1 (edited by Strand83 2013-10-07 04:28 PM)

Topic: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

I've been searching for well over a year for a deal on a late 60's car that would be good for Lemons. I finally found it. a 68 Volvo 142s, manual with dual carbs. I need to coordinate picking it up later this week, but now I have the task of becoming as knowledgeable as possible about Volvos.

After some googling I have come across a few good resources including, iPd vintage Volvo parts, IPS vintage Volvo parts and also K-Jet.org which has the service manual for the car.

Still need to figure out a theme and also of the drivers I know who will actually step up to race.

I've done a handful of Lemons events now as a driver, but being the car owner is going to be a new experience. If any Volvo teams out there could pass some Volvo specific tips my way, it would be much appreciated.

Once I have the car in my garage I'll toss up some tear down pictures.

Edit:

Forgot a picture of it...

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/DRFTMYTAIL/JDI14/mini-IMG_5937_zps69b80959.jpg

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

That is an awesome find! Congratulations!

Butt Sweat & Beers.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LSS11/LSS11-UG-0292.jpg

Excellent choice of car! We've had just one Volvo 140 that I can think of in Lemons, and it isn't particularly slow. Since the front suspension should be pretty similar to the Volvo Amazon's, you should talk to Mike of the Tunachuckers about setting it up. The rear half of the car is identical to the 240, and we have tons of those in Lemons. I assume that the B230 out of the 80s 240 should be a bolt-in, though it's a slant engine design and might not fit the 140 engine compartment without modification. The pushrod B18 has a pretty good record for Lemons reliability.

If you want to race in Class C, the less like a 240 the car gets, the easier it will be for me to class it with the C cars.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

I had one of those in grad school. Interesting car. Dual SU carbs and an interesting brake system. Drum e-brakes and 4-wheel disc brakes, with redundancy in the system. Not just you front-back type brake system. The nose can be unbolted to give you easy access to the engine.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Judge Phil wrote:

I assume that the B230 out of the 80s 240 should be a bolt-in, though it's a slant engine design and might not fit the 140 engine compartment without modification. The pushrod B18 has a pretty good record for Lemons reliability.

If you want to race in Class C, the less like a 240 the car gets, the easier it will be for me to class it with the C cars.

Yes you are correct, I found a build from a group who races a 142 in Chump and they threw a B230 into theirs, slanted. The biggest hurdle seemed to be finding an alternator that fit.

The plan is to keep it going with the B18 and at most bump it up to the B20, as long as there are motors available.

Thank you for the reference to Tunachuckers, I will get in touch with them!

m610 wrote:

I had one of those in grad school. Interesting car. Dual SU carbs and an interesting brake system. Drum e-brakes and 4-wheel disc brakes, with redundancy in the system. Not just you front-back type brake system. The nose can be unbolted to give you easy access to the engine.

I assumed the car would have drums in the back and would need a rear disc conversion like a 122s, but that is good to hear.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18d3uipso8gmojpg/ku-medium.jpg

I've owned a '68 144 and it was surprisingly non-terrible for an ancient car that had sat in a field near Lodi for many years. Still terrible, though.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

I think I saw tihs car...was it an eBay auction find?  I believe I posted it to the GRM forum:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/ … 712/page1/

We (Tunachuckers) raced an Amazon for about 5 races a few years ago.  It was a really fun car- never had a ton of power, but light and predictable.  We did a couple of races on the tired B18 before swapping in a B20.  The 142 should already have the B20 in it, so you're ahead of the game.  If it's all stock, this engine is somewhat low compression, which means you can either cam it and a B20E head, or turbo it.  The later redblock engines were OHC, and slanted, which means that underhood packaging can be tricky.  The B20 is a good, solid motor that responds well to some easy performance mods.  And at least out in CA, there's still a few B20's under every rock. 

Wheel bolt pattern should be the same as the later 1800E/ES, which is a little funky and harder to get wheels for than the 122's, which were the old 5 on 4-1/2 bolt pattern.  I think you're pretty much stuck with Volvo wheels, 2/7/9/ series stuff, which aren't horrible.

I could go on and on...feel free to email me offline...I've daily driven an Amazon of one sort or another for about 4 or 5 years now, and I keep new, NOS, or rebuilt parts for just about every major system on the car in stock (and I try to keep at least two cars running at any one time), and several parts cars.  IPD has some stuff for them, and there's a few other people on eBay and around the left coast who stock just about every wear item you could need for it.  Prices aren't bad- I just replaced all three brake hoses on my 122 wagon for $62.

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/20-1971-Volvo-144-Down-On-the-Junkyard-Picture-courtesy-of-Murilee-Martin-550x412.jpg

This '71 is in a wrecking yard near me (Denver). I can probably pull some small parts off it and bring them to Sears if you need something unobtanium.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Strand83 wrote:
Judge Phil wrote:

I assume that the B230 out of the 80s 240 should be a bolt-in, though it's a slant engine design and might not fit the 140 engine compartment without modification. The pushrod B18 has a pretty good record for Lemons reliability.

