Mercedes W123 decision - Will I Weld or scrap it?

[@RichieRouge206]

So pleased the Merc can be restored- such a lovely old girl. Looking forward to progress on this!

[@furiousdriving]

I really want to drive the thing!

[@simonburleigh1872]

Matt, so glad that you are saving it. When the 2.3 is running it is great engine, smooth powerful quick enough to be more than comfortable in traffic. Cruse at 60 70 for hours no problem, you should have a try of my 124 estate 2.3 some day!

[@michaeltutty1540]

I have a 2.3/auto in my 1990 Volvo 240 Estate. The only problem on the highway is keeping the speed down! Arthur seems to prefer 80-85!

[@habsom1406]

Ok I could feel the angst in your last video when you were undecided whether to proceed or not and it was easy to sympathise with your predicament. In no way would anyone have thought less of you if you'd jacked it in with the Merc but boy I'm pleased you've decided to save this old girl, she deserves to be saved and of all your cars, it's my favourite. I love that colour combination and those velour seats are just delish. It may seem like a long road right now, but eventually you'll turn a corner and I guess it is excellent content for your channel, we're all gripped and eager to see you enjoy it on the road one day and that day will be sweet.

[@nickedney1272]

Full marks for deciding to crack on with it Matt, your resolve continues to impress me.

[@hughbishopnh]

What do you mean, "Weld or scrap?" Quentin proved that you will never give up so get welding!

[@jaunteraudi817]

Weld. Dont throw out that Merc - its a good car. I have seen and welded worst, and i think when you will take out all interior you will see the real rust picture, but keep going. ;)

[@gryfandjane]

I’m happy to see you saving this one! Being the sentimental type, I hate to see a car scrapped when there’s a realistic hope of getting it back on the road.

[@MLC...]

Please save the W123. Iconic Mercedes-Benz, we need more around, not less.

[@brianwhittington5086]

Most sound deadening is quite easy to remove using a hot air gun and a thin putty/stripping knife. Gently heat along the edge and scrape away, peeling it back where needed. Wear rubberised gardening type gloves as it retains heat and will burn skin. Wear goggles and maybe a suitable mask too, don't get it too hot and smouldering so as not to breathe the fumes. Gentle heat, and a wallpaper seam roller will fix new insulation to the metal contour shape.

[@timfordfalconxf7714]

They dont make W123s anymore. I say save it. i know it needs lots of welding but you will be happy in the long run.

[@benholroyd5221]

They don't make smallpox anymore....

[@Everything_Evan]

I'm going through the same thing mate keep at it, it makes good content

[@alansimpson835]

Good to know, in one sense, that this is a known issue and although complex, doesn't seem to be terminal. As others have said, look where persevering with Quentin got you. This could be a fine motor too

[@fritzkuhne2055]

at the end of this your gonna be a welding expert.

[@terryatkinson899]

Like nitrosilvia!!! Look him up on KZbin.

[@jkk244]

Matt, here in the US you can usually find dry ice for sale at larger supermarkets. Since it can be dangerous (e.g. will freeze skin upon contact and displaces oxygen in confined spaces) it is sold with all sorts of warnings, but is readily available. It’s often used for cooling food and beverages when ice won’t last long enough - such as shipping frozen steaks. Also used for school science experiments and Halloween decorations. Not sure about dry ice availability in the UK, but perhaps Tesco, Sainsbury’s, or ASDA might have it?

[@furiousdriving]

Its not in our supermarkets, never seen it for sale anywhere here, I think its more industrial

[@jkk244]

@@furiousdriving I found this source in the UK: www.chillistick.com/dry-ice-pack-sizes/dry-ice-pellets-in-pack-sizes.html Not cheap, but if it helps deal with that floor problem it may be worth it. Plus, watching you trying it would be a great video! :)

[@TheLuisg92]

Patch it with fiberglass and paint over. That minimizes the risk of fire and if you apply enough layers, it can be very strong. In that area of the bulkhead won't be noticeable.

[@janpellegrom9649]

Love seeing a commitment to save a car!

[@SteveApache125]

I have a W123 and it is a great car to drive. Almost every time I go out in it people stop to talk about it. Please finish it.

[@neilwalsh4058]

So pleased you're persevering, you've invested so much time plus a bit of cash into it already and we're all egging you on to finish it cos it'll be a lovely classic when it's done.

