posted by
someone claiming to be Speed
on
Fri Apr 1 11:39 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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Hello,
Do any one of you know of the highest official top speed for a 120-series Volvo, with a B18/20 engine, and if so what total weight and engine volume was used.
The highest speed that I know of to this date is 233,0 Km/h.
BR, Speed.
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Well, with My Shelby aluminum wheels and 205 75-14 tires .... B20E with a .030 overbore and the Street torque cam I have momentarily hit 105 mph with the feeling that there was more left ... front end has the lowering springs and Gas shocks as well as the 240 modified bumpers ...
Brett
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Brett Sutherland & the 1.5 million mile 122 CANADIAN www.ecvintagevolvo.com
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Would that be the one that's in the videos and is powered by what I think is something along the lines of a b230FT? That thing is awesome! In my 142, I've been an indicated 112mph when I first got it, but with tires that were two inches too small in diameter and so it was actually only 103mph. But it was still slightly pulling, but I didn't really want to keep revving above 6krpm... After I get some new wheels and tires, I might make another top speed run. The engine won't like it too much though for sure.
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Kyle - '68 142? - Oregon Volvo Tuners?
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Suspension and tires make a big difference to the speed which you dare reach. With skinny tires and stock springs and shocks, my 122S B20 is decidedly light and slippy at anything over 90, almost like aquaplaning. But I'm told that with lowered suspension you feel much more "hunkered down" and therefore don't chicken out so quickly.
I doubt that any unmodifed Amazon would get over 105 in ideal test conditions, but with mods, down a slight hill, with the wind behind, the world is your swedish oyster.
Trouble is in UK you just run out of road before you can do a proper test, and fall into the Irish Sea/ Atlantic/English Channel depending on where you happen to be driving!
Tom
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From the tech specs on 1996 book " Essential Volvo 120 series and P1800" (author A.D.Clausager):
121 B16A (1956-61) 87 mph
122S B16B (1958-61) 94 mph
121/131/221 B18A (1961-68) 91 mph
122/132/222 B18D (1961-68) 97 mph
123GT B18B (1966-68) 104 mph
121/131/221 B20A (1968-70) 106 mph
P1800/1800S B18B (1961-68) 110 mph
1800S B20B (1968-69) 112 mph
1800E B20E (1969-72) 112 mph (non US markets)
1800E B20F (1971-72) 112 mph (only US market)
1800ES B20E/B20F (1971-73) 112 mph
CLausager stand the source was Volvo literature and the annual cataloge issue of Automovil Revue (Bern, Switzerland). Of course, speeds measured on brand new vehicles (not our now old cars).
Happy volving.
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Joaquin / Rojo 121 / Lima, Peru
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A omission on the previous list:
122S / 122GT B20B (1968-70) 106 mph
:-)
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Joaquin / Rojo 121 / Lima, Peru
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Humanum erratum est, please correct the following line:
121 / 131 / 221 B20A 1968-1970 96 mph
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Joaquin / Rojo 121 / Lima, Peru
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posted by
someone claiming to be Charles
on
Fri Apr 1 15:32 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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I owned a '67 122S during George H.W.'s reign. The car was originally equipped with an M40 4-speed manual transmission, and I ended up swapping an overdrive box a few months into my ownership. With overdrive, the old B18B turned 3K rpm at 65 mph, and I believe that its redline was 6K. That gives you a theoretical top speed of 130 mph (208 km/h), but very few motors can touch redline in top gear. The fastest that I ever remember going in that car was an honest 90 mph according to the aftermarket gauge pod I mounted under the dash - the ribbon speedo told me that I was doin' about 105. ;-)
These cars are great as long as you never go faster than 55 mph. Even with an overdrive gearbox, the rear end is just too tall for even spirited interstate cruising. The car will do the job, but it's high-revving, noisy, and it always seemed to encourage the kind of behaviors (e.g. noticeable oil consumption) that convinced me the engine did not 'like' what it was being put through.
How did you get your's (or your friend's) up to 140 mph?
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I've had my PV up to a tach-indicated ~123 mph. The speedo is useless in my car, reading roughly double what it should (well, I DID fix the odo when I had it apart!), but the tach can be trusted. That was at 5500 rpm in OD, and it was still pulling pretty well at that point (with the VV-81 Isky cam the engine is just enteering its strongest RPM range at 5000 - 5500 RPM).
Oddly enough, I think my PV feels better at that speed than I recall my 1800E feeling at 110 - 115 mph. The PV sort of feels hunkered down - steering is still weighted normally. The 1800 starts to feel lighter in the front end. I put an IPD spoiler on my first 1800E which largely cured tht, however.
I'm not sure of the aerodynamic differences between a 122 and a PV. The 1800 obviously has a sleeker shape (more slanted windshield and back window) and less frontal area. But the 122 and PV both have lots of straight up and down front surfaces. The PV at least looks taller, and I have my doubts that its tapered rear end really does much in terms of reducing drag.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Charles
on
Fri Apr 1 18:02 CST 2005 [ RELATED]
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Hi John,
I never tried to break the "100 mph barrier" in my Amazon, but I did have the opportunity to take a nice, long drive down I-5 (from Portland to San Francisco) in that car and gradually edged my way up to about 90. This was a stock B18B, and while the car felt pretty darn stable, it was apparent to me that Sven and Bjorn didn't have that kind of (ab)use in mind when they drew up the blueprint for the B18. Had surprisingly good low end torque for an old school 4 banger, and mid-range power was OK too, but top end? Nah. Maybe mine was just tired. I never had any problems with the cam or valvetrain that I knew of, but I have yet to drive another 122 for comparison.
Too bad that it isn't easier to shoehorn a V8 into an Amazon!
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My engine isn't stock. In fact, I think the only major part that is entirely stock and unmodified in some way is the crankshaft.
With the original B18 you had to find a semi to draft behind to stay up with 75 mph freeway traffic.
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I'm JohnMc, and I approved this message.
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I would expect that to be a pretty heavily modified engine.....
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George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!
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