Old merc's

al":3h94bm3m said:

I must say you all have great taste!


Well Si, what do you know about Volvo 144 /164 ? How tunable on a budget is the B20 egine. Is it just a case of huuuge carbs?

As you can see i am itching for a new project.

Al.

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B20's are strong, reliable and fairly easy to tune (camshaft, doudle carbs etc). The 3L 6 cylinder of the 164 (wich is a prettier car imho) isn't that reliable and has some oil lubrication problems in the last cylinder, also all 164 came with an automatic gearbox. If you want a nice project you might want to go for a 242 GT (not cheap though :roll: )

al":20t7cmn4 said:

I must say you all have great taste!


Well Si, what do you know about Volvo 144 /164 ? How tunable on a budget is the B20 egine. Is it just a case of huuuge carbs?

As you can see i am itching for a new project.

Al.

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We have a 144s on the fleet too, built to FIA rally spec. It was a Cyprus car so has no rot issues but again as any old car can do, they rust.
lots of comp parts available, springs, dampers and superflex bushes all avail in UK but not cheap- bushes £600+ for the full set.
Engines can do mega miles and quite tunable- 150bhp should be easy enough. We have 2 engines, 165bhp all steel for short stage rallies and 140bhp hi torque for long distance marathons and mountain work. Transmission on our car is stock apart from heat treated half shafts and a LSD in the axle. Brakes are good, use the vents from the 164 but the standard 144 has discs all round with 4 pots on the front.
I cannot think of a single weak spot on the Volvo- seriously tough cars. Set them up and they are as good as an Escort- not as powerful but when the going gets rough an Escort backs off where as you can just keep the Volvo flat.
for a road car project I would start with an early 145 Estate, slam it right down, shave and clean some of the detailing, paint it dark grey and run some nice wheels, retrim it in a nice dark red leather and fit some ice. Mechanicaly I'd fit a 740 Turbo engine and 5 speed, fit a better intercooler and tweek the boost and fueling a little for a reiable 200bhp. Fit updated pads and discs and do the suspension.
You would have a really cool sleeper that could really move when needed. You can also get about 400 bikes in it too!

Don't forget to buy a Labrador and have the them tune to the good life on your ipod

Si

I love the look of the 164 and 144 series and don't think i could go down the 240 route!

The wife has a 122s with a b20 lump i may get someone to give it a tickle and see if we can squeeze a bit more power.I have to keep things close to my chest as she is a fan of stock classic cars! :roll:

She even shouted across a car park when i layed my notch on the floor with the airride 'you've bloody broken it haven't you' ? God love her!

Al.

This is like WICKEDPEDIA man!!!

Al.

Si,

You are talking my language with the 145 wagon slam!!all apat from the ICE, i love the sound of old engines too much!

we don't have any sounds in any of our classics.

Al.

yo-eddy":3vlzclci said:

I've had 3 W115's (all diesel) and they were pretty affordable in Holland a while ago, the coupe's tend to cost double the price of a sedan and are only available in petrol. Rust is an issue, but hey wich car over 35 years old doesn't have rust issues :roll:
Merc's are very well build, mostly a bit on the lazy and comfortable side of the spectrum...... wich I like on longer trips.
At the moment I ride a 1967 Fintail (W110) 200 Diesel and I'm happy with it. Have to fight the rust devil every once in a while but it took me to the North cape twice (in Winter ) and never let me down in many many miles (big fingers crossed now here )
Just wait and see what pops up but don't focus too much on the Coupe's

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Thats a brilliant pic