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1967
Volvo 123GT - Chapter II
(Photos
of this 123GT were supplied by owner and USA member Louis M. Irizarry, II
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 More photos
below, please click on image for full size photo
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Description
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It was during the Spring of 1969 that I acquired my dream car, at the time; a 1967 Volvo 123 GT. As a reckless and irresponsible teenager my buddies and I got together during the weekends to engage in car racing of questionable legality, drag racing and numerous times Rally racing. We used to do the most stupid stunts just to have fun. As we got older we got a bit more serious and responsible.
A very close friend of mine, a retired Chrysler employee assisted me in upgrading my Volvo 123 GT 1 to a serious rally racer. It all started with the B-18 power plant, we removed the SU dual carbs and installed a set of side draft Webbers, installed a high performance cam to be able to feed the hungry Webbers and complemented the changes with a nice 4 to 1 header; no cat converter then. We slapped a cherry bomb muffler and we were on the our way to a serious contender. We needed some safety equipment, for it was a requirement if we wanted to race it in the local rallies. He rigged up for my car a very nice roll bar, changed the front standard buckets seats with racing bucket seats and the mandatory five points safety belts and Tag Heuer chronometers.
This was a seriously fast car and I enjoyed every race. One Sunday afternoon after returning from my Dad’s beach house, I was cruising at 60-65 mph on wet pavement and a very aggressive curvy road, at one of the tight curves the passenger side tires were in contact with the shoulder gravel. This caused the car to slide and skid stopping with a very stubborn Jersey bumper barrier. This barrier damaged my vehicle to a total loss. I was fortunate enough to walk away from this accident, thanks to the structural strength of the vehicle as well as the fact that I was very well protected by the belt harness and the roll bar. After the car was
totalled it was auctioned by the insurance company and an acquaintance of mine who owned a body shop purchased the car an worked on it the point the he placed the car back on the road . I was devastated that I crashed my very dear racer and promised myself that someday I would get another one like it.
During the Spring of 2006 while browsing the IPD-USA classifieds I found my dream car again. This is a clone of my car then, with some minor cosmetic and equipment . I knew then that this was chance in a million to regain my racer. Here it is; Chapter II
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Specification
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Model :
Built in :
Engine :
Power :
Gearbox :
Brakes :
Wheels :
Equipment : |
123GT
(133)
1967
B20E, 4 cyl. 2000cc, 2 Carbs
115bhp, Top speed 167kp/h
M41, 4-speed with O/D
Discs front, rear drums
Laguna
Rev. counter, reclining seats, sport steering wheel, overdrive, fog &
spot lights,
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123GT
Links
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The
Volvo 123GT & Aus Register by George Minassian
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