[@AlAl-wu7mp]

Here's a little advice from a 1985 300CD owner. I use a heat gun or hair dryer to soften up the under coating and then you could get under it and scrape it right off with a paint scraper, then use paint thinner to clean the tar residue off . At time 7:47 that half cylinder molded into the plastic splash cover I've cut the bottom of it off and the rain water won't splash onto the firewall but go straight down. It's a great car I've had 3 of them. Good luck

[@delukxy]

A small rectangular piece of 1/4" steel with threaded holes for the 2 attachment screws may be a good idea if you don't want to redo the captive nuts. I'm glad that as of now you have decided to try and save it. P6 has taken a back seat lately?

[@furiousdriving]

No, P6 coming soon, just not enough time in the day sometimes

[@MarkGalbraithVideos]

I honestly don't know how you find the patience to deal with all the welding. You're doing great work.

[@1010abcdefgh]

I have a 230e in this exact colour, love it so much. Have replaced the floor, still some work to do..

[@nigelcharlton-wright1747]

Had a similar thing happen with my mig welder, I ended up replacing the plastic liner from the drive wheel to the tip with a proper one. Found out about on line last year. Also I always spray the the wire spool with brake cleaner when it starts to play up. I am sure you might know this but as a well known supermarket that's not owned by Americans yet… "Every little helps!".

[@furiousdriving]

I didnt know the brake cleaner trick, thats a good one to try

[@markf4720]

Excellent news. Very glad to hear the w123 is being saved. I'm sure there will be some more "discoveries" along the way but it's all part of the ride... This will be an awesome car when it's back on the road, can't wait to see it. I really need a w123 in my life!!!

[@phillscott5221]

Dremel with a good cutting disc makes cutting out the tight bits far easier. No more fun, but easier! Similar recommendation for automatic welding mask Nice to see progress on it 👍

[@furiousdriving]

I have a dremmel, but no god disks, and that is an auto mask!

[@GentilsGarage]

It doesn’t even beg the question when the answer is obvious. Take a bit longer, but save it, One bit at a time. For the sound deadening, I used a heat gun and scraper. Blowtorch for the stickier bits, but the heat gun did most of the job.

[@CortinasAndClassics]

Brave man matt cutting out all that. But then I had to cut out big bits on my Cortina. Not for the faint hearted of car lovers.

[@gerardbosvonhohenfels1866]

The initial reaction is get rid of it, but hey, you did already so much in the last year to get it run and let's be honest... how many W123 are still there in that beautiful colour. Just continue, my support you have and on the long run you will feel happy and satisfied when you drive it around and see people turn their heads.

[@furiousdriving]

Thanks, I know it will be worth it in the end

[@carsyoungtimerfreak1149]

You're a better man than I am... I have some experiences with old Benzes. Always stayed clear of the W123, although I really love them, because they rust even more than the W124, W201, W202 or W210. If you want to rescue your Benz I believe you have to strip it completely back to bare metal, windows out and so on. And have it indoors. I understand you want to do this for the channel and the experience, economically it is probably not wise and you're better off looking for a better example. Benzes are great cars, well built but they rust. When I compare my '98 W202 to my '01 C70 coupe, the Benz is much better built, does not rattle. Yet the C70 is virtually rust free and they have comparable mileage. On top of this the Benz was stored in a dry environment for the last 2 years... Of course the interior of the C70 rattles, yet that is relatively easy and cheap to resolve... To me Volvo's win as more sustainable daily drivers, even though I prefer Benzes...

[@stevenjones19-m8i]

Hi Matt,that's great news it can be saved,when I saw the name of the video I thought,oh dear.it will take a while to sort out but another car saved and on the road.

[@EinkOLED]

Set up a go fun me. We could all take part in getting it restored to full glory.

[@DashCamSerbia]

Double my fun, double my vision. :D

[@yup.4901]

Really??? Is there anything people won't set up a go fund me page for????? Look, I like this guy and his videos are good to watch, but people should take responsibility for their actions. For example, I bought a car and I got burnt. It was a complete snotter tarted up to look good on ebay photo's. I was the idiot who bought it and I had to lose money on it. I didn't ask everyone to pay to repair it.

[@jondawes7921]

I'm not new to W123s and their rot. I'm also neck deep in a same-colour-as-yours 240! Thanks for your perserverance and I'll be supporting you (along with Soup :)).

[@christopherford1800]

Yes matt well worth saving you'll get there just stick with it be nice to see w123 up and running even if it take a while make great content

[@AndyDento21]

Cracking job mate.... you have a job on your hands there but I'm sure you will get there with it... I sold my Volvo c70 and bought a 2004 Mercedes Benz C220 CDI Sport-coupe 3 door hatchback which I have spent a bit of time any money sorting myself as I'm a mechanic... just little touches that now have made it like new....

