–By Eric Fantin– As a follow up on the ongoing work on the Volvo 145, some progress was made. When I purchased the car, it was not running well and was low on power, firing on 3.5 cylinders instead of 4, after a compression check (good on all cylinders), verifying ignition, timing and the health of the carburetor, the culprit was the intake manifold, it was not properly sealed against the intake gasket, this car has an aftermarket Weber intake and a single dual throat carburetor instead of the factory fuel injection, the early cars had the dual SU carburetors also (I have a set ready in case the Weber does not work to my liking). In the process of resealing the intake correctly, I replaced the stud bolts, gaskets, nuts and washers.
In conjunction with that job I ended up getting a brand-new exhaust from the manifold down as the old one was in suspect condition. A new fuel pump was also installed and a fresh valve cover gasket. The next item was to verify that the overdrive was all there with at least the wiring to the gear box, after checking everything, I added a missing wire and replaced the solenoid. I will now make the wiring from the power source to the switch with a relay for good measure. This M 41 J type overdrive transmission (indecently the same as many Brit cars like Triumph) is replacing the factory 3 speed Borg Warner automatic transmission originally in the car, it will help at freeway speed and I am not a big fan of automatic transmission except on big American cars like my 1948 Buick Roadmaster or my Dodge Monaco station wagon.
On a side note, my faithful summer hauler/camping car, the 1993 Volvo 940 turbo wagon (see previous article) was sold to a young Volvo enthusiast, I felt the need to concentrate on the 145 and hope it will take on the same duties, probably at a slower pace but hopefully with the same reliability. There are many more things to do. I have yet to start the car to verify if my intake repair is correct. I must finish the overdrive transmission with the wiring, new oil and filter, connect the new speedometer cable and replace a leaky tired radiator. I hope to accomplish that soon as the beginning of the Citroën maintenance/repair season is upon us and many of our club members are hoping to get some attention lavished on their steads and enjoy the summer cruising whenever it will happen this year.
Have a question or comment for Eric? He can be reached at: straigh8@gmail.com