With skinny tires and studs in theback (all round if you can)this is the best winter car I have ever driven. The braking with studs in front was awesome!..My winter driving days are over for my 220, I have already sent a 120 to the great rust heap in the sky after driving too many winters (it already had many winters of rust when I got it). It is really a question of the car's condition. I no longer drive anything but junkers in the winter as the get roughed up so much it is not worth the hassle of a shiny car.

OK, call me a wimp. It snowed on Sunday while I was out and the ride home was quite frightening. Granted, I had my regular tires and just a case of oil in the trunk, but it wasn't the way the car handled that freaked me out. It was all the SUV driving, cell phone talking, morons sliding through intersections menacingly towards my precious Volvo.

This combined with all the detailed rust prevention descriptions and the other "Erik"'s Spokane specific information: "never drive on south hill in the snow" ("south hill" being where I work and must drive up and down every day) has compelled me to put the 122 in the shop for the winter (this one anyhow).

I am now the proud owner of a 1986 "beater" 4wd Subaru, which probably won't handle any better, but at least won't give me the shakes every time I start to slide. SUV's do your worst, lay her in the ditch, see if I care. I'll hitch a ride home and spend the evening in the rust free zone of my garage fiddling with my Volvo's carbs.

I feel as though I have let you all down after all your sage advice. Maybe next winter I'll be braver. But the upside is, its hard to do major repairs on a daily driver, so perhaps we'll just call this a sabbatical and use it as an excuse to get at some of the stuff I've been ignoring. Thanks everyone.

Erik

I would avoid driving in the winter.

Attached is an excerpt from a 1962 service bulletin on rust prevention.

If I had extra time I would try this kit

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=10966&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1%2C2%2C372%2C373%2C376&KickerID=40&KICKER

I drive my 122 in winter only when absolutely necessary and if I run over any snow, I scoop out the wheel wells as soon as I get home.

Here is what I've learned/done:

Condesation forms in body panel cavities when moving from varying temperature environments and this can cause a car to rust from the inside out. It is best, therefore, to not have a heated garage.

If you do any rustproofing (I personally would stay away from "professional undercoaters" unless they blow you away with their expertise in preservation techniques), make sure all weep holes are clear. There are weep holes along the bottom rails underneath the car (the part you step over when you get into the car) and at numerous locations under the chassis. Undercoaters are notorious for plugging these holes.

There are also weep holes along the bottoms of the doors. Doors fill with crud over the years and should be vacuumed out, clean as best you can, rust treat (I like Must for Rust at Home Depot), let dry completely (important), caulk the seams all the way around (regular house caulk is what I use), make sure the weep holes in the bottom are clear, coat with under coating or roof coating, make sure weep holes are clear.

make sure the weep holes in the nostril area behind the front grills are clear too. This area, like doors, is basically a sheet metal sandwich the seems of which allow water to wick into them. As with doors: clean, rust treat, let dry completely, caulk the seams all the way around, make sure the weep holes in the bottom are clear, coat with under coating or roof coating, make sure weep holes are clear, paint body color, make sure weep holes are clear.

Inside the trunk, the rear wheel archs rust from the inside out, especially if water leaks into the trunk. Do the same to the inside outer edges of the trunk compartment as the nostril area (there are no weep holes that I'm aware of in the trunk, however).

Then there are the fenders/wings. Again sandwiched sheet metal. Remove the wings themselves, scrape-grind-cut out the rust, make metal repairs (take to body shop in my case), treat, seal, reinstall with kit from VPautoparts which includes new rubber strip seal. Or get new wings (pricey) seal really, really, really well on the inside using caulk around seams, rubberized undercoating, etc. so there is no chance for moisture to invade EVER, then reinstall as above.

I have a set of wings at the body shop and am considering having them spray-weld-galvanized. Anyone done this? See www.rustbusters.com

Other experts out there, let me know if I'm missing anything.


Mark Sloo
Minneapolis, MN

Hey,

I used my 544 and 220 wagon all the time between spokane and pullman year round. The amazon is awesome in the snow, the real problem are all the idiots in SUVs that drive too close. Check your defrost hoses under the dash and make sure its in tip top shape. Get studded snow tires, never drive on south hill in the snow, and practice what the car is like in a parking lot. the 220 was always a bit tail heavy, but after some practice you can learn to drive with the gas pedal. Beware that the de-ice goo they use around Spokane promotes rust.

