Well, as a lot of you know already, I bought myself a new car, so I figured I'd start a thread to track my progress on it. To make a long story short for those that haven't heard it, a dude up the road from me sold me his '75 245 for $300. I had been eyeing it for a while, went to talk to him, and eventually he sold it to me.

Behold, the Mighty Smurf.



She's a beaut. b20f, M45, and 102,000 original miles from what I can tell. She started after a bit o' fresh gas, after having been sitting for quite a few years. The owner started it periodically, but hadn't driven it in what could have been a decade. Originally it was an Edmonton car, was dealer serviced until 86,000 miles, run on synthetic, and has a new clutch. The plan is to get it running decently, and use it for the winter so I can keep the YROG in the garage when things get nasty.

The good:
- engine runs good, low mileage
- tranny shifts good
- rust isn't TOO bad
- interior fairly intact
- blue paint, blue seats, blue door panels, blue carpets = awesomeness
- owner later gave me a Volvo hitch, and a set of brand new 7" H4s
- no oil leaks from what I can tell
- its a '75 which is kinda cool

The bad:
- cosmetically rough. The paint is faded, and between what appears to be concrete sloshed onto the drivers door, and the remnants of a fence painting project all over the drivers side and roof, the exterior needed help.
- brakes seized (drove home with e-brake)
- windshield cracked
- power steering dumping fluid everywhere
- overheating
- broken cluster
- broken taillight and headlight surround
- tears in the vinyl like usual
- headlights don't work
- rear carpets disintegrating to powder

Here's some pics of the mess.



Concrete.



After a thorough vacuum, first up to fix was the overheating. A quick trip to Coburn Performance yielded me a new b20 thermostat. Problem #1 solved.

Second was fixing the headlights. New headlight switch solved that.

Third, the brakes. Since the yellow car appears to have a blown engine, and will likely be off the road for a while, I stole the brakes off that car. Still not finished that, but in the end I'll have the vented rotors up front, and a set of much newer brakes.



Next up was the starting the instrument cluster. A trip to Raymond with Craig yielded a working '75 cluster, so that is on its way in once some wiring issues are sorted. A new headlight surround and taillight were also found, along with some interior panels in the same blue!



The blue continues. I put on my sweet headrest covers. Plush.



Behold, a dog gate! Thanks Matt.



And then the paint work began. I am following the Coburn Performance method of paint rehabilitation. Since this is my first time, the results aren't perfect, but I am now a convert.



I wet sanded, and polished/waxed the roof and hood in three steps. Kinda unnecessary for a winter beater with rust, but it sure looks nice!



The sides aren't getting sanded, but the polishing continues.

More updates as things progress. Plans are to run my GT wheels with winter tires, install a stereo, my old 2 1/4" exhaust, and hopefully a cam to help boost power over 100 hp.....

Looking good Greg. You likely know a cam swap in that engine isn't quite so simple but Coburn Performance will be able to point you in the right direction I'm sure. There's a D cam sitting in the B20E although I'm not really sure of its condition. I've got a C cam in the garage as well. I never really thought our '75 wagon was underpowered but then I wasn't used to driving some turbocharged beast either...

Awesome Greg
It is nice to see pictures of the "mystery car"
It is also quite evident that we need a Coburn Performance to open up a shop here in Calgary, that would compliment the "Matt's Motorsport" and "Avalance Performance" franchises that are already here.

Don't forget "Giles' Garage for Gorgeous Grampa Jalopies"

Edit - oh yeah, looking good Greg!

Nice stuff bud! Guess that's what you'll be bringing for the fall cruise eh? Might need more than a cam to keep up! ha ha.

Athal's awesome european artifact emporium.

Thanks guys! Yep, I'll need more than a cam in this thing...like a tow rope tied to the back of Ians car.

I may take you up on that cam offer Dale. I helped Craig put one in his latest engine, so I kinda know what to expect. So what cam would be in it now? I think if I can ditch it and the air pump, I should be up power by about 20%.....

Eesh, 20% is shooting kinda high. You should grab the head off Dale's B20 and skim the heck out of it, get the guides & seats done, and let Craig play with his die grinder, and then you might make the 20% you're hoping for. That engine's got a really low compression ratio, which isn't going to respond well to a lot of additional cam.

my god greg...that is so much blue I really don't know what to say other than I just have a really big smile right now

good on ya...that wagon rocks!

cheers!

It should have a K cam in it now...I think. I believe that was the B20 K-Jet cam. It was one of the better stock cams iirc. Craig will jump on me if I'm wrong there... The D is a little more peppy. While you're grabbing the "E" head, you should grab the header. Then you've got a shot at 20%...

Ooooo, header. Delicious. The 20% number was more tongue in cheek, as I don't know how much power that air pump is taking! That said, a skimmed head and header would be fantastic. And a C-Performance port job would be certainly welcome (if he's willing). Does the b20 benefit much from a larger exhaust?

Thanks Vik! Glad you like the blue.

