Tim catches up with a fellow artist to view a classic ’80s Mercedes wagon used to transport artworks and surfboards

Mercedes-Benz cars have been collected as recognised classics throughout motoring history. Grand Prix Mercedes are now almost priceless, and even well looked after Mercedes-Benz saloons from the ’50s and ’60s fetch solid prices. If the car is a limousine specification model or a coupe then it is all the more sought after. But what of the common or garden Mercedes-Benz wagons?

Long used for big family luxury motoring, and often thrashed from years of alpine skiing adventures and beach holidays, the wagons are perhaps less likely to have survived in decent numbers — but then again, old Mercedes-Benz’s have always been known for being rugged and hardy.

First wagon

To find out more I visited artist and art teacher Leighton Upson. His 1984 Mercedes wagon is used every day to cart all manner of things — from painted canvases to Malibu surfboards and a large Alsatian dog named Hogan.
The first thing I learned about the Mercedes T-series wagon is that they will eventually be seen as more than just an everyday classic, because the T-series was the first station wagon Mercedes-Benz ever built.

Just as with Jaguar in more recent times under Ford ownership, until 1979 Mercedes-Benz had never produced its own estate or wagon versions of its saloon car model ranges. Originally the wagons were available in only three versions — the 240TD with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, the 250T with a 2.4-litre six-cylinder carburetted engine, and the hi-tech 280TE with its 2.8-litre six-cylinder, twin-overhead camshaft fuel-injected engine. The entire T-series range, including saloon car versions, was built from 1975-1986 as the factory code-named W123 chassis code.

Surf’s up

Leighton’s T-series Mercedes-Benz is from towards the end of the model’s production life and is still in good all-round order, with sections of the interior and body in extremely tidy condition.

The 230TE Wagon (or should I say Wagen) is from the lower end of the Stuttgart factory’s powerplant range for the series, being the big four — a torquey engine of 101kW (136bhp). This enables Leighton to head off into the New Zealand countryside to paint the native bush at will, or throw his big Malibu surfboard into the rear whenever the swell of the Tasman Sea calls.

Spaciousness and driver comfort were the two main features that beckoned Leighton to the Mercedes-Benz in the first place, after he’d initially noticed a fellow Spotswood College staff member, Tony Peters, driving it. Before long Leighton bought the big Merc wagon off Mr Peters and headed into the bush with a blank canvas.

The Upson Mercedes-Benz 230TE is an automatic four-speed example with smooth power steering, which gets up to speed quickly and cruises with ease, even with a decent load in the rear. According to the car’s handbook, the permissible rear axle loading weight is 1200-1300kg, although I wouldn’t mind betting it would cart more than this.

Designed to carry people and possessions in typical Mercedes comfort, this wagon also came with a standard factory roof rack with a 100kg weight limit, making it ideal for  carrying skis and kayaks. The rear suspension is also self-levelling depending on the weight carried, something Citroën enthusiasts are already used to.

Well appointed

When the Mercedes-Benz wagon hit the market at the end of the ’70s Kiwis didn’t have much choice in big luxurious wagons with a roof rack, sunroof, air conditioning and a luxury finish. Until these Mercedes T-series cars came along, once you moved beyond the well appointed, but less luxurious, Chrysler Valiant station wagons or the lengthy Citroën Safari, you really had to jump to a Range Rover to get an equivalent to a big luxury wagon.

The Japanese weren’t yet making big, well appointed wagons, and your typical Jaguar owner would have heaved into their bowler hat if you had suggested the marque would one day build a station wagon. As for large American station wagons, they were rare imports to New Zealand. You were more likely to ride in one if you had died, courtesy of the local funeral home. Mercedes-Benz really did have much of the large luxury wagon niche in New Zealand to itself for a time.

Survivor

Surviving Mercedes T-series wagons are now at the stage where they are either being preserved (albeit in small numbers), or driven into the ground like many older, long-lived ’70s and ’80s cars. The coupes are stylish collectables, but the wagons are more likely to have been worked for all their might until they’ve become baggy and eventually failed a WoF.

German wagon history was made with this model, and Leighton Upson’s Mercedes-Benz 230TE gives us perhaps one of the last New Zealand views of one of these old German wagons before they all fade away. As for Leighton, he is now looking to rescale his vehicle fleet, and has decided to sell the big Mercedes. But, of course, he’s hoping that it will go to an owner who will preserve it. In the meantime this everyday classic will continue to serve in the name of art and surfing.

1984 Mercedes-Benz 230TE Wagon

Engine     Four-cylinder
Capacity     2299cc
Fuel system    Fuel injection
Bore/stroke    96.4×81.02mm
Max power    101kW (136bhp) at 5100rpm
Transmission    Four-speed auto

Dimensions

Wheelbase    2820mm
Track (front)     1502mm
Track (rear)     1467mm

Performance

Max speed    175kph (109mph
Words and Photos: Tim Chadwick