Help with 1967 122 wagon

I posted this on the brickboard and figured this may be a good place too.--A few days ago I bought a 67 122 wagon. Except for some pan rust, the body seems nice with decent oxidised paint that I'm currently polishing. Car is drivable, I drove it home on freeway about 15 miles, but is most likely not too safe at the moment, but that never stopped me lol. Engine, clutch, and transmission seem fine, but brakes, suspension/front end, and a lot of little things need work. Although I have some disability in my hands and limited mechanical ability, I'd like to fix what I'm able to. Except for the old "vw idiot's manual" by john muir, I've always found auto repair manuals to be for those people who already know what they're doing. I'd like to find someone in the los angeles area who knows these cars well, and will, for a reasonable price, go over it with me and let me know what has to be done, what can wait and about what it will cost if they or someone else does it. As money is definitly an issue, would want something pretty detailed. Instead of just saying "your front end"s messed up" which I already know, tell me this, this, and that on the front end needs to be fixed. Maybe it all needs to be done but maybe not. I know plenty of independent volvo shops but they're all too pricey for me so what I think I need is an amateur volvo mechanic who wants to make some extra dough but will be cheaper than an independent garage or dealer. One last thought--I love the look of these amazons and love the pale green paint of mine but I'm not sure I want to keep it. Perhaps I'm spoiled by my 95 850, but the older I get the less discomfort I want to put up with, and as I was driving home the 122 without power steering or air conditioning in 95 degree heat, sweating buckets, I thought, what have I gotten myself into--a sweedish sauna. Any way to add ps and ac to a

122 or is it way too costly and difficult?
Reply to
stevek
Loading thread data ...

You could get aftermarket A/C on these cars when they were new, so I see no reason why it can't be added now. Power steering is another matter. If the 140 series ever had it, you might be able to adapt one of those assemblies. As an alternative, you can try using narrow VW Beetle tires on the front, inflated fairly high. I believe the size is 155/70 15, but I'm not positive. Less grip, but also much lower steering effort. My '86 Civic Si had a similar problem, which I solved by using all-season tires that have some of the tread on a bevelled area at the top of the sidewall, where it only contacts the road when cornering at speed. They give me a good compromise between steering effort and grip, with the added benefit of amazing fuel economy.

Reply to
mj

The 140 series had retrofit A/C available (although you'd lose the glove box--that was where the evaporator went).

They also had power steering; one of my recent hassles was finding a non-power steering gear box; several places had power gear boxes, but nobody had a new/rebuilt manual one.

Bear in mind that both of these accessories take power from the engine, so performance and mileage will suffer. You may need the supercharger I recently posted a link to...

Gary

Reply to
Gary Heston

For parts:

formatting link
A company called FrigiKing, located somwhere in Texas, made the dealer A/C installation kits, but I don't think they're still around. They used the old York compressor that shook badly enough to break the bracket and studs that held it on. Check in the hotrod magazines for a source for one of the newer underdash kits made for custom cars. You can use R134a and a modern rotary compressor to build a superior system.

Bob

Reply to
User

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.