| Many of you will
know that for the last few years I have been preparing my blue
PV as a motorsport car. The idea was to build a road car
that could be used for racing and road rallies, when I saw the
Canadian 142 in the Targa NZ rally, I changed my mind, how much
more practical for motorsport one of these would be, also I have
a 1969 model
in reasonable condition sitting in the yard! (Photos
below)
Much easier
to obtain parts after the inevitable crash, only a few years
newer with regard to classic classes, much more usable in
standard trim, lots more room for a roll cage and easier to
drive due to better vision.
So when the registration and warrant run out on my other 544 in
March I shall be transferring bits to the blue
shell and building a really nice road car and I’m now
collecting parts to build a standard 1969 142 GT race car.
|
142 GT
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So
how hot could a standard
1960’s 142 be? Well straight from the factory a 2
litre twin SU with 118hp is the hottest however while
Volvo stopped its direct involvement with motorsport in
1966 the factories’ interest in providing tuning parts
improved and the arrival of the 140 series in 1966 with
production in full swing by 1968 coincided with the
introduction of performance kits supplied by Volvo
Tuning Services. |
Thus it was possible to go
to your friendly local Volvo dealer and order a 142GT, not a
production model exactly but a basic model enhanced by one of
several kits installed by the dealer.
| The
kit included, special instruments alloy wheels, a stripe
and a front spoiler and engine modifications. The GT kit
with a twin choke down draft Solex carburettor and head
modifications gave 128hp. Tuning kit B20Special 1
consisting of twin dual side draught Solex carburettors,
modified head, extractor exhaust, special camshaft and
valve lifters gave 140-145 hp. |
142
Original Motor
|
|
Tuning Kits
|
For
racing customers Tuning Kits B20 Special 2 and 3 were
available giving up to 180 hp when the engine was bored
out to 2.2 litres. In
1969 with a fairly light 142 180hp straight from the
dealer would have been a revelation and to round it all
off the car sported 142GT badges.
So if you have any interesting 140 bits lying
around give me a call.
One way to create a truly
Oceanic 142 would be to use the Repco Head, this was
developed in the 1960’s for the B18 and used in Amazons and
140’s in racing and mainly rallying including international
rallies like the London to Sydney Marathon of 1968. They were
also used for speedway midget cars |
| The
head is an alloy Heron design, i.e. the head surface is
flat and the piston has a bowl in it to create a
combustion chamber, in the sixties it increased power to
about 150/160hp but reliability was a problem, camshafts
did not last long and apparently oil was hard to keep
in. |
The Repco Head
|
In 1969 there was a story
that Volvo Australia planned to produce a high performance 142
with the Repco engine, a LSD and mag wheels, they even had
badges ready but Volvo Sweden stopped this plan, probably wise
for protecting a reputation of reliability but a pity non the
less. Had Volvo bolted its available performance parts on to its
60’s and 70’s cars and called them special models the
company would not
now be struggling to create a more sporting image, and we would
have some more interesting old cars to play with!
I believe there is an
Amazon regularly racing with this head in Australia now, sadly
the castings for this head were destroyed in a fire 25 years ago
and they are hard to find.
Photos
142GT courtesy David Burnham, New Hampshire, email: volvo@tds.net
Link to
Volvo 142GT Update
by
Glenn Cowderoy, Australia
Hans-Peter Rombouts, New Zealand
142GT Dashboard
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