Stress reduction

Update by Per Schroeder to the Volvo 122s project car
Nov 27, 2001

We’ve been using the 122 as stress-reduction therapy. The combination of SU carbs and changes in humidity and temperature here in Florida has made for some near endless fiddling with the mixture and idle settings. Slowly, but surely, we are getting the old girl to pull from 1200 RPM all the way to 7000 without fuss, as well as idling smoothly and not stinking from raw fuel. Get it wrong and the car will make you want to take a shower after a short drive…

We found an overdrive equipped transmission from a very scary P1800 in St. Augustine. The transmission was purchased for the bargain price of $250 with a guarantee that it works. Can’t beat that!. We’ve got new gaskets, seals and clutch parts on their way to us to complete the conversion. The overdrive gives a ratio of .79, a nice 5th gear!. We can also get rid of the fourth gear lock out switch to make the transmission have 8 forward gears. However, that also increases the risk of engaging reverse with the overdrive on, which will quickly destroy the OD’s guts.

Also in the works is a complete dyno test comparing the stock points to the Crane ignition system and a Perlux ignitor. In addition, we are going to test a stock distributor’s mechanical advance curve versus a more aggressive recurved distributor.

We’ve also been autocrossing the 122 as often as we can. We’ve gathered enough points to win 2nd in the Street Mod year end championship in Central Florida, and at our last autocross, we ended up 8th out of 80 overall. Much thanks go to the 225/50/15 Kumhos that we managed to stuff in the wheel wells.

Our results from this past season of autocrossing can be found here. It’s fun to watch the progress through the season, from the first few events on street tires, to the last two with Kumhos.

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