From a practical point:
Look at your car and ask yourself if your insurance company will pay what it really costs to fix it, (or if you can afford it), you should answer this question before you even buy tires.

Enjoy the drive.
-Erik

Forget about 4 wheel drive.Put 4 studded Nokians on the thing, a few sacks of kitty litter in the back and laugh at all the 4x4's spinning out into the ditch while you tool on by feeling like you are just driving on a silty dirt road.
A set of snows are pretty much cheaper than an insurance deductable and a heck of a lot more fun than spending the night in a ditch waiting on a tow truck.
--
-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '86 740 GLE turbo diesel, '92 Ford F350 diesel dually

Thanks, everybody. It sounds like studded tires and weights are in my future.

Does anybody know what sort of used rims will fit?(so I could look for Ford, or Subaru, or whatever old rims.)

I'm kind of excited now to drive her in the snow. I figured a Swedish car should be able to handle snow (rubber interior mats and the multi-layer paint should have tipped me off). I think an undercoating will be money well spent as well.

Unnendur (my Islandic friend) is a bit of a drunk, maybe his winter driving problems have more to do with Islandic Ale than with the Volvo...

Erik,
I second everything that has been said about Amazons in snow and snow tires - standard rims and 165s. I have a 142E as my winter car here in Maine equiped like that with about 100lbs of lead pigs in the trunk. Nothing finer. About fighting rust: In November I put the car up on jackstands to change tires and oil. Before I put the winter tires on, I fill a paint gun with the used crankcase oil and give the whole bottom of the car, including the wheel wells and fenders, a heavy misting. I put plastic bags around the brakes to keep them oil-free, and put a sheet of plastic on the floor to catch the drops. Used crankcase oil seems to adhere better than fresh oil. Some of the old-timers around here like to mix in a little kerosene, but they learned this trick when most cars came without undercoating. I avoid the kerosene so as not to soften the undercoating too much - the oil is just enough to keep it flexible.
Bob S.

Spok;

I have to agree totally with the other responders...with just winter shoes all the way around (unstudded, Gislaved, or Vredesteins in 165SR-15 to be specific), and maybe a hundred pounds of extra ballast in the trunk, I can run cicles around just about all other vehicles including FWD and AWD (especially those on their roof!)...until the snow is so deep, that the undercarriage lifts the tires from the ground...I don't know what your Islandic friend is used to or what he thinks is better...I'd be interested...maybe he likes more ground clearance!

The other posters also touched upon the critical issue: Subjecting your car to the salt, and worse, the calcium-cloride in use on the roads...rust never sleeps!

Cheers

I'd be more concerned about what road salt will do to your rust free California 122. Coincidentally, I garaged my Amazon-S for the winter yesterday, where she will stay until the late spring.

My Amazon came from a northern location in Saskatchewan where salt is not used, hence the body was spared the indignity of rusting out. I once owned a used 1965 122-S that was likewise driven in a more northern location. I drove it for 2 years before moving to Ottawa, where they use excessive amounts of salt to keep the roads devoid of snow. Well, after 1 winter, the floor boards of my 10 year old 122 rusted out! I had to fill the voids with marine plywood and roofing cement. It did survive another winter, but afterwards had to be junked.

The 122 and PV were not much better than any other car of the day for early rusting, especially when subjected to winter salt. The front fenders get packed with snow near the door and rust badly, as are the reinforcing member that joins the fenders to the front wheel wells. If you must drive your 122 this winter, I'd get it professionally oil sprayed (or undercoated) every fall, especially in these areas to repel the salt as well as possible. Let us know how the 122 fares next spring.
--
Cam a.k.a. CVOLVO.COM

The 122 is one of the world's best snow cars period. Anyone who thinks otherwise can't drive. Put a hundred pounds of something in the trunk, and studded snows on the back, and the stock skinny tires up front, and you are moving down the road safely. Wave to the knobs in four wheel drive SUV's who are upside down in the ditch as you go by.
The heaters and windshield defrost are marginal at times here in Canada, but otherwise they are wonderful cars - in all weathers.

All the hype about FWD cars being better in the snow is just propaganda fron the manufacturers of FWD cars. My 122's have always been my snow and ice cars.

In Spokane you will want to use studs on all 4 tires no matter what you drive. They are what gets you moving, and more importantly what gets you stopped.

If you are uncomfortable driving on snow and ice take some time to practice in a big parking lot or somewhere where you can slide around and not hit anything.
--
Lee 75 240 (75k original miles) 65 220 project