hi, my name is jeff and i am new to this forum. i have loved cars my whole life, especially european ones. i remember, as a young child, being really into the 140 series volvos; of course i was too young to know too much about them. i have, for the past ten years, owned a bmw 2002tii, so i know about the headaches and thrills of finding parts for these rarified machines. my most recent acquisition however, has gotten me all giddy. a friend of mine got a 71' 145s from another friend who couldn't and didn't want to deal with the problems that developed with the car. volvos are a dime a dozen around here and with the 140 series there is relatively no exception. but this particular 145 caught my attention.

first of all it had been lowered. i don't know how but i don't think it is from spring sag.

second, it had driving lights incorporated into the grill. i'm not a volvo expert by any stretch of the imagination but having been around european cars my whole life i had become trained to notice details like that and assumed that might be a rare option.

third, it was all original except a gl steering wheel and a weber carb w/a later injected head.

fourth it was in beautiful condition everything, even the engine compartment, except the driver's seat.

fifth, it was grey w/ a red interior...can't beat that combo.

looong story short, i was in love. so applying the power of will i got my friend to release it to me for peanuts (a broken guitar). this beauty was mine to admire. here's the catch...EXTREME blowby. so much the carb would load up and eventually die. i disconnected the breather from the carb and voila! a drivable car. the other catch: automatic tranny...oh well. you can't win them all...

my plan is to make this my daily driver. i have found another engine. a b20b from another 71' with 97,000 miles which i procured for $350 (i assume that's pretty cheap) and i am going to do an engine swap. any tips?

some questions: do the su's make more power than the weber? and the steering seems to sit extremely low. is it supposed to do that? also, are there other differences between the "s" model and others besides the dual carbs? is an oem lilmited slip diff available? any feedback would be appreciated. i will post pics soon.

regards, jeff

p.s. additions made: moto-lita steering wheel, period correct castrol sticker on the fender, removed the trim rings from the wheels, soon to be guage cluster to replace fuse cover ( sorry klr142) i would also like to find an oem tach to mount on the dash.