142 Track day car! :)

[Dylan144GT]

Hey Everybody

SO, this is quite exciting....

As most of you have probably gathered by now, I have a '68 B18 142S. A friend and I want to strip it and make a track day car out of it. The thing is is that its quite rusty and we would like some input from the forum as to the feasability of this car being a track day car. We are essentially going for a bare metal racer. I am posting some photos of the car for your inspection. The photo collection is just skin deep at the moment but we will be posting some close ups of the problem areas after the weekend.

Would love some input as far a modification go too. Any tricks and advice welcome. This is a DIY excercise(except for the obvious machining work) and based on a student budget so its not gonna be the fastest 142 ever raced but its gonna run on alot of high octane enthusiasm and Volvo passion!

Thanks Guys and hope you guys enjoy following this project as much as we are going to enjoy working on it!

Dylan

To infinity and beyond...

[Snowman]

You'd get lynched here for doing that to a 142!!!!

Last track day I did, we broke the rented Westfield and ended up using a Clio Williams instead. Worth about £2000 and fantastic fun. You could spend half that on something like an old rwd Corolla, still have a blast and would have to be cheaper than fixing up the Volvo....or have I missed something (perhaps like what cars cost in SA)?

Would make a better historic rally car (but then, I'm biased!).

[Dylan144GT]

Hopefully, our proposal hasn't offended anyone. Sorry if it did. It didn't cross my mind actually. OOPS! The last thing I'd want is to be ousted by fellow 140-ista! I love these cars and what they are. I cringe when I see these guys that have hacked half the fire wall away to put in an American V8 with an auto transmission! I read so much about how these extraordinary cars with their pushrod motors used to reach 8000 rpm and how they could sit there all day! These engines are so torquey too, love driving them!

The idea is to be original but to just strip it out, ie. no body mods like fibre glass spoilers and the rest of it. I wouldn't fuel inject it with a super charger coupled to a turbo. Just some suspension work, some light engine work. I have a set of the rare GT wheels to go on it with the instrument cluster. So its all original and if not very close to and period. Alot of guys put the Weber sidies on but I would like to experiment with the SU's and see how much I can get out of them! Maybe a D cam. 4-2-1 exhaust. I really don't think any of this is to be scorned at. Ultimately to use the FIA historic racing regulations as a guide.

Speaking of rallying the car. I am actually really keen on this. They were rally cars and I think it'd be awesome. It might just be that we go this route!

It is a little pricey to put these cars together but considering I bought this car for the equivilent of about £50... no not £500... I think its worth it! I can't imagine racing around a lifeless Corolla. Classics are my passion and I think there is no better way to hail them than reviving them to motorsport. They just beg to be plucked and driven, so why not!?

Dylan

[Sam Barker]

There are problems with a 142 as a track day car....

Overall size is the biggest issue, fancy barrelling into a fast corner and trying to outbrake your mates? It'll do it but there's an awful lot of car to waggle about!
Top speed, well, it's not good is it? Nor is acceleration, but that can be resolved easily by levering a v8 in, and there's plenty of those knocking around SA (is that a Perana Capri? If so that's a good donor!), see:

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Volvo_200_V-8.html

for inspiration.
You won't have to worry about historic modifications unless you start competing seriously, which is one thing myself and S-man have to think of.

I had arranged to track day the 144 this month but had to cancel, which I'm gutted about or I could have told you exactly how they go.

As S-man says, there are better options for track cars, but there are better options for rally cars too*, it comes down to two things: What do you own? What do you want to spend? For me, it's "A 144" and "not much" respectively, therefore the 144 is the play car and will be rallied, tracked, sprinted, jumped over the Grand Canyon etc, and so should yours.

There's always someone else keeping their 142 or 144 mint so as long as you don't wreck a really nice one doing it you should go for it.

The usual order, Handling, Brakes then Power when it comes to souping it up, it cuts down on the crash rate!

Sam

*Yep, I know what things the 140s won, also I know I get beaten by MkI Escorts a lot, but I don't like Ezzies and I can't afford to build a trailer queen rally car to win such as an Alfa GTV or Gilbern GT. I like rallying the Volvo, it teaches me a lot about car handling and I can drive it home. If I enter the London Sydney the 144 will be ace, but the things I'm currently doing would be more competitively done in something smaller.

[Sam Barker]

Must have been typing as you were...
OK, You don't fancy a V8, just strip it out and get going with it!

Sam

[Triple-S]

I make no comments re your desires on your Volvo 142, because after all, its now your car, and over here lately, people have scrapped far rarer cars just because their scrap value has tempred them from logic

BUT

if it works, don't whatever you do dump that Wagner brake master cylinder! I also have a 1968 Volvo142S which I am restoring to pleasure use standard, and here in the UK have found it increasingly difficult to get a master cylinder overhaul kit for mine. My car has low mileage after a twenty year rest, and the cylinder bore is undamaged - its just that at least one seal is showing signs of perishing. None of our specialists over here or on mainland Europe can supply a kit - I'm currently hoping one can cobble the right bits together from other kits by comparing their stock with my seals.

Has anybody else succeeded in getting a kit for the older 140-series? As an alternative, has anybody got a decent cylinder of the right style to trade?

And to think I used to find getting bits for the ATE system on my 164 difficult....

Paul

[john h]

Go for it.

If you keep it all in character you'll not offend me, at least.

And while it won't be fast, it will be fun. Which is surely the point.

As said before, do handling first, brakes next (164E vented discs bolt on) then have fun while saving up for more power.

John