The Volvo life has been a pretty mellow one over the last few months. The 145 is running excellent, and the 142 sits patiently in the garage, waiting on a paint job and a new engine. I recently picked up a rebuildable '74 B20 with the 8-bolt crank and forged internals, and I also have a T3/T4 hybrid turbo (the right size for this motor) waiting for me next time I am in SoCal, so the epic adventure of trying to turbo a carbureted B20 is not far off. I have also made a few repairs and upgrades to the wagon, including fixing the heater fan, replacing my worn-out wiper arms, re-bushing the steering idler arm, and replacing a tie rod. I Finally got around to installing the red-white-red taillights I have had knocking about in my parts boxes for a while now, and I put clear turn lenses on the front to keep with the 'no amber' look. The Momo wheel that was on it when I bought the car had finally starting disintegrating for real, (bits of leather coming off in my hands every time I drove it!), so I bought an as-good-as-new used one---a Momo Prototipo, normally used on older Porsches. The new details are awesome, and I feel really happy about the way it looks and drives.

Coming up in the not-to-distant future: new windshield, new, quieter, muffler, and a fuel injection-to-carb conversion using a Yamaha R1 bank. I hear they outperform Weber DCOEs on Mk. 1 VWs and Triumphs when tuned right, so why not a Volvo?

Heck yeah.

Ever seen a satin black 140? This '67 144 belongs to my buddy OB, and this is his first attempt at painting a car. I think it looks badass!

Volvo B20/21 rebuild

Less than a week before having to leave to take a new job in Portland, Oregon, the engine parts I had ordered back in May finally arrived! It took three nights this week, each one going well into the early morning hours to get this baby back together, but she's ready to rock at last. As of last night, the B20 (with B21 internals) is running great, with no leaks or problems, and there are just a few hours left until we roll out for a 900-mile move!

A lot of great work and cool mods had already been done to this motor when I pulled it apart---most notably to the head---but it is pretty clear that the shop or individual that put it together before I owned it did a very sloppy job. I initially tore it down because of a rod knock, but I found scored lifters, a badly rounded-off and uneven cam, broken rings on two of the pistons, and a nearly frozen oil pump...this thing shouldn't have lasted as long as it did...

The current build now consists of:

B21 pistons, rods, and 8-bolt crank.
Milled bock and head to achieve 9.25:1 compression ratio from an F head.
VPD Street Performance cam.
IPD Hi-Rev valve-train kit.
Steel and aluminum timing set from VPD.
Housings machined for rubber crank seals.
Ported head with larger-than-stock valves.
IPD header.
Toyota alternator.
Crane Cams optical ignition.
IPD adjustable F.I. box
Lightened flywheel.
240 pressure plate for a stronger clutch.

Should be putting out about 160-170 HP---maybe I will dyno it once it is broken in...

Here are some shots from the build:

Hottest 142 ever...

Volvo 142 roof rack build

I recently decided that it was time the 142 had a roof rack. AC and I and Chip are moving to Portland Oregon in 4 weeks, and we are hoping to pack everything into the two cars and not have to rent a U-Haul or truck at all (we sent all of our furniture on a trailer to Washington with my dad last September[!] when we thought we would be moving sooner). I am praying the engine rebuild parts for the 145 that I ordered from VPD will actually get here before we have to leave, but I have some doubts....not sure what I will do if that happens, but I'm not going to think about it yet. Even with the wagon up and running though, I'm sure we will need more space than what's available inside our cars; we have a bicycle rack on the wagon already, and now with a VW-style rack on the 142, we should be able to load it up with all our suitcases and bulky items.

The 1/2" steel tubing cost me $25, and I spent around 5 hours total, cutting, measuring and welding it all together. Super-cheap, and it came out looking awesome! It's just bare steel at the moment, and I thought about leaving it that way...so HoodRide...but I plan to spray it this weekend with heavy-duty bedliner. It should look nice and finished (and gloss over my crappy welds!) and be very durable.

Some photos for the 'Which bushing goes where?' quest...use the chart from last post:

Replacing suspension bushings on a Volvo 142

Nick over at Original Square is doing pretty much the same suspension job I did, and he has more info than I included in my posts about the upgrade. For the sake of getting helpful hints out to everyone, here is part of our current discussion of bushing placement:



"Here is the run-down of I know for sure:

A. ...Currently unsure. You could be right about them being sway bar bushings, but the shape doesn't look quite right. Also, if you are going to use IPD sways, you won't need these.
B. Lower front wishbones. [SAVE THE OUTER STEEL CASINGS ON THE OLD ONES, SINCE THESE DON'T COME WITH NEW CASINGS LIKE THE UPPER BUSHINGS (H)]
C. ...Currently unsure.
D. Panhard Rod (right). [Looking from rear of car].
E. Front of lower rear trailing arms.
F. Rear upper torque/trailing arms
G. ...Currently unsure.
H. Upper front wishbones.
I. Panhard Rod (left). [Looking from rear of car].
J. Axle-to-lower rear trailing arm pivot.

