Looking at an early 70's 145 tomorrow - any tips on what to look for inparticular? Thanks

unless the car is otherwise special,
If you see the following, walk away:
* rotten paint job
* bondo patches / crazed paint
* rust in weird places
* "the blind can be electricians too"
* "it was a minor accident"

The following will be about $300 each to fix, give or take
* shot ball joints
* shot front suspension busings
* futzed FI system
* blown timing gear
* flat cam lobes (actually 600 because you'll do stuff while you've got the head off)
* shot carbs
* ruined interior
* automatic transmission

Other stuff is far easier to deal with. Often people neglect simple
things like the ignition or adjusting the valves or keeping the carbs
in sync or making sure the wires to the FI system are actually still
doing their jobs. A bit of tinkering in the right place is often all
that is required to turn a frog into a runner, if not a prince.

If the body is in good shape, if it has most of the original paint,
I'd say buy it even if it has other problems. Body work isn't hard,
but unless it is your shop, it'll be far more expensive than waiting
for a better car to come along. Right now in the recycler, there are
several nice looking 140s for sale.

recycler.com

chris

Sorry, I having a good day for once.

I'd really have to agree, but the problem is that pre-'73 cars are the best, and orange wasn't offered :-)
--
-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC

A good service history doesn't hurt eather. Make sure the car is complete, some things are getting harder and harder to find. I guess the best would be one with EFI or SU carbs. I've always not liked the Strombergs. Hope it has a 4speed with electric overdrive. As a mater a fact...... Just buy that Ocean green one on the IPD clasified site. If I didn't have one and I was looking I would buy that one in a second.

john

http://www.ipdusa.com/ClassifiedAdDetailsList.aspx?CategoryID=5

http://www.ipdusa.com/ClassifiedViewPhoto.aspx?PhotoName=ClassifiedAdPhotos\scan0001.jpg

I second Harv on that car is a doll. You will go a long ways to top that. Lotsa goodies on that one.

wow...yea. That's a pretty one... a fella would have a lot more than the $4500 asking price to bring a decent car to that level...

-Matt
--
-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC

wow...yea. That's a pretty one... a fella would have a lot more than the $4500 asking price to bring a decent car to that level...

-Matt
--
-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC

Rust of course goes without saying... another biggie in my opinion is originality... The fact that these cars are so easy to work on means that almost every previous owner has done just that, and often there is all sorts of terrible wiring and workmanship that can be a real pain to sort out.

What year is it? '71 and earlier would be carburetted. '72 introduced injection, '73 the body trim and interior changed significanty, '74 the bumpers changed and got a different fuel injection system.

Definitely a stick shift would be a big plus.

-Matt
--
-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC

Look it over good for rust. It will show around the edges of the wheel wells, the edges of the trunk, the bottoms of the spare tire wells, the rocker panels, the floor boards, etc.

If it needs a new heater core or heater blower motor, that's a pain of a job.

If it's a manual trans it will be more pleasing to drive and more desirable among the real Volvo nuts when it comes time to sell it.