Volvo 122S(S)

[StreetMachine82]

Hi all,

I am starting this build thread on my 1966 Volvo Amazon 122s. You may be thinking, why a Volvo? Well, it all started way back when I was three years young. My dad picked up a '70 Volvo 140 series wagon from his cousin for free. Other than it catching on fire in his cousin's back yard when he came to take it away, my dad's old Volvo served us well for another eleven years until he sold it back in '96. I remember countless times when I'd be riding shotgun and my dad would have me shift gears. I also owe my love for wrenching to that car. I recall my dad and I always doing something to it; adjusting the points, brakes, trying to drill a hole through the window (during a window-channel repair -- lol) and so on.

Around the time when I was learning to drive, I convinced my dad to buy an '85 240. I drove that around while saving up money for my first car. One morning on my way to work, I spotted a very clean 122 series Volvo and it had a for sale sign on it! It was red with a white top and sported a set of chrome smoothies. It was love at first sight, but I didn't have the money and needed a newer/more-reliable car as a daily driver. I eventually bought a Miata which I still have. I've done a lot to it including tripling its horsepower. Although it's a lot of fun, I still would often reminisce of the time when I first saw that sharp red and white 122 Volvo so many years ago. A couple years ago I started looking at 122s. Long story short, I bought one just a couple blocks away for a reasonable price, was rust free and had decent chrome. I must admit, I got major cold feet once I had the cash in-hand to purchase it. This was mainly because of may delicate living situation and the fact that I already had two other cars. To be honest, I'm still not 100% sure I made the right decision, lol -- but hey, you only live once!

Although the car was drivable, it was scary. I started upgrading the suspension, wheels and tires. Cleaned up the tired 1.8L with a new water pump, pertronix ignition, a dual exhaust etc. I came to the realization that I needed to rebuild the motor and upgrade the transmission to at least an overdrive. I'm sure you guys have done it too, try to find parts for a foreign 50 year old motor. ...and of course you want more power; for a Volvo owner, well, you want a lot more power. And then you get on YouTube and check out all the fun the Sweds are having with their V8 vintage Volvo's. The big issue with putting a V8 in a vintage Volvo is the fact that, like many of the other small cars from the '50s and '60s, the k-member is very narrow. Then I stumbled across Robert Jackson's Volvo-x build diary who's manufacturing complete IFS for these little cars. With his suspension, my biggest hurdle would be eliminated! While Robert of Swedish Ops is in the final stages of finishing my front suspension, I've been busy doing everything I possibly can to prepare for its coming. Below are some pictures of my build. Since I don't have a pic of my car before I started modifying it, this first one isn't it, but looks exactly like I got it other than the side mirror placement being different.



This next one was taken soon before I started seriously tearing into the car. This was shot at a winery up in Napa California. I was taking pictures of it for a photo contest held buy IPD (an aftermarket Volvo parts supplier). This random chick visiting from South America wanted to pose with it. What was I goin' to do? Who says old Volvos aren't chick magnets! lol