1968 Volvo 122 restoration project
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1968 Volvo 122 restoration project
Hello all, I'm new to the forum, I come from a family of volvo drivers, and today, I was given a 1968 122 wagon in very poor condition. From the looks of it, essentially everything but the actual body needs work or complete replacement. Also, from what little research I've done on these cars so far, I've learned that the original engines did not have that much power. I know that they are notoriously the most reliable engines around, but I have not been able to start the car at all, and fear that it may be beyond repair from decades of sitting being subject to the weather. If it is the case, and the engine is beyond repair, I'm looking into possibly putting a different, slightly more powerful engine in there. Do you guys know of an adequate replacement that could give me a little more power? I'm not looking to turn this into a hot rod, more just to make sure I don't always have to drive in the right lane on the freeway. And please, any tidbits about general old volvo restoration would be helpful.
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 24
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From: North Georgia
Hello all, I'm new to the forum, I come from a family of volvo drivers, and today, I was given a 1968 122 wagon in very poor condition. From the looks of it, essentially everything but the actual body needs work or complete replacement. Also, from what little research I've done on these cars so far, I've learned that the original engines did not have that much power. I know that they are notoriously the most reliable engines around, but I have not been able to start the car at all, and fear that it may be beyond repair from decades of sitting being subject to the weather. If it is the case, and the engine is beyond repair, I'm looking into possibly putting a different, slightly more powerful engine in there. Do you guys know of an adequate replacement that could give me a little more power? I'm not looking to turn this into a hot rod, more just to make sure I don't always have to drive in the right lane on the freeway. And please, any tidbits about general old volvo restoration would be helpful.
I just want to help you!!
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I come from a family of Volvo drivers, and today I got a 1968 122 wagon in very poor condition. From the looks of most everything but the body needs to work or complete replacement. In addition, the limited research I did on these cars to this day, I learned that the original engine did not have much power. I know they are notoriously the most reliable engines around.
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From: Lansing, MI
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From: Dallas, TX
Wow...just found this. The typical upgrade, without ruining the "stockness" of the car is to upgrade to the slightly larger B20 engine. Reworking the cylinder head, preferably the E or F head with larger valves, adding double spring valve springs, lightweight valve lifters and push rods combined w/ a VV71 or VV81 Isky cam will really wake the engine up. Rebuilding the SU HS6 carbs or swapping to a set of Weber DCOE's is a major increase in performance. These cars are so light that 35-45 horsepower increases are a major difference. My 144 makes about 155-160 hp and is a ton of fun!
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