I've got a 164, a 142 and a 144 (and am thinking of buying a 145). I

would love to have the same tires and wheels on all of them.

The 142 is a 73 and has very similar looking wheels to my 144 -- both

have rounded rectangular holes. The 144 is a 68.

The 164 has oval holes that are very similar to my 122.

Are the 164 wheels different from my 144? I am junking my 142 and am

thinking of mounting the same kind of tire as my 144 on those wheels and

putting those wheels on my 164 (so I can rotate the tires between the

cars).

Are the 164 and 142 wheels similar enough that it won't impact anything

if I put the 142 wheels on the 164 there won't be any problems? Will I

be able to use the 164 hubcaps on the 142 wheels? (the 142 has the

idiotic screw in hubcaps; the 144 just has the volvo axle covers so it

needs no hubcaps).

What size wheel does the 145 have? It's a 72.

Lastly, does anyone know anything about the cooper tire recall?

chris

I was browsing and noticed that you own a 164. I found one that I might buy but would like to know more about them. If you have the time I would like it if you could tell me about your experience with your 164. Not that everyone's experience will be the same but you may have some insight that I could use, ie hard time finding parts, mechanical problems, etc. Any info would be appreciated. thanks.

I've had a couple of them and would advise you to go ahead.

I'm still driving the 69 I bought in Panama in 1971 and plan

to keep it for the long haul.

I would get one with overdrive and FI if I were you. If the

FI gets too much you can always put carbs on it. You should

probably also find a spare M410 and be on the lookout for a

camshaft for it. The M400 and M410 get noisy after maybe

100K but it doesn't seem to affect their functionality.

Seems to be bearings, probably the front layshaft bearing

judging from when the noise is the worst. Gears are remarkably

durable as is most of the rest of the car.

You'll probably need new suspension bushings, front and rear also.

(they DO get old.)

I've got a 70 164, a 68 144, a 67.5 122 and a 73 142. I've got

friends with a 71 144s and a 67 122. (I'm throwing out the 142 and

will likely try to sell the 122 after I finish fixing it up some)

The short answer is that I love my 164. It has all the advantages

of the 144 (can store huge amounts of stuff, uses easy to find parts,

drives well, looks good) plus it is easily the fastest car I've ever

owned. I like the power steering, and everyone else seems to think

it is the best looking car of the bunch.

I'd avoid one with fuel injection; too much stuff to go wrong.

Others may say differently, but I like the simplicity of the carb

setup. I've got stromburg carbs on mine; I understand that it is

possible and easy to swap the old style SU carbs onto an intake

setup for stromburgs; I would do this if the stromburgs started to

give me trouble. Similarly, I'd avoid any automatic 164; the BW35

doesn't seem to be very reliable and it is nearly impossible (or so

I've read) to swap a manual into a car setup for an automatic).

These motors are prone to eating cams. I wouldn't let a dead cam

stop me from getting an otherwise good car; view it as a $500 opportunity

to put a hotter cam in and make the car even faster. I've heard that they

break crankshafts; I'm not sure if this is true.

Otherwise, they're great -- same doors and glass as the 240, solid motors,

good looks. A real winner. Too bad volvo never made a 165 or 162.

OK, here is what I found in the microfiches and from personal

observation of the wheels I have:

For the 140 the fiches call out P/N 688140 as a 4 1/2" wide 15" wheel

and P/N 684000 as a 5" wide 15" wheel.

For the 164 the fiches call out P/N 684001 and 1221462, both

5 1/2" wide 15" wheels and 688140 and 677100 as 4 1/2" wide 15" wheels.

My 69 164 has the 677100 wheels on it and they are the old style,

with the snap-on hubcaps. The wheels look a LOT like a 122 wheel.

On my 145 I have 684000 which is the "new" style with rounded squarish

holes and a screw in the middle of the hubcap. They are 5" wide.

I also have a pair of 1221462 wheels which are also "new" style, 5 1/2"

wide.

Ratinally I would guess that the 684001 and the 1221462 are near-identical

but I have not checked the amount of offset. That is based on the

assumption that the 684000 (5") and 684001 (5 1/2") probably only

differ in width.

I hope this is helpful.

As far as I know, all the rounded rectangular wheels are 5.5" (the stock wheels on my '74 164 are.)

There was a version of this wheel on the '75 164 that had an extra offset for a wider stance (25mm I think, like the 240.)

The earlier 164 and 144 had wheels that looked like 122 wheels

but had a smaller bolt circle. Hubcaps snapped on like on 122.

About 72 or 73 both changed to the heavier rim with a hubcap

with a screw in the center. These came in two widths but

I'm not sure if the 164 had the wider ones or the narrower

ones. For most purposes they are interchangeable, although

I would use the same width all the way around, I think.

If you really need it, I can get into the microfiches and

get you some part numbers for them.

I believe the wheels on the early 164 would be 5". When they started with the squareish holes, they would have been 5 1/2.

I'm fairly certain that the screw hubcaps will not work with the early wheels.

As for the wider 140/160/1800 wheels....

I have 3 slightly different types here:

one is stamped with 684910 (Between the lug holes)

another is 684000

and the third is not stamped with anything.

All 3 of mine are 5" wide.

I believe the number that would be on a 5 1/2 would be 684001. They would have been original on later 164, early 142e, and 1800e/es starting 1971 or 1972???

I think the 5 spoke alloys that were stock on the first 1800e were also 5 1/2.

You CAN measure the width with tires attached using dial calipers. THe square holes are just big enough and just close enough to the edge to get the calipers through and measure the outside edge. Of course, you are measuring outside bead the bead edge, so you will have to subract for the thickness of the steel. A 5 inch wheel measures about 5.25 on the outside.

If you don't have dial calipers, for cryin' out loud....go get some! Harbor freight sells decent cheapo Asian made calipers for about $20... money well spent.

I'm not absolutely certain about the numbers...so you best check them before you throw anything away!

Another option is to have stock wheels widened. I think it can be done for about 80-100 bucks apiece....which ain't cheap, but if you want that original look, its a good way to go, and you can go as wide as your heart desires. Definitely a sensible alternative to 240 turbo wheels, which seem to fetch almost as much.

Good luck!

-Matt B

65 1800s

71 145s

71 142e parts car

53 XK120 coupe

George-

I would be very interested in the p/n's for the 5" wide rim vs/ the

5 1/2". I'm going through 140 rims deciding which to keep' and I sure don't want to toss any of the wider ones. They have tires mounted, so are hard to measure accurately.

Do the wheels have the size stamped on them? I have no experience with older Volvos, so I don't know, but it doesn't make sense to me not to put the size on the wheel.