$4800 – San Francisco, CA:
“A 1973 Volvo 142E in striking safety orange with a B20E 4 cylinder engine, rare M41 4 speed manual transmission with overdrive and ultra-rare factory sunroof. The B20E engine is the high-compression version of the B20 engine line. The mileage is estimated to be around 200K on the car, derived through receipts from the previous owner. The distributor has been upgraded with a Pertronix system to eliminate the ignition points. The transmission/overdrive is working fine and is great to have when at highway speeds.
This is an original California car with original 1973 issue blue and yellow plates. It has been a really fun car to drive and has more than proven its durability through its participation on the Northern California vintage car event such as the 2012 & 2015 Snowball, Shamrock, and the Pedalpushers rallys. This car was acquired in 2010 and now after purchasing a Volvo Amazon 122S, It is time to part with this car.
The 142 required a fair amount of repairs after several years of deferred maintenance. Some of the major work includes replacing out the heater core/blower motor and all of the heater and coolant hoses, rust repair on the front cowl and windshield pillars, flushing the brake lines and replacing out all of the rubber hoses. During the body work, the windshield was updated to flat style found on the 1992-1993 240 cars. The original 140 radiator was partially blocked and new ones are pretty much impossible to source. A radiator and overflow tank from a Volvo 240 was retrofitted into the car and cooling has not been an issue with the car, plus the 240 radiators are readily available.
When replacing out the blower motor and heater core, upgraded the dashboard and instrument cluster to an 1980s 240 version allowed for installation of several 52mm gauges: Oil Pressure, Oil Temp, Voltmeter, and Clock. The original wiring to the instruments was not cut or hacked, rather a wiring harness/adapter was constructed in case anyone want to return the dash to the original configuration. Started to set up the car for cruise control with the vacuum switches on the pedals and stalk control, but have not gotten the actuator hooked up onto the throttle.
Suspension wise, a front 25mm IPD anti sway bar replaced the original 17mm bar to provide improved handling. A full set of new Bilsteins TC aka touring shocks have been installed into the 142. In addition the original rear springs were starting to sag and these were replaced out with a set of Volvo 245 wagon springs which are stiffer than the sedan/coupe rear springs.
The interior was updated to match the 242GT: Black cloth seats with orange racing stripes, GT door panels, and the dash trim line was repainted in orange as well. When installing the newer 242 seats both were set up with seat heaters for comfort on cold days. A Sony removable faceplate stereo (CD/MP3) has been installed along with a set of 3-way speakers on the rear hat deck from a Volvo 760. A rare storage bin is located between the front seats on the transmission tunnel.
In terms of the body condition, the exterior paint is good but not perfect. At some point in the car’s history the hood was repainted by someone with moderate skills. There are several small dings and dents from living in the city for the past several years. The underside of the car is in excellent shape, there is no rust in the floor pans or frame rails, testament to its native California car heritage. There are couple of small spots of rust such as on the sill between the passenger door and rear wheel, a small divot on the rear drivers side corner of the roof, just above the rear driver side taillight and a couple small surface areas where the paint has been abraded off.
The sunroof, an extremely rare option on the 140 cars needed to be repaired when the car was first purchased and now works perfectly. The old sunroof seals were replaced as well and all of the drains have been reamed and snaked out. The 142 comes with an original glovebox owners manual as well as some extra parts which have been collected and acquired through the last 7 years of ownership. A folder of receipts and paperwork from when the previous owner had the car worked on at Competition Motors (the premier Volvo shop in the Peninsula) also come with the car.
$4,800
3rd Party Valuation (Average Condition)
Hagerty: $5,700 (https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools/1973-volvo-142)
NADA: $5,875 (http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1973/Volvo/142/2-Door-Sedan/Values)Upgrades
242GT front and rear seats
240 dashboard
240 instrument cluster
240 tachometer
52mm oil pressure gauge & sender (5 bar)
52mm oil temp gauge & sender
52mm voltmeter
Rare front seat storage bin
240 radiator & overflow tank
IPD front swaybars
Bilstein TC shocks (touring)
Pertonix ignition (no points)
240 wagon springs
Sony detachable faceplate stereo
Rear deck speakers
Tow hitch
Engine compartment light (rare)
240 delayed courtesy light wiring
Cruise control system (not set up)Replaced/Repairs
Front cowl/A pillar rust repair
Blower motor/heater core unit
Heater hoses
Heater control valve & control linkage
Sunroof cables & seals
Cooling system flush
55A Alternator
Engine fuel injection temp sensor
Fuel injection hoses
Crankcase breather & vacuum hoses
Water pump & seals (Hepu unit)
Windshield (with flat rubber trim)
Rubber brake lines & fluid flush
240 black door handles
Outer rubber door window scrapers
240 trunk struts
Headlight relay
242 seatbelts (front and rear)
Transmission shifter boot
Driveshaft bushing
Regular oil changes (w/Mann Filters)
91 octane gas always”
Source: Craigslist
