I am looking for a project car, have a reliable DD. I was going for a 1800, but there is a local 122 that seems pretty decent for what I am looking for. I am new to wrenching and that is part of the interest in an old volvo; to learn. I know an issue is rust and from what I can tell, the car I am looking at has some rust on the dashboard and around the windshield seal. I have not seen it in person but the body looks quite decent other then that. No pictures of the underside but it doesn't look like there are any holes in the floorboards.

As I said, I am new to wrenching, and especially new to carburetors. Here is what he told me about the car. Can someone explain to me what "Megasquirt controller, relay board, LC Wideband O2 sensor***(This needs to be tuned correctly. I had it running, but now it is not.)" means? that means the engine is not running or just his wideband 02 sensor?

here is the rest of the description. Hes asking $2500 which seems fair (but what do i know?) assuming it is easy to get it running:

"Skandix lowering springs
New Bilstein shocks front and rear
New wheel bearings, front
new lower ball joints
New bushings on front suspension
Needs a new clutch master cylinder, have new one in box
Dodge Charger rims, 17"
B18B engine
Megasquirt controller, relay board, LC Wideband O2 sensor***(This needs to be tuned correctly. I had it running, but now it is not.)
I also have a Weber carb that I can throw in as well.
New water pump in box.
Body, fenders, etc are all straight.
Headliner needs to be fixed or replaced. I have a long piece of metal holding it up now.
Volvo 123 GT sterring wheel
Volvo 123 GT tachometer
Rear axle/driveshaft pinion seal needs to be replaced.
Exhaust needs work."

Honestly, I'd question any seller who thought it was a good idea to put 17" Dodge Charger rims on a classic Volvo.

I'd closely inspect the car for rust. I think anything is worth fixing on an old Volvo, as long as there is little to no rust.

I'm not sure why this car has Megasquirt as that is a fuel injection system, but he also mentions a Weber carb? That is also a red flag.

My friend just bought a cherry 122 for about a grand more than that. And it needs almost nothing. And it came with a trunkload and back seat full of parts. It came from NM so there is absolutely no rust.

That being said, I think the 122 is a great car for you to learn how to wrench on. I've been learning on 240's for the past few years, and now I own a '73 1800ES as well.

I'd run away from this one though.

Jesse
'82 242DL, m46, 224k miles
'73 1800ES, m41 conversion 90% done, 96k miles
'96 855T, Autumn Gold, 74k miles

Way too much money. The megasquirt I am not familiar with, and neither is the seller obviously. The Weber carb is worthless. Maybe he bought it to convert back....
Most of the stuff is just spare bits, and routine items. No value their. The shocks are nice, but not that nice.
Pass on it.

$2500 is a lot of money for a very old car in need of such repairs. if you are new to fixing up cars, putting such an investment into a car that may see you encounter roadblocks may end up costing you much more if you find that you cannot complete the job. make certain that the rot is limited to those areas. hopefully you have a grease monkey buddy that will help you in exchange for some beers.

thanks for the advice guys. I thought the price looked pretty good compared to a lot of other adds you see but I am guessing that with patience you can find cheaper. I talked to him for a while. He seemed to make out that there was little to no rust and the photos were really hard to tell. I could look at the car in person, but it sounds like I could find one for a lot cheaper anyway. What should be a reasonable price for a running or very close to running car with little rust?

it really depends on where the car is. a nearby car is worth at lt least $1000 more than one you have to travel to in order to look at/drive home etc....mind you the trips can be fun.
if you can ascertain that the megasquirt is not burnt out and you like the car...maybe. I would offer 1.5 ....maybe. Buyer beware....also projects get abandoned for reasons and the #1 reason is rust.
--
Patrick ('68 220, '92 Eurovan, '53 GMC PD4104)

Have you ever thought that this is actually a 123GT? If he is using megasquirt, I have a feeling that the car is fuel injected. There would be no other reason to run megasquirt on a carb car. You may feel that the price sounds bad, but it seems that a lot has been done already.

I bought my Amazon for $600 and nothing at all worked, but the car was in decent shape, both interior and exterior. As of now, I have invested about $1600 in car, but now almost everything works great.

I would really just make an offer. I would go and look at the car. If it looks good, then make an offer of $2000 or what ever you feel like. If he doesn't accept say ok and move on. If it doesn't sell, then he may later consider your offer.

A good Amazon with minimal rust will probably go outside your price range. I haven't seen a whole lot of good amazons for sale. If you want something to work on this could be your best bet.

Otherwise, just look around.
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1959 Volvo Amazon 121

Remember there are three 3's in a 123GT's serial number.