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1963 Rally
Monte Carlo
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Volvo
won the European Rally Championship in 1963 with a
special 122S. In 1963 a 122S driven by Tom Trana
finished a very close second to Jaguar in the European
Touring Car Championship. |
East African
Safari Rally 1965 |
Swede Tom Trana had become the first driver to gain honours with
the Amazon in motor sport at the end of the 1950s. The Amazon
originally benefited from the developments made to the PV
overhead valve, four-cylinder engine which was already very
successful in motor sport. The five main bearing 1,778 cc engine
(B18 designation) was added in 1962, and it improved performance
as well as reliability.
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Nürnburgring
Six Hours 1963.
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Right: carnage
just after the start of the 1800 class at Nürnburgring
Volvos everywhere |
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Amazons at Spa '64
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Later versions of this engine
were "tweaked' to produce even more power. Success in motor
sport created demand for similar performance on the road.
Attracting private racing and rally drivers was the task of
local importers and wasn't controlled from Gothenburg.
Team Volvo 64 Acropolis Rally |
2.2 Litre 180hp
set |
Carburettor set
Solex type 45 |
2 Litre 170hp
set |
In Germany, the Frankfurt
dealership offered a special model called 122SR in 1963.
Suspension and engine were modified.
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Competition dashboard 122S
Fueltank
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In May 1964, Car and Driver magazine
road-tested a 122S competition in full race trim. It
looks like that this particular car was built by Volvo
in Frankfurt. The engine, a 1860cc unit with a
compression ratio of 11.0 to one, two Weber side draft
42 DCOE/8 had an output of 120bhp @ 6000rpm. Torque 127
lb-ft @ 3600rpm. The suspension was improved by lowering
and stiffening and shocks were replaced by Konis, two
degrees negative camber on the front. Wheels were 5.5
" steel Dodge with Dunlop SP 165x15 tyres. A
special 25-gallon fuel tank with a wide filler neck was
also installed. The instrument panel was replaced by a
special panel with great VDO dials. |
Tuning of Amazons in Sweden was
very popular and every mail-order specialist offered versions of
conversion kits for road and track. Specialist performance
tuners sprung up with names like Speedman in Gothenburg, TG in
Malmö, Bertils Motors in Västeras, Hedlund, Timos Motor in
Stockholm.
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Ruddspeed
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In 1964 Ruddspeed, a
performance conversion company based in Sussex, UK offered
a number of conversion for the Amazon. Ken Rudd's cars all
came with lowered suspension, Konis, radial tyres, Rudd's
own camshaft, gas-flowed heads, stiffer valve-springs,
special exhaust manifold, etc. In
its stage three form a Ruddspeed 122's could top 127mph.
Even an estate given the 'treatment' could reach 100mph.
These Amazons are now very much sought after. |
In 1964, competition from the Lotus
Cortinas and later in 1965 the Alfa Romeos GTAs made the Amazons
un-competitive on the circuits.
Amazons were raced and
rallied in Australia successfully by drivers like Max Winkless,
Gerry Lister, David Seldon, David McKay, Ron Porter, Bill Brown,
Barry Ferguson, Bill Nolan.
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Tom Trana 1965
Acropolis Rally
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During the
Acropolis Rally in 1965, two Volvo service crew members
were killed and Volvo changed its attitude to motorsport
and withdrew in 1966 from official factory competition but
continued to support privateers. Tom Trana continued to
get factory support as a privateer but in 1968 he switched
to Saab and that really marked the end of the works
Amazons |
The Canadian SHELL
4000 across Canada attracted several Amazons for a number of
years, they were driven by Dick Pepper, Arno Hansen, Klaus Ross
and John Bird.
Was a special rally
version ever produced for the street? Yes! Find yourself a 1967
123 GT. This two-door sport model packed a few goodies: 115
horsepower engine, 7,000 RPM tachometer, rally suspension and
shocks, revised gear ratios and special fog lights.
Even today, Amazons are very popular cars in Historic &
Classic Rallies and Touring car races all over the world.
