I'm a sucker for a project...volvo amazon content

I own the GRM Volvo 122 Project car--still!

The build is HERE.

If I had to do a swap into a 122, I'd be looking at a turbo-4. Plenty of power for those cars.

Enjoy. Wagons are cool.

Aaron

Hey, glad to see you're still monitoring our favorite magazine! It was only after you bought the 122 that I learned GRM sold off their projects. And as luck would have it, I haven't had any money since then either....

Dan

Hmmm, DD for wife... and auto... not sure an LS will fit, as mentioned already....

A wonderful torquey engine for that would be a Nissan KA24DE, and since it was in the 240SX, it can be had with an automatic for rwd apps The KA24DE has about 25% more hp and 50% more torque then the B18... without boost.

In reply to bastomatic:
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/cto/2969368184.html

We've got a '67 122 wagon that we really, really like. I tossed a megasquirt and a bunch of junk I had laying around the shop onto it to ditch the worn out Weber and points junk for TBI and electronic ignition to make it a little easier to daily drive. Like yours, she wants an auto, and I think this will be the first time she gets one...I intend to find a wadded up Cadillac ATS (with non-turbo Ecotec and 6 speed auto) in the future and transfer as much as I possibly can without visual detection. We love the style of the 122 wagon, but we really want modern guts.

Bryce

I have to say, of all of the things that I would change on those cars, the drivetrain is not one of them! A durable, 120hp engine is a few bits away. It has a redline somewhere around 7k,a great four speed transmission (that is also very light) and it shares wheel options with Ford. To each his own, but for DD use, I'd leave the stock lump right there.

I have to say, of all of the things that I would change on those cars, the drivetrain is not one of them! A durable, 120hp engine is a few bits away. It has a redline somewhere around 7k,a great four speed transmission (that is also very light) and it shares wheel options with Ford. To each his own, but for DD use, I'd leave the stock lump right there.

In reply to DeadSkunk:

yeah I've seen that one. "Rusty rockers" is the understatement of the century on that car unfortunately.

Awesome find, looks very solid. I'm DD-ing a '67 Amazon wagon, pretty much bone stock. I did replace the rear coils with overload springs from IPD, because I actually use the wagon like God and Volvo intended- hauling stuff. Even have a trailer hitch.

Stock lump- 85HP, twin SUs, points, 4 speed gearbox, 4.11 gears (car used to be an automatic; manuals from the factory got 4.56 IIRC). Stock tires- 165SR15. I haven't lost a school bus drag race yet! Fuel economy varies; I've seen 20mpg on aggressive, city-driving tankfulls; conversely, my wife holds the record for 300 miles on 10 gallons during one highway trip (A fact she still likes to bring up and poke fun at me about).

After researching more it looks like the LS will be pretty hard to fit...unless the entire front suspension is rebuilt. Which is an option but it sorta makes things less cost effective.

I would much rather leave it a manual but this one will be for the wife and it must be an automatic for her so....that is what will happen.

Yes the stock engine is probably enough but again the wife wants something quick. I really would like 250hp/tq or above. Or at least around 200.... I like the idea of the ecotec but they are lower hp than I was hoping for.

It's still very much in the planning stages. When I get it home saturday I will take a bunch more pictures in the daylight and also take some measurements.

If you want to stick with stock and quickly, the automatic trans was a BW35 unit. I have a couple of them, and while they are automatics, they're pretty reliable and work decently well behind a ~100hp B-series volvo engine. The hardest part of the conversion will be sourcing the automatic controls for the steering column and possibly the trans mount.

Here's an automatic 2 door on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1966-Volvo-122-Coupe-/190676462170?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2c6533ea5a#ht_500wt_1182

The other issue you may have is that the trans tunnel on the automatic-equipped cars was wider than the trans tunnel on the manual cars. Not usually an issue as most folks convert autos to manuals (I have two amazon wagons, both were automatics originally and later converted to manual) and you just have a little more space around the trans. But going the other way may prove problematic. You might have to swap out that portion of the floor pan to give enough room. I could see that being an issue for any engine/ trans swap, as the original Volvo 4 speed top loader gearbox is a very space-efficient (read: small) unit.

