Hey all!

went to an auction yesterday and stumbled upon a 1972 142E.. picked it up.

She doesnt run, but that's first on the list. Where can I get parts for a car like that? Can't find many out there. Anything I need to know before digging in?

116k, manual trans. I live in rural Wisconsin, but the car was in Wyoming until a couple years ago so the body isn't too rough for its age. Any specific forums/groups for those cars?

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Where in Wisconsin are you? I am in MN close to the border, there is this great yard in WI close to us specializing in Volvos: Strandbergs Auto Inc - Used Cars - Centuria WI Dealer

 

Hey! I actually talked to them when I was in search of a radiator. Ended up being able to source one, but not through them this time. Their name has come up quite a bit. I actually have a pretty involved thread started on swedespeed in the 142 section - if you want to see some pictures and check it out the link is here
New 142E Owner Here, Picked Up at Auction

It's been fun so far, the car should be ready for the road soon. I'm up near Green Bay, so that's still kind of a long haul to the border, but not too troublesome!

Thanks!
Shelbyk

 

Oh I see where you are, yes that's quite a ways.


Nice little stinker you got there, looks like the body is in great shape and as much as I can see from the pictures engine is all there? Did you have a chance to fire it up or at least to see if the engine turns? Sounds like no key for it? I had the same issue with another old car I worked on (Cadillac), best solution was to find another ignition switch with the key and swap them out, fairly easy work and car started first try.


What are your plans with the car? Full resto? Daily driver? Those are getting harder to find and are now classics.

 

I did get a chance to fire it up! Came with no title, no keys, no information, no nothin'!

I brought it home 4/1 and 4/6 I had it running, with probably less than 3 hours into it. Video here: I was incredibly impressed with how quickly it fired up.

After pulling spark plugs and checking compression all seemed okay - but as I saved it from the junkyard I think it probably hadn't run in 10 years or so. Actually, that junkyard is the technical second owner of the car which that makes me the 3rd owner of it. Since the junkyard merely HAD the title and didn't actually do anything with the car except move it from WY to WI I guess I could consider myself the 2nd owner.

The radiator wasn't there, but besides that everything else was there. I had a locksmith out to make me keys for it so I got those. Fought tooth and nail to get the title for it, and that is being worked out with Secretary of State now, I should have it in 5-8 weeks.

I'm calling it a "mini-resto" as I don't plan to touch the paint or the body, but I am really taking care to replace parts with original pieces and get it to be a reliable driver. There are a couple guys on the other forum that were willing to send me some of their spare parts that have been really helpful. After I get the radiator in this weekend I should be able to run it more than 30 seconds and be able to fine tune some stuff. I have to clean up the engine bay some, it's covered in dust everywhere!





My photobucket has an album that I've got dedicated to this old girl, and as I continue to work on it I'll try and continue to update it.

 

Great to hear it fired up so quick, saves you a lot of additional work.


I am not very familiar with these models, what kind of engine do you have in it? Looks like a straight 4? Displacement?


It does look in very condition and I agree just clean it up as much as possible and preserve originality, it's worth more if you can keep it original. You're lucky to find something like it, especially considering where it came from. Since you're in a different state from where it was originally it could be a little bit more difficult but try finding out the story of her, adds to the value of it, especially for an original car like that and since you're really only the 2nd owner.
Looking forward to more pictures and info on getting her going. Congrats!

 

Yep its a straight 4. The first fuel injected Volvo, the year previous was still carbed. The car is such a marvel for its age, really. Disc brakes front and rear. It's a B20F and a 2.0L so fairly common now.

I believe if you click on the pics above it will take you to my photobucket where most everything gets documented. I didn't know diddly about the car when I bought it, just that I wanted it. So everyone has been super helpful in providing links and just general knowledge. I think the Volvo community has been the nicest and most helpful I've encountered.

 

So many innovations on Volvos even back then.


I too found the Volvo forums very helpful, had bad experiences on others for sure. Glad Volvo guys still hang together.


Will follow your resto progress.

 

Whew what a weekend! Got in lots of work!

First, out came the broken bolt in the alternator bracket, that way I could get that snugged up and out of the way of the radiator. Next came the radiator itself, along with all new hoses. A couple bruised knuckles later and I was ready to add coolant. While the coolant was filling, I took some time to try and figure out what the heck was going on with my vacuum lines.

As far as I could tell in any picture of any 142 engine bay, not a one had been equipped with the plastic 3-port THING that was attached to my intake manifold. After wiping off the dust, and lots of help from my swedespeed friends, I was able to identify this THING as an aftermarket something. Looks like for some kind of vacuum control, but it doesn't seem like it would have been useful or even operable. After some research I was able to remove that, and route the lines correctly. Crank case breather to air filter box. Oil fill cap to intake manifold. The rest had fallen into place correctly already, but I had been chasing around vacuum lines that didn't actually exist, thanks to this aftermarket THING someone else had put on. Pictures of the "thing" in and out of the car, for reference





Last but not least I was able to put my steering column back together. It had been apart when I bought it, and was apart even further for the locksmith to make me some keys. I was able to find all the bolts on the floor of the car, and get it put back together the way it should go. My turn signal switch is broken, but I will try and source one of those in the near future.


After all fluids were added, the boyfriend got behind the wheel, turned the key, and she fired right up. We ran it for a minute, and the idle did not come down at all. There are no vacuum leaks, so I am assuming the idle just is not set properly. It may have been adjusted to work with that 3-port fitting that was on the vacuum lines previously. I am very impressed that it started so quickly and smoothly. We were able to take the car on a short ride, maybe 1-1/2 miles total.

I'm thrilled that it runs and drives now, no more pushing! There is still a laundry list of things to do, but this has been great progress.

 

Sounds like more progress, thanks for the pics and descriptions! Looks like they managed to fit some Mopar parts in there (the magic of 'interchangeable components'). But all in all that car looks pretty complete which brings me to the next mystery, I wonder why the car ended up on the junk yard? Any story on that? It runs, looks pretty much everything there and has almost no damage on the body. Wonder why the previous owner decided to junk it? Obviously a car that should have not been there.
One suggestion I would like to add as I myself like to do is to hose the engine off. I think it's just easier to work on the engine if it's clean and makes it easier to find hidden cracks or small holes on vacuum lines or any plastic components, or any damages on electrical wires. Might also want to use an engine degreaser. If you do it though start up the engine and run it for a few minutes right after wash as it helps drying it quicker and prevent water going into possible cracks.
Keep up the progress!

 

Gosh I know that's one of the things I just CAN'T WAIT to do is clean that engine bay. I have a degreaser at the ready, but I wanted to make sure that the thing ran WELL before taking the time and effort to clean everything.

My inkling as to why it went to a junkyard... There was paperwork fro Wyomings federal aide in the trunk from 2014 saying the woman hadn't turned in the necessary paperwork so her case was being terminated etc etc. When I bought the car it had no radiator so I'm THINKING that the radiator sprung a leak and since it was relatively recently, the owner couldn't find a reasonably priced replacement, needed cash, and junked it. Just a hunch, though.

I just ordered a whole boatload of parts; rotors and calipers all around, shifter **** and boot, fan shroud, radiator cowl piece, license plate light cover, drivers mirror, motor and trans mounts, and a belt. I have yet to make sure the alternator is charging, but that I can have my boyfriend's dad rebuild with pieces they have laying around (his parents used to own a company that rebuilt starters and alternators and still happen to have LOTS on hand luckily)

I'm on vacation Fri-Tues though, so that gives me some time to get in parts and pieces. Can't wait!!