The newest addition to the fleet - '67 Amazon

So Saturday I went and got the newest addition to the fleet, a 1967 Volvo 122S.

This has been sitting for the past 2 years in a garage about 5 miles from my house (unbeknownst to me). It has had less than 2000 miles put on it in the last 8 years and a complete history of upkeep since '92 when the PO got it. It is relatively cancer free for the age and we actually got it started and drove it home.

It had a flat tire, no brake pedal and 2 year old gas. A little air, some brake fluid, a LOT of leg pumping and a battery charger got her moving. She is a little boggy off the start but she warmed up and idled just like a sewing machine.

The plan is to get her road worthy and reliable and use her as a DD when the FL heat finally breaks a little. Sport springs, anti sway bars and a built engine are also in the plans. I like how GRM built theirs so I will probably follow along the same lines minus a cage.

Most of the trim bits missing are on the rear deck or in the trunk. She also came with the original steering wheel, an extra lower control arm, clutch and pressure plate, cam cover, Cannon DD intake and Weber 32/36 and the original SD SUs in the boot.

I'm not a fan of the mag wheels (too gasser look for me) so I'll have to decide what to do there. The tires are 18 years old so they will go before she really hit the road.

I like the wife's pictures better. More artistic.

Awesome score. . . .

Way to go on that one! very nice, and I agree, the wife's pics make the patina look out of this world!

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet.

In reply to hobiercr:

Nice, very nice.

I approve!

So jealous. Why is it that every car around here isw 90% rust? Oh yeah, I remember now...

Awesome! Please keep posting pictures! There isn't an angle we can see too much of.

So are these cars fun to drive or just cool for DD?

OH MAN, I forgot about those seat belt latches. Pure utilitarianism. My dad had a couple of these when I was growing up and I have very fond memories of those old tanks.

SERIOUSLY jealous.

GTwannaB wrote: So are these cars fun to drive or just cool for DD?

See for yourself. GRM 122S Project Car

sweeeet purchase.

IPD is in Portland... one of the best tuner/parts shop for early Volvo

http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-122/c-1-71/

Very nice. Looks like a great project. Those slot mag style wheels look better with a bit deeper of a dish.

VERY cool.

And your wife's photos look great too. As a photo noob, what did she do differently than in the shots you took?

Cool. I'm still in awe of what good results GRM got autocrossing the 122. That car certainly doesn't look as though it'd be so fast!

dyintorace wrote: VERY cool. And your wife's photos look great too. As a photo noob, what did she do differently than in the shots you took?

She used a real camera, and photoshop... I was shooting with a Sony that can have great resolution if I'm really worrying about it. I was more interested in getting the "before" shots than anything else. I had to use my camera phone for the "just pulled from garage" picts when I picked it up as I forgot my camera. She shoots with a Rebel xTi and really pays attention to f-stops etc. and then she spends time on every photo in photoshop to balance the colors, adjust with filters, etc. Her stuff always looks better than mine...

Concerning IPD, already spoke with them today for the first project...BRAKES. The master cylinder is shot and probably original. A rebuild kit probably won't do the trick and a new one can be had for ~$120. Problem, the original is a single circuit design and as I eventually wan to go to a disk rear (and more safety) I want to go with a dual circuit master. 2nd problem: While I can use a dual circuit master out of a '70-73 P1800 (direct bolt in), they now do not come with the reservoir so I would have to find one (kinda hard) and then find a proportioning valve (really hard) out of a donor P1800. Not many of those to be found. Also, I HATE the gas/brake pedal setup in this car. WAY too close together and my fat feet seem to always find both. SOOO, thinking about "fixing the glitch" by putting in a Tilton pedal assembly with individual cylinders and a balance bar, possibly even with a new clutch cylinder built in. Something like this.

What say the masses?

Man, I like that car. It has that right mix of patina and wear that just make it look awesome as-is. Fix it mechanically and don't touch a thing cosmetically. Those slotted wheels even look good to me, but some vintage Panasports/Minilites would look just as good. Nice score.

Oh, and tell your wife that those pictures are amazing. Just the right mix of artsy-fartsy and cool.

hobiercr wrote: What say the masses?

i say do what makes you happy. congrats on finding that car and driving it home. now go fix it up the way you want it to be. dual-circuit master cylinder, or a pair of tiltons, is a great first step. get an adjustable prop from summit / speedway / jegs, don't bother hunting down rare or expensive parts.

Is it this car from craigslist in St. Augustine...

http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/cto/1882168519.html

While you're at it, ditch the stock pressure-activated brake switch for a more modern position-activated brake switch. The pressure switch has been nothing but a PITA on my '67 122 wagon. By the way, the wagons are more fun. I have big plans for my wagon...but it's way back on the Someday list, so meanwhile it's just been a fun, economical cruiser for road trips. The suspension is in dire need of some attention on ours, but I'm trying to delay it until Someday comes if possible.

Bryce

Just a note, you can't pump the gas on an SU carb - there is no accelerator pump, so that leg pumping was probably just for fun.

You might be able to convert a 140 dual brake system, not sure if it would fit. IIRC 123GT's had 4 wheel discs

hobiercr wrote:

dyintorace wrote: VERY cool. And your wife's photos look great too. As a photo noob, what did she do differently than in the shots you took?

She used a real camera, and photoshop... I was shooting with a Sony that can have great resolution if I'm really worrying about it. I was more interested in getting the "before" shots than anything else. I had to use my camera phone for the "just pulled from garage" picts when I picked it up as I forgot my camera. She shoots with a Rebel xTi and really pays attention to f-stops etc. and then she spends time on every photo in photoshop to balance the colors, adjust with filters, etc. Her stuff always looks better than mine...

Thanks. The first shot of hers that you posted (front 3/4 quarter view) has really neat coloring too it. Love it.

And congrats again! Very cool. You should ask your wife to drive this up to the Challenge while you trailer your Challenger!

Oddly enough... I was driving thru a little town called Clifford, PA last night in my 911 and I saw that EXACT car with 80's gold BBS deep dish basketweaves - you know - the kind that they put on 911s and CSLs back then. In any any case... it looked super hot.

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