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Andrew White's ex-Works Rally Amazon
(Darwin - Australia)
The car was brought into Australia to
compete in the 1969 Southern Cross International Rally and
is in original condition apart from cage and driver's
seat. the car came equiped from the factory with 100 litre
tank, close ratio box, 5.1:1 LSD, 100 litre tank, tacho,
halda, sump guard, warm, torquey motor and some underbody
strengthening. |
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Engine no 2737 gearbox no 430476 chassis
no 288942 manufactured 1/12/67 and "build card"
- now on microfische with Volvo archives - has
"racing car" stamped across it. The car was
imported by Swedish Motor Importers in Mascot, Sydney and
remained with them until sold to Ossie Jackson on 28/8/69
(free 1000 mile service completed on 18/9/69). The car
then finished with a class win and 11th O/R in the '69
Southern Cross Rally a tough event with international
competitors in which John Keran drove the 142S to 6th O/R
and 2nd in class to Andrew Cowan's Austin 1800. |
Some of the major
Amazon successes were:
1959 - second in Swedish Saloon Car Championship, Tom Trana (S)
1960 - first, 1600cc class in Swedish Saloon Car Championship, Tom
Trana (S)
1961 - first, 1600cc class in Swedish Saloon Car Championship, Tom
Trana (S)
1961 - first, Swedish Ice Championship, Tom Trana (S)
1961 - first, German Touring Car Champion, Josef Maassen (D)
1962 - second, Tulip Rally, Gunnar Andersson (S)
1962 - second, Shell 4000
Rally, Canada
1962 - second, Argentine Gran Premio Rally
1963 - third, Tulip Rally, Gunnar Andersson (S)
1963 - class wins, 6-hour and 12-hour races at Nürburgring,
Jochen Neerpasch (D)
1963 - equal on points, European Touring Car Championship, Tom
Trana (S)
1963 - class win, 6-hours Brands Hatch, Tom Trana / Skogh (S)
1963 - class win, Grote Prijs Limburg, Zolder, Belgium, Tom Trana
(S)
1963 - class win, Zandvoort Trophy, Netherlands, Tom Trana (S)
1963 - first, European Rally Championship, Gunnar Andersson (S)
1963 - first, European Ladies Championship, Sylvia Österberg (S)
1963 - second, Acropolis Rally, Gunnar Andersson (S)
1963 - third, Acropolis Rally, Skogh / Berggren (S)
1964 - first, Shell 4000
Rally, Canada, Klaus Ross and John Bird
(CND)
1964 - class win, Sandown 4 hours, Gerry Lister (AUS)
1964 - second, 1000 Lakes Rally, Finland, Tom Trana (S)
1965 - first, Shell 4000
Rally, Canada, Klaus Ross and John Bird
(CND)
1965 - first, RAC European Touring Car Championship
1965 - first, World Championship for Manufacturers
1965 - first, Acropolis Rally, Carl-Magnus Skogh (S)
1965 - first, Syd Rally Sweden, Tom Trana (S)
1965 - second, Swedish Rally Championship, Tom Trana (S)
1966 - third, African Safari Rally, Joginder Singh / Bharat
Bhardwaj (Kenya)
1966 - second, 1000 Lakes Rally, Finland, Tom Trana
(S)
1966 - third, RAC Rally, Tom Trana / Solve Andreasson (S)
1966 - third, Monte Carlo Rally, Tom Trana / Solve Andreasson (S)
1967 - fourth, African Safari Rally, Joginder Singh (Kenya)
1967 - second, Finnish Rally Championship, Hannu Mikkola (FIN)
1967 - third, 1000 Lakes Rally, Finland, Hannu Mikkola (FIN)
1967 - first, New Caledonia Safari Rally, John Keran and Max Stahl
(AUS)
Compiled by Jim Hekker
Sources & Links:
Andrew
White 2007 Targa Tasmania website with video
Historic Acropolis Rally
FiA Historic Racing
The
History of European Touring Car Championship
World
Rally News, History
Tageracing.com
Damon Green's UK 122S Rally page
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