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newbee here with 1972 142E that drives

Green142

New member
Joined
Oct 25, 2019
Location
Barstow Ca.
Hi everyone, Just looking for some of us who still are stuck in the Seventies. I have a 1972 142E That Ive kept original and it runs killer, yes it has D-jet. I have messed with D-jet for years and I know how to make this B20F / M40 run pretty strong with cheating the California "run like junk" system parameters it was desecrated with. Just like the poor little 914's. I just wish my car had a M41 so I could cruise above 70 easier. I bought this car off the original owner. It had been sitting for years because he was to old to drive anymore. Its been fun to get this going. It has only a tad bit of rust under one of the tail lights other than it could use a re-spray its really a nice car. I drive it daily to work. Just wanted to see if anyone appriciates these cars anymore. In my opinion the 71 & 72 were the best looking Bricks. I will have to say this car has the best brakes and rides outstanding over the junk California roads we have. Anyway I joined your forum to share my car with everyone since I have the only driving one in this part of the State. It's fun to see the old people look at it as it reminds them when these cars were state-of-the-art and expensive. Being a hardcore Mopar guy its fun to have one of these cars now. It reminds me of the days when I was young seeing these sitting in driveways in Southern Calif. in front of fancy houses. Now its strange looking things from Japan. Take car all. Eric..
 
Welcome, and yes please post some pictures for us to enjoy.

I was just in your neck of the woods a few weeks ago to check out a vintage steam locomotive passing through, haven't been out that way in years, definitely a different part of the state from the central coast.
 
Lots of 140 and late 70s 240 folks around here, you’ll fit in just fine. Yours sounds in really good condition...I too, would love to see some photos.

Welcome!
 
Nice to see more 140's dragging themselves out of the woods. They seemed to be headed for extinction not long ago - the forgotten Volvo model.

Pushrods uber alles!!! (Heh, now my 245 has pushrods too).
 
Great find.

After owning rwd Volvos from the '50s through the '90s, my absolute hands-down favorite was a '72 144E.
It was just a car that did almost everything well in addition to being so simple to wrench on.
 
Volvo time this weekend / cold start injector fixed

Got in some Volvo time in this weekend. Fixed the cold start injector and boy was it nice starting this morning :) . It was the thermotime switch. Not the expensive injector ;-) I also studied the relocation of moving back the drivers seat another 3 inches. It won't be too bad. I'll extend the rear tubing for the back mounts and re-drill the tube for the front mounts. I'm tired of crawling out of the car and kissing the dash. I was amazed how limited the seat back moment was when I first got the car. I guess Volvo was more concerned about rear seat foot room then the drivers. Ive met tall Swedes so it must be a polite consideration limit (LOL). Now upcoming the big task of replacing the heater blower fan. It looks like a messy job because of the coolant. I am amazed at how much heat it does put out just driving down the road. It will feel like a good Barstow summer day with the fan working. I guess as a bonus I'll get to install the new front radio speaker too since the dash will be apart. HI R32RennSport, Yes, so you came to see Big Boy. Cool, I missed seeing it up close but I heard the horn ! I'll get some pictures up when I get set up. Thank you all for enjoying my car as I do. Its a bit different of a car than my Mopars but I like it so far. Does better on gas too !
 
FYI, if you think the cold start injector is expensive, check out what this guy on ebay wants for a new thermal timer switch!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Volvo-P180...ash=item340008db15:g:8xUAAOSw8PJcRzvR&vxp=mtr

Before you start modifying the seat bracket, you might find that you can move the seat assembly back by relocating it to the rear ward set of holes in the seat bracket. Pull the lower seat cushion and you should see there are 2 sets of holes.

An overdrive conversion is a bolt in IF you have all the right parts and right now I have all of them. However the most critical part for a bolt in M41 conversion is the transmission support bracket and I only have 1 of those right now and there is another Tbricker that is interested but hasn't committed the money for it yet.
 
Hi Eric, Torrance eh, since were almost neighbors Id like to come visit you and see your Shop. I'll make a point to come down when I have time. Glad to hear I"m not alone in this part of the State and we could exchange D-Jet mysteries. Thanks for the note.
 
BTY, I did pull the seat cushion and check the alternative mount bolts, I found the seat to the rear holes option already when I first bought the car. I'm 6' 3" Its a chore to get in and out of this car. This would be my biggest gripe about this car. Once in, I'm OK. I will recheck again to see if I can go back more per your mentioning. Volvo did a great job with alternative adjustment options for a manual seat. I toyed with dropping the rear all the way down but that is not good posture for your shoulders always leaning into the wheel. I am looking for a simple way but I think we are already there. It's going to be modification time if I am to keep driving this car. Overdrive would really "bring in" this car too. It does scream above 70 pretty bad. I'll think about it. We'll be talking for sure. Thanks Eric for the note,

Eric..
 
Let's definitely see some pics!

