Well friends, tomorrow is the big race (my birthday as it turns out). Yesterday, Speed:Sport:Life's own Jack Baruth and I assisted our lead mechanic Dave (aka Hellhammer) put the final touches on the V8olvo. And I'm proud to report, she's beautiful. So beautiful in fact that we simply had to take it down to an every-other-Thursday type car show to let the vintage domestic aficionados know what some seriously grim and frostbitten Gothenburg steel looks like. Surprisingly, they loved it. Actually, it's not so surprising. I mean, what's not to love about a 1984 Volvo 244 stuffed with a Ford 302 and a five-speed? Plus a radiator from a 560SEL. Springs and sway bar from Thunderbird. Oh, and fans. Lots and lots of fans. We figured we might as well show our LeMons racer off to the public before it gets t-boned by a Corrado and appears less, um, shapely. Sigh. Wish us luck, we're going to need it. Or not (evil laughter goes here). Check back here Saturday and Sunday for updates on the LeMony action!
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12 Comments on “LeMons Update: Black Metal V8olvo Wows ‘Em at the Car Show...”
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The belt over the front grill is a nice touch. And hey, who doesn’t like a Mad Max worthy vehicle designed solely for mass destruction! No one can argue with a big metal bumper like that.
Really looks like a lot of fun, good luck.
I love it! As the former owner of a 1980 Volvo 242 that I kept for 21 years and 245K miles, I’m pulling for you! My car was even the same color (before your repaint). I never got around to putting in a Ford 302 though! But I did have a manual transmission (a 4-speed only, no overdrive).
that sheet-metal wrapped bumper suits the brick… I’ll have to try that on my next Volvo beater.
Mike and Sajeev… are your chips all in?
durailer
Mike and Sajeev… are your chips all in?
Jonny is running in the Altamont (CA) race. Sajeev and Mike are going head-to-head (or bumper-to-door) in Houston TX in October.
That bumper looks stock — from the pre-1983 models, just shorn of its thick black rubber (not plastic) rub strips. They were made of aluminum and backed by heavy-duty shock absorbers. No wimpy painted plastic bumper covers like today’s cars.
in no way am i an expert, but it’s not clear to me that a reverse scooop on the trunk lid would pull air through the back seat radiator (i can’t seem to get a post in on jalopnik). driving around in the rain with a 240, you can see the rain drops stationary on the glass in the center of the rear window, indicating no airflow. worse, at high speed i swear the drops march up the glass, indicating a circulation that goes back in line with the roof, down at the rear, forward across the trunk, and back up the rear window. i’d suggest putting your air exhaust holes in the rear panel like where the license plate goes; no question that there’s negative pressure there.
Now that’s a real Volvo. Beautiful. I’d hate to see it get hurt in the race.
Happy b-day, Jonny! Good luck!
great mad max reference in the picture caption
Go get ‘em Snidely Whiplash, I mean, Lieberman.
Or the ad for the last gen Impala SS: “Lord Vader, your car is ready.”
Whoda thunk that spying a Volvo in your rear-view would send a chill up your spine? ;-)
http://jalopnik.com/389296/tragic-death-reported-at-altamont-24-hours-of-lemons-race ????????
Andy D :
I’ve pinged Mr. Lieberman about this. His report should be online soon.