#Volvo140Series

In North America, the Volvo Brick family first appeared with the 140 in the 1968 model year, and the sensibly square Swedes remained on sale here through the last of the S90s and V90s (formerly known as the 960) in 1998. I’ve managed to find junkyard examples of all of these cars, including such oddities as the 262C and 780 Bertone Coupes, but the Volvo 164 has been a tough one; prior to today’s Junkyard Find, I had documented just a single 164. On a recent trip to a snow-coated yard between Denver and Cheyenne, I found another: this scorched and punctured ’70.

The Volvo 140 was the first of the beloved brick-shaped Swedes. It was built for the 1967 through 1975 model years, and it served as the basis for the legendary 240. I owned one, briefly, and found it was a very competent machine for its era. These cars are not worth big money today, unless they’re in excellent cosmetic shape, so the ones that stay on the street tend to do so because their owners can keep them running for cheap.

Since we overdosed on Eugene-mobiles yesterday, we’re going to have to hold off on that other definitive official local car, the Volvo 240 series until we’ve recuperated and the flashbacks die down a bit. But we’ve given Volvo short shrift here, so let’s do a car that takes me straight back to Maryland circa 1968, but in the most positive way possible: a 142S, decked out just like a young enthusiast of the times (me!) would have done (minus the non-vintage lip spoiler). This is a car that I seriously lusted after then, and it still works on my limbic system today.