Thinking of getting a 144
 

What do I need to look out for? I'm looking at getting a tax exempt 144 for a retro runaround. It's an older grill model but with the 1971 spec. 2lt auto box - any banana skins to look out for?

cheers

Go and look at my for sale item on eBay, there are a couple of links to South Wales Volvo and my Photobucket account; a good read of that should point you in the right direction for fault finding.

Then, if you don't want the one you've been offered you can bid on mine!!

eBay link:- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=290269020791

Good luck, Nick H.

hi Nick,
your one is really really nice - the only problem is that it is a bit out of my budget and you have done so much to it I would not have the nerve to debate it with you. So the one I'm pitching at I will probably have to do a fair bit of work here and there to bring up to scratch

thanks

rich

Hi Mate,

Can't comment on the auto, never driven one, but I have driven other old autos and they aren't that nice, someone else will let you know what the 144 autos are like nowadays.
Mechanical bits seem plentiful and are tough, if you want bits quick there are plenty of specialists in the UK, if you want to mess about and maybe save a bit, there's cheaper stuff abroad. Bodypanels are around but be a bit opportunistic when you see stuff you may want for sale.

The car, rust is the killer, round the front and rear screens, it's generally not terminal but allow for taking the screens out and fixing it, soggy cars are miserable on a daily basis.
Check the inner wings, especially the bit hidden by the bonnet hinges, the underneath, get under there, properly if possible and have a good poke.
I wouldn't worry about the mileage too much, mine had 200K on when I bought it and was going fairly well. Admittedly when I put a new engine in it made a difference but the old one was not completely knackered, still running the original back axle and the gearbox was happy as Larry.

Also tales of the front subframe rusting out and falling in half are out there, but I only know of rally cars doing that, and they aren't exactly driven gently.

The usual mechanical stuff as on any old car, oil in water, water in oil, make sure you hear it start from cold, stick your hand on the rocker cover or exhaust to check as soon as you get there. Once it's on your drive they don't half P you off if they are pigs to start. Leave it ticking over while you check everything else, if it does have a tendancy to overheat you'll notice the owner twitching after a few minutes! Oil leaks, water leaks, gearbox leaks, diff leaks, petrol leaks, open the boot and lift the hardboard to check the top of the tank, and also the spare wheel wells, the boots can hold a lot of water till it rusts it's way out. Bonks and clonks round corners, dicey bushes, wheels warbling due to bearings going,

Suspension gets sloppy over time but is a good setup so you can still drive them "briskly".

I have to say, if it ain't rusty, you can't go too wrong, they are an astoundingly vice free car, I've had an awful lot of old cars (about 29 I think) including MGBs, Alfas, Minis, Jags, blah blah but I rate the 144 higher than the MGB for ease of use and ease of living with.

I was close to chasing the Citizen's as a daily driver, but the one downside of 144s are they are too big to hide more than one from the wife!

I would say overall that they are a comfy and pleasant classic to tool around in, doddle to work on, fun to drive. I'm going to keep going with mine irrespective of whatever else I have, in fact booked a track day in it for the end of Nov! If ever it becomes dull, get the supercharger conversion from V-Performance and scare everyone with it! Very tough cars, I rally mine and have always finished, and driven home, sometimes up to 400 miles in a day (it was a long day!).

Actually, it's fair to say I really dig them and so will you, but do make sure you test drive it for a fair way and make sure you like driving it and the overall karma is good, do you dig the car, and does the car dig you?

Cheers,

Sam

Agree with everything Sam says but also look closely at the inner rear arches as they rust really well there, easy to spot whilst poking about in the boot.

Brilliant machines, I've broken down in mine but rarely terminal. I've done two manual boxes, one prop carrier bearing, head gasket, a water pump and destroyed a distributor.

Good luck!

Rear wheel arches
 

Ooh Crikey, yup, inner rear wheel arches, the upper shock absorber mount. It can get ugly, and fix it before the shock rips it's way out. Still no where near as bad as brit or Italian stuff of that era.

If you are feeling cheeky, take the upper part of the rear seat out, and stick your head right in the boot, make sure the hydraulic struts still work though!

Sam