If you want to race in Class C, the less like a 240 the car gets, the easier it will be for me to class it with the C cars.

Yes you are correct, I found a build from a group who races a 142 in Chump and they threw a B230 into theirs, slanted. The biggest hurdle seemed to be finding an alternator that fit.

General Leif was as close to anyone at becoming the first Volvo-powered car to win a crapcan race for a number of years. They're a good team, but that alternator issue has killed them again and again, as you've probably read.

(Pointless trivia: A Volvo 760 won two Chump races a couple weekends ago to become the first Volvo engine with a race win.)

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

I'll be honest: owning the car sucks. Hard. Well, sometimes. Owning MY car sucks. Yours appears to be awesome. Good luck!

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Just saw one going down the road today and had the integrated fogs in the grill.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LNJ12/0253-LNJ12-UG.jpg

The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers, the Bert One and the Fastish and the Furriest Volvo 240s have all finished in P2 or P3. Any one of them could take an overall Lemons win.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Well, you now what I would do. Run it with the stock motor in it and junkyard chassis upgrades. Then build a more powerful motor with as little money as possible, but definitely spring for a mill of the head, a valve job and maybe a lumpy cam (if you can fins one cheaply), plus a home made header (if the stock exhaust is as bad as the Ford six).

Constructor/Owner/Driver - Billy Beer Ford Futura

14 (edited by Strand83 2013-10-08 02:05 PM)

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

mechimike wrote:

I think I saw tihs car...was it an eBay auction find?  I believe I posted it to the GRM forum:

.

Yes! That is the auction. I ended up getting it for $565 which surprised me to be honest. Usually the cars that auction from this place go for 800+ and I wasn't willing to go over $600 for it. I lucked out...hopefully!

Thank you for the advice and yes, I will be getting a hold of you as I start to tear the thing apart and figure out what to do with it.

Judge Phil wrote:

This '71 is in a wrecking yard near me (Denver). I can probably pull some small parts off it and bring them to Sears if you need something unobtanium.

I appreciate the offer very much, but I unfortunately haven't been able to participate in Lemons this year. I've been building a MR2 for my Masters thesis. If it comes down to desperately needing something in the future I might bug you again with shipping and finders fee funds though smile

therood wrote:

General Leif was as close to anyone at becoming the first Volvo-powered car to win a crapcan race for a number of years.

If I recall correctly...they got 2nd place at a race in Portland and that was their best. Maybe it was 3rd? But yeah the crazy thing reading their build was how often they would find magical parts that would work, but that they had no clue what vehicle it had come from. Their response was "we will cross that bridge when we get there." Sounds like it doesn't work well that way.

ninjacoco wrote:

I'll be honest: owning the car sucks. Hard. Well, sometimes. Owning MY car sucks. Yours appears to be awesome. Good luck!

Thanks! I hope it doesn't suck. I had an Audi Coupe GT for a while and it was a nightmare. This Volvo seems too basic to be as painful as the Audi was.

Parkwod60 wrote:

Well, you now what I would do. Run it with the stock motor in it and junkyard chassis upgrades. Then build a more powerful motor with as little money as possible, but definitely spring for a mill of the head, a valve job and maybe a lumpy cam (if you can fins one cheaply), plus a home made header (if the stock exhaust is as bad as the Ford six).

Hahaha yes, I will be taking most of the things I learned working on the Billy Beer car and applying it to this one. I actually need to figure out how to get the rollcage put in for as low priced as possible and was thinking about hitting your guy up.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Strand83 wrote:
therood wrote:

General Leif was as close to anyone at becoming the first Volvo-powered car to win a crapcan race for a number of years.

If I recall correctly...they got 2nd place at a race in Portland and that was their best. Maybe it was 3rd? But yeah the crazy thing reading their build was how often they would find magical parts that would work, but that they had no clue what vehicle it had come from. Their response was "we will cross that bridge when we get there." Sounds like it doesn't work well that way.

They finished 2nd three times in a year, all at Portland.

Judge Phil pointed out the other big-time Volvo teams, plus the Keystone Kops who have been uber-close, too. They might be good people to talk with, also. A bunch of them work for Volvo North America and assorted Volvo dealerships and know a thing or two about the ol' Swedish heaps.

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Judge Phil wrote:

http://www.murileemartin.com/UG/LNJ12/0253-LNJ12-UG.jpg

The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers, the Bert One and the Fastish and the Furriest Volvo 240s have all finished in P2 or P3. Any one of them could take an overall Lemons win.

nah we can't win, cause we've only finished P4 and now keep breaking dumb stuff.  but we did just make one big budget exempt upgrade in a move that will hopefully get us closer to a laps win.  we'll see later this month!

