1k: Twizzler: 1971 Volvo 142E Convertible
Automobile manufacturers spend millions of dollars and thousands of engineering hours to create convertible versions of fixed roof cars and it typically results in a heavier drop top because of all the additional under body reinforcement to create a properly rigid chassis. However, sometimes a DIY car customizer will throw caution to the wind and convertibilize a coupe with nothing more than a hacksaw, welder and beer. The result is open-air motoring with the chassis rigidity of a car made from twizzlers. Find this 1971 Volvo 142 E ‘vert for sale in Duvall, WA currently bidding on ebay for $430 reserve-not-met with 4 days to go. Tip from Scot!
Volvo (the Auto manufacturer) never built a drop top version of the venerable 140/240 series cars, probably due to its single minded focus on safety back in the day. A previous owner of this 142 decided to rectify this oversight by chopping off the roof and replacing it with a soft top. At first glance it doesn’t look that bad.
By Thor, what in thunder is that piece of metal welded in the door cavity? Unistrut? Plumbers tape? Why, oh why? Additional tubular reinforcements behind the front seats also show steps the builder took to avoid the inevitable chassis flex leading to a clamshell impersonation that won’t be pretty.
This would be the part where we say “lose the wheels and this starts to look attractive”…but…the unistrut really should terrify anyone with a basic understanding of stress/strain relationships and metal strength. Really.
See a better riddler ‘vert? Email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
~ after emailing this 142 Cabriolet to DT i looked it over more closely. the idea has merit but the execution leaves a heck of a lot to be desired. if the uni-strut is holding the body construction straight, square, plumb, and solid it could act as a jig to build a triangulated cage to bear the forces. being pre-MacPherson strut could complicate the effort to button it up. the drive video hypnotized me. it has been going up in $5 increments with 7 bidders, 32 bids. the buyers had better do a full punch list before guessing at a maximum bid.
~ plenty of "Kirunacab" Volvos in image search, including;
i150.photobucket.com/albums/s119/zajja/burnjag.jpg
The shot of the passenger's front door tells the entire twisted story. Notice how that door does not align with the body. Those braces are supposed to go in…BEFORE the top comes, otherwise its like putting band-aids on a dislocated hip and expecting the patient to walk normally.
If it where maybe a little cheaper mabe I could buy it and cut the braces just to see what happens. if it flods scrap it, if it dosnt fab up some better bracing find a decent looking top and beat the livin crap out of it. People told me that if the top was cut off a 85 civic si hatch that it would clamshell. Well I did it to a rough shell and then proceded to beat the crap out of it in a stand of spruce and pine trees in behind my yard, well that car took an extreme beating bashing through the trees and in two weeks not one panel was straight but the doors still opened and the gaps were not great but it didnt fold or buckle.
…or enter it in the first Demolition Derby that comes along.
Would have been a good car before getting the top chopped off. I chopped up one to get it to the dump, they have unbeliably solid A and B pillars.
The song in the video has to be the first rock song ever!
~ It sold for only $800. Damn good deal actually.