I’ve known this car for a long time, far too long some would argue. It has known history, has never been in a serious accident and the structural bits are largely original. The story starts many years ago when the 144 and its driver had a difference of opinion one warm day. The Volvo threw a hissy fit and blew its rear main oil seal. The driver (not me), thoroughly fed up with it drove it across London with the oil light on. The engine wasn’t quite the same after that, although it never actually stopped running.
At that point it got an engine I’d rebuilt a little while previously. It has +40 pistons, D type cam, plateau honed block, lightened flywheel, balanced rods flywheel and crank and unleaded valve seats. At the same time I also took out the J type overdrive and swapped it for an upgraded D type.
I then took it for MOT and it passed with a few advisories. One of the advisories was the original pitted brake disks. Since we had no real use for the car and time wasn’t of the essence I thought they might as well be done.
I also decided that the car was starting to look a bit tatty so the front wings came off. I junked the non vented front panel and replaced it with a brand new slightly later one. At some point in its life a very slight car park nudge had been badly repaired and the corner of the front panel was rusty. I prefer the one with the vents on the valence, and I wanted this car capable of running hard, long and fast.
In that spirit I fitted an earlier inlet manifold, without secondary throttle flaps. A brand new 5 bladed plastic fan went on too. Flushed with success, Ho Hum, I shoved the car into the corner of the workshop and forgot all about it. It made a useful parts store though!
All sorts of interesting stuff came and went. PVs, 120s, 940 Turbos, Fiat Cinquecentos, Citroen 2CVs, Sprinter vans and the 144 seemed quite happy to just sit there, until one day I decided that something had to be done with it, I did briefly consider outing it as an abandoned project, but I don’t like defeatism and besides it is an exceptionally nice 144.
This then is what I found lurking in the corner.
I’d tone some work to it already, but it had lurked in its corner for 6 years or so (probably longer but I don’t want to own up to that)
I’d already repaired one bonnet hinge mount, the other side is as new, and the fan plate for the rear shock mount
Searching through the car produced a nice shiny set of new disks and pads, a Simons 2.5” exhaust and a set of Bilsteins and lowering springs. A bit of retail theraphy produced new callipers, brake hoses and a master cylinder.