I recently had the opportunity to buy an absolutely gorgeous 1974 142s with a fresh-off-the-car-lot 200k miles for $1000. However, I ended up not going for it after talking to my local independent Volvo mechanic, because he said that the repair costs on the 140's were getting high and parts were hard to find. In particular he cited a local case where a customer was quoted $500 for a heater blower motor.
The 140 bug has struck me again, and after going to rockauto.com, I found that the parts really don't seem to be that expensive (the said blower motor costs $58.82, minus switch or resistor). Could some 140 owners please weigh in on this and tell me some of your experiences as far as availibility of parts and cost of repairs?

Thanks

My wife and I got together partly because I was the only one who could work on her '69 142S. After 7 years of wrenching on that thing, we've spent far less keeping the 142 on the road than we have our dependable 89 740Turbo.

Yeah, the parts can more than for a 77 chevy, but fortunatly they dont break to much.
Lately it seems like the 140 parts are getting easier to find especially if you have a 73 or later model. You wont find a lot of parts at Autozone, but online places Like IPD, RPR and some of the other sponsers are a good place to look.
Dont forget Ebay.
for the 67(66?) to 72s parts can be a little harder for things like trim, door window scrapers or stuff like that, but the blower moter is a heck of a lot easier to get to. And the mechanicals are easier work on, you can tear down the whole car with a 1/2", 5/8", and a crescent wrench and a screw driver.
Plus a good pair of vicegrips if no ones looking.

Sorry guys, but I am going to dive back in at the beginning of this conversation. You don't buy a 30 year old car because of repair costs.
It's a disease, but the treatment is that you can easily get parts to fix a 30 year old Volvo. If cost of repair and operation was the prime mover, we would all be driving Corollas (disclaimer: I work for Toyota). However, regardless of who signs my paycheck, there isn't much emotion in driving a 30 year old Toyota. Please keep your perspective.
However, an '87 Corolla GTS kicks ass.
--
123GT 1967

I owned an 85 corolla gts (the rwd version). It was the
best car I ever owned. Wicked tail happy, though. They're
rare and starting to get valuable, probably because they
were driven hard and put away wet by their second or third
owners. Mine died a comprehensive and horrible death due
to neglect and abuse. Nothing in that car worked when I
was done with it (transmission crunched, exhaust was rusty,
motor smoked and barely ran, locks broken, carpet torn,
paint thrashed, etc). I expected it to be smooshed but I
saw it on the road a couple years later (when it's your first
car and you own it for 5 years, a fresh coat of paint and
seat-covers won't hide what it is); I was actually really
happy to see it still on the road.

I owned an 87 tercel after that. Wildly fun car to drive
and impossible to break from neglect but an iffy electrical
system.

I think my next car may be a manual transmission late model
cressida, if I can find one.

I like toyotas...
chris

The differences between a 74 140 and a 93 240 are fewer than the
differences between a 86 corolla and an 88 corolla. In some ways,
the 74 140 is the ideal 140 -- it has the far simpler K-jet injection
that is found in virtually every european car made between the mid
70s and the late 80s. Anyone will know how to repair this system.
The interior is almost identical (and in many cases interchangable)
with any 240 up to the early 80s. There is also the chance that
the car has power steering, which is a nice addition.

The blower motor in particular is a problematic part on any 240
or later 140 -- it is considered to be among the most difficult
parts to replace requiring the whole interior to come apart. To
site this as a "typical repair cost" is silly. A far more reasonable
repair to examine would be to look at rebuilding a whole front
suspension or replacing every wear item in the brakes. My guess is
that parts and labor for either would be around $600-1000 if you buy
the parts online and take them to a friendly shop and pay them for
doing good work. (brakes= rotors/calipers/pads/flex lines/cylinder/booster
and front suspension=ball joints/bushings/tie-rod end/etc). While
expensive, this is a 30 year old car and these things tend to wear
out after 10-20 years. I've had to rebuild 2 front ends (one in a 122
and the other in my 164) and replace some brake stuff. Modern cars
will cost just as much in repairs if they are 10 years old or more,
and there is more to go wrong with them.

Parts, especially for the later 140s, are still trivial to find.
Repairs are going to be less expensive for this vintage 140 than
a comparable later 240 because the stuff is easier to reach and
faster to work on. Wear items are very reasonable.

I think your mechanic just doesn't want to buy SAE tools. Lots of
"volvo" mechanics don't care to work on older cars. I tend to take
my car to places that have lots of old american cars in them for
suspension stuff and places that have british cars for motor stuff
when I don't feel like doing the work myself. (my car has SU carbs
so I take it to british car places). Your car I'd take to a place
that advertises german cars and try to find someone who is excited
to work on the car (most people who know what they're doing would be)
chris
chris

1974 is not my favorite year and Belgian Volvos are likewise not my favorite
but I'd look it over and make sure that the suspension is in good shape,
that the FI is sound, body clean, etc, and if so, if you need it and have the
money, go for it. Like the other guys said, if you get used to where to look
for parts, they're there. Don't forget ReVolvStore in Tucson and RPR in Albany,
California.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

The appeal of these cars (for many), is that repairs are usually free, or just for the cost of parts, which are low compared to recent cars.

The technology is entirely accessible, even down to the ECU in the D-Jet cars, for someone with basic hand tools and a bit of patience. The underhood is easily accessible, the cars are not so powerful that they were subject to "irrational exuberance", so, even a car with 200k miles is a reasonable prospect.

I've owned two 140 series cars - a 73 142, which I only had for about one year, and a 72 144, which my wife drove for many years until she "moved on" (to a newer car, not a new man!) The 72 was a really nice head-turner, but we ended up selling it several years ago for $850, because of a few minor annoyances. (There simply wasn't much interest for that kind of car in the Atlanta area back then.) And that was AFTER I replaced the blower fan and heater core. THEN I discovered the Brickboard, and have kicked myself ever since.

The 140's shared the same basic carcass as the much-more-bally-hooed 240's, but were a notch or two simpler. We also owned an 82 240 for a few years and I personally preferred the 140.

I don't think the mechanics claim about parts shortages is really valid - especially when it comes to the mechanical parts. Finding body and trim pieces may require a little more searching, but the internet makes it possible to find virtually everything. Plus you've got suppliers like Voluparts, IPD, etc. that are quite good.

BTW - $500 sounds like the cost of the entire job (parts and labor).

Good luck.

I do not think that $1000 is too much at all for a nice 142s, if it had overdrive and looked good.
I paid $2400 for a nice 142E. It has a few very small rust spots, but the engine is perfect and interior is all new. Parts are not hard to find.
I had never heard of rockauto.com and was curious if their prices were better. I found that they list the B20B as the engine in my car, which is wrong, and do not seem to offer some of the parts that I would need. Perhaps I did not look hard enough, but some of the descriptions look different.

Unless I am sure that a part is available and lower cost through a parts store like this, I call IPD in Portland.
You may pay a bit more, but they will always help you, and they know what the hell they are talking about.


The blower motor for a 74 142 is compatable with the 240 series. All 140/240 from 1973-1993 use the same. IPD sells the switch, resistor, and new blower for about $110 if I recall correctly.
They also provide detailed instructions which are VERY important because this repair is the WORST thing I have ever tackled.
I would rather change a cylinder head or a camshaft than a heater fan. That is the reason for the $500 bill to do this.

Buy the car and drive it.
I drive mine 100 miles a day to work and back every day and love it.
It gets 28-30 mpg and handles like a dream. Well, the steering is sloppy as hell, so maybe my dreams for everyone.


Good luck,
Jeremy