zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
For $3,850, Will This 1973 Volvo 142 Rally To The Cause?
For $3,850, Will This 1973 Volvo 142 Rally To The Cause?-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:03

Today’s Volvo is described by its seller as a street-legal rally car, and does have a lot of lights on its grille to support that notion. That’s all really intriguing, but will you find that to be enough to make its price seem like a Hella good deal?

Along with Jumbo Shrimp, living dead, and guest host, you can add yesterday’s to the list of oxymora. You can also add that odd bodkin to the list of Crack Pipe awardees as it fell in a decisive 70% loss.

Suzuki’s Samurai is most memorable for its charm bracelet-tiny size. Today’s Nice Price or Crack…

When you think of both Sweden and rally racing the first thing that comes to mind is the Swedish Bikini team right? I mean, that’s my thought process. Of course you can mention Ikea or the Stockholm Syndrome and I’ll start thinking about the Swedish Bikini Team. Perhaps I need help.

Totally here to help is this , that’s been modded to be what its builder envisions as a rally car that hasn’t lost its street cred. Volvo has a rich history of rally racing, going all the way back to the PV544. This one doesn’t have its own racing pedigree, but it certainly does seem to look the part.

Those visual clues include over-sized Centerlines carrying big meats, a total lack of a front bumper, and to balance that out a set of four Hella driving lights making the car ready for the next night stage. The back bumper is still intact, and looks overly big for a ’73, but then, I’m not sure when exactly Volvo went bumper crazy on these cars.

The rest of the bodywork looks suitably straight, with reasonably new white paint everywhere but the hood which is reasonably new blue. The fenders have been cut, so as to fit the big-ass wheels and tires, and the interior has been gutted and post-gutting fitted with aluminum panels on the doors, dash and back. A pair of Sparco sport seats with 4-points fill that space, and a Momo wheel gives you someplace nice to put your hands.

Mechanically, things are just as interesting. The ad notes a 2-year fresh B20 with a Weber carb and IPD hot cam. Behind that is an M40 4-speed (an M400 would be better) and the suspension is said to have been rebuilt little more than a year ago. The odometer apparently gave up the ghost at 120K, but this being a Volvo 100-series, mileage is perhaps not the most accurate indicator of longevity.

The present owner says that much of the work done to the car was undertaken by the previous owner, who had to give it up owing to health issues. It presently comes with a bunch of extra parts - including the absent front bumper and door cards - and is still a work in process as we speak. The ad notes a rebuilt carb is in the works, or perhaps done by now, and it apparently could stand new U-joints for the driveshaft, among some other minor issues.

Those will likely have to wait for the next owner to sort out, and that next owner will need to come up with $3,850 to do so. Let’s help them out by deciding if that’s a deal or not. What do you think, is this Volvo worth rallying $3,850 for? Or, is this a pretend racer that’s just not worth that much real cash?

You decide!

Tallahassee Lassie , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Its-Not-A-Wreck-Its-My-Project for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
For $8,500, Would You Celebrate President's Day In This 1991 Nissan President?
For $8,500, Would You Celebrate President's Day In This 1991 Nissan President?
While not everybody will agree on who should run their particular country, I think all nationalities can get behind today’s Nissan President. That is of course, if this rare-in-the-U.S. JDM executive ride’s price doesn’t demand a recount. Could it be true? Could the long cold winter of exile in our...
Oct 24, 2026
The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Is The Best Used Exotic Car Value In The World
The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Is The Best Used Exotic Car Value In The World
An unwritten rule in car culture dictates that in order for a car to be truly remarkable, it has to have forgivable character flaws that give it a unique personality that allows man to truly bond with tamed machine. It is exactly those traits that make this car, the ,...
Oct 24, 2026
Why The Range Rover Evoque Convertible Is So Great
Why The Range Rover Evoque Convertible Is So Great
The darkness was thick, almost metallic. Even though I had the brights on, their normally powerful light seemed to be completely swallowed up by the shadows on either side of the car. I was driving the , I could barely see anything, and that’s exactly how it was supposed to...
Oct 24, 2026
Why Military Rebates On New Cars Suck
Why Military Rebates On New Cars Suck
Practically every automaker who sells vehicles in the U.S. offers some kind of military rebates for active or retired service members. At first glance this seems noble, but what most buyers don’t know is that these programs often exclude the brand’s most desirable vehicles. Recently, I was helping an active...
Oct 24, 2026
How Previous Owners Can Potentially Still Access Their Cars Long After They've Sold Them
How Previous Owners Can Potentially Still Access Their Cars Long After They've Sold Them
As technology further integrates into the car industry, doing things from the car continues to get easier. You can , and all sorts of things. But technology can also allow people to access cars long after they’ve sold them, which is enough to leave any buyer uncomfortable. According to ,...
Oct 24, 2026
For $27,800, Could This Supercharged 2000 Porsche 911 Carrera Be A Super (Charged) Deal?
For $27,800, Could This Supercharged 2000 Porsche 911 Carrera Be A Super (Charged) Deal?
According to its ad, today’s Porsche 911 has had “thousands in upgrades.” Some of those are under the radar—including a radar detector—but could they all add up to you seeing fit to pay its asking price? This week’s forecast called for two days of rusty Toyotas followed by a period...
Oct 24, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved