Hi all,

I've advertised a car or two here over the years but have never been much of an active member. But now with my new project I guess you'll be hearing from me from time to time.

I bought this Volvo recently, it has 95,000 on it and is in good shape - not the greatest paint job (it used to be Cypress Green). I'm doing the basics right now and the things that weren't working 100%: fuel pump, fuel tank, tune up, starter, brake lines, etcetera. I hope to spend some time on the suspension this winter.

RIght now though what I need is a 55 amp, preferably Bosch alternator or, at the very least, the alternator pulley. Can anyone help with this? Turns out the last guy who worked on the car 12 years ago (it spent that long in a barn) did some great things and a few odd things...one was to fit in an off brand alternator which is making my belts all run a little crooked.

If you have a part or can set me in a useful direction, I'd appreciate it!




THanks, Kelley

That's a very nice looking car you've got. I can well believe it was stored for a long time, judging by the condition it appears to be in. However, prolonged storage can cause many problems to crop up. One you may not have thought of is the tires. While they may look OK, 12+ year old tires are not safe to drive on. They are likely to fail suddenly, without warning. I believe those narrow whitewalls (Michelin ZX?) were original equipment on 140s and 164s. If so, they may be quite a bit more than 12 years old---probably more like 20---I haven't seen anything like that in at least that long. There should be a date code somewhere on the sidewall. It will be a 3 digit number, of which the first two are the week (01 to 52) and the last one is the year. Unfortunately, if this number is, say, a 7, there is no way to tell if the tire was made in 1997 (unlikely if the car was in storage for the last 12 years) 1987, or even 1977. Starting in the year 2000, the date code has been 4 digits, the last two of which are the year.


I do not consider a Delco alternator to be an upgrade over Bosch. All of my fuel injected 140s had a 55 amp Bosch, and none of them were particularly troublesome. I can remember replacing brushes a couple of times, on two different cars, and that was about it. On the other hand, Marchal and Motorola alternators are probably best avoided.

Thanks Blue Horse. One of the first things I looked at when I picked it up are the tires - to see if I could drive it home. They aren't great shakes but are in decent condition - Goodyer integrity on the rear and newer Uniroyals on the front - 205/70's. They will be replaced in the spring before much driving occurs. I'm going down to a 195/60 I think...maybe Kumhos. But I want to get the VPD springs on first to see where the ride height goes.

The oem Michelin XZX 165-15 is 25.4" tall.
Still available at Coker Tire,but pricey.

195-60-15 is going to be short.

195-65-15 is 25"tall and is a good choice in a
modern tire size for all around use.
--
71-145-S ; 72-145-E ; 72-1800-ES

Nice looking 142.
Interestingly I just bought a '73 144 w 104k miles only 2 weeks ago, which has been sitting in a barn for 16 yrs,and is the same orig puke green color (I really hate the color, but is now chic for vintage cars, go figure?)
It came with cracked but good tread Pirelli P4 tires in a 185/70-15 which haven't been made in about 16 yrs. One of my first purchases was a set of Conti ProContact 185/65-15's for very cheap at Tire Rack just last week on special for $45 each. I would jump on them before they are out of stock!
Oh about the alternator, do yourself a favor, scrap the idea of using the orig Bosch 55 amp, and get a late 240 model Bosch 80 amp alternator from a JY, then have a shop rebuild. Not only do they have a built-in regulator, but last a long-long time and are easy to retrofit in a 140. Also look for the Sanyo 100 amp alt from a 940, will also fit. My past exerpience with the Bosch 80 amp are that they last about 3x longer than the 55 amp, and the car doesn't suffer from chronic ground problems between the voltage regulator on the fender and alternator. When I take the 55 amp off my car you can have it! I'll throw in hte voltage regulator too.
--
'89 245 sportwagon, destroyed by hit & run driver, RIP. '04 V70 2.5 T Sportwagon, 12k mi and '91 245 5-speed, 209k mi, replaced the '89

Excellent point on the tires.. definitely not suitable for road use...

As for your alternator comment.. yes, I agree that the Bosch units are good. My only problem is when they do go, they are pricey, and all of them now have several hundred miles on them. Sure, replace brushes.. but eventually, the commutator wears out, the bearings... etc.

