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tfrasca's 142 Turbo Project

I absolutely LOVE this shot:

There's something about an old car with faded paint and serious sticky tyres under it. Nice. Reminds me of my ute wearing R888s. Overheard in a car meet once "What does that piece of sh|t need semi slicks for?" then they looked under the bonnet :-D

Thanks. Lane from Driving While Awesome took that one. People definitely look twice when they see the Toyos.
 
I'm getting married on Saturday, so I haven't been doing much to the 142 lately. I have been thinking about the possibility of selling it, though.

I'm not going to post a For Sale thread or anything, because I'm not even close to sure about it. Figured I'd try to gauge some interest here, and maybe get some help estimating its value.

If you follow this thread, you know pretty much everything about the car, but here it is, all written out:

1968 Volvo 142s
Voted best Modified 140 at Davis this year
Color code 194 green, quite faded with some very light surface rust on the roof
No cancerous rust anywhere
Interior redone in 2015 with NOS Volvo seat covers (rear seat top has ripped since)
Speedhut GPS Speedo and gauges in GT cluster
Nardi Classic wheel, wood + black
New brake booster
New front windshield and seal
New rear seal

B23ft
LH 2.4, w/chipped ECU
ET pistons
Hone, ring, bearings. 10,000 miles on rebuild
Drilled for oil squirters
19t
eBay FMIC
Custom intake manifold
IPS Turbo cam
Dale's cam gear
Yoshifab oil catch can
New Yoshifab 235mm clutch and billet flywheel
New Ford Motorsport T5z from Summit Racing

Classic Swede lowering springs
GAZ adjustable shocks
IPD sway bars (front + rear)
Poly rear bushings
New rubber front suspension bushings
New balljoints
New steering linkage (in 2015)
Brass idler arm bushing
Ford Crown Vic wheels redrilled to 5x108
4.30 FD gears
TruTrac LSD installed by HiPerfAuto

The car is solid, fun, and quick. It's been on two multiple day vintage car rallies, and keeps up 944 turbos, E30s, and a bunch of other cars half its age. I've taken it on road trips from Santa Cruz to LA, and to Tahoe, and never had any issues.

I will absolutely not part it out, and if there's no serious interest in it, I'll keep working on it and driving it. I can just feel my enthusiasm waning a bit, so I figured I'd put the feelers out.

Any thoughts?
 
For some reason 140s never sell for what I think they’re worth (I guess they aren’t really worth that much then). That super nice white 145 in Canada with the 16v just kept dropping lower and lower and I’m not sure if it ever actually sold. Given this car’s uniqueness, I’d probably just decide on an amount I’d have to have to move on to something new and stick to it. I always feel like I’d sell mine if someone handed me $3500 but they won’t so I still have it. Yours is definitely nicer than mine.

I don’t know how much you’ve got in it but I’d probably put it up for like 6-7k and just see what happens.
 
I probably won’t sell it. I would take such a loss. But if I found someone to give me like 10k or so, I’d strongly consider.

I really want to find a SAAB 99 and make it rear wheel drive.
 
Just saw in your listing that you have GAZ shocks on this, I have them on order for my Saab 900 Turbo. How do you like them and the adjustability?
 
If you don't have the next project hard in mind you're just window shopping! I think about selling my car sometimes but know I'd miss it.

I really want to find a SAAB 99

That's a cool idea!

and make it rear wheel drive.

you lost me. They weren't designed to be nor need to be rwd. Perfect cars for like 230hp and fwd handling fun. Appreciate it for what it is!
 
Just saw in your listing that you have GAZ shocks on this, I have them on order for my Saab 900 Turbo. How do you like them and the adjustability?

I like them. It was nice to be able to dial in the damping initially, but I haven't really adjusted them since. For how flat my car stays in corners, the ride is what I would call totally acceptable.
 
If you don't have the next project hard in mind you're just window shopping! I think about selling my car sometimes but know I'd miss it.

you lost me. They weren't designed to be nor need to be rwd. Perfect cars for like 230hp and fwd handling fun. Appreciate it for what it is!

I'm really having a hard time with this. Before the 142, I only ever had SAAB 900 Turbos. And I always wished they were rear wheel drive, even though I hadn't spent any real time in a rwd car.

Now that I have the Volvo I see how fun it is, and what it's like to not be limited by front wheel traction and a weak gearbox. So, when I think about a project to replace the Volvo, my first thought is something rwd. And I've always wanted a rwd 99 or 900.

That said, I fully understand that it may ruin the handling characteristics, etc. I'm going to get the car (I may have lined up a 1974 99) and see what I think. If I firm up the suspension and it seems fun, I'll just swap in a B202 turbo and call it good.
 
Keep the car and enjoy it. Don't waste any more money on it. Get the Saab and work on that. Like people have stated 140s are not worth much for some reason
 
Love the build! Did the 19t come stock on anything or does it have to be converted? I've got my setup running and can't help but think about the next turbo and a 19t seems like a good move.
 
Love the build! Did the 19t come stock on anything or does it have to be converted? I've got my setup running and can't help but think about the next turbo and a 19t seems like a good move.

I think Volvo made a 19t for some v70r or something, but I made mine with parts from Kinugawa Turbo. It all bolts onto a 15g, except for having to enlarge the depression for the compressor wheel. That took 5 minutes on a lathe.
 
I'm really having a hard time with this. Before the 142, I only ever had SAAB 900 Turbos. And I always wished they were rear wheel drive, even though I hadn't spent any real time in a rwd car.

Didn't know we had that in common. My high school car was a white '88 900t that we repainted, did a grey leather interior, SPG body kit, springs, straight pipe, red APC box, stupid loud BOV. It was such a fun car for a 17yo. This was in ~2003 and everyone hated it. Now I think people would flip over it.

I'll have to look for some pictures of it.
 
That's hard for me. I can't leave stuff alone. Plus, I still have the s252 sx-e to put on it. We'll see.

I say keep the 140, put the turbo on and use it as a driver/project car you don't work on really unless you want to. Then buy the Saab to do lots of work on. I bet you'll regret selling it if you do.
 
I regret selling my last Amazon. That was a mistake. I could easily replicate the car, but there was something special about that car and selling it was a mistake.

Looking at your 142, what you've done with it, how you made it your own: I think you would regret selling it. If you also have car ADD (it's a thing, look it up), you could always add the Saab to the stable. But trying to make the Saab be a Volvo won't yield the results you expect IMHO.
 
Didn't know we had that in common. My high school car was a white '88 900t that we repainted, did a grey leather interior, SPG body kit, springs, straight pipe, red APC box, stupid loud BOV. It was such a fun car for a 17yo. This was in ~2003 and everyone hated it. Now I think people would flip over it.

I'll have to look for some pictures of it.

Yeah, my first car was a $700 900s that I ruined, and then I had three SPGs. Loved those cars.
 
I regret selling my last Amazon. That was a mistake. I could easily replicate the car, but there was something special about that car and selling it was a mistake.

Looking at your 142, what you've done with it, how you made it your own: I think you would regret selling it. If you also have car ADD (it's a thing, look it up), you could always add the Saab to the stable. But trying to make the Saab be a Volvo won't yield the results you expect IMHO.

I've all but abandoned the rwd thing. Hopefully I can figure out how to keep both cars, and the 142 can be a 300+ whp death trap, while the 99 gets a mostly stock 200 hp 16v turbo.

At that point, I guess I'll decided how much I really need two turbo Swedish cars.
 
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