1965 Volvo 122S
Introduced around 1958 and running until around 1972 these cars were imported into the states from 63-70(there or about) Advertised as 'durable, ong lasting, rive it like you hate it slogan, hese cars lasted and ran far longer than Volvo expected them too rendering them a reputation that carries them today.This particular car was bought from a gentlemen in California. He took great care of the car and when I received it I had very little to do to make it road worthy. That did not stop me from tearing it down to the chassis and restoring the car to where it is today.
I bought the car as a stock driver, 18, uto trans, tock interior stock brakes etc.
Since I was building the car over I decided on a few fun goodies, ll bolt on application because I am not a fan or drilling welding or cutting into classic cars.
Ill start with the Motor, t now has a B 20 motor with an E head, he head was ported, ver sized valves, etter springs and milled down for better compression.The pistons are new bored 30 over and balanced. Same for the connecting rods, earings, ins etc. The crank was cut and re balanced to be more precise. The cam is a custom cut for higher and faster lift. Again new bearings, ew timing gears (gear driven cam, o chain). The seal are upgraded from the cloth type to the new neoprene front and rear main seals. All gaskets are new. Water pump, il pump are new. Oil pressure ranges from 30-85 psi (typical of these engines). The distributor is electronic by 123 ignition. Alternator with 40 amps replaced the old generator. Radiator was boiled, lushed and tested and is fine. I painted the motor blue because that's what I like. I also painted the engine bay black to offset the cool new look.
The transmission. I converted from the Automatic BW 35 to a Ford T-9 five speed. The trans was rebuilt for this car. New clutch, isc and pressure plate and throwout bearing. New master and slave units, bviously converted from 2 to 3 pedals, gain all bolt in as these cars were factory set to be either or. The drive shaft is fitted with a ford yoke, nd balanced, he trans mount was an automatic mount converted for the new trans, erfect fit. The bell housing is a Volvo housing converted to fit the new trans. All said when done it works great.
Rear end, his is an automatic rear-end which is set with 390 gears, ypical standard cars have 410. This rear is faster of course at lower rpms.Brakes, ll new all around stock discs up front and drums in the rear. I converted from a single to a dual circuit master cylinder and replaced the slaves for new. Suspension, replaced ALL the bushings for new neoprene bushings front and back. Suspension was repainted at the time of reassembly and looks great still.Exhaust, eader from IPD, uffler and resonator are off the shelf custom application by a local fabricator, asically it is all new stuff.
Body, he body was taken down to near bare metal in most places. All dings and dents were fixed properly. New paint is 4 coats thick and looks great. I have driven this car about 10,000 miles so the paint is no longer 100% perfect but it does look awesome still. Glass, ew front windshield, ew front and rear gaskets, inted limo black all except the front windshield. Cool look on this car. Tires, ias ply tires, lenty of tread on stock color powder coated rims. Volvo air caps.Trim, ll trim is in really nice shape, ew front head lamp bezels, ew front indicator bezels and lenses and also the same for the rear. side trim is very nice. hod trim is new piece, ood letters are new as well and replaced with Chrome from the old gold. Rear window trim is not perfect but it still looks nice and easily replaced. Side mirror was bought new. Door handles are new as is the vent cover. New wiper blades and the wiper transmission was taken down and repacked with new grease, orks perfectly.
Electrical, gain with the new alternator power is no issue. I bought from Sweden a brand new wiring harness, his was the easiest replacement harness because it was a genuine brand new harness for this car. Front to back all new wiring. Everything electrical works from the horn right down to the lighter. Interior, ustom carpet, ou either love it or hate but its cool either way, rint by Picasso I wanted it to be different and there ya go.Seats, ront seats are by Scat out of California, eclining all black buckets with head rest. Rear seat, his is the stock frame with a new cover built to match the front Scat seats. Awesome job by my Pro Ron. Head liner is new, iping around doors is new, eat belts are retractable and are new. Dash board, heck that thing out, ll custom built for the Auto Meter Ultra light series to look like a real race car application.All gauges work, uel sending unit is also from auto meter and works perfectly. Tach and Speedo are electronic as is the oil and water temp. Clock is also auto meter.This dash was a morph of the Volvo P-1800 and the 122S. conjoined and finished to look as good as it does and function was no easy task and cost allot of time and moolah to make it happen.
That's a pretty god description I think. I have some residual parts to go with the car and all receipts to anyone interested in them.Now all that being said the car was completed just 2 years ago and has been driven occasionally to shows and into town. Fun car, ets all the attention, asy to work on and fun to drive.
What the car needs; to be finished, he center console is not complete, he rear dash needs to be put together (very simple).This car has so much potential to be enjoyed. You can throw on some super cool wheels and tires, ower it 2 inches, have the trim etc to make it your own.I am moving onto another project so I need the room in my garage. Plus it is time for someone else to enjoy this gorgeous ride. Thanks for reading and enjoy the ride my Friends.