Please become a Patreon member to help support making these videos. / woodsandbarclay #classicmercedes #w123 #mercedes www.woodsandba... info@woodsandbarclay.com 404-200-3942 Just replacing some age related items in this video.
OEM Pirelli Cinturato CN36 with the correct round shoulder and in the proper 195/70R14 size are still available from a vintage tire distributor out of the UK. Expensive but worth it. Round shoulder reproductions of vintage tires like the CN36 should work better with the factory suspension design than a modern square shoulder radial. They allow the car to handle like it's supposed to.
Always love these in depth videos. That 300D is a stunner and I expect it will become a garage queen. With those low miles, that's just fine. For higher mileage cars that will have constant use go with 15 inch BBS or similar wheels for a cool and sexy look, along with superior Michelin tires (there are also high quality after-market 15 inch Bunts out there). I sure as heck do not use 14 inch Bunts on my 500 SEC and that is due to the very poor tire choices now available. I have 15 inch Penta-like British manufactured Melber Wheels with Michelin Defenders and that combination is noticeably superior to anything I tried at 14 inches (it's at higher speeds where you can feel the difference). This is my personal opinion, but I believe going 1 or 2 inches up does not hurt handling or ride quality on w126's, while it's 1 inch up max on w123's. A friend of mine who recently passed away had 15 inch BBS wheels with Michelin Defenders on his 1985 300CD and it drove like a dream. Plus, it looked hella gorgeous.
Not weird at all I've seen many many extremely low mileage vehicles and the ball joint boots almost always deteriorate. The ball joint boot is a very large thin piece of rubber that twists back and forth every time you turn the steering wheel. It almost always fails with age.
The wagons did if they had the third row seat. However I'm not a big fan of rear headrest because it blocks your view out of the rear window if you're looking in your rear view mirror.
What’s the opinion on 6” vers 6.5” inch rims? I enjoy the wider rim on the cars feels more stable. And I wish we could stilll get H rated speed tires for these rim sizes. Impossible to find anymore
There are not just H but even V rated reproduction tires available from Michelin and Pirelli that are exact copies of the original tires, just with modern compound. Check Longstone tires out of the UK.
I suppose Mercedes use to charge a arm and leg if they did Ball Joint job? Anyone know approximate how much that job would be at Mercedes back when they worked on this vehicle at a MB dealership? How much does a typical outside shop charge to do this job? What is effected by the cracked ball joints? I believe my 300D need this job. haha lol
If the ball joint boots are cracked that allows dust and debris to get into the ball socket and it will quickly wear out your ball joint. Shops will charge anywhere from $200 to $400 per side to do this job.
In the video I mentioned the brand and part number you'll just have to do a Google search. On Google you can also type in w123 or w126 ball joint press and then click on Google images and when you find a picture of it click it I think several different manufacturers make it.
