it may be smarter to simply pull the engine and scrap the rest.
Parts car at best
Twenty minutes until the auction ends and no bids. At best, it’s a parts car. It’s located in a suburb of Chicago, if there is no interest in such a large population center, there probably isn’t much interest at all. Its next stop will probably be a crusher.
Steve R
“Auto parts city, talk to you guys later.” I wonder if he’ll kick the rust.
Only if it’s one of his videos.
Steve R
Gaffa tape might get it past officialdom (sharp bodywork). Probably worth preserving, despite it being a snottomatic…
You’re absolutely right in that it’s difficult to find a body shop who’ll work on a rusty car. Most standard body shops in middle and upper middle class areas, where most people who can afford this hobby live, will not touch it, due to lack of skills, liability concerns, or both.
Your choice would boil down to a restoration shop, where you’d probably be looking at six figures to bring this back, or a down and dirty body shop in a rougher urban area where they’re used to saving rusted cars for lower income people.
I just brought my winter car to the latter. I’m crossing my fingers that it turns out ok, as these guys don’t tend to have professional resumes and fancy websites, heh. The car was cheap enough and the quote was reasonable enough to take a chance. The car is worth saving for a reasonable price. If you’re not willing to do that, and many car enthusiasts would not be, this is a parts car, no question.
A few years ago, I took a 2004 Suburban to a service station, as one of the gasoline lines was rusted out on top of the gas tank. The car was in excellent condition on the inside, but had its share of rust on the outside. He refused to work on the car, saying “look, what’s going to happen is I’m going to grab one rusty part, it’ll crumble, and then the next part will crumble, and so on and so on, so I just can’t get involved in something like that…”
This is an unfortunate loss, because these wagons (not the sedan versions) were as expensive as an S-class. And though the SUV craze hadn’t begun yet, Mercedes didn’t import that many of these wagons, yearly, and they truly appealed only to the affluent family. If I recall correctly, the MSRP for these, in 1987, hovered around $60,000 while their sedan counterparts were more in the range of mid-$30,000-40,000.
List price back in 87′ for this was $46,200. As mentioned, most regular body shops now are basically parts replacement and paint work only. They wouldn’t touch something like this. It would have to be a real specialty shop and the repairs would far outweigh what the car was worth. I’m sure it was a beautiful car when it was new. Like I said, when it was new.
Just sent the exact same spec wagon to the crusher via a clean car trade-in program. After 8 years of ownership, we threw in the towel. The OM603 bullet-proof reputation is real but with a few caveats. Gotta have the right cyl. head as the early ones cracked. Injection pumps are not cheap to repair. The transmission was the final straw. When the HVAC goes south good luck. It’s all vacuum powered and turbo diesels aren’t known for pulling vacuum. The Citroen-sourced self leveling rear end is amazing. But those nitrogen spheres do give out after awhile.
One of the toughest spots is the interior. There’s something about German plastics from the 80’s. Lots of cracking. The MB-tex upholstery though is legendary. All this being said, my gal used it like a truck, with the back seat’s always folded down and it kept going. She’s very tough on cars and really should be hired as a beta tester, so the W124 held up surprisingly long.
I gotta say, as the one who worked on it a lot, what Mercedes was doing technologically with this car back in 1987 is kinda amazing. The engineering of the mono wiper was an amazing thing to witness. We will miss this car and the sound of how the doors shut.
right car, wrong motor (he holds his finger’n thumb 1/4 apart in front of his face) “Missed it by this much.”
“… the legendary OM603 turbodiesel engine…”
I think it was meant to say OM617 (.950 w/turbo). THAT was the mil mi motor. The 603 had alloy head/particulat filter probs that burned up & then damaged the motor. The mil mi motor was in this vehicle’s ‘parent’ the W123 model.
Living with an old diesel can be difficult; bad cold-weather starting, the smell of old diesel fuel everywhere. Skip this one and find a good gasoline-engined W124 wagon. There’s a lot of 1986-1995 300TE/E300s out there for around $10,000; see BringATrailer.
$7.00 per hundred pounds. no questions asked
While my 617 wagon was a tank, the 603 was much better for me. Yes the 85 Benz wagon doors shut like a vault. Cummins has the 12 valve and 24. Mercedes has the 603( 12) and 606(24). My experience is that the 603 will go a long way for not a lot of money, yes the 606 has more power. I hope someone bought this for the engine tranny. Like the 12 valve Cummins the 603 is the epitome of set it and forget it, Yes you don’t want to overheat it, Injector lines can go as well as glow plugs.
The plastic gear in the odometer goes around 120 k miles.
For me the 603 and the 12 valve have been lifesavers, this power plant and tranny transplants easier in the later wagon TE.
You always know when a vacuum line come off as without the modulator valve it clunks hard into gear
One of my first grade buddies bought one new and still drives it today…..refuses to give it up…..the same buddy that’s sitting on his dad’s bought new 1955 Studebaker Commander hrdtop….at least the Studes been inside….
I think they would be lucky if someone offered to tow it away for free.
Sad to see this car in that shape. I just picked up a 1987 300TD this summer in the same color combo. I’ve been looking for years. Only about 2600 models were made. And based on my estimate of the ones i’ve seen online, at least 10 wagons in this color combo still exist. With about 9 still on the road. More 300TD’s are still in service in other color combos, mind you. I had 8 w123’s and am thrilled with my “new” car. The “bank vault” doors are only on the w123’s. The w124 is much lighter and not has “solid” as the w123 but it sure does drive well!