W123 accessories

[julian]

Guess what accessories I just bought off this car?

[T-Modell]

The alloy wheels? ... Congrats!
Thomas

[julian]

The car is for sale in Adelaide. It is in poor condition. The seller was willing to remove the boxes. Fantastic.

One of the locking mechanisms is missing. I suspect they are rarer than rocking horse proverbial.

The top halves need a sand and paint and one needs a little filler for a few cracks and crazing.

[T-Modell]

I guess that was a lucky find… never seen that before… enjoy!

[John Green]

now that is a rare find, congratulations.

[julian]

Hi John.
If you had any spares in the shed, I’d love a spare locking mechanism.
I’ve never seen the car before and wonder if it’s just been sitting in the paddock. Given how they look I think they have been on the car for decades.
Given they need painting I’m thinking of colour match vs a metallic grey in keeping with original.
Thoughts?

[John Green]

If you had any spares in the shed, I’d love a spare locking mechanism.

No luck, never even seen a set of these in person.

[T-Modell]

...Given they need painting I’m thinking of colour match vs a metallic grey in keeping with original.
Thoughts?

Don't know, if anyone else than John is asked ... but I would leave it in its original colour. I have never seen that; do you know anything about it? Was it an accessory company or something? Aussie special or really handmade by someone?

Regards
Thomas

[tsharkey]

I believe you could order it at the dealer but they are uber rare.

There is a set on eBay in the US for US$3,500 ....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273793706307

I would not paint them the same colour as the vehicle but that is me being anal about originality.

[GrampiansMerc]

Julian

Painting is dilemma is solved by getting a silver wagon to put them on!

Very interesting find, was the car imported with them on it?

Or did dealers order accessories, presumably from Germany, for purchasers of new wagons back in the day.

[300TDT]

Congrats!
Hope you got them for a good price - maybe most sellers in Oz wouldn't know how rare/valuable they are.

They come up from time to time in Europe and the S123 owners in the FB groups over there are increasingly surprised at the prices that are being asked. But I've never seen anything like US$3,500!!

I'd paint them to match the car.
The only reason to keep them silver (I think maybe they originally came in the same silver as the Bundt alloys? or more of a matt light grey??) would be if you were planning on re-selling them separate to the wagon? Maybe you'd get a higher price?

There's a guy in Holland with every S123 accessory imaginable. I'm sure he'd know the original paint code.

[60delux]

Super lucky find, well done

[julian]

No luck, never even seen a set of these in person.

Thanks John, I think it is going to be a hard find.

Don't know, if anyone else than John is asked ... but I would leave it in its original colour. I have never seen that; do you know anything about it? Was it an accessory company or something? Aussie special or really handmade by someone?

I see lots of mention of ORIS as a brand that provided these, and there is an exploded EPC-like diagram on a US based forum, which I have attached.

Painting is dilemma is solved by getting a silver wagon to put them on!

Very interesting find, was the car imported with them on it?

Or did dealers order accessories, presumably from Germany, for purchasers of new wagons back in the day.

The chap I bought them from was unsure as he had not had the car all that long. That car looked like it had spent its life outside, and I would not be surprised if they were there since new.

Congrats!
Hope you got them for a good price - maybe most sellers in Oz wouldn't know how rare/valuable they are.

It's hard to judge- what's a good price? I thought $500 was reasonable and this was accepted. They need complete restoration to be worthy of putting on the car. There is also a missing lock mechanism which is a shame. Thanks for sharing all those photos, as I have only seen them in the grey silver/alloy colour. My car is like your second to last in beige.

Do you know the contact details of the chap in Holland?

It seems they could be colour matched and not just silver. I don't think it would be a travesty to paint any colour in this event. I do like the idea of a gloss white finish, and expect I will add them to the car permanently.

I'll keep the team posted.

[300TDT]

It's hard to judge- what's a good price? I thought $500 was reasonable and this was accepted. They need complete restoration to be worthy of putting on the car. There is also a missing lock mechanism which is a shame. Thanks for sharing all those photos, as I have only seen them in the grey silver/alloy colour. My car is like your second to last in beige.

Do you know the contact details of the chap in Holland?

I think $500 is very reasonable. A bargain!
Even considering the restoration needed.

I got mine in late 2011 for $400 from an elderly Hungarian who had ended up in Bellingen via Perth.
He'd basically driven from Europe to Australia and used the Oris roof boxes to smuggle in a load of Hungarian wine through customs (or so the story went...)
The roof boxes were filled with desert sand after the drive from Perth. The wagon was sold and the boxes were forgotten in the garage.

I've still not got around to getting them painted to match my wagon. I'll do that in the next few years when I get the wagon repainted.

John Libert is the Dutch guy from https://www.facebook.com/groups/48788003420
He's a wealth of info & parts.
Vishal Vora who lives in Berlin is also in the same group. He was recently visiting Melbourne and asking about S123/W123/MB events that he could join.

This is a post from someone looking for a roofbox locking mechanism like you
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4601099 ... 607817475/

[julian]

Awesome, thanks for the leads!

[GrampiansMerc]

Really nice 280T on Gumtree

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/whittle ... 1316012371

Oris roof racks? would that be boxes like these? Available separately.

or these rack for the rails
Maybe they are these...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7xlJ0NG2hg

[300TDT]

Yes, the Oris roof racks as in the youtube video.
Maybe even rarer as they rusted...