Another, easier option would be to swap wives for one that can drive a stick. ;-)

tuna55 wrote: I have to say, of all of the things that I would change on those cars, the drivetrain is not one of them! A durable, 120hp engine is a few bits away. It has a redline somewhere around 7k,a great four speed transmission (that is also very light) and it shares wheel options with Ford. To each his own, but for DD use, I'd leave the stock lump right there.

Well, you tend to get valve float around 6700, but there's some things you can do to address that... ;-)

I really wish she would drive a stick......

Replacing the entire trans tunnel is not a big deal if it is required. I was thinking finding the stock column shifter might be a problem so if needed I would make something that would come off the tunnel. But I would rather find the stock stuff.

So it looks like an inline 4 is going to be the best fit. I6 look to be too long with other swaps I have found in them. So I4...MUST be EFI, must have an automatic trans option, 5 speed would be preferred. 200ish HP/tq would be nice or higher. Amazon wagon weights around 2400lbs?

I showed the 122 pic to a guy at work, he says he's got a 1961 544 in his driveway that his kid dragged home some years ago.

I'm buying him coffee in the morning ......

HP and torque numbers are not all that important; the stock engine is plenty tractable at low RPMs and very easy to live with. Since your wife demands an automatic I seriously doubt she'll care if her wagon runabout has 100 HP or 200. Honestly, she'll probably prefer the lower-winding engine.

Megasquirt the stock B18 (or B20), find a BW35 autotrans, and be done in a month of easy after work garage time and <$1000. That's my opinion, based on your requirements. Then enjoy the Amazon instead of cursing whatever modern powerplant won't fit or work right, and selling the project to someone for 1/3 of what you have into it who's just going to rip it all out and put in a B18 with points and and SU and a 4 speed again. ;-)

volvoclearinghouse wrote: HP and torque numbers are not all that important; the stock engine is plenty tractable at low RPMs and very easy to live with. Since your wife demands an automatic I seriously doubt she'll care if her wagon runabout has 100 HP or 200. Honestly, she'll probably prefer the lower-winding engine. Megasquirt the stock B18 (or B20), find a BW35 autotrans, and be done in a month of easy after work garage time and <$1000. That's my opinion, based on your requirements. Then enjoy the Amazon instead of cursing whatever modern powerplant won't fit or work right, and selling the project to someone for 1/3 of what you have into it who's just going to rip it all out and put in a B18 with points and and SU and a 4 speed again. ;-)

This place clearly hasn't rubbed off on you enough yet. Leaving things mostly stock so they're easy to live with isn't really a common theme around these parts. For example, the title of this thread starts with, "I'm a sucker for a project..."

Bryce

My wife owned a white sedan of the same vintage. It was a pretty good DD in terms of go stop turn and particularly good with ride and seats. One area it was very lacking in was keeping the windshield from fogging up. It took 20 minutes to get the car ready to go if it was cold and wet out and one person makes enough moisture to keep the cabin humidity high enough to make visibility a least a hassle if not a hazard after that. If I were to own an Amazon again I would re engineer the windshield-defrost and cabin heating setup such that huge amounts of hot air blasted the windshield and add a vent or two in the back of the cabin so that the humidity is at least no higher than ambient. Maybe add more fan and ducting and take hot water of the block before the thermostat. We sold the car because of that issue.

Shaun, for what it's worth, I'm actually pretty impressed with the heater in our wagon. Sure, the defrost air flow pattern isn't great, but the heater can heat up the car pretty quick and combined with cracking a window/vent window I've never had issues driving down the road and having the glass fog up.

Food for thought...old cars tend to let a lot of water inside that isn't supposed to be there. Almost always, old cars that seem like the windows fog up way too easy actually have a lot of water that has soaked into floors, carpets, door panels, etc. that immediately enters the air once you start warming the car up. Of course, a soggy carpet can take days to dry out (and rots the floor meanwhile) so if you always park a leaky old car outside in a place that rains often, it will always seem like the windows fog.

Bryce

jakeb wrote: After researching more it looks like the LS will be pretty hard to fit...unless the entire front suspension is rebuilt. Which is an option but it sorta makes things less cost effective. I would much rather leave it a manual but this one will be for the wife and it must be an automatic for her so....that is what will happen. Yes the stock engine is probably enough but again the wife wants something quick. I really would like 250hp/tq or above. Or at least around 200.... I like the idea of the ecotec but they are lower hp than I was hoping for. It's still very much in the planning stages. When I get it home saturday I will take a bunch more pictures in the daylight and also take some measurements.

