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IF you can find a donor car with everything you need, changing trannies
is not particularly difficult, installing the clutch pedal will be a bit
more of a challenge but it is all bolt-in stuff. Probably will need to
change the whole pedal box and one from a little later car will be sturdier
because the earlier ones had the clutch pedal pivot shaft cantilevered from
one end. I don't know when that change was made but mine is a 69 and it is
the old style - I replaced it with one from a 73.
If it has Stromberg (Zenith-Stromberg) diaphragm carbs you will probably
want to change to SUs (HIF6) to cut down on maintenance requirements
(unless it has Fuel Injection).
One of the advantages of the earlier models is that they had the more
accessible heater, so if you need to get to the blower motor it's only
about half as much work as on the later models and the 240s.
I was offered a 75 with the engine removed, about 40,000 miles, in almost
pristine shape except for some upholstery rot a few years back. The engine
came with it and was complete other than some of the hoses had been cut.
The asking price was $1200 and if I had not had so many cars in the driveway
already (and if it had not been 250 miles from home) I would have bought it.
Being close by is a plus, of course. Prices vary a lot depending on where
you are. They are worth more on the coasts and places where old Volvos are
more common and popular. (Berkely comes to mind.)
Don't get this car if you don't want to learn a LOT about it and spend a lot
of time with it, because you will undoubtedly find a lot of things that need
attention and will stretch your mechanical abilities and experience. It is
a bit like planting a garden. Once the glamour wears off there is still a
lot of hard work.
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Central US
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