Okay, so I found what seems to be a great deal on a 72 142E. It was owned by a Volvo mechanic, so almost everything was replaced. He said it runs dirty sometimes, like it wants to stall (carb work). The whole fuel system has been worked over except for the carb. Note: it has a fuel injection emblem on the trunk.

He also said:
New tires, brake lines, rebuilt master cylinder, all new plugs, wires and hoses. New temp gague. New fuel filter and fuel line.

This all sounds great. However, the rocker panels have gaping rust holes through them, and he includes new rocker panels in the price. The body is fair overall, with rust around the windshield, a dent in the trunk and a few other blemishes.

The car is a forest green with olive interior and has an auto transmission.

I'm completely new to these cars. The price is good, just not sure if I should be scared away by the rust since it is mechanically pretty good (except for the carb/fuel injection mixup)

Suggestions?

agreed that the rust and automatic pretty much rule this one out as a restoration project... agreed, it's a parts car.

THat said though... if you're really interested in older Volvos, this could be a good 'learner' for you. Get the feel for them, get your hands dirty on one until you find a good one. And when you do find a good one, well.... you've got a cars worth of parts.

Pretty easy swap from auto to manual (though probably not worth the effort or cost), pretty easy to swap to SU carbs (probably not worth the cost)

I bought a 142e parts car some time ago... it became my daily driver for nearly two years, and still ran great when I finally did get around to taking it apart... Goes to show you never can tell...



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-Matt I ♥ my ♂

It's a parts car, and not a good one at that. The "carb" if you mean one, is probably the dreaded little Weber. Not good. With the D-jet system working, that would have been a quick little car, except that it's an automatic, and the BW35 is one of the worst slush boxes ever made.
I'd pass, even at that price, unless it had parts I needed.

Thanks, your input was especially helpful and what I was looking for. I think I'll pass and keep searching on.

Thanks again,

Eric

It would make a GREAT Race Car!
142's/242's are getting scarce.

...or run forever with minimal upkeep IF you learn to do the work yourself...plenty of help here.