250 hp/torque = turbo.

Being honest here, I think it might be easier to sell that car and find an auto amazon for the larger trans tunnel and easy of swapping.

Otherwise, there's B230FTs, KA24DE with turbo, did 2.2 Dakotas come with autos? Toyota RZ engines or even a 22RE, CA18ET's (DET if you want to source stuff from overseas)...

Hell, could be weird and grab an old 4 cyl diesel out of a Benz and turbo it for giggles..? I mean, there's a lot of options, some are harder than others. Just a matter of what your preferences are.

One of the HUGE draws for this car is that it is local. So whatever happens it will be with this car.

I think I will wait until I actually have the car and can do some measurements to see what will fit. Right now I am leaning towards an ecotec 2.4L and the 5l40e 5speed automatic. Pretty much what was in the solstices/sky. It is rated at 175hp/165tq.... With the weight on the amazon I think that would make it feel pretty zippy.

I actually teach drivers ed (in the summer when I am not teaching school) and we have a couple cars with 2.2L ecotecs and they are actually pretty torquey for a 4 cylinder. The 2.4L has even more so it should be even better.

My wife could tell the difference between 100 and 200hp...Her words are "when I step on it, I want it to GO."

Plans are very much still up in the air....just in the idea mode right now.

As for heater/defrost. It will get a more modern heater/AC setup with defrost.

Nashco wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

This place clearly hasn't rubbed off on you enough yet. Leaving things mostly stock so they're easy to live with isn't really a common theme around these parts. For example, the title of this thread starts with, "I'm a sucker for a project..." Bryce

No, I get that. I've had thoughts and wild ideas about swapping something crazy into an Amazon one of these days...like a 13b rotary or a big block Ford. Or just a supercharger on the stock b18/b20. My recommendation was based solely on having a reliable DD for a wife who wants a slushbox-equipped car. Although I guess one could argue that a modern PP could be more reliable than something already 45 years old, if installed properly. She'll certainly appreciate not having to deal with a choke on cold mornings.

My wife loves her SBC '68 Camaro with manual steering and brakes, and actually wishes for a stick shift in place of the turbo 350, but I figure she's a statistical outlier among most women. She also likes driving our Amazon wagon as-is, with its tractor engine and 4 speed gearbox. ;-)

I think for a DD, even amongst this crowd, we'd have to admit that most of the time, the stock whatever powerplant is going to be more reliable and trouble-free than any swap. In this case, the stock powerplant is actually quite nice.

tuna55 wrote: I think for a DD, even amongst this crowd, we'd have to admit that most of the time, the stock whatever powerplant is going to be more reliable and trouble-free than any swap. In this case, the stock powerplant is actually quite nice.

In the case of an ancient Volvo wagon, if you want stock, reliable, and trouble free despite the drawbacks, you're on a slippery slope that probably ends up at a beige Camry.

Bryce

jakeb wrote: One of the HUGE draws for this car is that it is local. So whatever happens it will be with this car. I think I will wait until I actually have the car and can do some measurements to see what will fit. Right now I am leaning towards an ecotec 2.4L and the 5l40e 5speed automatic. Pretty much what was in the solstices/sky. It is rated at 175hp/165tq.... With the weight on the amazon I think that would make it feel pretty zippy. I actually teach drivers ed (in the summer when I am not teaching school) and we have a couple cars with 2.2L ecotecs and they are actually pretty torquey for a 4 cylinder. The 2.4L has even more so it should be even better. My wife could tell the difference between 100 and 200hp...Her words are "when I step on it, I want it to GO." Plans are very much still up in the air....just in the idea mode right now. As for heater/defrost. It will get a more modern heater/AC setup with defrost.

Quick heads up, is that at some point around 2007ish, there was a dude trying to swap the Solstice GXP engine into a Chevette. He got just the engine and ecu, or something, but that ecu likes being connected to every other computer in the car. Didn't finish it because of costs, life, etc.

Look for complete parts car in otherwords.