wanted -165 pref auto.
 

Hi all,

I'm looking for an inexpensive 165 registered 1973 or earlier. Prefer auto.

Any mild paintwork / cosmetics not objected too - price is the key for my OAP pension !

Do you mean 164 not 165. The 165's are very rare and were all custom built

I'm looking for an Estate ............... I understood the "5" in 165 related to five door - ie estate? Do I understand that all that series Estates were custom built ?

I just prefer the look of the older more upright grille, otherwise any pre- 1973 Estate would fit the bill. I suppose another option might be to get a 144 [? ] Estate and change the front sheetmetal from a 164 saloon ?

Thanx for the insight on this matter - as you can probably tell - identifying older Volvo's is not my strong point. Although I did own a PV444 several years ago as well as my current 850S Auto !

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The 165 estate did exist, but they are rarer than an honest politician! 145s are going to be easier to find, but not much as they generally had a much harder life than did the saloon equivalents and so there aren't so many around.

Creating a 165 by putting a 164 front on a 145 rear would of course be possible, but not without it's challenges. The bonnet, inner and outer wings and all the front panels are different I think. I think's true too that the 164 engine bay is longer as it had to accommodate the 6-cylinder engine.

It might also be possible to graft a 164 front onto a 245 rear, although the front suspension on the two cars is different. Wishbones on a 140 or 160, McPherson struts on the 200-series.

Why does it have to be pre-73? Is it just to save the road tax?

What about a 245 or even 265 from 1983/4? They have that beautiful raised centre to the bonnet, with the more upright grille, as opposed to the flatter front end of both the earlier and later 200 cars.

Cheers

Jack

Saving road tax - precisely. I already have an 850S and a Citroen C5 diesel Auto .............. paying in excess of £250 per year is no longer a joke. It won't get any cheaper I suspect !

My 3 score and ten is imminent, and the old government pocket money [ aka pension ] does not support my hobbies of old.

As a retired replica sports car designer and manufacturer, changing the sheetmetal doesn't hold any fears ! I've just finished developing the complete front chassis on my pal's C Type Jaguar replicas to take a Blown Jag V8.


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Your best bet is to look for a donor 164 and then use a 245 for the rear end.

Reckon it would need to be an early 245 rear end - or a 145, otherwise the 164 front would look odd.

Presumably you'd need the greater proportion of the 'hybrid' to be a pre-73 car, ideally the 164, then you would keep all the benefits of the early registration.

I wonder if the 164 outer wings and front could be made to fit fairly easily onto a 245, but keeping the front suspension of the 245?

But then it would still substantially be a 245 and thus post-73, so the rear end is going to have to come from a 145.

Engine and transmission-wise, the 164 had a straight 6 B30 OHV engine and a 3-speed BW-35 autobox. 145 cars would have had the B18 or B20 version of the same engine, and essentially the same autobox. Early 245 cars would have the B21 OHV engine, later 245s the B200 or B230 OHC engine with a more modern gearbox, and possibly overdrive.

The big disadvantage of the BW-35 gearbox would be the fact that it's 3-speed, old fashioned, and really set up for cruising at 55mph!

Try tracking down John-H on here. He's the man when it comes to restoring 164 cars, or the Register Keeper Nigel Ayling via the VOC. The other good contact might be Audrey Old on here - lots of 164 experience there too I think!

Cheers

Jack

Lots of hearse were based on saloons in the past.
Given that the rear doors are the same as a 240 (except for handles), fitting the roof and panels from a donor 245 behind the rear doors should be feasible, and would make something worth having at the end of it. I expect DVLA would like to know the provenance of both vehicles, but providing the front stays a 164, that shouldn't be too problematic.

Just do it!

Although I can't help but thinking that by the time you'd sourced two decent cars and done all the work, you'd be just as well looking for a nice 245 and paying the RFL. Bear in mind too that a decent B230-engined car will probably return into the mid 30's mpg (my 740 did easily 35 average), whereas you'll be lucky to see the north side of 20 mpg with the B30 auto. Added to that, the B30 if fuel-injected will either need a carb-conversion or you'll quickly be learning all about just how unsophisticated the Bosch D-Jet system was, how little anyone knows about it now, and how hard some of the key bits are to buy these days!

Cheers

Jack

No, missing the point Jack ............. I ALREADY have excellent 850 and Citroen C5 estates. IF I was HAPPY paying the RFL - I'd just keep them !

Engine is not an issue as either a Rover V8 or a PVR lump will find it's way in there - LPG of course. Not concerned about BW35 as I used to deal with a guy who can beef them up and fit manual valve bodies.

To make sense, it must be a 140 series [ age wise ] - and it would appear from the valuable feedback, that a 165 is virtually like looking for Hen's teeth.

I've had probably 6 or 7 Volvo estates over the years and found them to be rugged and fun to drive. I am a Hot Rodder at heart, but do like the idea of preserving the external sillouette - known as a "Resto-Rod". Or in old parlance - a "Q Car".

The other grill shape I like is the early 140's .... again, am I looking for Hen's Teeth ?

Either way, I would thank everyone for their input - what a forum is all about !:thumbs_up: