I have a Volvo in my garage. Well, MOST of a Volvo. This was one of those "Cruising Craigslist after selling off a project and stumbling onto what seems like a great deal" situations, and it happened to be a vehicle that the wife approved of, so here it sits- our 1967 Volvo 122 station wagon.
It's not even complete enough for me to post pictures of it, so here is another 122 Wagon for reference:
I really dig the lines of these wagons- kind of similar to a Squareback in some ways, with a bit of Datsun thrown in, but the front end is all Volvo. 1967 was sort of a special year, as it turns out, because it's the last year for a 5x114.3 bolt pattern (which makes wheel choices EASY for me!), but the first year for disc brakes, so I lucked out without even knowing it. Well, "lucked out" might not be the best term, considering the amount of work this thing needs, but the FOUNDATION is there at least!
Today I spent a couple of hours in the garage pulling the gas tank. I'll go into some of the other projects I've delved into in a future post, but today I'm just going to focus on the gas tank. Although it took a while to get it loose due to some rusty screws and a hose clamp that wouldn't give up, it wasn't a terrible job. The tank actually has two drain plugs on the bottom, so I was able to drain the "fuel" out before removing it. I don't know how long this car has been sitting, but it's definitely been several years since anything other than varnish and rust have been inside that tank! Unfortunately the sending unit was completely rotted away, and the tank itself will need to be professionally cleaned and resealed before it can be used, but at this point it's out of the car and ready to get sent out...
Unlike the Nissan/ Datsun enthusiast scene, which has TONS of dedicated websites and forums, there are only a few places I've found for Volvo 122 information. Kind of a bummer, but I suppose it will make this car that much more unique when I get it on the road! Here's another picture I found while browsing:
Since I traded for my '66 122s wagon a few years ago, I've noticed '60's 122 sedans and wagons are pretty common around Portland Oregon.
ReplyDeleteAwesome to see my chop top wagon posted here, I just recently had the wagon brought back to the SF Bay Area from LA, and I'll be back on that project again. It's funny, this post was from 5 years ago, and from then until now, it's still fairly in the same shape, minus the wheels, exposted roof, and now weathered paint on the hood & fenders.
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