1970 Volvo Other

U/K

Upgraded B20

Manual

Clear

GAS

For your viewing (and hopefully bidding) pleasure, I am offering my red Volvo 145s, 1970 model year. Unrestored. red. project. Brief synopsis: I've spent the last 25 years buying old Volvos. Some good, most bad. Parting them out, selling some to friends who just needed cheap cars.. whatever. Somewhere around 1992, it seemed nobody cared about 140 series cars anymore.  Except me. I was still buying them up whenever they'd turn up cheap. I was collecting parts. I knew that one day, the right wagon would turn up, and I'd throw all my good parts into a single car and have the 145 of my dreams.  One day, a gentleman stopped by while I was outside working on my Jag XK120. Not uncommon for folks to stop and want to talk Jaguars. But, not the case with this fellow. He wanted to talk Volvos. Said he'd seen the Volvos, and wondered if I'd be interested in a 145 that he had. "Probably not", said I, but told him I'd take a looksee... So I did.  Immediately upon arriving at his home, and seeing the car from a distance, my though was.. 'OMG, this is it!'  An unrestored, 1970 145 in faded original red paint, no wrecks, no rust. Automatic transimission, dual Stromberg carbs.. perfect! Perfect for a complete transformation. I bought the car. Even though it was offered for free, I gave the man cash so's not to feel guilty.  Out with the old, in with the new.   Engine: A bit of a mystery. I traded a good car for the engine. All I know is that it's very high compression late B20.. '74 I think, very nicely ported and polished head, my best guess (based on measuring lift) is that its got a R-grind cam. Double valve springs, steel timing gears. I added the Weber DCOE 40s, though it'd probably prefer 45s. The head is shaved.. er.. maybe chopped, significantly. As in, I've never seen so much meat removed from a B20 head. Low elevation might be a problem. I don't know. It runs great here, but we're at 5000-8000 feet. Definitely overbored to 2.1 or more. Might be stroked. I don't know.  Exhaust is also limiting. Stock fuel injection dual down exhaust followed by 2" pipe and a free flow muffler. Nothing special. But it runs like no 140 I've ever had. The youtube videos don't show it great, but do take a look none the less (bear in mind, both were this afternoon, and the gas in there is ~6 years old. I added a couple gallons of fresh): http://youtu.be/rU5bQVqBfAA http://youtu.be/AUEXFGol6ik   Transmission ais an M410 (yes). I don't actually remember where the M410 came from, but most likely a '70 1800E. Though I do know I pulled one from a 142E at some point. Transmission is a little noisy, as M410s are wont to be. But it shifts smoothly and does what it needs to do. Overdrive works. When I did the conversion, I did not properly swap pedal boxes. I just cut the brake pedal and added a clutch pedal. It ain't right. It works. It needs to be done right. Rear end is a posi (limited slip) that I pulled from a different '71 142E. It still works well, per pictures  :)   Along with the rear end install, I changed all the suspension arms to the '71 spec. Which sets the rear about 1" farther back in the chassis than was stock in 1970.  1" longer driveshaft as well, and large diameter. Again, from the 142E. Suspension-wise, not a lot. The rear as described, but is stock. And there are some clunks.. there's some bushings that need replaced. Up front, also stock. Except for the IPD sway bar. I rather prefer the feel with just the upgraded front and no rear sways. Personal preference. Pretty sure I've got a IPD rear bar and mount kit. If I can find it, I'll include it, but no promises. Past that, the car is original. The odometer has not worked since I did the drivetrain swap, and shows 117k, which I believe to be original miles. I figure I've put 10k on since, so.. figure 130k original. I even found the original operator manual, 145 supplement booklet, and the original owner ID card  :) That's not to say she's pristine. She ain't. Prior to me getting the car, it was used as a storage facility. And after I got the car, it was used as a storage facility. It's dirty, dusty, mice have had some fun.  But.. damn, it's not bad. Pictures say more than I can. Paint is original and is totally faded.. again, pics. The one pic of the inside of the door shows original pretty well. A nice deep red. Pretty rare to find on a wagon.  The car has never been wrecked, though there are a few dings here and there. The biggest, which I cannot capture in pictures, is that there is a slight memory in the roof from snowfall or perhaps someone putting something heavy up there. Minimal bracing from underneath would totally hide that, and you don't notice it unless it's wet. I was just gonna stick a roof rack on there. I also had a wheel fall off some years ago (don't forget to retorque those lugnuts when running alloys  :)  ) The tire got wedged up in the drivers side fenderwell, slightly mis-shaping that fender. It's very minor, but can be seen in the gap between the fender and the door gap. I'm sure that'd be an easy fix. That incident also crunched the jacking strut on that corner. It could probably be bent back into shape.  Speaking of wheels, she's currently on 240 alloys. 14". I should be able to scare up the original slotted steel guys that came with the car. Brakes could use a bleeding, and I know the flex line to the rear brakes has a pinhole leak. Overall, the car runs pretty damn good, will run away from a 240 turbo. I've never had it on a dyno, but I'm guessing we'd see 160-180hp at the wheels. Interior is there. Surprisingly, only one crack in the dash, and it's way off on the drivers side corner where you barely see it. Not sure if the upholstery is original.. my thought is that it's not. It's cloth, and it's not a super strong cloth like I'm used to. The dash is cut for a stereo, but still a dual post mount unit. So an original guy would probably go in fine with a faceplate. Glass is all original to best of my knowledge, and no cracks. Expect stone chips in the windshield. All the hinged windows (including the rearmost ones, last year for those) have broken off latches, as is always the case. *Sigh*   I'd sure love to keep this one and finish it up, but my Volvo focus is now on an 1800ES and a 123GT, so, best send the strays off to folks who will appreciate and love them more than I can. Seeking payment asap, should it get any bids. But, here is the fun part! You can have this car shipped right away (I'd gladly contact a good shipper that I've worked with), or come get it any time. Alternatively, I can hang onto it if it's inconvenient to have to get it right away. For as long as a year. My wife and I live in the mountains of northern Colorado, and we have a guest cabin. We welcome the buyer to stay or camp for a night or two, I'll help with the car as I can, and you can drive it home... Plan your Colorado vacation over the winter  :)  However you want to go about it, we're flexible.   If you do choose not to get the car for a period of time, PLEASE CONTACT ME PRIOR TO BIDDING!!! The offer to hold the car for up to a year is only valid if I am contacted before you bid. And, be sure to check my other auctions! I've got an interesting '64 122s coupe for sale too, as well as other fun stuff!