-By Eric Fantin – As the summer slowly winds down, it dawns on me that this was more a Volvo-heavy year, versus a Citroën-year on my little corner of the world. Some work was performed on various Citroën club-member cars but as I am “Citroën free” at this point, there are many other cars to attend to.
In addition to continuing mechanical improvements on the 1973 Volvo 140 wagon, (145 in Volvo lingo) there’s been parallel work on a 1975 Volvo 164 sedan.
Quick background on that model. The 164 is basically a 140 sedan with a longer front end and different fascia, to accommodate the B30 inline 6 motor. The motor is a modular version of the legendary red block B18/B20. The idea was to create a car to compete with the 60’s Mercedes 250/280 type of sedans. A foray in the luxury market, it was produced from 1968 to 1975 in various iterations. To my dismay it was never offered as a wagon. A huge marketing blunder especially for the US market.
The 164 is my favorite Volvo of all time, a classic looking sedan with a smooth and torquey engine while retaining all the Volvo qualities they are known for. This car was originally a west coast car brought in MN a long time ago. Unfortunately it sat outside in a field so some welding was involved and the paint is quite shabby.
I decided to rescue it because it was a sunroof car and it had been converted from an automatic to a manual 4 speed overdrive. In doing so, the rear end of the automatic was kept at a 3:31 ratio which is an ideal long-legged cruiser. A perfect match for the lusty big 6 and improving mileage drastically. It is going to be another rolling refurbishment as the car is at this point in running condition but in need of more welding, a lot of clean up, and general cosmetic help.
Within the Volvo community, there is a small group of 164 aficionados, and being one of them, I have owned many of various years and versions. The car never got the recognition it deserved, primarily because there was not enough demarcation between the 140 models and the 164.
While in the process of getting the copper car ready for driving duty, I stumbled into another 164 in Colorado! A nice, rust-free body, with decent white paint, not running, and automatic. The car can be bought for almost nothing and is worth saving from the crusher. It will eventually be brought back to MN for further evaluation. If the car is as good as the picture, it will be converted again to a 4 speed overdrive and better cosmetic upgrades, hopefully next year. So many cars so little time….
Have a question or comment for Eric? He can be reached at: straigh8@gmail.com