Hello good people,

In the summer I will be taking my '67 122S from UK to the south of France and back, not an epic journey in the 'to India in an Amazon' line but much more use than it normally gets.

I would like to get a representative sample of the major mechanical areas that you would get checked before undertaking a long journey, so that I can be sure that I have done everything possible to ensure a trouble-free trip. Also if anyone can recommend a good make of dashboard mini-fan that sticks on that would be great, and lastly, was there ever a OE center tray for between the seats, for keeping toll-money (damn euros), before I just shove any old plastic box down there?

I find this board a constant source of inspiration for restoration and history of my car. It really is a text-book lesson in how to do this kind of thing well. Thanks,

Rik

Rik,

A few years ago I purchased a reproduction wire tray/cupholder from the Swedish Embassy website. It sits over the transmission tunnel. It is identical to one pictured in the the Volvo options pamphlet that came with my '67 123GT.

Well thank you to all who replied. I had the generator fail on my last car and it was not a happy experience, with the car battery dead in the pouring rain on a cold January evening in London. But now I have an alternator, so bye-bye at least to worries about draining the power by, horrors, putting the fan on in traffic. Yes, I have quite a good stereo, but might invest in some sound dampening felt so that I can actually hear it on the autoroute.

'In vino veritas' Signalius! Although I may leave the momento-making up to my camera. I'm not sure how a court would react when I was clocked dictating with one hand while hairpinning round the Cote d'Azur with the other. But I know what you mean.

Thanks for the advice on spares - I'll get them all and hopefully not use them. In France it's illegal not to carry bulbs and fuses, by the way. I have gone on a short trip to northern France before and had to use a Volvo service dealer when a carburettor-spring snapped. He was the height of efficiency and fitted a new one for nothing.

One more question: if I'm getting a lot of wind-whistling through the passenger side, is it more likely that the door just doesn't fit very well, or could I improve it with new rubbers? The driver side isn't as bad.

Roll on into Summer.

Rik

Could be the rubber, or the windlace. Replacing the windlace helped the most. Not particularly difficult, but required buying new windlace and then sewing (I did it by hand) the plastic retrieved from the old windlace onto the new. Just use a stiff darning needle, heavy carpet thread, and sew the plastic on through the old holes. No more dangling fringe from the old. I think I got mine from VeteranProdukter AB.
The other culprit could be badly worn hinges, although I guess once the door is closed it doesn't sag as much as it could when open. This is more of a problem for the 2 door - longer cantilever, more weight at the end. I'm keeping my eye out for a set of good replacement hinges - ones that I can grease.

In my experience old cars are like old people, they need plenty of fluids and occassionally they leak a little fluid. So providing you have been doing all the basic maintenance for your car I would say that on the road the importatnt thing is to check fluid levels at regular intervals. I check the oil, coolant,brake fluid levels at every fuel up. I regularily go on 1000 miles + trips in my 120 and I've always arrived (sometimes a little grubby). Re: the generator... if your gen fails you can still travel at least 5 hrs on the battery as long as you aren't using fans, wipers, lights etc.. I once did 10 hrs with a little charge in between. The only problem with this approach is that if the fan belt fails it's only the temp gage that tells you melt down is approaching. I always travel with a spare fan belt, a few basic hand tools, and a multi meter. Have fun, Patrick.

Hi,

Sounds like the others have suggested all that you hopefully won't need. I drove my '67 from the Netherlands through Belgium and France en route to Ireland last May. My dynamo failed half way though France. From what I experienced, I would suggest the following:
1. If you're not reasonably fluent in French then you should get translations for major components - I had a problem trying to explain the difference between a dynamo and alternator to the mechanic that I found.
2. Get contact numbers for potential parts suppliers - I couldn't find any in France other than main dealers (with the inertia that this implies). If you bring phone numbers for Scandcar and Nordicar in the Netherlands then you can probably have most components shipped to you within two days or so.
3. Make sure you're happy with your brakes - if the car isn't used that often then they're easily overlooked and may never be stressed but your trip could change this. Better to check them over and consider the condition of seals and brake fluid. There are some jobs that are easy enough at home but are a different prospect in a hotel car park - you don't want to have to pull a rear hub away from home.
4. If you don't have hardened valve seats fitted consider bringing a petrol additive/octane boost such as the one made by Castrol - I didn't notice Lead Replacement Petrol in any of the petrol stations where I stopped.

Finally, enjoy the trip and be prepared to be accosted by classic car enthusiasts at every stop - it made every stop a longer but more enjoyable one for me.

Aidan
--
1967 131

I'd say that the most important thing is a good stereo and a microcassette recorder. When you're driving a long distance, you do a lot of thinking (especially when the radio's off... okay, scratch the stereo) and it's nice to record your thoughts on a little machine instead of trying to write while you're dodging French things.

okay, I'm drunk and it's late. But really, a recorder is invaluable.

S

Yes, a water pump is something for sure to check... Also, replace all lubricating fluids... engine, transmission, and rear end. Also, be sure the distributor is lubricated appropriately. That is often overlooked.

Most importantly, whenever I go on a long trip (or a relatively short one), I bring along some spares. Namely, in order of importance: extra oil, antifreeze, fuel pump, distrubutor (complete with points, rotor, cap, condenser and wires installed and adjusted), coil, water pump, spark plugs... Some fuel line and filters isn't a bad idea either... and all tools needed to change any of that stuff roadside. If you aren't familiar with how to change these things roadside, you've got plenty of time to learn.

Then of course, before you go... a good overall checkup including chassis lube, tuneup, wash and wax the outside, clean and vaccuum inside, and wash the windows. A clean car is a happy car!

OF course, the more prepared you are for disaster, the less likely it is to occur. I've made several 2000+ mile trips in my '65 1800... was always prepared as mentioned above, and have never had a single problem. If you don't have all the spare parts you need, often you can find someone who is willing to loan them to you.... Or, just buy new ones. You'll need 'em someday anyhow.

As for a coin holding box... may well have been something originally optional, but I'm afraid I can't say for sure. You might have to go with "any old box"... though you'd do well to find a nice looking box to keep the car happy and feeling special...

An aftermarket dashboard fan should be easy to find...but you really shoudn't need one. Just turn them vent windows backwards and you'll get lots of fresh air at highway speeds.

Good luck! We'll hope to hear about the trip in a few months... How far is that each way anyhow?

-Matt

I would certainly check the water pump carefully for signs of excess movement at the shaft. If the bearing should fail at motorway speeds, you may end up needing a water pump, fan AND radiator.
If most of your travel is around town, you may be surprised by the amount of engine oil that is consumed at continuous high engine speeds.
A tuneup before starting out would be a good idea as well.