This 1971 Volvo 142 “S” coupe is in need of a new home, and the seller seems motivated to sell. He’s asking just $900 for a running example equipped with a Weber carb, but it does carry the stigma of being equipped with an automatic transmission. In the case of a car like this, I wouldn’t ding it because of a drop in performance – they weren’t that quick with a stick, either – but purely for the added complexity. Can this project-grade Volvo be turned into a nice driver? Find it here on Facebook Marketplace and thanks to Barn Finds reader Cameron J. for the find.
Now, I already have a few ideas about how you can make this 142 immensely more fun, but I’ll get back to that in a moment. Right now, the body looks fair, and I don’t see any major outbreaks of rust. The passenger side may be showing some issues on the lower edges of the door, but I can’t tell for sure. The stock grill and lenses are fair, but the passenger side turn signal is smashed. The seller notes he drove this 142 over 300 miles from Missoula, Montana to Rexburg, Idaho without issue.
Photos aren’t super helpful, but you can tell from this shot that the interior isn’t in great shape. The dash is cracked and it looks like some controls are missing from the center stack. The original radio remains in place and the stereo has been replaced with an aftermarket unit. The carpets appear to still be there, and the brake pedal has seen plenty of use based on what looks like the rubber pad having completely melted away. The seller notes that the Volvo is rough around the edges, but that it still starts and idles fine.
The Weber carb is a good upgrade, and the fact that it still runs makes the next step of rejuvenation slightly less daunting for the next owner. If I needed to have a cheap 142 in my life, I’d create a ratty rally build, lowering it slightly, adding some IPD sway bars, and mounting some big fog lamps to the front bumpers. I’d freshen up the interior with seats from a later mode, add some Virgo wheels to keep it OEM, and source some NOS mudflaps. Then again, I wouldn’t start with a car like this, but with some imagination, it could still be a fun project on the cheap.
I had a 74 142 in green. It had a few issues. There was a huge plastic bellows for the air intake to the injection system that would break when cold. The engine vibrating would destroy it. It would literally explode. I went through a few.
The fuel pump was under the car near the rear tire and gas tank. Just where it could get very dirty and fail. I used a wood hammer to knock it occasionally and kept it running though the winter. Then the rust killed the shock towers.
Sad as the car was great in snow and was a good driver.
This one is just a beat driver- buy with caution. Randy
The rear side windows flip out for ventilation. Make sure it has the drilled glass to hold the window. Early models ( I think ’69) had the window glued to the latch. I made a right hand turn and heard something hit the street and could see the side window bouncing down the street. If I didn’t see it I wouldn’t believe it but the window didn’t break! I turned around and picked it up and tossed it in the back seat. And that was my first lesson in car mechanics, “If it sounds like something fell off the car, something probably fell off the D__N car”
Two easy options to deal with the crappy BW trans – 4-spd w/overdrive is a bolt-in swap, or spend for the adapter and use the excellent AW-71 from a 240.
As an owner of 4 of these early cars currently, I can tell you these 140 series cars are the rarest of all the volvo models for some reason. Well built and simple cars that are not so prone to severe rust issues. They are however getting hard to find some parts for because there are not that many left…………Good deal with some work………