Carb advice

Months and months since my last post here, and I am finally getting ready to tinker again!

First, brakes I think...


But the engine build is not far off, and I am seeking advice this time---I want to use Yamaha R1 carbs on the new B20 build, and I have heard that Weber jets will thread right into the Yamaha carb bodies, eliminating the issue of testing scores of jets in search of just the right one. Hopefully that proves true! Besides fabricating a custom manifold to accept the R1 delivery, it should be a fairly easy adaptation, but there is one small thing I have heard can be an issue: the springs for the slides are set up to be very light to handle the insane throttle response and rev-happy nature of the Yamaha engine. Anyone know how to go about getting the right spring tension for the much more conservative Volvo motor?

Times have been slow. 10 months of unemployment really slows things up when it comes to building hot rods.

The latest development in my own small Volvo world was the sale of the '72 145. It broke my heart to see it go, but it also has been nice to finally let go it of it and all of it finicky little issues. Anna has a car she loves now ('80 Diesel Rabbit---40+ mpg), and I have a tiny commuter that gets good mileage ('79 Corolla---33-38 mpg); both for less than the sale price of the wagon. And now I only have one 140 to focus my energy on, to dream about and to spend the extra to create the perfect combination of race car and street machine.

I met a fellow Volvo lover at my new workplace with enperience building 140 motors, so once I finally have some car money, I should be in good shape for finishing up the drivetrain for the 142. Stay tuned---I'm thinking summertime...

I think I have been working on 140s too long...

Last week I did a complete transmission upgrade swap on a '72 145 from an M40 to an M41 (overdrive) in two 2-hour sessions, and yesterday I changed a head gasket, water pump, and injector seals on a '73 142 in under 4 hours in a driveway. Both projects were successful, and the customers are happy. [Whew] I'm just happy to see other folks driving 140s!

Bumperless 142 from Tasmania

Not my car, but awesome inspiration!

Stop-motion of my 142!

142 Glamor shots

Okay, okay, I know you are all tired of me posting pictures of the 142. It's alright, you can tell me to stop. Just because I put new lights on it and am plain goofy over how great I think they look doesn't warrant such self-congratulations, right?

You're absolutely right.

As a matter of fact, these pics were taken for a class project, not simply for my own glory....but they were way too cool not to post. And a lot prettier than my usual shots!

(Click on the panorama for a bigger size.)

Some pics of the new lights on...

fog lights

Got some Hella 500 amber fog lights off ebay with some of our tax return money. I wanted to experiment with mounting the lights with no bumper...obviously brackets had to be made. It really makes for a unique look!

Despite her dramatic drivetrain woes, Faye Valentine was de-garaged this last week and I have been driving her around a little here and there. It's nice to be behind the wheel the 142 again! The roller-skate handling still makes me smile. Now that she is out, and I am noticing her again, I am planning some interior improvements, and hoping to borrow a welder from my uncle to patch the rear panel where the plate used to be, and delete the spare tire bugles behind the rear wheels. Then I can paint the inside of the trunk and rear panel black, maybe the hood too... I guess I am pretty obsessed with this car, and I feel like a wierdo the way I have to look out the window once in a while just to admire it!

I have been seeing a lot of beautiful Datsun 510s out on the street lately, and many of them are rocking the slammed beater/rat-rod look. Datsuns (as well as old VWs) were high on the list of cars I intended to own before I got hooked on old Volvos, and I am still infatuated with the culture and style that surround those cars. Slammed, with fog lights (especially amber ones), vintage custom wheels, maybe even a mis-matched body panel or door, is just lovely to me. Needless to say, with so much recent provocation, the stripped down Hood Ride street racer look has been calling to me with a voice that I can no longer ignore, so once again I have striped the bumpers and rack off Faye, and turned her loose in her undies. She looks fantastic, especially with the new suspension providing a better stance and the turbo wheels in place of the steelies. I have begun dreaming about all sorts of possibilities; like a black hood and trunk, euro fender-markers, and perhaps some fog lights mounted in the bumper holes. We'll see.

As for the drivetrain, I have come to a significant conclusion: for a person with my income, things like a $6-8K turbo engine build requiring fabricated EVERTHING, plus a WC T-5 (expensive) with a shortened driveshaft and custom crossmember, ect., ect., is quite possibly never going to be within my means. As awesome and fun as all that stuff would be, I have decided I would rather be driving the car and enjoying owning it rather than seeing it sit for years for a ultimate build...Not that the turbo plan has been completely axed, just set aside for a nice long while, or until I get rich. I am still going to assemble parts for it, including the T3/T4 from my buddy, but I am no longer concerned with how long it will take to be ready to build it. The paint on he 142 is going to wait as well, both for financial reasons, and also because I am just a bit too nostalgic about the current patina to give it up yet...

So the current plan is to rebuild my spare M-41 with the overdrive, which will get me freeway capable transmission for almost no cost, and spend a much more modest $2-4K on a beefy naturally-aspirated engine and go driving! Maybe I will try out the R1 carbs here before I tackle the conversion on the wagon.

With this plan I might even get the car ready for auto-crossing next year!





Other Volvo work I'm doing right now includes a new windshield and ball joints for the 145, and a whole slew of little fixes on my best friend's '71 142, 'The Nimbus 2000". In the process of pressing in a rear trailing arm bushing last night however, I BROKE my 6" bench vise! It was a Harbor Freight POS, but still, it was brand new and didn't even have a cheater bar on it! I still can't believe it...

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.