I knew your name looked familiar.
And it turns out I have read your 720 build thread on retrorides 
Hehe. Retrorides. Haven’t been there in ages I think.
Judging by that wire, I take it the hood release is broken?
The W123 in general had a reputation for being built like a tank - something that its immediate successor, the W124, inherited (and built on for good measure). It’s a pity that the next E-Class after that, the W210, felt somewhat flimsy by comparison, although subsequent generations have since fixed this.
Yeah, pretty much standard, it is plastic that gets brittle as it ages.
Sorry not sorry to reawake the thread.
Was there any particular reason for engine swap?
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Yeah. The old carbed 230 engine (M115) drank gasoline like a V8 in the Swedish post 1976 version with low compression, EGR, smog pump etc.
Sweden was kind of weird in 1976-86. We had stricter emission regulations than the rest of europe, but could not use cats because you could only get leaded gas. Most manufacturers didn’t care about that small market and sent Sweden half-assed versions that was thirsty and barely ran…
The later fuel injected 230E was better but that’s a completely different engine (M102)
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Not my car, but since it saw daylight for the first time since like forever today I thought that maybe I could show it.
The base for the build is a 1962 Volvo Duett (the station wagon/van that was BOF unlike the unibody PV544, but used the same mechanics, except for leaf springs instead of coils in the back, and front sheetmetal). The pickup cab is build from a PV544 body for better proportions (longer doors and lower roof), the rear axle is moved rearwards. Built by my father and grandfather in the 80s, now my father is planning to put it back on the road.
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Front end is removed from the Duett pickup now, as you can see it has a Perkins diesel in it at the moment, but that unit was a bit tiresome TBH. So, it’s going back to redblock power. Probably a B18 bored to 2 litres with a B20 cylinder head, camshaft from the fuel injected B20 and dual SU carbs, a quite tried and true recipe for an engine that should work well on the streets…
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So, now the mighty (oh well, in this case 75+ hp at the moment, lol) redblock is back in the Volvo Duett…
But at the moment we are giving the most attention to my stepbrother’s project, a 1966 Ford Fairlane.
Very hard to see here, but we have swapped the front suspension for one from a Jaguar XJ (series 3 I think, pre XJ40 anyway since they are easier to mount). To get rid of the giant spring towers that takes up a lot of space in the engine bay, also getting huge vented disc brakes, a power R&P steering and probably much better geometry than the stock suspension that was pretty worn out anyway.
And now, the 8" rear end is getting swapped to an 8.8" with LSD and disc brakes from a 2000 Ford Explorer. Since he is going to run air ride, the leaf springs are going into the bin, and instead we are going to use the 4-link suspension from a Volvo 140 series. Speaking about the Explorer, one thing is a bit annoying. It was actually in pretty nice condition, with a flawless interior, he got it cheap because the engine had grenaded itself when it was idling. Unfortunately we didn’t save the rear seat…
Back to the Duett. This interior is far from flawless, and we would rather have a bench seat in it. Unfortunately, I saw someone that had used the rear bench out of an Explorer in a Duett and it was a perfect fit. Now that mint condition black leather bench would really have been the perfect thing to have. Oh, well…
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The 1929 Packard has seen some daylight now, it’s actually not too much work getting it roadworthy now, just some adjustment of the brakes, the canvas for the top and the leather on the front backrest, and trying to register it. Unfortunately, my grandfather never got the chance to drive it, but at least we got to show him a movie of my father driving around in it when he was in the hospital just before christmas, some days before he died.
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I would love to travel in such.
True, he has a problem, like at all convertibles - the frame support is too low.
As they say, beauty is the enemy of convenience.
However, I will wait for news from the Ford Fairlane, as even in '66 it had a very high quality build. Well, now, he just has a very good bodywork, which is not a pity to invest.
I like your taste, which means you are my friend. 
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Worst possible manner? Remove the whole thing and tape a flashlight there.
The Hilbert style? Clear tape. Shit ton of clear tape. And little bit of hope.
You could also just wrap it with plastic wrap, and secure the wrap with proper tape!
This thing, you know.
I will send the bill for consultation in the mail.
Hm, nice idea. I guess that I could always connect the switch on the flashlight to a cable inside the car so I can turn it on and off without having to get out of the car.
Oh no, just manually turn it on every time. You also burn calories that way.
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I would suggest getting some clear and piece of plastic to be fitted there using duct tape to connect with rest of headlight
This is ofc assuming that headlight otherwise works and also assuming such move would be legal
The W123 is back on the road, it had some electrical gremlins (due to a short circuit in one of the headlights it turned out), and while troubleshooting it went over time for the safety inspection…then it has been standing still.
I put a new battery into it, registered it again and did the safety inspection, that failed on an oil leak (crank case ventilation hose that has been loose, fixed it now) and a sticking brake caliper on the rear left wheel (should fix it any day I guess). Not too bad, I guess it is possible to get a couple more years of life out of it before it is completely toast.
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