Junkyard Find: 1971 Volvo 142
A Volvo 140 doesn’t always jump right out at you, thanks to its similarity to its still-with-us-in-huge-numbers descendant, the Volvo 240 (especially when viewed from the rear), so I probably overlook a few of these in junkyards. The 140 isn’t an uncommon sight in Denver, and I’ve found this ’68 142 and this ’69 145 just in the last year. I’ve always liked these cars (though I’ve only owned one example, and it was quite troublesome), so it makes me a little sad to see another one about to get crushed.
SU carbs just aren’t worth pulling these days, looks like.
The rust wasn’t so bad by Midwestern standards (i.e., the car still exists), but it probably rendered this car not worth restoring.
The “thermometer” speedo in the 140 was a nice piece of design.
Adjustable lumbar support way back in 1969!
“Nine out of every ten Volvos registered in the last 11 years are still on the road.”
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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That Galaxie in the first or second commercial is eerily reminiscent of the Lumber Jetta. http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llg6axOhYF1qdt748o1_500.jpg
My first car! I have many found memories of my red 142. filing points was about the only problem. The best part about the thermometer speedometer was the little red slider that you could set at a speed and a mechanical "ding" would go off when you exceeded that speed. It is the most honest car I've every owned.