Mechanic for eclectic 242 mule, Brisbane, west preferably

For the carb stuff, look for an old school workshop/dyno shop. Rally preparation specialists would be my first point of call, but race car and old Italian car specialists will also be likely to know what they are doing.

The advertised price was top dollar and above the previous advertised price. I hope that you managed to haggle them down, especially if you are paying for the labour - none of what you have suggested is particularly difficult, but it will add up super fast if you are paying someone else.

csomole

Would you mind sending Rodney's phone number please I will be in Brisbane from Tuesday . my 1999 V70 turbo estate auto may need attention.

Thanks

Adrian

csomole

Thanks, the carbs have been tuned.

A mobile mech called Rodney Newbery did it in front of my house and it seems fine.

“Drinks like a fish” and “temperamental” both strongly suggest that they are not tuned.

Balanced, maybe. Tuned, no.

A properly tuned DCOE (or two) should drive as well as the original single SU, and not be much worse on fuel in normal driving.

You’re obviously committed to spending some money to get the car sorted and working to its potential. I would suggest some dyno time will be one of the better investments that you will make.

Sounds like the car @iceton1975 put together and sold in 2019. He can probably give you some more details on it. I think it had an m45 and he did get a carby specialist to set it up and tune it.

We do have a couple of Weber places in Melbourne still, Mark set up the 245L van you see in the photos on Weber too iirc, I recall one or other, the sound of the carbies was mesmerising....

Webers? Been there, done that in about 1985 (on a B20, though) back in the mid 1980s.

Yes, they sound nice. Yes, they go allright, when they go. Yes, they used a lot more fuel than a (factory) pair of Strombergs or SUs. Yes, they'll give a B20 with a K cam as much grumba as a mild Holden 186S, according to the shop who dynotuned it.

They also drove me to despise carburetors. They fall apart, especially that idiotic jet cover with a wingnut which likes to liberate itself from the units, no matter if how tightly it's done up, at the most inopportune times. Their floats would fail, when the joints on the stupid things would fail and the float would fill with fuel.

But that's what you have to live with, with Webers. They're tolerable on a track car or weekender, but AFAIC the angst isn't worth it for a daily driver. The installation above did both duties, and it compromised at both tasks... but hey, that was experience that needed to be learned.

On premium ULP, my tired old 745 16V wagon with AW72L used to get about 500 or so kays to its 65 litre tank on a trip, with its factory LH2.4 system, and less than that on 95 or E10. OTOH I struggled to get 250 miles per 60L tank in the Weber'd 4-speed 144.

IMHO, your car is crying out for a 5-speed gearbox, unless you never take it out on the motorways or open road. M40 box is usually a 140 4-speed; you likely have an M45, unless the 16V engine is upright mounted and the previous owner stuck an M40 in there just to finish it. IMHO, non-overdrive boxes aren't practical or desirable in the real world, unless you like the engine buzzing away at 4000 RPM for hours when doing highway speeds.

If you find a good 240 power steering rack for sale, grab it with both hands ASAP. They're NLA from Mother Volvo and The Word is they're getting hard to find.

@csomole - Sorry 'bout that.... after all, finding a spanner person was the purpose of your post, Have you had a chat with Peer at GLT Car Centre?

I realise that Capalaba may not be near you, but Peer really knows his stuff when it comes to Volvos - modified and stock - and a chat with him is worth a drive across town.