1984 w123 mercedes benz 300d expedition vehicle

A

amockalypsenow

Observer
Howdy,

So I am beefing up my benz- prepping it for onroad/offroad missions long and short. eventually patagonia.

Already hooning photo 1-9.jpg 7A943F15-2283-4D0A-AE59-0F88AC86C5EA.jpegScreen Shot 2013-04-30 at 20.06.21.jpgtumblr_mnyt6eO9AN1rprwkso1_500.jpgtumblr_mo3sxsmMB11rprwkso1_500.jpgtumblr_mo3t0kKhqP1rprwkso1_500.jpgphoto-8.jpgphoto-7.jpg
offroad around california and mexico and have lifted it 3-4 inches, added a skidplate and it drives pretty damn nice. Could use some more lift and I want to change the wheels.

I'm looking for advice and parts.

In terms of parts-

-A limited slip differential. !!!

-15/16 inch steelies (mine are 14)- I can run hub adapters- so if anybody has chevy toyota/ jeep whatever wheels+tires, that would work too

-a radiator skid plate (might just fab this)

-Mercedes hubcentric wheel spacers w/bolts (secondhand priced? I'm broke!)

-some help with fabricating a 2 inch hitch receiver. (I want to take a montesa 315r on a hitch hauler around with me :)

-Euro bumpers (particularly for the rear, so I can have the 2 inch receiver closer to the car and have less leverage working against me)

-a bullbar, maybe.

-Non-egr intake/exhaust.

-also, I have an inverter, and I'm thinking about adding a second battery to run it off and would love some help figuring out how to optimally daisy-chain the batteries.

More photos & videos coming soon! Thanks.

P.S. (Suspension work done by friend and amazing independent mercedes master, John in Altadena (jmr000 (at) gmail (dot) com )

Thanks thanks thanks

Excited to learn some stuff from you guys. I live in Santa Monica. If any independent/coil suspension gurus are in the hood, please let get in touch and let me buy you beers and ask you questions about suspension!!

(-8

P.P.S. I've done some other expedition stuff in the past, like riding a $500 motorcycle from London to Nigeria (here): http://cameronsmithphoto.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-life-true-life-is-elsewhere-we-are.html?m=1
 
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L

LJinLA

Observer
Truly out of the ordinary!
You almost make me regret having bought an Isuzu Trooper to replace my 79 Mercedes 240D (with in mind expedition travel), which is now for sale.
I live closeby, in LA, but I'm also in the process of learning more about suspension stuff... Good luck with your project, truly inspiring!
 
DJGoo

DJGoo

Too much WoW
Nice! Those things are tanks! Did you lose any of the softness in the ride with the lift?
 
A

amockalypsenow

Observer
It's stiffer than a teenager in a peepshow up front!

Still working on the suspension set-up.

Looking at dropping the lower control arms... I'm new to car suspension so, please give advice.
 
dejablu311

dejablu311

Observer
I have a similar plan in the works for a '79. How did get 3" of lift? I don't want to loose the ride so I was Just planning to run some mild spacers. I am very interested in not only a rear 2" receiver but one for the front as well. I was also toying with the idea of swapping in an independent Ford 8.8 for the limited slip.
 
Kaisen

Kaisen

Explorer
amockalypsenow said:
-A limited slip differential. !!!
Click to expand...

You can retrofit the limited slip carriers into your W123 housing from a 1976-1980 W116 6.9, or a 1986-1991 W126 560 SEL/SEC, or a 1991 W201 190E 2.3-16v. You may be able to swap the entire center section as well, but final gearing may be the decision maker. Google search

amockalypsenow said:
--15/16 inch steelies (mine are 14)-
Click to expand...

Easy. Raid the spares from any 1986-up W126 S-class or 1989-1993 W201 190E for 15", or any W201 C-class for 16"......They are available NEW for $75 each. Even cheaper if you go to a Pick-A-Part and get lucky..TONS of them with old MBs near you


Good luck!
 
M

madmax718

Explorer
I got a whole bunch of MB parts if your interested. Their all factory parts, new. (like rotors, bumper rub pad), spare primer pump, oil filters, and a set of thule mounts like you have (in case you want to get a RTT).

I drove one of these from NY- to CA- and back, running mostly on waste vegetable oil from Friendly's and Sonic drive in. This is before bio diesel was a family word.
 
A

amockalypsenow

Observer
Hey, I lost track of this thread- the car is going well. Took it back to baja and it held up great on many miles of dirt roads. highcentered slightly on some soft stuff on the pacific side, driving in rutted tracks, and got stock once in some fine sand, before deflating the tires some and driving out.

I designed a very burly 2 inch reveiver for the back of the car, haven't looked at doing the front, but once I get the rear done, I will share plans/solidworks files.

A friend of mine is machining me custom, longer sugframe bolts and shock extensions. We'll see how that goes. We are using longer grade 8 m14 bolts, with a pointed end and a sleeve to imitate the rifle round shape of the stock bolt.

I would like to go bigger on the wheels and tires, so I'm looking at enlarging the fenders.

Problem with a lot of the MB wheels is they have very different offsets.

Would love to get extra thule mounts for a roof rack.

tumblr_mpvcqc0hYj1rprwkso1_500.jpg
 
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