Volvo never made a convertible version of the 140 series. Actually, the C70 in the late 90s might have been the first Volvo convertible in many decades. Regardless, someone decided this needed to be built.
The resultant car is pretty attractive and this is a more complete homemade convertible than most-the top looks decent, there were attempts at restoring rigidity and the beltline trim is not bad. This is in the Pacific Northwest, along with about 99% of remaining pre-1990 Volvos.
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Duvall, WA
$430 with 32 bids and reserve not met
07/15/2013 update: SOLD for $800 with no fewer than 40 bids!
From a distance, this looks vaguely stockish.
Dual tips are a nice touch – likely taken from an 1800.
Looking inside, we see the first evidence of attempts to strengthen the structure. The door opening treatment is ‘interesting’, to say the least.
Early 142s had the groovy sweep speedometer. Is that a speaker box aimed at the passenger?
Rear shows some interesting wear, as well as more attempts at rigidity.
Under the hood we see pure 142E and what is likely an IPD valve cover. 142Es like this had Bosch D-Jetronic EFI, while the ’74 yours truly once owned had K-Jet MFI. These are rumored to respond well to Megasquirt.
There’s no way this will leak. Seller’s garage is legit, however!
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Super rare 142 E convertible prototype produced by Volvo at their secret special projects lab in Gothenburg Sweden in 1971! Ok I am kidding, the truth is I bought this car at a garage sale a little over a year ago from a guy who did the conversion himself. It was not running when I bought it and had been sitting for close to 8 years, I drained the fuel, changed filters and plugs and have been driving it ever since!
A little online research told me that cutting the roof off your old Volvo is somewhat common in Sweden where it is known as a “Kirunacab”
popular in the more “rural” regions.
The body has been braced to make up for the loss of rigidity caused by removing the roof with steel bars welded into the door openings and in front of the rear seat, this makes getting into the car a little more difficult but the car goes down the road pretty straight and the doors still line up well so I have to assume the bars are doing their job. The bars are covered with foam pipe wrap.
Body of the car shows numerous chips, dings, dents and paint flaws, the passenger door has been replaced and painted poorly, there is a dent behind the passenger door so I assume the original door was damaged in a fender bender, there is also rust present in the spare tire well in the trunk.
The convertible top is nicely made from a very heavy marine type vinyl as is the boot cover, the frame for the top is made from aluminium and steel tubes and similar to what you might find on a boat. The top can be removed very quickly but putting it up takes a good 10 minutes or so. Amazingly the top does not leak or flap at highway speeds, there are significant gaps between the front windows and the top ( around an inch ) I planned on installing some kind of seal there but never got around to it. Rear quarter windows are made from lexan and removable.
Interior is quite funky with seat covers over the torn original seats and brown carpet, rear seat arm rests are in rough shape, all seat belts are present and in working order.
Ignition switch is missing replaced by an on/off switch and starter button however the keys and steering lock still function making it possible to drive off with steering locked which can make for exciting times!
The door mirrors have been moved slightly forward leaving some ugly holes behind.
Fuel, temp gauges and dash lights not working.
Speedometer and odometer work but seem to read very high.
Horn and heater fan work intermittently, I presume the contacts are bad.
Lights and wipers work.
The Car runs fine, I drive it quite regularly but have never taken it on any long trips, 4 speed transmission shifts smoothly and clutch works well, there is an overdrive that is not currently working, the od light comes on but there is no noise or movement from the solenoid.
Brakes work well, the previous owner thought the vacuum booster was bad and gave me a replacement unit but I found a valve installed the wrong way around which solved the lack of brake boost, the extra brake booster is included with the car. Exhaust is custom made by the p.o. and sounds slightly more aggressive than a stock 140. The engine sounds good and doesn’t smoke, the previous owner told me that it had been replaced at some point but he did not have any records to prove this.
Front suspension looks to have been lowered and an aftermarket sway bar installed, aftermarket chrome wheels are marked”Epic”.
Tires have decent tread but are cracked from age and should be replaced.
Tow hitch and trailer light connections all in good working order, I have actually used the Volvo to tow a small trailer with motorcycles on it!
The Car is currently licensed and has a clear WA State title. Please view the video of the car being driven.
