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1974 Volvo 164E, 4-speed manual + OD, 82k original miles - SOLD!

12K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  R Salesman 
#1 · (Edited)


Here's the eBay auction link!

Year: 1974
Make:
Volvo
Model: 164E
Mileage:
82k
Transmission: 4 speed manual + Over Drive

Condition: Pretty darn good
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Price: $4975


Up for sale is arguably the nicest, best-running & handling 164 in America. As a former Volvo Certified Technician, I have spent the past 7 years going over this vehicle with a fine-toothed comb, while simultaneously using it as my daily driver. Mechanically, the car is bullet proof. The car is a great looking, fun-to-drive daily driver that has never left me stranded, and frankly refuses to die. It is not a show-quality car (though you probably could enter it into a show and win something) and it is not stock (gasp!).

I am selling only because I now have three young children, can't fit three car seats across the rear bench, and am more interested in spending my free time with them than continuing what's been a rewarding hobby tinkering on this fine specimen of a Volvo. That, and an upcoming military move makes the time right to find a new owner for this vehicle. I purchased it with the intent of resto-modding it into a reliable, fun-to-drive daily driver, and I certainly achieved that goal.

Background info:



I purchased this vehicle from the original owner's nephew in 2006 with 58k original miles. The car was purchased new by Jonas Hilton in Hickory, NC, and spent its life in Conover, NC until 2001, where it was moved to VA when the nephew took possession of the vehicle. I have an entire 3-ring binder filled with a plethora of documentation on the vehicle (I have the original window sticker, bill of sale, credit application, pre-delivery service inspection, and a host of other documentation, to include parts receipts for the upgrades I've put into the vehicle). I also have the following NC State Inspection Receipts that show the miles on the vehicle at the time of inspection:

1976: 10,324
1983: 31,310
1984: 32,327
1985: 32,781
1986: 33,098
1988: 33,438
1989: 33,739
1990: 34,239
1993: 36,486
1994: 36,968
1995: 37,156
1998: 37,652
2000: 37,865
2004: 57,157 (this repair receipt is the first record under the ownership of the nephew that depicts the mileage)
2006: 57,602 (this repair receipt is the first record under my ownership that depicts the mileage)

The car will come with the original owner's manual, warranty and service records booklet (which has all services documented through 30k miles), a "driving tips" brochure, an accessories brochure, the aforementioned 3-ring binder chock full of history/documentation on the car, a host of spare parts, and a Volvo green service manual. The highlights of the spare parts bin include a new-old-stock (NOS) never-installed Volvo OEM cruise control kit, and a rarer-than-a-hen's-tooth 8-bolt B30 flywheel. The car will also come with the original steel wheels w/ not-so-great Michelin tires. Should the auction exceed $3500 (which is way less than what I've spend just on parts for the car), then I will include the pristine condition 17" IPD R Replica wheels with Dunlop Direzza Star-Spec tires.

The title is clear.

Body: 9/10



Extremely shiny, no dents/dings. This is a really, really good 5-foot paint job done by Maaco in late 2009. For what it's worth, the paint job also came with a 5-year gloss & shine warranty, which won't expire until the end of September, 2014.



The thing about Maaco is that they actually use decent paint, and they do a decent job of spraying cars (after all, that's what they primarily do). What they're not so good at is prep-work, and prep-work is what makes or breaks a decent paint job. So, I set about to do the majority of the prep work myself. Of note, I did not have the door sills, engine bay, or trunk interior repainted since I was only interested in making this car look good for daily driver duty.

I stripped the car completely. I went through all the stainless steel and aluminum trim and meticulously hand-polished it all. All told, I've probably got about 100 labor hours in polishing the trim alone. If there were dents in the trim, I hammered them out as best as I could. Any scratches were sanded down and smoothed out, then polished to a mirror shine. The polishing turned out so well that the polished stainless steel looks like chrome. I also polished all the plastic lenses, and they turned out looking pretty close to new as well. I had the car completely sandblasted, and all surface rust (some minor rust spots near the windshield) was removed and treated.

