Two months ago I received a text from a friend of mine who recently moved out of SF and up to Santa Rosa (about an hour north). They were sending me contact info on a guy they had just met who has a bunch of Volvo 122s he was looking to sell. Call him up and find out there are 5 cars he is trying to find homes for; two 1964 sedans, two 1967 wagons and a 1967 coupe. They had originated from a Volvo collector in Walnut Creek who passed away last year. After getting details on each one of the cars, the one I am most interested in is the 1967 coupe. From the initial pictures I receive, it looks to be fairly solid. On the other hand, one challenge of this car is it has not been on the road since the middle of the Reagan administration.
A week later my friend Alex and I take a drive up north to check out the coupe and one of the wagons. We end up seeing the wagon first and quickly determine it is more of a project car than a runner. It was said to have been dormant for 5-7 years, but the floors had definitely seen better days. We then went to look at the two-door which is being stored at a different location about a mile away. (Update: This owner is at $1000 for this wagon)
Circling around the coupe, start to assess whether this would be a worthwhile project. The latest tag on the license plate reads 1984, though it is a late 1960s black and yellow license plate, a true sign of an original California car. In spite of the 40-year slumber, there is not much rust showing on the exterior. Find a little corrosion at the bottom of the quarter panel near the juncture of door and the sill, though not extensive. From the condition of the window seals and the overall condition of the paint, the car looks to have been stored inside rather than left to the elements. The big issue with the paint is a fair amount of splotches on the hood, roof, trunk and the top of the front quarter panels. The diameter of the scars seem to point to being bird crap which weakened and ate through the paint. Other speculation is it could have been tree sap but the size of the blemishes and scars better match to birds rather than trees. The most significant section of rust on the car turns out to be at the base of the nose piece just above the bumper.
A mostly intact B18 sits in the engine bay though the SU carbs and the starter are missing off of the engine. The exposed intake runners sport a significant amount of rust which makes me wonder what is the condition of the cylinders with open valves. The radiator while not in the engine compartment is sitting in the trunk. Rotate the fan to find the engine moves fairly easily and not seized up. Raise the concern about the internal condition of this B18 after sitting this long and the owner says they can include another B18 with the car. This donor engine was rebuilt 20K miles ago but the car it was in ended up getting in an accident. The engine was pulled before the car was scrapped.
The interior is actually decent for its age. The carpet is missing completely though this makes inspecting the floors much easier. Lots of surface rust but not gaping holes. Going into the car, there is a strong aroma of varnished gasoline. The headliner has a large rip down the first front seam. The trunk also smells heavily of varnish so a new gas tank will definitely be needed for this car.
Head back to San Francisco and start to mull over whether to pick up the cars. While the wagon could be brought back to life, it is a pass for me mainly because of the floors. Conversely, the coupe seems to have a strong foundation. That said, with the long hiatus off the road any system which held fluid will need to be renovated and/or replaced. While going back and forth with the owner, find out he needs to get more paperwork from the estate of the PPO. Asking about any additional parts available, find out there are a couple M41 transmission available. Finally we settle on $2K for the 122, rebuilt B18 engine engine, set of SU Carbs, two M41s, M41 driveshaft, chrome rims, some exterior parts, and they will bring the car to San Francisco. Sold!
Two weeks ago the 122 finally arrives. The reason I am able to get the car delivered, they are also picking up a P1800 to take back north to Marin. We are able to get the car off the trailer easier than I expect with the car having no brakes at all. Once offloading the car, set upon the task of removing the B18 and M41s out of the bed of their pickup truck. The first order of business will be taking each wheel off and inspecting the brake system. At minimum I would like to be able to stop the car when required, especially from the hand brake.
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A week later my friend Alex and I take a drive up north to check out the coupe and one of the wagons. We end up seeing the wagon first and quickly determine it is more of a project car than a runner. It was said to have been dormant for 5-7 years, but the floors had definitely seen better days. We then went to look at the two-door which is being stored at a different location about a mile away. (Update: This owner is at $1000 for this wagon)
Circling around the coupe, start to assess whether this would be a worthwhile project. The latest tag on the license plate reads 1984, though it is a late 1960s black and yellow license plate, a true sign of an original California car. In spite of the 40-year slumber, there is not much rust showing on the exterior. Find a little corrosion at the bottom of the quarter panel near the juncture of door and the sill, though not extensive. From the condition of the window seals and the overall condition of the paint, the car looks to have been stored inside rather than left to the elements. The big issue with the paint is a fair amount of splotches on the hood, roof, trunk and the top of the front quarter panels. The diameter of the scars seem to point to being bird crap which weakened and ate through the paint. Other speculation is it could have been tree sap but the size of the blemishes and scars better match to birds rather than trees. The most significant section of rust on the car turns out to be at the base of the nose piece just above the bumper.
A mostly intact B18 sits in the engine bay though the SU carbs and the starter are missing off of the engine. The exposed intake runners sport a significant amount of rust which makes me wonder what is the condition of the cylinders with open valves. The radiator while not in the engine compartment is sitting in the trunk. Rotate the fan to find the engine moves fairly easily and not seized up. Raise the concern about the internal condition of this B18 after sitting this long and the owner says they can include another B18 with the car. This donor engine was rebuilt 20K miles ago but the car it was in ended up getting in an accident. The engine was pulled before the car was scrapped.
The interior is actually decent for its age. The carpet is missing completely though this makes inspecting the floors much easier. Lots of surface rust but not gaping holes. Going into the car, there is a strong aroma of varnished gasoline. The headliner has a large rip down the first front seam. The trunk also smells heavily of varnish so a new gas tank will definitely be needed for this car.
Head back to San Francisco and start to mull over whether to pick up the cars. While the wagon could be brought back to life, it is a pass for me mainly because of the floors. Conversely, the coupe seems to have a strong foundation. That said, with the long hiatus off the road any system which held fluid will need to be renovated and/or replaced. While going back and forth with the owner, find out he needs to get more paperwork from the estate of the PPO. Asking about any additional parts available, find out there are a couple M41 transmission available. Finally we settle on $2K for the 122, rebuilt B18 engine engine, set of SU Carbs, two M41s, M41 driveshaft, chrome rims, some exterior parts, and they will bring the car to San Francisco. Sold!
Two weeks ago the 122 finally arrives. The reason I am able to get the car delivered, they are also picking up a P1800 to take back north to Marin. We are able to get the car off the trailer easier than I expect with the car having no brakes at all. Once offloading the car, set upon the task of removing the B18 and M41s out of the bed of their pickup truck. The first order of business will be taking each wheel off and inspecting the brake system. At minimum I would like to be able to stop the car when required, especially from the hand brake.
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And you know exactly what to look for. Yet another, well done.