I have counted them up several times, and I am confused about A, C and G---they seem to be extras, or not for this car, but I'll have to make a closer inspection to be sure. I will have my car up in the air today to check the trans oil level, and I will snap some shots of all the bushings for comparison.

All the work should be DIY-able if you have access to a large bench vise or a hydraulic press and an assortment of different sized pipe/sockets to use for pressing. The upper wishbones are probably the hardest because of the pivot bolt design, but I think you could get it all without a trip to the machine shop."

Per a request from the comments on the 'Slammed Volvo 140' post, I am adding a picture of the spring compressors I am using on the rear springs of the 142. To be honest, I feel a little sheepish about using these things---$10 junk items at Pep-Boys---it's just not the normal way people satisfactorily reduce spring height. The springs can't be cut like on the front of course, because of the fact that the coil has a smaller diameter at both ends, and is bolted on instead of sitting in a pocket. I could have notched the frame or cut the trailing arms and welded the perches back on lower, but this way was cheap, easy, and after having driven it for a couple of months, I am satisfied with the method; you'd never even know they were there.



Something I have been thinking about for a long time and finally did, is move the license plate and light to the underside of the rear bumper. I kept thinking how much nicer and cleaner the back panel would be without the plate and light cover in the middle. I am very happy with the new look! There are still ugly holes in the panel where the old hardware bolted up, but I'll sand and fill it eventually, and paint it matte black like the '80s VW Jettas.







Lots of front wheel camber on these cars when they are lowered this much! Hard on tires for street driving, but nice for handling. Perfect for Autocross someday after I get a new motor in her.



In other news: I am still waiting on VPD to actually place my order...nearly a solid month of e-mailing almost every single day, and me scrambling to get all the asked-for measurements and specs, but still no parts. *Sigh* Things will work out eventually I guess; VPD is known for this sort of thing. Another interesting discovery I recently made with the 145 engine is that the head has already been extensively ported. Looks like a nice job too. I suppose I won't be learning any head porting this time around, but that's okay since I want to be able to spend a LOT of time getting it right. I will have lots of pictures of everything going into this rebuild once I have the parts and start reassembling...

Here are a couple of bad cell phone pictures of the beat-up lifters and the broken rings...I'll take proper photos soon.

Well, I finally pulled the engine out of the 145. The knocking in the crankcase had me too worried to drive it anymore---and it is a good thing I stopped running it when I did, or I might have thrown a rod! When I got the motor apart I found thrashed rod bearings, two broken piston rings, a chunky oil pump, and a handful of sadly battered lifters. Ugly! It's surprising that it was running at all...

VPD from New York State is helping me with the (expensive!) rebuild, and it should run MUCH better than it ever has considering the condition of the internals. A few interesting things I found besides the damage when I opened it up, were an 8-bolt crank, lightened flywheel, and B21 pistons. Some nice upgrades already done for me. Sweet!

Between the unnerving clatter coming from the nether regions of the 145's B20 powerplant, and the fact that the engine sound has become significantly louder in the 142 lately (not to mention that the oil leaking problem has reached epic proportions), I fear I am on the brink of losing both my forms of transportation at once! Of course, in one sense I am more than happy for the excuse to finally drop the V8 in to the two-door, and I have been excited about squeezing a little more power out of the wagon when I put it back together, but both cars at once?! Ouch.

I haven't started anything yet...I am slightly intimidated, especially since I really don't have a proper place to do the work. I am also waiting to hear back about a job in Portland right now, and if I get it, I will most likely try to nurse both cars up there in their present condition and pray they make the trip---but if the opportunity falls through, I will be tearing into both in very short order. Expect detailed accounts of both overhauls in the near(ish) future.

More of the lowered 142...

Dumped Volvo 142---something you just don't see.

A freshly cleaned wagon and the approaching storm...



I finally washed the 142 so that she would be presentable for a photo shoot, and I got a few decent angles this afternoon. The suspension is done in its entirety, front and rear, and I am very pleased with the stance---it is exactly what I wanted.

Here is the rundown of what was done:

New tires (Hancook performance all seasons).
New brake pads, front and rear. Everything in the system cleaned and bled.
1 brake hose replaced on the front, all others carefully inspected.
Emergency brake shoes repaired and adjusted.
Emergency brake cable replaced (ebay NOS from Israel!)
Differential cover and input seals replaced and filled with new fluid.
All new polyurethane bushings, front and rear.
New upper and lower ball joints in front wishbones.
New Bilstein shocks on all four corners.
New IPD sway bars, front and rear.
New Skandix non-progressive 1.5" lowering springs (25-30% stiffer than stock), front and rear: fronts cut 1.5", rears 1" coil compressors added. (As a side note, I wanted a stiff and very predictable ride, which is why I opted to not put in progressive springs---the behavior of progressives can be somewhat unpredictable at the limit).

And I guess that is about it.

Sure took a while though, since I did absolutely everything myself! Here are some pictures of the finished sled:



Despire what it looks like, the tires do not hit the fenders even when turning sharp over bumps; Steering geometry is mystifying...



You can barely even see the spring between the lower A arm and the frame pocket! The front end still has a little over two inches of travel at the tire though, which is enough for a decently comfortable and very usable ride on the highway.