My dad bought a new 4dr 122 in 1964, in Delaware.

My Grandfather liked my dad's car so much he bought a new 2dr for himself in 1966 (the car that I currently own).

My dad insists to this day that his 64' would run rings around my grandfather's 66', and he could never figure out why, back in the day.

My dad tuned the carbs on both cars (he's really good at it too!)

I've often wondered if my dad somehow wound up with a P1800 motor in his car; he said it came with the phenolic spacers between the carbs and the intake manifold. I had associated these items with the higher compression ratio motors, but perhaps I am wrong.
The only other things I could think of would have been (possibly) a vacuum advance distributor or a different rear axle ratio.

Any ideas?

Bill

have you checked to see whether both carbs are working? open the hood, move the throttle shaft manually, and check to see whether both carbs are being activated by the throttle shaft. sometimes the links on the shaft that activates the carbs come loose, leaving you with only one carb, or less.

floyd

I have noticed things like that too. My '68 142 with the B18 was pretty fast. I would often be asked if it was a V8 by some clueless people. Among our 240s the '88 M47 and '89 AW70 seem much faster than the '91. I think it is rear ends to a large extent.

If both cars in question are straight 4 speeds, I expect the axle ratio would have been the same.

Phenolic spacers would not designate any performance upgrades...

I would say... assuming your father isn't just being proud of his car or having some selective memory stuff, that the two cars just had different personalities.

Lots of stuff can make a car seem quicker... stiffer bushings, motor mounts... or perhaps your grandfathers (your) car was just never in perfect tune.

--
-Matt I ♥ my ♂

M40 4 speeds came with 4.10 axle. M41 OD box with 4.56 axle. Wagons used M40 with 4.56 axle. Factory spec Wagons never had OD but many have been retro fitted. If you had a friendly dealer you might have been able to have the OD fitted to your car/wagon at the time of delivery but that would have been expensive as you would have an M40 gearbox left over. The 4.30 axle didn't arrive until the last of the B20 models and most people won't actually know they have one. They seem to have been fitted rather randomly to the cars. It's a good ratio to use with an OD nowdays. 4.10 good for economical cruising but takes the edge off performance unless you've upgraded the engine.

I suspect the rear axle ratio. (did the 64 have overdrive?---those were usually 4:30, straight 4 speeds were usually 4.10. Wagons were 4.56) Neither car had a tach, and shorter gears would make the engine seem livelier, as well as actually accelerating the car more rapidly. Both cars should have had identical B18D engines, 8.5:1 compression, 90 HP @ 5000 RPM. (in 67 the double downpipe was introduced, compression was increased a tiny bit, and output went up to 95 HP @ 5400) While a P1800 engine (B18B, 10.0:1 compresssion, 108 HP @ 5800, in 1964) would bolt right in, it's unlikely to have ahd one, as you know the entire history of the car from new. You would also know if the head had been heavily milled at any time.

The 64' didn't have overdrive. I know most car companies sometimes substitute parts when it's convenient, so a different rear axle is a possibility. I suppose a head is possible too.
But what about the phenolic carb spacers? Did the B18D come with those? My (late grandfather's) 66' doesn't have them, and never did.

Bill

I think the phenolic spacers were added to reduce problems with vapor lock and boiling fuel in the float bowls. They function as a heat insulator, so the carbs remain cooler than the manifold (not the case when bolted up metal-to-metal) At some point they became standard equipment, and dealers may have been instructed by a TSB to install them on older cars that were having vapor lock or related difficulties. This would have been more of an issue in a hot climate. In freezing weather, carb heat is a good thing. (not that you should remove the spacers for winter driving---it should still work OK with them in place)

I used to regularly beat Triumph tr6's w/my brothers 65 pv544.Lower speeds were great but the top end suffered.His 122 wAON WAs real afst too,but needed an od over 60mph definetely

Related to your post but off-topic for solving mysteries -

My B-18 manifests what I am sure is the fuel boil off you alude to. VERY difficult to start if shut off and left for a short period of time in hot weather. I put the top end together myself and I'm pretty sure that I didn't put spacers in. (Can't check right now cause the car is elsewhere).

Here's my question - assuming that the difficult (*really* difficult) starting under those circumstances is related to heat on carb, what is the best throttle / choke combination to get the car started again? I seem to remember from the days back when that the recommnedation was foot to the floor and choke off. Does that make sense?

Thank you.

KaiS
'67 Duett with B-18D

I've had this problem a couple times on my 144 and 122. Once it was poor balance between the carbs -- they had very different idle and mixture settings. The other time the points were not set properly.

In general with these cars, unless you're 100% sure it isn't the ignition (such as, for instance, if there is lots of water in the car -- probably not the ignition) check the ignition first, then check it again. Old fashioned ketering ignitions (distributor, points, coil) are nice, sturdy, simple devices but they need to be fiddled with really often to work perfectly, though they can work poorly for years without any real attention.

It's been a couple years since I've had a B20 powered volvo, though...

chris

Kai;

No choke, full throttle and cranking until it catches... is the recommended hot start technique...because it doesn't want more fuel, it wants to get cooled down, and maximum airflow (for the slow RPMs at cranking) will do that. This is also stated in the owners manual as I recall.

Cheers

I used to regularly beat Triumph tr6's w/my brothers 65 pv544.Lower speeds were great but the top end suffered.His 122 wAON WAs real afst too,but needed an od over 60mph definetely

I used to regularly beat Triumph tr6's w/my brothers 65 pv544.Lower speeds were great but the top end suffered.His 122 wAON WAs real afst too,but needed an od over 60mph definetely

Was there much weight difference between the two cars?, ( though I think the two door would have been lighter, ...posiibly the 4 door came with a different rear)
Chris