Description
1982 Mercedes-Benz 280TE W123 Estate
Sir Barry Gibb’s family car for over 30 years - last surviving member of the Bee Gees.
SPECIFICATION/ COMMENTS
- Original ORIS roof boxes, ORIS roof rack and ORIS towbar included.
- Automatic
- Seven seats
- Load cover and luggage guard: all perfect condition
- Four electric windows
- Zebrano wood inserts on dashboard uncracked/ unmarked
- Original Bundt alloy wheels
- Power steering
- Central locking
- Rebuilt Aircon
- All options fully functioning
- ULEZ exempt. Historic Tax. MOT exempt.
ORIGINAL FEATURES
- Toolkit
- Jack
- Unopened First Aid kit
- Spare alloy
- Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 radio/ cassette player with Bluetooth
BODYWORK
The Classic White paintwork is a softer, almost English white hue and appears new and fresh. There are some imperfections that the trained eye can see. The bright work is uniformly good and smooth. Original spare alloy with period tyre. No rust evident. I’m keeping my eye on two places that could develop. New windshield gasket, hatch seal and weather strips.
INTERIOR
Unworn upholstery and original pristine floor mats (over mats used). There are no cracks or holes in the dashboard. Apart from two small marks the roof lining is clean and uniform. All interior options function. 7 seats, and a luggage cover and dog guard. The car has an authentic and pleasing older vehicle aroma.
ON THE ROAD
The car starts faultlessly winter or summer and the engine runs smoothly. The 6 cylinder engine effortlessly keeps up with motorway traffic. Gearbox/ kick down all smooth and fine. Never overheats. Steering very direct. Brakes pull car up straight and true. The suspension is soft and rattle and clonk free. The self-leveling suspension works very well.
We have 4 children and love cycling. With the roofboxes and a bikerack on the towbar it's a very useful and characterful car.
It is not a nut and bolt rebuild, but a very well sorted daily driver that's ULEZ exempt with working aircon, bluetooth and 7 seats. I am happy to provide many more photographs either via email or WhatsApp. Registered 23 March 1982. Bought and driven for over 30 years by Sir Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees. I bought the car at a Bonhams Auction in 2018 with the mileage at 29k. We used it as a weekend family car adding 5k miles per year bringing the total to 47k. The service book however shows a speedometer change at 8k back in 1988. So the actual total mileage is 55k.
When I bought the car in 2018 I had the entire underside stripped, cleaned, rustproofed and rebuilt using new and new old stock parts and rebuilt kits where available. That includes renewing of the fuel system, brakes, aircon and self-leveling suspension. In 2022 I had the car repainted in the original Classic White 737 to tidy up some of the 40yrs of scuffs. I also sourced original Bundt rims (not aftermarket) and had them refurbished.
I have invoices of nearly £19k for recent work and the car needs very little expenditure going forward.
We bought this car because we wanted to have a useable classic for a large family. I'm reluctantly selling it because the kids have grown up and we'd like to try something else. Whoever buys this car will benefit from hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds of improvements.
It literally needs nothing and can be taken to the South of France in a heartbeat with a full load.
The Bee Gees connection is a fun conversation topic and signed pictures are included in the sale. I'll also include the various magazines that featured the car as well as original documents showing the provenance.
