Fortunately, I kept a list of part numbers and other data tucked away in a folder with the other sins of my youth. :)
A picture of my former 144 (during its last drive in anger in 1990) is the lower car in my profile pic. The orange 142 at top is, of course, the works Volvo 142 rally car from 1973 which appeared on the front of the Volvo Competition Service catalog. It amused me how the works car and my car were captured in similar poses when the shutters went 'click'.
At present, I'm undecided on which way I'll put the money down. Unlike many years ago, there isn't any pressure to have Xoe completed and running by a certain date, so I don't have to rush or compromise this build.
There are a lot more vendors offering goodies and a lot more info around about the Swedish V's these days, which is reflected by the number of choices for front sway bars.
iPD offer a 25mm front bar kit for $145 USD plus shipping.
ipdusa.com/products/8863/100948-front-anti-sway-bar-kit-140-models
Onlineperformance (eBay) have a WhiteLine 22mm front bar available with body brackets for $221.54 AUD + $15 shipping (at present), but that may be a little on the thin side for my needs.
ebay.com.au/itm/120841300533?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
The also offer a WhiteLine 18mm rear bar for $251.54 AUD + $15 shopping.
ebay.com.au/itm/140678992665?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Or bars for both ends (22mm front / 18mm rear) for $445.48 including shipping.
ebay.com.au/itm/360867077025?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
The problem is that I don't know which method the WhiteLine rear bars use to attach to the car. I am not very keen on
the method used by the iPD rear bar for the 140 to attach it to the car. The K-Mac bar I had operated in a similar way to
iPD's 240 rear sway bar - i.e. it basically joined the left and right tailing arms together, rather than adding U-bolts to the rear axle, and drilling holes in the floor and adding reinforcement plates.
Ideally, I'd like to grab an iPD 240 25mm rear bar, fit it, then go out to a track and and see how it works out. If the car is too tail-happy, 240s have 16mm and 19mm rear bars available as standard, so it may be a case of experimenting with each. One problem with this plan is that
iPD only appear to sell their 240 25mm rear bars as one half of a kit. Maybe I can pick up an orphan rear bar on TB or something when the times comes; have to see.
@AshDVS has
an adjustable (type 2) Panhard rod available, and I'm thinking that one of these may surely find a home on Xoe's rear axle since the car will be lowered. Being a '74, Xoe's rear suspension is similar (AFAIK) to a 240 - the '73's and earlier do use a different Panhard rod location and mounting to the body, so it may be worth having a chat with Ash about its suitability for fitting one to Bubbles.
Springs - well, I'm gonna go pretty crazy on this car, so I'll probably go with a pair of adjustable spring platforms at the rear and spent some time at a track to see if 150lb, 200lb or 250lb per inch linear springs work best. For the front, I will likely start with 500lb linear rates with adjustable seats, and try 550 and keep working up from there. Since Xoe will be a track car, it will be rather firm. Although there a few better springs available than Eibachs, there used to be a place in western Sydney that also made springs very well, but didn't have Eibach-style prices; hopefully they are still around. I intend to use Bilstein B6 shocks, which appear (from accounts) to work better with a lowered suspension than other shocks.
By the way, after a little investigating (thank you, Gary L and KLR142 at BrickBoard for the info!), standard 140 spring rates are about 305lb/in at the front, and only 90lb/in at the rear. Standard 164 fronts are about 360lb/in. Those rates are intended for comfort, not handling. So, your choice of spring is really going to be dictated by what type of roads you wish to drive the car upon, and what sort of tyres you intend to use - plus your intended budget of course.
For frequent travel on good to average sealed surfaces, I'd probably choose 450 lb/in fronts and 130lb/in rears, with 215/60 15 tyres on 7 inch rims, for my ideal 140 daily driver setup - firm enough to make driving fun, but soft enough that it won't rattle my teeth every time a rough patch of bitumen is encountered. I'd also urethane-bush all the sway bar mounts, the upper and lower wishbones, and the torque rods. I'd also fit
a set of these in the lower rear control arms and not allow those voided hourglass-shaped rubber bushes to remain.