[@dudleycollyer3181]

Take a look at a channel called "trevs blog" he did an excellent 3 part thing on mig welding a year back, it will help you prevent the bird nesting you got, in short move up to 0.8 wire (need to change the contact tip too) and set the feed roller pressure so that they slip if the wire gets jammed. you might also like to try making the patch panel (larger than you think) before you cut the rot out, then you can lap the joint on good clean steel, its easy to weld a lap joint or plug weld through 6mm holes as the 5mm punches are fiddley unless you have a spot weld setting on your mig.

[@kevinnye5132]

Did I hear you say 🤔 ‘ Blunt as Bums’ 😂😂. That’s my new favourite saying 😁 will be using that in the playground tomorrow 😂, yeah even old W123 need a 2nd chance and a 3rd, 4th ,5th think you get where this is going Matt ? SAVE IT 👍🏻.

[@furiousdriving]

You an have that!

[@sarahrobinson410]

I have my Mercedes CLK 320 avantgard Convertible I love my car it needs lots of care and attention but work in progress.. I considered letting it go but 15 years of dreaming of owning one then finding one for the price of a half tidy ford Mondeo 2.2 titanium. I feel I need to keep it and adjust my life accordingly and as cash flow is more available get work done. Last MOT I had new rear tyres to match my fronts the spare is a different brand but looks brand new. The interior for 19 year old car is tidy if not Immaculate Paintwork a good clean but local repairs on wings and arches.. The underside as in the sub frames keep being flagged up

[@philipbunker146]

Enjoy watching a spot of welding… especially as Nitrosilvia has been absent of late!

[@mrstanhope1516]

Glad you are persevering, I have a soft spot for these old mercs and feared the worse when your video popped up!

[@Mike_Costello]

Dry Ice media blasting is a thing and it's an awesome thing. It blasts without leaving sand or glass bead media everywhere. All that's left is the remains of what you blasted off be it rust or sealant.

[@DangerDIY]

Great video. I am enjoy watching you repair this car. My welding skills have always been pretty bad and I am glad I am not alone in my challenges with wire welding, including starting something I am wearing on fire.

[@giulianomarco]

"Never say die!" - Furious Matt, 2021.🤓

[@seancooke4127]

Looking good in the Polo Shirt Matt. Love that Mustard cap,I am now in a position to order more stuff so probably Cap and Quentin shirt, Alfa shirt, oh I don't know. My Dad's welded for 50 years and my Wife's Dad was a Millwright Fitter so from what I have learnt from them, your welding looks great Buddy. The W 123 has yet again been improved. Top work.

[@johnrandle8365]

Looks like a lot of work when you can't see where the rust is and having to find it still if he is capable of fixing it its worth while to save from the scrap yard ?

[@karlisbaumanis6549]

Just a question, recently bought a flux core mig welder due to tight budget reasons, as i am new to welding I am currently not willing to start working on my 123 yet before i've built up skill but i am wondering wether it would be possible to weld panels like these with a flux core. I tried welding on some 0.6mm steel but most of the time if im not careful enough it burns through.

[@grayfool]

I love these things. However, boy do they rot! My old 280E got past the point of no return for me. Sills, bulkhead, rear parcel shelf corners, winscreen frame and A pillars, and numerous other places were just not there! I wish I could afford a good solid one, I would jump at the chabce. If you can then you should try and get it back into one peice. Good luck. I watch with hope and thoughts of encouragement.

[@markmitchell9531]

It’s the ultimate forever car and infinitely repairable, save it!

[@insederec]

I fully plan to restore my previously NJ homed 82 300D. It will require welding and peeling back bondo and aluminum foil. I've never done anything but change oil before owning this thing but these cars are worth it.

[@tonys1636]

Underseal, the devils creation, hides a multitude of sins once moisture has got behind it. The trouble was owners used to forget cars had an underside, the top all bright and shiny whilst the floor and wings rotted under years of road grime. Underseal was thought to be a godsend. Before I owned undersealed cars they used to get treated to a steam clean and a repaint every couple of years in Chassis Black, Aluminium or Red Lead underneath after any surface rust treated. The front end was always covered in oil from the old crankcase breathers, straight down to the road. That was another good rust preventer, paint the underside with old engine oil annually. Undersealed cars had an annual pressure wash and any chips or cracks in the coating treated. Any vehicle subject to a commercial or Hackney test had to be clean underneath or wouldn't get tested.

[@АртемПрохоров-Лукин]

you still keep Quentuin, sooo... i'd say keep it, weld it, and became British Tyler Hoover))

[@deepestdub]

Hoovie never picked up a welder in his life!

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

You could try borrowing a little mini-kango hammer with SDS chisels to remove all the internal sound deadening, I've got a Silverline one and recently bought some new sharp DeWalt chisels from Screwfix for about £13.

[@jerzywoking1699]

Can highly recommend the 3m x 3m easyup race tent that XLmoto sell on line. €134 at the moment but often on special offer for less. Amazingly sturdy, mine-fitted with side curtains on three sides-did not move at all despite 70kph winds. I have secured to the ground with screw in 30cm long tent pegs (no tarmac or concrete in my garden)other wise I would have bolted it down. Excellent and will keep you dry when working on your cars

[@mercedesmaintenance.6339]

Nice job. You remind me of what I've been doing the last year. I'm restoring a w109 6.3. Lots of welding needed. Cheers John.

[@paultaylor9652]

I'm pleased you decided to save your Mercedes-Benz Matt, might be a long-term project though.

[@richardhaywoodh]

As you say pain for you but it makes for a great video especially with your comptehensive commentary, we can feel your pain welding looks fine!

[@bayuprakoso6502]

i have w123 and volvo 960 , the w123 is so so easy to get rust so rust prevention is vital for that car the problem with w123 the way they design the waterline is kinda weird so the water is often get trap in the trunk tbh the volvo just built like a tank till now it still wont rust , sry my bad english

[@FixedByDuncan]

I'm really glad to see you've decided to tackle the welding on it, even though you find it monotonous. Best of luck with the rest.

[@martinogold]

Look at Chris Fix's video 'How Much Weight can you REMOVE from your Car? (Weight Reduction)' from 14:25 for a domonstration on removing sound deadening with dry ice.

[@pablojones5613]

It's videos like this that make me realise that although cars in Australia suffer way more sun damage to the interior, we have basically zero rust problems compared to many other parts of the world.

[@fotorabia]

My 300D was a UK import into Australia...the undersealant obviously creates a water trap...on the W114s..the soundproofing on the firewall creates a watertrap...as i found out on both...the former went for $500..on the W114..i doubled my money..due to it being a 280E..

[@stevesrover]

You’ll get there! I have many “oh my god, what have I done? What am I doing?” moments with my car. I’ve avoided welding so far but I know it’s going to happen one day...

[@michaeltutty1540]

What a magnificent car that is. Glad to see you working to save it. I love the body style of these, and the colour is simply perfect for the era. Even the interior is magnificent. Cannot wait to see you driving the old girl.

[@mikenewman137]

Well done for keep going with the merc, What do you think of the new mig ? what gas are you using ?

[@paalaasengstubbrud3524]

This is a car you’ll appreciate greatly when it’s on the road. Take it as a learning experience and weld it

[@eimajish]

Phew, had me worried there! Wouldn't blame you for passing the project on, but v happy to see you willing to take on the challenge. I hope in time you will be handsomely rewarded, by owning and enjoying such a great car 'for the duration' =)

[@porsche356a]

If it were me then I would move on and try and find a better W123 to start with, but Matt you are not me, and I am glad of it! Keep it up you will get there one day. Cheers Steve

[@MegaSkypes]

Dry ice cleaning is a machine that acts like a sandblasting unit very good principle and great results!

[@HowardLeVert]

Delighted to see the W123 is going to live :) Those cage nuts that held the accelerator pedal in place look exactly like the sort of thing I use in 19" rack installations - if the screws on the pedal are M6, you're more than welcome to some. As for burning underseal; you should have seen how many times a fire extinguisher got deployed when my father replaced the sills on my Renault 16 and welded the new ones on... with oxyacetylene! Video liked, already subscribed :)

[@pinzgauernorcal]

trick to getting the sound dedening off is by using dry ice it freezes it and you can peel it right off.

[@dietznutz1]

Good channel although your camera seems to have a hard time focusing. It's nice to see some casual backyard fabrication

[@danr1920]

Learn from his mistake. Run, not walk away from rust. Even a "little" rust is aways a lot of rust.A repaired car still isn't worth a good solid one. At the end you said something about a timber shortage. Where I'm at in the U.S., lumber and sheet products are 4 times the cost of normal prices.

[@djdrwatson]

13:43 Good technical explanation!

[@davidartina5022]

Dry Ice is frozen CO2 pellets. It is very common in Germany and works brilliant on more delicate stuff like aluminium and can be effective on bouncy stuff like that Mercedes underseal. . Not many people doing it yet in the UK, arcticfox.co.uk is one.

[@furiousdriving]

Ill give them a try, thanks

[@willswheels283]

You have the patience of a saint sir! She’s a nice old car, it’ll all be worth it in the end, looking forwards to seeing more of your progress.

[@nigelbryant5932]

Well done Matt. Your welding is coming along nicely.

