W123 sedan (saloon) and W123 coupe differences - information req'd - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Stretch · #1 08-25-2011, 05:12 AM

G'day All,

I'm in the middle of sourcing some sheet metal parts for my sedan (we English say saloon - I don't know why. May be it is because of our love of spaghetti westerns...)

My W123 saloon / sedan old accident repair (and a bit of rust repair) thread

I've found some chap who has just driven his coupe into a tree and so I have a small but distinct opportunity to go and cut bits out of his car so that I can transfer them onto mine.

At the very least I'm looking for part number 5 in the picture below

I'm pretty sure that this part is the same as on the coupe.

I'm guessing that the floor parts forward of this part number 5 will also be the same in both body styles. However, as I only have access to the Russian EPC (http://mb.ilcats.ru/part/class/1/ccode/1/cat/223/type/123/subtype/243/group/61/subgr//vers//imgno/2 for example) I can't be sure.

Does anyone know which bits of the coupe body shell are shorter in length? There is a small difference in wheel base between the two models (8.5 cm according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W123)

Stretch · #2 08-25-2011, 05:34 AM

Having had a search about on various other sites I found that part numbers for 8 and 5 shown in this picture have different part numbers for each body style

Sedan numbers are

123 610 06 60
123 610 16 60

Coupe numbers are

Floor left 123 610 19 60
Floor right 123 610 18 60

This could be a difference in length. Does the coupe have 8.5 cm less leg room in the back?

This could be due to the difference in door pillar position - door length differences...

toomany MBZ · #3 08-25-2011, 06:44 AM

As I understand it, from the A pillar forward, the same. That's it, well maybe the trunk lid, rear bumper, tail lights.

Having trouble uploading anything, e-mail me for pics and specs.

chasinthesun · #4 08-25-2011, 10:14 AM

The roofline and the sunroof are 2 specific areas that differ in the sedan vs coupe ,Im guessing the shorter bodied coupe has the floor pans different in the rear seated area only.Trunk and front of car would be the same as well as the front floor pans.

Zacharias · #5 08-25-2011, 10:57 AM

I was told that sedan mats would not fit a Coupe (which would imply some difference in the front pan). But when I tried I did not find any issue, the mats from my old 240d are in the Coupe now. Not sure what can be gleaned from that.

I have been told that the front fenders won't interchange, that the Coupe fenders are slightly longer at the trailing edge.

I can't imagine why the 'front dress' panel that you highlight in the first diagram would be different.

Stretch · #6 08-25-2011, 03:09 PM

Thanks for the input folks.

I guess I'll just take along a tape measure and see what is what.

I'll post up some measurements when I'm done.

I kind of expected the whole point of offering a coupe version was that you - as manufacturer - made it as "classy" as cheaply as possible... in other words using as much of the existing sedan design as possible. Every new panel means more manufacturing expense. They must have known that by the time of a W123... but then hey those crazy Germans!

Zacharias · #7 08-25-2011, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Army

They must have known that by the time of a W123... but then hey those crazy Germans!

Oh lord no, I don't believe so.

I imagine management knew it by then.

But it was always my impression that the engineers were still getting the upper hand until the w126... or maybe the w124

Stretch · #8 08-26-2011, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zacharias

Oh lord no, I don't believe so.

I imagine management knew it by then.

But it was always my impression that the engineers were still getting the upper hand until the w126... or maybe the w124

Yep indeed - now they have product designers.

I once went for a graduate job at Ford in the UK - the first interview was all about whether you had read and memorised their website - and most importantly if you had assimilated yourself into their narrow way of thinking...

...I found I could only drink their coffee for about 45 minutes before I decided to get my train home.

Stretch · #9 08-26-2011, 12:08 AM

Thinking about the W123 body structure though...

We know the trailing arms and sub frame are the same, and the bumpers on the coupe and sedan are interchangeable. This suggests that the back ends are probably the same below glass level...

Stretch · #10 08-26-2011, 06:32 AM

I got on to epc and compared my 123.130 sedan / saloon / 4 door with a 2 door / coupe 123.053 chassis... (Good to 1981 ish in the US)

I can report back and say that all of the inner bits from the "step" cross member under the rear seat all the way to the back of the car are exactly the same part numbers. Inner wheel arches, spare wheel well, trunk / boot flooring, under rear seat flooring etc etc etc

The outer coupe wheel arch panel is (of course) different.

The under the front seat flooring and the sills / rockers / longerons are different on the coupe.

If anyone needs part numbers for these bits of body work let me know - I can post up a spreadsheet or something like that...

Special thanks go to "you know who you are" for your help!

Stretch · #11 08-29-2011, 01:29 PM

If you are looking for station wagon / estate information have a look here

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/bodywork-repair-paint-tools-tips-tricks/304337-w123-wagon-vs-sedan-floors-please-advise.html?posted=1#post2780508

It looks as though the front of the wagon from part number 5 in the first picture (post #1) forwards is the same as the sedan / saloon / 4 door.

So Mercedes just did a cut and shut on the sedan to make a coupe - and they just cut the back end off a sedan floor pan to make an estate!