My Amazon just gave up due to distributor failure. The distributor on it was a JFR4. I have a spare VJU 4 BL 33 to fit but the drive shaft is custard. Does anyone know of a compatible drive shaft from another make or model of car that could be adapted to suit this? Old Volvos are scarce here in New Zealand and I might struggle to find a proper replacement. The gear is held on the shaft with a roll pin so I could replace just the gear if I could find another.

Its a Volvo only part, not a generic used on other cars. They were available new from Volvo. The roll pin one is old style, on later ones the shaft was fixed permanently onto the gear. It usn't unknown for the roll pin to shear which allows the engine to run without turning the oil pump.

Pete

any 544-122-1800-140 1962 to 1975 use that part all 1800cc and 2000cc engines

Thanks for that. As it happens, I do have a spare 142E that I have just salvaged the gearbox from. The plan was to sell the rest to someone who wants to put it back on the road, but that plan might change now! I'll see if I can track one down from another 120 or 140 Volvo before committing.

Do you know what else is common between a 1963 B18A and a 1971 B20E? i.e. is it worth me keeping the engine from the 142E as a source of parts for my Amazons? I was thinking that the FI exhaust manifold was worth keeping to go with twin carbs as a potential future enhancement. What else can be useful? Alternator? Camshaft? Oil pump? Any internals?

The cylinder head is definately one piece to keep. You can plug the injection ports with small frost plugs and use the SU carbs. If by chance the head has small valves it would be the higher hp version, definately a keeper for your a b18 or b20 upgrade

The whole B20 engine will bolt straight into your Amazon, The port spacing on the head is identical an all versions of B18/B20 engine. It's literally as simple to conver an injection engine to carb as bolting the manifold on. You can get fancy and start pulling off the injectors and stuff, but you can also be crude and use them as plugs.

The alternator will only bolt onto a B18 block from 1967 onwards, I assume yours is RHD, if so the block needs two tapped holes above one another just by the timing gear cover.

Essentially a B18/B20 engine is identical. The bores are larger on a B20, the head has bigger valves, bigger combustion chambers and valve stem oil seals. The oil pump was upgraded, but is interchangeable. Then the very late 1975 B20 got a load of metric bits as production was geared towards the 240.

Other than the engine and gearbox little is a direct swap from 120 to 140, the steering idler is the same, but that's about your lot

My car is LHD - a bit of an oddball here but legal because it was imported ages ago. My car already has an alternator in it.

I don't really want to go to a larger engine capacity because it is a certification hassle and possible insurance problem. It would cost more than it is worth.

Sounds like I'm better to sell my 142E complete (except for the M41 - which is what I bought it for).

Thanks

The cam will be a C or A which is undesirable on an E engine.
The crank, rods, flywheel, timing gears, etc are mostly interchangeable as are
the bolts and nuts, oil pan. The head and pistons are different and the oil
pump may be a bit smaller but the rest is pretty much alike. In fact you
could bore the block to 3.5" and use it as a B20 also.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

Thanks for that. You seem to have picked up the wrong end of the stick but told me what I wanted to know anyhow. I was considering what parts from the B20E were useful as spares for a B18A - not the other way around. I'd expect that the oil pump might be desirable if it was in better condition and/or higher rating.

On balance I will probably try and find a new distributor drive gear somewhere else and sell the 142E as a restorable proposition. I don't think there's enough in the 142E to make it worth my while wrecking it and storing parts.

If I were you I would pull the engine and maybe transplant it.
I have several of the gear/shafts but if I understand right shipping
might be a problem. 35 years ago a new one was over $60.....
If you are interested in one of mine for $20, e-mail me offline.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!