I recently purchased a 1971 144, B20A (see pic). I haven’t owned an old Volvo for 15 years: in the 90’s I had a rusty ’72 145. Like my old 145, the new purchase has some rust around the windscreen -- which seems to be common in 140 and 160s. I presume that the rust was caused by water ingress around the aluminum seal, and I plan to seal it up using silicone after the rust is dealt with. Is this a bad idea? -- should I leave this job to a professional windshield fitter?

The car runs very well, has good compression in all cylinders, but the dominant noise above 55mph is valve clatter. I might look at the magical oil additive potions next time I go to the auto parts store...

Thanks for the replies -- I will check the valve clearances, heights and cam lobes, plus get some auto glass specific sealant for the windscreen trim when I put it back.

Alschnertz's observation that it's not a North American car is correct: I'm in the UK. UK roads are salted in winter, and there aren't too many cars here that aren't rusted out by age 37. This Volvo has had an after-market underseal, and the underneath is still very solid. What probably really saved it is that it was exported to Australia in 1985 (there's a Queensland state auto compliancing plate in the engine compartment). It was re-registered in the UK in 2006 I believe, when the owner returned to the UK (same owner from new to 2007).

a non-autoglass specific silicon will most likely have an acid base and over time will remove paint and cause more rust.
The sealant you should consider is "quick cure primerless autoglass urethane"
You should first remove the trim molding and then clean the entire area so that you are sealing the glass to the body,if you break any clips the urethane will also work well to hold the trim moldings on.If you like the look of the 91-93 240 windshield (flush mount/encapsulated with black trim),it is pretty much a direct fit and not to expensive.
good luck nice car.

Very nice.
Looks just like my '72 144E. I had to send it to the scrapyard a few years ago. Still miss it.
I noticed yours has the flush door handles like a '72.
Fender mirrors, plate and lack of side markers say it's not a NA vehicle.

Edit: Tried posting a photo of my car the same way I've done it for years. For some reason it won't come up.

Edit 2: Hey! I got it!

I'd also try adjusting the valves for the clatter. You probably realize already though that these cars really are not very quiet on the highway.

As for the windshield rust. You may want to pull off the trim and clean out the gunk that has accumulated under there over the years and then see how it looks. Maybe it is just some surface rust and you can get a few more years out of it. It can't hurt. My personal opinion of filling the crack with silicon or caulk is that it will make things worse by trapping the existing moisture inside there. Be careful when pulling the trim too. It is possible that the clips holding the trim could be rusted as well.

Best of luck with your car.

--
'60 PV544, '68 220, '70 145, '86 745T

Cool... looks nice!

As for the valve clatter.. might I suggest a valve adjustment as first approach... additives might help.. might not. The engine was not designed to need additives. It *was* designed to have the valves in proper adjustment.

As for the windshield rust... personally, I wouldn't do anything with it until you are ready to replace the windshield. The rust that you really need to address is under the seal, so anything you do with silicone or whatever will be superficial, and possibly do more harm than good.

Enjoy the ride, and welcome to the Brickboard!



--
-Matt I ♥ my ♂

On the oil additive topic, look for something with zinc/ZDDP content, especially if the motor oil you are using does not have ZDDP (most don't). This provides needed lubrication and cushioning for these solid-lifter cam engines, though the zinc alone probably won't quiet things down much.

While you are checking the valve lash, also check the height of the valve stems.
What you want is for them to be approx. equal. If one or more (a almost always exhausts ) are higher than the others its a sign of valve seat erosion due to using unleaded gas.

A further check would be to make sure the the lift from each of the cam lobes is also equal. It is quite common for one or more of the cam lobes to have significant wear, or even to be worn right off.

John
V-performance.com