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Irv Gordon's Classic Volvo
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Comments
I've seen a single carb engine, but I can't recall if it was a B16 or B18. The carb was not an SU, but some obscure Zenith or Solex. One time for that very car I put on a carb from a Rambler 6 cylinder, re-jetted it, and the old Volvo ran better than ever.
The B18s in the 122 model were pretty lively engines for their size, and with a B20E head, good ignition, rebuilt SUs and a decent camshaft (Volvo camshafts of that era were very soft and degraded the performance of the engine over time) they ran out very smartly indeed.
You could hardly ask for a simpler, sturdier 4 cylinder engine.
The B16 crank could snap, however. Sometimes you wouldn't even know except for the bad noise you heard at the crack as the crank spun around. But the engine would still run okay until the break was so big the two halves of the crank would spin apart.
1) Install Steel timing Gear
2) Replace the old filt type with the later type of crankshaft seals.
3) Upgrade to a newer and bigger camshaft.
Also I'd machine an improved bracket system for the generators. They wobble. And throw away the P1800 engine oil cooler. All it does is leak and it couldn't cool a mouse's toes.
I havesn't heard of or experienced any problems with the generator brackets. Did those vehicles you've seen this phenomenon on have AC?
I really don't have any experiene with the oil cooler. I do know that in Sweden, those are sought after, collectible options. Don't throw them away, in other words.
The lower generator bracket holes on the B18 elongate and the securing bolt can't tighten the generator down. So people try to tighten the generator with the top bolt that holds the swivel, and invariably end up either snapping the bolt off in the head, or creating so much tension on the belt as to ruin the water pump bearing.
The generator hold-down is just a clunky design that is susceptible to damage if the bolts get loose or rusty. The holes the bolts slip through elongate due to vibration.
If you are really on top of the B18 engine in your car you won't see these things. By now, these old Volvos are owned by enthusiasts, not the spaced-out Volvo owners of the 1960s. So many the issues aren't issues anymore.
"I've paid for all my parts, all my gasoline, all my servicing: no discounts."
"The Smiths gauges, I've probably had repaired or replaced numerous times."
"The transmission seals and 3rd gear synchro have been replaced and the overdrive has been stripped and clean, but that's all."
The Smiths gauges on a Volvo P1800 are a very bad joke.
BTW, I sold the Volvo ('00 S70)last February due to quality problems, and bought an '03 Acura TL instead. Accidents like this do put things in a different perspective, however. Was selling the Volvo a mistake? I only have a sore neck now, so I think I came out OK after all.
Thanks for asking.
The company I used to work for was in Washington Court House before it moved to Columbus.
I remember those two lanes and some horrific accidents.
Glad you didn't get hurt!
Otherwise, value depends mostly on cosmetics, since bodywork and upholstery is ten times more expensive than the simple mechanicals of the car.
Mechanical parts are no problem to find, and there are even performance parts for this car, but little chrome trim pieces, lenses or grillwork could be costly and hard to locate.
It's not a very valuable car nor will it ever be. I'd say $1,500 for a tired running car with some dents and holes in the carpets, $2,500 for a clean daily driver with a few small needs, and $5,000 for a stunning better than new show car.
Issues include weak water pumps that leak,(grab the fan at 3 & 9 o'clock and wiggle it and see if the water pump shaft moves) exhaust systems that break their rubber doughnut hangers and fall off,(see if doughnuts are cracked and ready to let llose) bad rear brakes caused by the fact that the rear drums are a real pain to get off to check the brakes (low pedal, noise in rear drums). The power brake booster can fail (you'll feel a very hard pedal but little stopping power) and are *very* expensive to rebuild. Timing gears are one steel, one fiber, running on a chain, and they can get rather noisy and sloppy. You can check those by wiggling the fan and belt and seeing if the rotor in the distributor moves as the pulley moves. If the pulley moves 1/2 inch but the rotor doesn't move, then your gears are sloppy. The car won't run right. Sooner or later the fiber gear will break its teeth off.
Engine bottom end is indestructible. Valve clatter up top is pretty normal. If car seems gutless, probably cause (after tune-up) is worn camshaft, as factory shafts are very soft and a known defect. So watch for this on a low mileage original car that might still have a factory cam in it).
But basically this is a tough simple little car that isn't hard to work on at all. Some people don't like the SU type carburetors but that's only because they don't understand them. Their biggest problem is worn throttle shafts, so they leak air into the engine, and this causes an erratic idle. Solution is to rebore both throttle shafts.
But again, take a pass on the automatic transmission, you won't be happy.
And ALWAYS use high test gasoline at all times!
Overall, a tough, fun, affordable old hobby car that can be driven daily.