I also have a '72 142E. Great car. My story is similar to yours - bought from daughter of (late) original owner. After significant suspension and drive train upgrades, it drives like it should have from the factory now, kind of rally tribute car that you can really thrash if you want to. I do have the M41 and I can attest that highway driving would not be the same without it. If you can upgrade to OD, do it. I recently had to replace my auxiliary air valve (I think it was inop as long as I've owned the car) and was able to score a good used one on eBay for ~$120. New/refurbed ones can be $500-800. Dodged a bullet there. I see a lot of guys on these forums switching to aftermarket FI systems (e.g MegaSquirt, etc.) but they seem to just cause an endless game of tweaking, programming, and chasing faults. I just don't have that kind of patience, I just want to DRIVE. The D-Jet system is rock solid and only needs upgraded if you're really pushing the upper boundaries of B20E/F performance, IMO.

Regarding ingress/egress, one upgrade I made was to a 15" Moto Lita steering wheel. The reduction in diameter is not only great for sportier driving, it frees up significant leg space so the bottom of the wheel isn't constantly brushing your thighs.
 
I extended the seat mounts with two short pieces of angle iron.
Then used a piece of uni-strut to extend the front mount back as well.
 
I still think fondly of the D-Jet 145 I had in the late 90s. I've kept the full system in a box through a few moves despite the car being scrapped, you know, "just in case." Good luck with yours, and if you enjoy the car spend every penny it requires to keep it up or to apply the right factory parts to make it how you prefer it. We're not talking rare Jag or Mercedes parts prices here.
 
BTY, I did pull the seat cushion and check the alternative mount bolts, I found the seat to the rear holes option already when I first bought the car. I'm 6' 3" Its a chore to get in and out of this car. This would be my biggest gripe about this car. Once in, I'm OK. I will recheck again to see if I can go back more per your mentioning. Volvo did a great job with alternative adjustment options for a manual seat. I toyed with dropping the rear all the way down but that is not good posture for your shoulders always leaning into the wheel. I am looking for a simple way but I think we are already there. It's going to be modification time if I am to keep driving this car. Overdrive would really "bring in" this car too. It does scream above 70 pretty bad. I'll think about it. We'll be talking for sure. Thanks Eric for the note,

Eric..

Hello Eric,

Just in case I misunderstood, you did say "I found the seat to the rear holes option already".

Which set of holes are currently being used? To move the seat rearward you need to use the set of holes that are located towards the front of the seat.

I'm 6' 2" and I don't have trouble getting into most of my customers 142s.
 
Good day everyone, I've been working on the Volvo this week and yesterday. I did simply find a way to move the seat back. Boy what a difference getting in the car now. I adjusted the valves and changed the oil also. I used VR-1 Valvoline to keep some needed Zinc. going here. The engine was completely rebuilt around 9000 miles ago and I did find a couple loose and a couple tight valve adjustments. Being I'm a hotrod guy I can hear the cam lope at idle in this thing. Sure sounds smooth now. The car is running great. I buffed the paint out to the max and it shines awesome. My only issue is deciding to keep it the way it is with the patina or look to repaint it. Tough call these days as everyone like the original look but a clean nice paint job is a winner too. It has one respray and the roof is zebra striped and the edges are worn to the original paint. I like the thumb wear above the door handles too, it shows good as-is right now. I'm going to pull the bumpers and polish them next that should rally set off the car. Its a good looking car to me. I like the Goofy stance it has. You sure can see it was make to plow through snow with he angles front a rear along the bottom. I'll get some pictures posted soon. I'm pulling the A/C unit out today in preparation to do the heater fan blower deal. I had a friend recover the charge. Yes, I'll reinstall it back afterwards. It works great and I have lots of R12 to recharge it.
I'm hoping this fan deal is not as bad as I know I need to be extra careful not to break anything that is plastic as rare as the plastic parts are getting to be. And two the 2 door chrome strips. I need them both and a windshield. Mine is pitted terribly but it is original too so lots of miles on it.
 
Hi Planetman, I drilled two new rear holes on the seat and used a couple pieces of strap fro the front where the seat bolts to the track. I pointed everything and now I have lots of seat movement to adjust. I did not want to lower the rear and have my shoulders always leaning into the wheel. That is a cheat us taller ones do to gain room. I am really big on proper posture when sitting and bing mechanically inclined able to fit the seat to my tastes. I reworked all the seat mounts in my Dodge Dart as well. It almost has the same issue or used too (LOL)

Thanks for the note,

Eric..
 
Hi Brian,

I was very lucky to find all the D-Jet components were replaced new when the engine was rebuilt. The original owner had insisted everything was to be renewed and all Volvo parts. With the costs of D-Jet stuff now this is why I think this car is winner to expend the effort to fit it up a bit, so many new parts. Plus being a rust free car bought in new Riverside Calif. The Volvo Shop that did all the work is in San Bernardino and was the party who turned me onto this car. It had sat many years after all the work was done because the original owner was unable physically to drive a stick anymore. The fuel pump was the reason I got the car, no one wanted to fix it up. I was tired of seeing it rot away and bought it. It is too cool of car to see it neglected. No one wanted it because it ran so crappy and was not wanting to pay the Shop to fix it. I traced it to fuel pressure issue. I installed an aftermarket pump and wow I have a great running car !
 
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