The B20 doesn't benefit a lot from a larger exhaust until you get it breathing much better. In fact, some experts say the stock manifold and dual tube downpipe is fine until you get well over 150 hp. However, that isn't saying there wouldn't be zero gains by giving it a header and bigger exhaust but I doubt getting the air out of your engine is a restriction at the moment...

Ding, ding, ding - winnar. There is no point going to the header on two counts. One the restriction is in the area behind the valve not the runner or the exhaust (although Greg's car has the fabulous crimp bend exhaust). Second, even the Volvo performance guide from that era recognized that you can't do a lot better than the dual down manifold and it (with a little porting) will flow as well as a header and you'll have better reliability.

Anyway - I've got a good D-grind as well. I'm sure there is no engine work in this car's future (save removing the air pump). Still the smoothest B20 I've heard to date and the underside of the car is remarkable. It is relatively rust free (few bits of surface here and there and some weak rear arch front edges). We were able to get the brakes off without much of a struggle. Time had not been so kind to the flex hoses (damn ozone) but even the front bushings were in great shape.

After the polish, the car looks like a million bucks and I'm sure Greg will be upgrading the 75 and turning it into a bit of a resto mod project while driving it in the Lethbridge slush. It wouldn't take much to redo the belt line down and have another very solid 245.

I'm still shocked at the price of the thing, what a deal. With a good parts car down in Raymond, it's taking on a life of its own. Way to go Greg.

Our 75s got an F-cam. Not as nasty as the early single carb C or worse. Its kinda like an A-cam B21...pretty mid-rangy. It works well given the compression ratio and all the emissions garbage they threw at those poor things.

I parted a maroon 75 245 that ran amazingly well. No power steer real stripper of a wagon. It has 275K though. There are still a decent chunk of nice running B20s around portland. Not many up here....the tin worm has eaten most of the 140s/early 240s. Ashland, OR has a lot of OHV volvos...no rust and no emissions FTW (portland has emissions fixed at 1975).

A set of 164 steel timing gears probably wouldn't be a bad idea, and eliminating the old style front main seal. 75s got the B21/23 style rear main and holder, minus the dowel pins on the housing IIRC. There are 2 75 240s in the JY right now actually. Kinda fun to marvel on all the strange parts that got recycled into 240s of later years and all the 140 parts that got recycled from early years. 75s are pretty rare, but I've seen a lot of 76 and 77s still. Pat and I think it is largely because the B21 is just a lot more reliable *shrug*.

The engine harness is a mess to replace on 75-76 240s. The good news is that it is pre fsck up and doesn't really need much attention.

Have fun with it,
-James

Thanks James!
Yeah, agreed, its pretty cool seeing what carried over from the 140, and what was different from later 240's. Some of weirdest things I've noticed...

-no inner fender covers
-foam hood insulation on the triangular bits. I believe its stock after seeing remants of it on a wreck here.
-battery tray welded in rather than bolted in
-metal belly pan
-steering column cover in front of cluster is longer.

No new photos, but here's a quick update of whats been done as of late:
-finished polishing and waxing drivers side, tailgate, and around windshield. Paint on drivers side is worse as was to be expected.
-new smaller steering wheel, with newer steering column cover
-Boge shocks are now done in the rear
-rear brakes finished. Craig helped me bend one new line.
-new front seatbelts. Old ones wouldn't retract too well
-removed air pump and associated plumbing. Just had to plug a hole in the manifold, and another off the pulse air and its done. Much better!
-new plumbing for idle control
-found a fan shroud, so put that in after pulling the fan clutch

More to come soon.

1. Strange. The 75s I parted had those. No idea there. Maybe yours has had some front end work from a little crinkle? 240s get hit and fixed on the front a lot. Maybe someone was smarter than the original engineers and used fewer pieces? The volvo book goes on and on about the benefits of those plastic things on the front. Those didn't seem to cure overall water drainage issues and water getting under the paint in 240s, but oh well.

2. I noticed that and laughed. Its stock and pictured in a book. Doesn't help much with the fact that 75 240s are loud as hell. 4.10 gears, a B20 and an M40 a quiet combo doth not make. Maybe the M41 ones with a perfectly tight and adjusted B20 with a better clutch fan are different.

3. Normal for a 78 and older 240.

4. Normal for a 77 and older car if it hasn't rusted away or been beaten to hell. There are a couple of variations on the metal one some with slightly different "louvers" or "cooling vents" in the front.

5. Didn't notice that one. Did notice the column and linkage were a little different.

I think the heat should also be a dial instead of a slider inside yeah?

Note also how the brake fittings are the ones used on the rear restrictor valves on all other years of 240 are used on all four corners of a 75. Those are nicer to work with IMO. The junction is turned the wrong way and the motor mount bell guard used on 240Ts is used on 75 240s. Many other brackets are recycled into other locations of earlier and later cars. The hood slam panel on the front or "upper radiator support" is adapted from a 74 140.

Have fun with that bastard! With a few goodies you shouldn't have to babysit it much. The 75 B20 isn't a screamer, but fairly fuel efficient.