Retro-fit ABS to 1981 230te

[HUGANAUT]

GUTEN ABEND EVERYONE !
I am thinking of buying a beautiful old white lady ('81 W reg. 230te),she has been online at Autotrader for a few weeks now.She lives by the sea (Whitstable) and looks great however am concerned she probably won't have ABS.Does anyone know her and or previous lovers AND if she has no ABS how difficult and pricey would it be to fit ABS, probably using a combo of new and used parts ?

 

[jberks]

I was going to say no - forget it, they never put ABS into a 123....but I'm wrong. There were 123s with ABS from that era.
Have a look at this
http://www.ozbenz.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4644&p=29145
As it was an expensive option in the UK, I don't think I ever saw an ABS equipped 123. It only became standard on the 124 afaik, probably in response to Ford putting it in the Granada (which is where I first encountered ABS). As a result, parts will be like hens teeth, but if you can find the parts and have the time/money/engineering expertise to install them then yes it should be possible.

 

[wireman]

If you drive properly you wont need ABS.

It is nice to have but will cost a lot of time to do and does your insurance company accept modified cars?

I dont want this to get out of hand but tongue in cheek,
ABS helping folks have the same old accident but faster.

 

[HUGANAUT]

Retro-fit Abs To W123

Dear JBERKS and WIREMAN, Thanks for the swift answers.Great link to OZBENZ .A fair few of the later 123's advertised seem to have it but not to say it did'nt cost loads of money and even more to diagnose and fix(reading about 124 drivers experiences turned my black leather wallet quite white ...Bosch men who can't do what is asked for 400 pounds although I could afford to charge the battery)!You are right that what it would be worth paying for is ATTENTION and also brakes,geometry,tyres and suspension.Thanks again HUGANAUT