Amazon: Thinking of buying a 131 Amazon - Any experiences to share

[fishyboy]

Hi all,
I've owned my 1968 1800S for nearly 6 years and love the Volvo marque. I am thinking of buying a 1966 Amazon 131. Its got a Zenith 36VN carb and is the 75 bhp 18B version. I have not had the opportunity to drive the car and was wondering if anyone could share how these lower spec Amazon models fair in modern traffic.

I assume that it will feel a little sluggish against my 1800S, which is not exactly quick itsself.

How reliable and easy to work on is the Zenith compared to my SU's?

Any obivous upgrades to make the car more "driveable"?

Thanks

Phil Fish

[Derek UK]

I think that 1966 was the last year of the single Zenith carb B18A. Soft cam and lowish compression makes them an easy drive at modest speeds and around town. Still happy to cruise at 70 on the motorway. Torque is low in the rev band so at those speeds and conditions it may persuade you that it is a nicer drive than the 1800. Replacing the Zenith + single down pipe manifold with the later Stromberg and twin downpipe manifold plus front exhaust section gives a noticeable and useful increase in power and torque even if 5-7bhp sounds very little. It's about 10% increase which is good. Zenith carb is maintenance free if it is in good condition. They can suffer from leaks which makes them look a bit messy but a few new gaskets helps. Air filters are officially not serviceable but can be prised open for filter replacement (se Khe San's thread) A new one not desperately expensive and should be good for at least 50k miles so reasonable.
Some will say that they don't have enough power to use an OD but for cruising it is a bonus and all of the other gears are higher due to the 4.10 axle rather than the nominally lower ones on cars with original OD which have a 4.56 axle.
These tend to be less expensive than twin carb models so IMO very good value. Regardless, condition is everything, and all standard Amazon problems should be checked for. Rust is a bit easier to fix than on the 1800 but is still expensive. Spend wisely regardless of the size of your wallet.

[fishyboy]

Hi Derek
Fantastic advice as ever.

Would the carb upgrade be the Zenith-Stromberg 175 CD or 175 CD-2S

Does the Stromberg upgrade require a cam change or will it run happily with the original?

Thanks

Phil

[Derek UK]

Guess you have been looking in the Haynes.
B18A early Stromberg 175CD Late Stromberg 175CD -2S
Both will work fine. Jet adjustment on the later one needs a special tool. See Khe Sans current 142 thread.
B20A is the same manifold but later Stromberg with extra emissions refinements Can be used but you might need to change the needle back to a B18A one.

A = A cam, no change needed. Single Stromberg will run happily with a C cam but you won't gain much.
Try and buy the carb and manifold together, along with the actuating linkage. More or less a fit and drive then if you have the matching twin down pipe exhaust.

[Burdekin]

Can you identify the manifold with the internal butterflys without taking the carb off?

[Burdekin]

Old thread with some relevant info: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=91138

I would say if the car is a good one then go for it. You can always upgrade the engine performance later if you fancy. A Amazon is a nicer driving experience than the P1800 in my opinion, they are pretty much the same underneath but the Amazon is a more ergonomic design.

I recently got a 142 with a B20A engine, single Stromberg. With all the engine auxiliaries working as they should and a engine in decent shape she’s not too bad, no speed demon but fine driving round town and cruising on the open roads. I would like to keep the single Stromberg and originality of the car but it does feel to me that the car would happily handle a reasonable amount of extra power. Thanks to another member on here I have just sourced a complete overdrive setup off of a 144 that I will fit during winter. I don’t think it is a must have but if you want to cruise at 70mph then it should reduce fuel consumption and a bit of noise in the cabin.

[Ron Kwas]

Khe Sanh;

"Can you identify the manifold with the internal butterflys without taking the carb off?" ...yes you can, easily!...the SUs which were fitted on these Manifolds have a prominent lever on the Throttle Shaft, which interacts with a linkage on the Secondary Throttle and opens these from about 2/3 to WOT. These manifolds also have a central, prominent cover over the Mixing/Preheating Chamber.
Here's a partial pic of a crusty one where sec throttle and actuating linkage are visible:


I guess this question was prompted by the referenced thread...I don't believe this manifold was ever fitted to an 1800 (or 122 for that matter), and why would you want to, unless you intentionally sought miserable starting after heat-soak. More details on it here: https://www.sw-em.com/manifolding_no...ottle_manifold

Cheers

[Burdekin]

Thanks Ron. I've not paid much attention to my manifold as yet and what are the simple mods out there.

[Derek UK]

The best avoided twin carb butterfly manifolds have 2 large bumps on the top of the cross balance section. It also has a box with a lid between the 2 inlets.

Shouldn't concern you if you are going single Stromberg carb. Not checked the part numbers properly as my PDF reader is playing up, but I think that all of the single carb manifolds are essentially the same, B18/20 Amazon/140. (B18 #419365) There can be differences to the vacuum port and PCV ports. but shouldn't be a problem.