140 has double a-arms and a steering box up front, quite a bit different than a 240.  b21/23/230 from 240/740/940 doesn't just bolt in but isn't hard to fit.  many have been mounted upright in a 120/140/1800 chassis.  you can use the oil pan off a b18/20, oil pump too I think, maybe pickup tube, or maybe it has to be modified, I'm not sure.  I mainly frequent http://forums.turbobricks.com/ as one of the admins there.

generally I'd say stiff front springs (~800-1000lb), lower, negative camber on the front is easy to get and geometry is good.  maybe slightly stiffer/shorter rear springs but not too much stiffer (150-200lb).  reinforce the front spring seats and the sway bar mounts on the a-arms especially if you fit a larger sway bar.  rear is a dana 30 based axle, or maybe dana 27, something not too uncommon though.  15x6 ET20 Virgos from a 240 will fit, but I prefer 15x7 with a 205/50/15.  the 15x7 ET20 Multi-X wheels from a volvo 780 are good, as are MSW made by OZ that commonly show up (I have a set for sale now).

B20 can make power and rev, the car is not too heavy, good suspension and brakes....it can be a very good car.  has done well in SCCA ITB over the years.

FastISH and the FURRiest 1991 Volvo 240 wagon
WV 13th, FL 8th (GRM), NJ 8th (B win), WV 4th (B win), NC 14th, NJ 14th, WV 62nd,  NH 17th, NY 54th
2012 Sears Point Outlaw...74th!

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

towerymt wrote:

B20 can make power and rev, the car is not too heavy, good suspension and brakes....it can be a very good car.  has done well in SCCA ITB over the years.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been to turbo bricks a few times, it has been very helpful so far!

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

The rear end in our Amazon was a Dana 30, we swapped from 4.1 to 4.88 gears back when we were running CMP short course, but with the longer course I'd probably stick with the 4.1 that came stock. 

The stock factory exhaust manifold is surprisingly good, with a two-outlet manifold that can be run into straight dual exhausts all the way back.  Sounds like a miniature ferrari when done that way.  At least, that's what one of our teammates said. 

Echo what towerymt said about the suspension. 

Finidng a good, usable B20E head will be cheaper than having the stock head machined and give you the larger valves to boot.  The D grind cam should work well with this setup, it's about $150 I think.  That and a good home suction dart valve job along with a carb rebuild should get you a long way towards a 110- 120 hp powerplant.

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

The 268-horse engine out of the S80 T6, bolted to the 960 bellhousing, will fit in the engine compartment of a 240. How hard could it be to fit one in a 140? You can get wrecked engine donors for cheap and sell off interior parts for decent money (I know, I've looked into building a stupid 262C project with such an engine).

Actually, I'm sure it would be a horrible nightmare. Never mind.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Judge Phil wrote:

Actually, I'm sure it would be a horrible nightmare. So you should pursue it.

FTFY

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Since the K-car has proven to be such a debacle for everyone involved, I feel sort of guilty about encouraging racers to pursue really stupid ideas. Instead, I will encourage them to pursue moderately stupid ideas.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Judge Phil wrote:

The 268-horse engine out of the S80 T6, bolted to the 960 bellhousing, will fit in the engine compartment of a 240. How hard could it be to fit one in a 140? You can get wrecked engine donors for cheap and sell off interior parts for decent money (I know, I've looked into building a stupid 262C project with such an engine).

Actually, I'm sure it would be a horrible nightmare. Never mind.

Sadly a manual transmission is a good bit more involved.  The 960 always came with an auto in the US and the only manual transmission that will bolt up to it is a rare Euro only thing.  (m90?)  If it was easier to mate up a manual, the Volvo white block would be a hell of an upgrade for any RWD Volvos.

Quad4 CRX - Wartburg 311 - Civic Wagovan - Parnelli Jones Galaxie - LS400 - Lancia MR2 - Boat - Sentra - 56 Ford Victoria
Known Associate of 3pedal Mafia, Speedycop, and the Russians.  Maybe even NSF.

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

268 horsepower is a good bit cheaper and easier out of three-hundred odd cubic inches of Windsor, anyway.

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Judge Phil wrote:

Since the K-car has proven to be such a debacle for everyone involved, I feel sort of guilty about encouraging racers to pursue really stupid ideas. Instead, I will encourage them to pursue moderately stupid ideas.

That's because no one's done what _I've_ recommended: drop in a 318, 904 trans, and a stick axle.  It would be like a K-perial.

Tunachuckers: 15 Years of Effluency
'08 - '10: 1966 Volvo 122, "Charlie"
'10 - '18: 1975 Ford LTD Landau --> 2018 - current: Converted into 1950 "Plymford"
'22 - current: 1967 Volvo 122, "Charlie ]["

Re: Snagged a 1968 Volvo 142...

Judge Phil wrote:

Since the K-car has proven to be such a debacle for everyone involved, I feel sort of guilty....

Even with the use of the weasely "sort of," I still don't believe this.

Pat Mulry, TARP Racing #67

Mandatory disclaimer: all opinions expressed are mine alone & not those of 24HOL, its mgmt, sponsors, etc.