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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Nice looking car....

What type of alternator is in there? It's probably a Delco, and in my opinion, that is an upgrade... though not if improperly isntalled.

Were I you, I'd keep what's in there but get it straight...

Ron will probably jump in here soon... but, see:

http://sw-em.com/swemkitspix.htm#alternator%20upgrade%20kit

I think IPD sells a bracket too.

Going back to an original type alternator might require some wiring, and replacement bits can be hard to find, and much more expensive than a the Delco.

Enjoy the new car!

--
-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Okay,

All of this is really helpful especially the Delco option - thanks Matt and Swedish Steel (by the way...BEAUTIFUL car...love the shiney valve cover). I'm spending Friday afternoon and Saturday morning doing fuel line replacement and a window scraper. I'll get under her and take a good look at the alternator. I have this really creepy feeling (maybe a product of it being H'ween) that it isn't a Delco...but I'd be thrilled to be wrong. I do know that the bracket the alt is on is an oddity and maybe that IS my belt problem.

THen again the belt problem may be the *&%$!# ac pump...which I would gladly remove if someone manufactured a pulley replacement (car has PS and Ac so two belts to the crankshaft).

But first things first. I'll get back to all of you after the weekend to tell you what the scoop is.

Thanks,

Kelley

There were idler pulleys for cars with power steering and no A/C...

Pretty hard to come by (though I havn't looked). Might be something fairly easy to fabricate though...

But I doubt that's the belt problem. Almost always a crooked alternator after conversion...

--
-Matt I ♥ my ♂

Hi
I agree with Matt about the Delco alternator with Ron's adaptor. It is an upgrade, besides the Delco alternators are dirt cheap at your parts stores and can provide much more amperage.
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Antique Swedish Steel 71 142E color V#102

Kelly;

If the alt belt is not in a plane, its life-expectancy is highly reduced, so you should determine the cause and consider improvements, because your reliability factor is undoubtably way down...the car looks sharp externally, but pictures of the alt and especially the bracketry would help.

...thanks guys for the reference

Cheers

Thanks Ron. Yeah, we've been staring at the crooked belt for a while now. I think the primary culprit is the ac unit...something about the mounting is fishy but it looks stock...we've had it in and out. Then we noticed the funky alternator bracket and alternator. I've been pondering that while waiting for new brake hoses...a more immediate issue at this moment.

I'll update all of you on the situation down under when I know more.

THanks,

Kelley

So it is a Delco Remy in there and it is in there with a odd assortment of hardware to make it fit. It does look like the mounting of the ps pump was altered a bit to make it run on the same angle with the alternator. So the ac unit may not be the culprit.

Anyway, since the only thing happening is back and forth on the driveway or around the block, I'm not in too much of a hurry. I already had feelers out for the the Bosch AL77 for this car and a flywheel and it looks like I may get these in a cost effective manner. If not, thanks to the info here, I have the bracket and delco option.

As soon as I get the parts I'll try the job.

Thanks,

Kelley

Hey Kelly
I just remembered a problem I had with a "Delco". There was no steel sleeve to protect the inside of the pivot bolt hole and wear made the pivot bolt hole oval, allowing the alternator to get off line, and caused also a water pump bearing failure.
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Antique Swedish Steel 71 142E color V#102

Hello,

That's a very nice looking 142 you have there. You might want to try the Ebay seller "paulsmotors". I've never bought from him, but he's got a 99.7% approval rating. According to his advertisement, you simply e-mail him your alternator needs (year, model, amperage, etc.) and he'll find one and test it for you before you buy. Might be worth a shot if all else fails.

Good luck!

Can 240 alternators fit? eg.
http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo240eng_electrical.htm#alt
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans in Brampton, Ont.

You can sometimes find them rebuilt. Get one for a 164.
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

I have one available, in good shape. Just bolt in, wires go in the same spots as the old one. It's a reman unit, about 8 months old. $40.00.+ shipping to you.

THanks John...it arrived and is wonderful...got cold here so will take a couple weeks before it is in!

Great! Thanks! I packed it as best as I could. Don't forget the harness in there also in the zip-lock baggy.

Thanks again!

-John