Before:









After:





At the same time, I also replaced the windshield. So the car has a very nice, clear windshield with no pitting.



All lights work, all windows (manual) work.

Issues:
As is typical with these cars, there's rust in the butt cheeks, and rust in the trunk floor due to clogged drainage ports. The clogged drainage ports have been cleared and the trunk seal replaced, but I never got around to replacing the butt cheeks or replaced the trunk floor. Again, it's not a show car, but a functional daily driver.

Door jambs & trunk













Interior: 7/10







The previous owner had the interior re-done in a nice light grey cloth, and re-carpeted with a nice black carpet. There are no rips or tears, the seats are fully functional, comfortable, and supportive. The headliner is a light blue cloth (not stock), and is beginning to come down in the very rear (but not hanging down).

Dash: the dash has minimal, but typical, cracks.



Steering Wheel: the stock steering wheel was replaced because the plastic cracked, and I could not source an uncracked steering wheel. I replaced it with a very nice condition 242GT wheel, covered in a supple leather wrap - feels really nice in the hand, and works well with the interior.

A/C: The system has been converted to R-134a. The system works, however the York compressor leaks refrigerant at a rate of about 1 lb. per month, despite having been rebuilt twice (I think the pulley shaft is worn, since that's the location of the leak). Replacing the compressor would give you a fully functional A/C system. I currently don't have it filled with refrigerant considering it's the dead of winter. Heat works like a champ, and the blower blows very well. The vacuum-operated air diverters function normally. The rear defrost works.



Instrument Cluster: stock instrument cluster with the rare tachometer option. Everything works.



Radio: the car did not have a stock radio in it when I purchased it. I have since replaced it with a nice AM/FM/CD deck that has an aux-in so you can play tunes through your smartphone. I installed some 6x9 Boston Acoustics speakers in the rear deck, and some Boston Acoustics 4" speakers in the front door panels. It's a decent quality sound system for a commute, but if you're some audiophile who's into amps and subs and whatnot, this won't meet your expectations.

Entry: I installed power door locks on all four doors, and also installed a remote-entry system. You will receive two remotes that enable power lock/unlock. Note: this is not an alarm system . . . it is simply remote keyless entry. The car will come with a door key & an ignition key.

Issues:
The A/C leaks, as noted above. The elastic webbing on the back of the front seats disintegrated, and I never replaced it. The dash is cracked.

Drivetrain: 9/10



Engine: This is an exceptionally smooth-running B30 engine that is entirely stock, with some very minor modifications. Upon receipt of the vehicle, I went through the engine and replaced the majority of seals, timing gears, spark plugs/wires/rotor/points, adjusted valve clearances, etc. I had the fuel injectors professionally rebuilt and flow-matched. I replaced the engine control unit with a NOS unit. To get the engine running right, I even exchanged a few emails with the Volvo engineer that wrote the green service manual for Volvo. Needless to say, no stone went uncovered. The headers are stock, and the rest of the exhaust system was replaced due to the original system rusting out. The engine leaks no fluids.

As a side note, when I originally purchased the car I figured the engine would give out, so I'd planned on throwing a LS1 V8 in it. Obviously that never happened, because this engine just refuses to die, much less hiccup. It's strong, torquey, and accelerates quicker than you'd think it would.

Modifications: I upgraded the ignition system to the electronically-controlled ignition system that came stock on 1975 164 models. I also installed a K&N high-flow air filter.

During my ownership of the vehicle, the oil has been changed every 3k miles, and the valves were adjusted at the same time.

Issues: The auxiliary air slide takes a while to warm up, so when you start the car cold it idles high until the air slide warms up and adjusts, then the idle goes to normal. Occasionally during the summer the car will exhibit a hot-start issue where you'll have to crank it longer than usual for it to start. I've replaced the phenolic washers on the injectors, but that hasn't impacted the issue. The car will still start, it just takes some extra cranking, and it's only during the summer, and only if you're trying to start the car after you've just driven it for 30 minutes or so.