[@Smokeysbandit]

Brave man to take on this challenge. I wonder what this car has hidden for you to find. You will be a professional welder by the time this one is finished. I wish you well my friend and will be following this one with great interest.

[@douglasbell7667]

I've got a W123 an I have to say you're a star, love watching your video's, please don't give up on it.

[@geoffreyhallam6228]

Definitely weld the w123 is one of the greatest and most beautiful saloon cars of all time.

[@mehrzahl2219]

Did you ever watch Soup Classic Motoring? He has a series of vids on restoring a W123. Highly recommended!

[@MrGaryRoberton]

Not a bad attempt, General Motors, in their wisdom, used a compressed Felt soundproofing on Impala sedans that if you do not remove, causes a lot of internal panel rust, because of the water it wicks up, and burns merrily when welding in a repair. Happy days.....

[@furiousdriving]

Superb decision by GM

[@PaulinesPastimes]

You didn't need to do the click bait title you know. Congrats on the 'never say die' thing kicking in and deciding you would fix it. Looking forward to more. :-)

[@General.Longstreet]

Good for you Matt. Keep up the good work.

[@henntendo]

HubNut and Furious Driving upload at the same time!! How will I choose?!

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Mr Hubnut is only on car washing today, so Mr Furious got first watch!......😂🤣

[@amstereo8402]

The rust is only going to get worse as long as you keep it outside, especially in the damp English climate.

[@EnriqueLopez-hb5jn]

Save that Mercedes, W123, you already have worked with rust, before,the Volvo 740, the rust in front, is because the drain hole, possibly from the sunroof all the way down was clogged up, the water collects leading to rust, other than that the car is pretty good, now they have so many product to protect the metal

[@MrRollin111111]

Surprisingly, a hairdryer was all I needed to soften the floor sound deadening enough to peel out.

[@CauliflowerMcPugg]

Good to hear/see the old Merc is saveable 👍

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Good to see it being saved, think it may be a long time to restore but will be worth it to save a W123

[@furiousdriving]

Its going to be a long term project but amazing when it finally goes for an MOT

[@1worldgaming18]

i like the 123's , a car from when merc etc build cars that where meant to last

[@paulb4uk]

Good to see you keep at it never give up .

[@maxidyne]

Personally I would save some money up to get is sandblasted. And go from there. My quattro was 10 times worse than the 123, both sills rotted out, floor was gone, a pillars rotted, beneath the a pillars and lots and lots more. Basically my quattro is 30% original. Hope you get it sorted, such a nice car.

[@jerzywoking1699]

If he gets it sandblasted, it could turn out to be ten times WORSE than your Audi. I,m sure that you did not think that was as bad as it was pre-blasting.

[@furiousdriving]

exactly, sometimes its better not to know!

[@Zeem4]

At the risk of sounding like a shill, Autodoc's videos are great. I used quite a few of them when I was putting my Grand Scénic back on the road, the one showing me how to replace the front lower suspension arms was particularly useful.

[@furiousdriving]

Shill away! Glad they've been helpful

[@Zeem4]

@@furiousdriving 😁

[@antonio_fidalgo]

To do it right you should clean the entire underneath of the car out of the thick insolation, that often gets chipped by stones over time and rust starts to form behind the insolation (where it can't easily be spotted) and can get really nasty over time. The things that make a Mercedes-Benz a superior car, sometimes also work against it when comes to restore and maintain one.

[@furiousdriving]

yes, its all going to have to be scraped off to check

[@antonio_fidalgo]

@@furiousdriving it will be a lot of unpleasant work, but worths it in the end.

[@zambotv8150]

I am restoring a Sprinter van on my channel, that car's in great nick compared to what I started with, it's all about time

[@furiousdriving]

Sprinters seem to rot really badly!

[@scalecrawlnl]

Weld Sir, please. If all is a bit too much, SOUP motoring in Ireland perhaps can inspire, thank you.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Go on, you know you want to! Weld it! If the guy from Soup Classics can do it, then so can you!

[@knifetrain3118]

Not only is wood not plentiful it’s expensive!💰 One sheet of exterior grade plywood for my utility trailer was $87 American dollars before tax. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@furiousdriving]

yikes!

[@lesklower7281]

Good to find out you are going to fix the W123

[@GuyChapman]

Do you not use Cardboard Aided Design? I have always been useless with "electric glue". Apparently the modern light-sensitive welding masks make it easier not to weld the plate to itself.

[@furiousdriving]

I did but didnt want to over use it!

[@humayunmirza6835]

"If you can watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools; And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And-which is more-you’ll be a Man, my son!"