Vintage Newsletter - January 2010

Customer Feature

by Karl Spihlmann

It all started since I was little, being the son of a mechanical engineer, those kinds who spend all weekend fixing the slightest rattle or oil leak in the car, keeping everything as original as possible, “if it came so from the factory it must be for a reason”.

I don’t know why, I was always surrounded by Volvos, my father’s daily driver a ‘67 144S, my mom’s ‘86 240 Station Wagon, later traded in for a 940 POLAR, and the “weekend car” an ‘83 240 Special Delivered Diplomat Sale with Pioneer CD player and 200W amplifier, even my aunts and uncles had Volvos.

My personal experience began almost 9 years ago, I had just turned 18, made it into medical school and got my drivers license for the first time so my dad handed me the keys to my grandpa’s 1965 122S with a B20 engine.

It was in fair condition and all it had was a custom paint job that changed the factory greenish yellow to dark navy blue. I remember being kind of jealous of my friends with new trucks and sporty cars so I began to “modify” it.

First came wheels and tires, the stock 165/75R15 were not turning any heads. I wanted to keep the vintage look and opted for American Racing 15x7 rims with 205/60 tires.

I had the white AR rims painted grey and the job was done. Now the wheels looked great but the car was rather high.

Stock and replacement parts for vintage Volvos are rather scarce in Peru, importing is around 50% the retail price in customs fees without the shipping charges so I was having a really hard time figuring out what to do. I was planning a trip to Miami so I thought I’d buy the parts and bring them over my self. It sounded like a good plan but I had no idea where or what to buy. That’s when I discovered IPD, the simpleness of there site and the help I got through emails made it easy to choose what parts to get.

Since back in the 70s the stock shocks had already been replaced with R Sport fronts and Koni rears we decide to go with the sport springs, poly bushings, steering couplers, tie rods, end links due to a tight budget, the anti sway bars had to wait a couple more years.

I remember being asked at the Miami airport by police officers, after my suitcase was scanned, (this was after 9/11) to stand aside and open my bag. Apparently the X-ray vision of the springs, bars and bushings seemed “bomb like” so after an extensive search (thank god NO “cavities”) and particle analyzer I was on my way back to Lima.

I arrived and the car went straight to body shop and paint work. The new suspension was installed and the difference in height and handling was noticeable right away.

Now I was getting bored of the plain, unreclineable seats, as well as short dash and rather boring interior. I started viewing pictures of modified Volvos and other cars and liked the idea of trading in the long, truck like shifter for a short one from a 140 or 1800. The search started and after a couple of months I came by a short shifter from a 140 and an M-41 tranny from a 123GT. They were some what expensive, around $350 for both, but I knew I wouldn’t find another so I bought them and place them right away.

Now I had a short shifter and I could cruise the highway at 130km/hr without wearing ear plugs. There was a big space under the dash, that the old shifter needed that had no use so I decided to create a center console. The radio would be more accessible, I could install a few gauges and a battery disconnect switch for a sportier look. I went through an autometer catalog and found what I was looking for so I bought a sheet of metal took a few measurements and made the console.

Now the old seats and green upholstery looked out of place. I found some reclining NISSAN seats that I transformed into SPARCO type race buckets, added a R Sport logo and changed the upholstery color to black and grey to match the outside of the car. A Grant wooden steering wheel did the job nicely along with some SPARCO pedals and aluminum type floors.

One day I was rear ended but to my luck, the lenses were saved but it kept me thinking what if the original Hella three color swedish lenses had broken?? I liked the chrome tail lights on Japanese cars so I decided to make my own. I contacted a lens fabricator and made clear rear lenses and topped them with LED lights and placed some Hella fog lights on front to resemble the 123GT.

Now the car looked great on the outside with subtle changes that kept that vintage look but made it stand out and the interior resembled a race car but it still had the original B20B my dad placed 20 years ago that lacked performance for today standard.

I talked to IPD again and decided for the IPD engine package with Webers so I bought a new set of gaskets, the Street Performance Cam Kit, HD oil pump, 44mm intake valves, 4-2-1 header and 45 DCOE Webers. To top it all I had some porting done to the head, updated the ignition system with a Pertronix Ignitor, coil and wires and had a new 2” exhaust system placed with a cut-out valve the made it flow free right after the header.

All this made a HUGE difference in performance! The car would roar past any VW or BMW, on the highway it reaches speeds over 120mi/hr (the speedometer only reaches 110mi/hr). The only down side is and will always be the car aerodynamics, over 87mi/hr you can feel the air resistance pushing against the body making it hard to keep up with modern cars over that speed.

My latest modifications were upgrading the suspension with the needed anti-sway bars, a shaved door look with help of an Autoloc kit and custom made “122GT” emblems.

This car is my daily driver. It makes 16mi/gln (98oct is $5/gln), turns into a stove in summer, has died on me in places you wouldn’t imagine, has me watching out for traffic and parking places to keep it safe, keeps me in town on long weekends due to space restrictions and gas money, etc. But makes it all worth it every single time men, women, old and young, turn there heads in awe as I pass by.

All this experience has made me love these cars. Many have made offers to buy it but I have never accepted and after nine years of dealing with Volvo issues, I consider my self some what of an expert on these topics.

Through my never ending search for parts I’d gotten to know other Volvo enthusiast here in Lima and the idea of knowing that there were many others out there made my create Classic Volvo Peru, a Club for Volvo enthusiast in Peru. I made a web site (http://www.clubvolvodelperu.webs.com/) and set a first gathering without even having a single member. To my surprise, 10 amazons showed up and that started the Club. Now we have 144s, PV 544s, P1800s, and even three 123GT’s and a 164. We have gathered 150+ members around Peru and have a gathering once a month.

My work with the amazon is not yet finished and I think it will never end.

Karl has allowed us to share his e-mail address with you if you'd like to contact him - ksgonzo@hotmail.com1965 Volvo 122GTEngine:

• B20 Block
• Ported Head
• 44mm Intake Valves
• Isky vv71 cam
• Isky Pushrods and Lifters
• Double springs
• IPD HD Oil Pump
• 45 DCOE Webers
• Electric Fuel Pump
• IPD Alloy Valve Cover

Exhaust:

• IPD 4-2-1 Header
• 2” Sport Exhaust
• Cut-Out Valve

Transmission:

• M41
• Short Shifter

Suspension:

• R Sport Front Shocks
• Koni Rear Shocks
• IPD Sport Springs
• IPD Poly Bushings
• IPD Sway Bars
• American Racing Rims
• 205/60 R15 Tires

Electrical:

• Volvo 100A alternator
• New 18 circuit wiring harness
• Pertronix Ignitor
• 50,000V Coil
• 8mm Silicone Wires
• Angel Eye Head lights
• HID lighting
• LED Bulbs
• Front Fog Lights
• Clear Rear lenses

Interior:

• Custom Two Tone Upholstery
• Custom R Sport Race Buckets
• Custom Center Console w/ Start Button
• Autometer Gauges and Tachometer
• Carbon Fiber Dash
• Aluminum Floors

Audio:

• Pioneer MP3 Reciever
• Pioneer Front Components
• Pioneer Rear Speakers
• Pioneer Subs
• Pioneer 760W Amplifier
• Pioneer 600W Amplifier
• Stinger Wires and Cables

Other:

• Custom Color Paint Job
• Shaved Door Look
• 122GT Emblems
• Chrome all-around

What’s your Volvo story? Send your story to bryan@ipdusa.com and it may be included in an upcoming publication!