Suspension: 10/10









This is the bread and butter of the car. EVERY suspension bushing has been replaced with new polyurethane bushings. I've installed IPD sport lowering springs, Bilstein HD shocks, and SUPER rare IPD anti-sway bars (with polyurethane bushings). This car is comfy on a long-distance drive, and equally at home on an autocross track. The ride quality is excellent, and the handling is superb. You can easily out-handle modern cars with ease, and surprise many unsuspecting drivers with the capability of this car!

Issues: With the 17" wheels, the inside of the rear tires will rub on the inside of wheel well (next to the trunk lining) under EXTREME cornering conditions. Under normal sporty driving (i.e. non-autocross driving), there are no rubbing issues.



Transmission: 10/10
This car has the very rare M410 manual 4-speed transmission with fully functional electronic overdrive. Clutch actuation is smooth and linear. Shifting is smooth and positive, with no grinding between gears. Overdrive actuation is initiated with the OD stalk on the steering column; engagement is near instantaneous and smooth. The driveshaft was balanced at the time of the swap, and the clutch cable was replaced with a new one. When I purchased the car it had a 3-speed BE35 automatic transmission that subsequently exploded shortly after I purchased it. I sourced a parts car and converted the car over to manual - it was an extensive swap, but it was done right, down to correct ignition immobilizer wiring. The transmission leaks no fluids.

Issues: the rear-end is the stock automatic rear-end, which has a taller ratio than the rear-end that came with the manuals. As such, the speedometer reading is inaccurate, but fear not! I have a conversion factor for you: 1.1268. Simply multiply the indicated speed by 1.1268 to get the actual speed. Ex: 60 mph indicated X 1.1268 = 67.6 mph actual. I flew past, and had subsequent arguments with, many an officer of the law before I figured out this oversight. And I'm passing this hard-earned knowledge on to you for free, and I will remind you of this knowledge prior to you driving the car away.
 
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#2 ·
Brakes: 8/10







The brakes are in excellent working condition: no sticking, smooth, progressive operation, the rotors are not warped and do not have lips. The rear pads are at about 50% wear; the fronts have about 20% pad life remaining, hence the 8/10 rating.

I had some custom stainless steel braided hoses made for the car, and replaced the brake fluid with a high performance fluid. The pedal feel is fantastic, firm, and responsive.

Wheels/Tires: stock = 5/10; Pegasus = 9/10.



The stock wheels have been repainted, and come with mostly dent-free beauty rings and extremely hard-rubbered Michelin tires that, if you're going to drive this car much, should probably be replaced. These wheels are what come with the car.



The 17" IPD Pegasus R-replica wheels are in pristine condition. I mean quite literally, not a single scratch, and not even a hint of a defect of any kind. The Dunlop Direzza Star-Spec tires are excellent, insanely grippy, and have 7/32 tread remaining on all four. These wheels/tires will be included with the car ONLY IF the final sale price exceeds $3500.

DISCLAIMER:
I have tried to represent the car to the best of my ability, highlighting both the many good points and the few negative points of the car. I do not claim to have covered absolutely everything in this ad. If there is information not addressed in my ad, please contact me and I will answer.

It is NOT a perfect car. After all, it's an almost 40-year-old used car. That said, it is a very good looking, incredibly reliable daily driver.

These are recent pictures of the vehicle that show current condition:















 
#4 ·
Year: 1974
Make:
Volvo
Model: 164E
Mileage:
82k
Transmission: 4 speed manual + Over Drive

Condition: Pretty darn good
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Price: $4975


Oh man, I can still recall my rock solid 265 wagon. Two problems ever. Once the steering wheel would just spin on its own and once the auto transmission went out.
I can feel the torque.

Once I was at a traffic light and the car behind me was slammed. He ran into me and I ran into the car in front. In total five cars were involved and mine was both the oldest and the only one to drive away.

Great cars. Great color. Great job of preserving a piece of history. Best of luck with the sale I hope it goes to a deserving and responsible home.
 
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