My 1973 144 Restoration and Mods
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Occasionally, I find myself buying car parts simply because the price is right rather than because I need them. Such was the case with this oil filter relocation kit. The 144 was the only one with a semi-tight oil filter as it is hidden above and behind the header pipe. So...Monday I swapped this kit in, works great.
#28
I just bought a 73, and the a/c doesnt work, its fuel injected, and i just got the hot spax electronic ignition. I'm having a hard time finding parts and any real info on these. I would love to convert it to the SU carbs, any info on where to get them or parts and advice would be greatly appreciated.
#29
Most likely the compressor is no good but...it might just be devoid of refrigerant. The a/c clutch goes bad fairly often too. The D Jetronic fuel injection is pretty rock solid; puts carbs to shame actually. If you're determined to do away w/ the fuel injection, consider getting a Weber downdraft carb conversion from Redline. Parts are indeed getting harder to find. 140's have disappeared from salvage yards years ago except possibly the Pacific NW.
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#35
Hello! Thank you for sharing your project---you did a beautiful job! My wife and I have a '74 144 GL that we acquired around 1999. We drove it for a long time, but started having problems with the K-Jet injection (mainly just the injectors) and fuel pump---so we stopped driving it for a year or more without draining the fuel from the system. Bad mistake! The fuel distributor was so varnished up from bad gas I couldn't fix it, so it sat again for 8 years. A few months ago, I switched the old injection system over to dual Stromberg CD2 carbs. That got it running again, but it has been major work getting all the lights, electrical system, etc. restored. We live in New Mexico, so the heat had badly cracked and shrunk the top of the dash, the steering wheel, and the upholstery. We're in the process now of trying to restore all that on a budget. So far it's going well, but I can sure see how this whole restoration process can turn into a money pit quickly. Anyway--thanks again for your post.
#36
Texas heat does a number on interiors designed in Sweden as well. I have a dash carpet covering my cracked dash. a Wheel Skin leather steering wheel cover on the cracked but sound steering wheel and the seats are from a 91 240! The wiring is extremely simple when compared to newer cars. Most of my issues were bad grounds...my big fights were with the gas gauge and brake lamps.
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All US cars were DJet by 72 or 73. Earlier ones had FI as an option. The factory shipped many with a combined one piece intake/exhaust mani...sometimes referred to as Siamese. They can be found on 122's and 140's.1800's too I believe. Using your existing exhaust manifold, you can source an intake mani only from the same era cars. B18's and B20's used the same ones. The intakes have mounting plates suitable for SU HS6 dual carbs. If SU's aren't your thing, you can source an aftermarket Weber downdraft 32/36 carb and intake kit. IPD has 'em.