Under-hood rust treatment

Steering wheel - before & after

Exhaust Manifold - before & after

Intake manifold - before & after

Kenwood EZ-500

New stainless steel exhaust

New antenna installed

Pulled the hood off the car to take care of some surface rust on the underside. Ordered a kit from POR-15. After a good cleaning with Goof Off to get the remains of some old adhesive off, out came a little sandpaper, the Marine Clean, and Metal Prep. All that's left to do now is apply the POR-15. It won't be gorgeous but at least the rust won't get worse.

Rust treatment completed, I finally got to install the hood insulation pads I've had for months.

It took some fiddling and a couple purchases on Ebay, but the Nardi 390mm wood wheel is finally in. Not only is it gorgeous but it makes getting in and out of the car a bit more comfortable.

Before and after shots of the exhaust manifold. The manifold was media blasted inside and out, then powder-coated with a high temperature coating in the color of "stainless steel". A vast improvement on the "before" condition! Powder-coating was done by Merijohn's of Stanhope, NJ. There is a link to their site in my Links section below. Great people to deal with!

Before and after shots of the intake manifold. Not quite the same dramatic difference here, mainly because I had spent an entire afternoon and about 8 Dremel bits, cleaning up the manifold. The manifold was then handed over to the powder-coater where it was media blasted inside and out, then finished in a cast aluminum color. The pictures don't capture it well, but there is a noticeable improvement.

My future stereo. It's an MP3/CD player unit. Nothing too fancy. I really liked it because of the two large knobs. Kind of looks a bit more like the original radio in the car... kind of...

The old exhaust system has seen better days so I figured I'd go with a stainless system and probably never have to worry about it again. Here are all the bits from the manifold back to the new chrome tips. Just waiting for some warmer weather to be installed.

The hardest part of this project was getting the old antenna out! The old cable was stiff and didn't want to connect to the new antenna very well so we opted to replace it with a new cable. Snaking that cable into the cabin was actually pretty easy.

.

Under-hood rust treatment

Pulled the hood off the car to take care of some surface rust on the underside. Ordered a kit from POR-15. After a good cleaning with Goof Off to get the remains of some old adhesive off, out came a little sandpaper, the Marine Clean, and Metal Prep. All that's left to do now is apply the POR-15. It won't be gorgeous but at least the rust won't get worse.

Other projects/updates:

• The injectors still have yet to be reinstalled.  Was waiting for the manifolds to be returned from the powder-coater.  Hopefully everything will be reassembled on our next warm day.
• The stainless steel exhaust is ready to go on the car.  The old exhaust came off pretty easily.  Awaiting the arrival of one rubber grommet that was accidentally left out of the hanger kit I purchased from Don Thibault (www.p1800.com).  Hopefully it will arrive in the next day or so.
• Installed a new leather strap in the cargo area to make accessing the spare tire much easier.  The old strap had long ago broken off.  Thanks to Nancy and Paul for the leather.  Now the only thing I wonder is why I waited so long to put it on the car!
• Ordered a new steering coupler.  After reading a horror story about one that failed, I took a good look at mine.  Sure enough the rubber is cracked and dry.  For the price, I can't imagine NOT replacing it if there's any doubt.

April 3, 2005:

The deadline approaches...

I'm registered for a car show on May 1st, 2005 and still my car sits on jackstands in my garage.  Time is ticking away but progress is being made.

• I finally got the little oil pressure sender that I had been waiting for.  This one little part was holding up assembly.  Bought a new braided hose while I was at it.  The wire that ran to the sender had been pretty much fried, probably from when the cars timing was badly off and the exhaust manifold glowed red after even a short 7 drive.  Ian cut the old wire off and spliced in a new piece.

• The freshly powder-coated manifolds have been installed, and boy do they help dress up the engine bay.  By no means is the engine bay in any kind of condition to win an award but it's getting better.  My biggest problem is that there is some rust in the engine bay itself.  That's a major repair that I don't have the cash or time for at the moment.  When the weather warms up a bit more, I plan on doing some POR-15 treatment to the areas of rust just to encapsulate them and prevent things from getting worse.  Like the hood, it won't be pretty but it will be protected.

• Finally got my little Volvo emblem glued onto my IPD valve cover.  OK, so this is pretty minor but it really looks nice!

• Good news!  I found a manual transmission, so when my automatic finally bites the bullet I am prepared.  I got the transmission that came out of the Volvo 1800 SEMA show car which was done by Ida Automotive from right here in the Garden State!  The transmission is in working order but there are some bits missing and I need to start looking for a pedal assembly from a manual car.  But there's time for all that.  Oddly, though the show car didn't use the stock shift knob, my transmission is missing it.  Another item I need to start searching for...

• My stainless exhaust system is under way.  The downtube has been installed now that the exhaust manifold is back on the car.  The rest of the system should go on pretty quickly.  Fingers crossed.

• I spent some time under the dashboard routing my new speaker wires over to the stereo and pulling the old speaker wires out.  It's no wonder my old speakers were so bad.  The driver's side wire was spliced together out of three different pieces of wire.  I also pulled out the old aftermarket stereo that was mounted under the dash.  Still trying to figure out how to mount the new stereo.  Right now I'm more concerned about getting the car running and off the jackstands though.

• While working on the speaker wires, I discovered that there are several wires, both behind the driver's side kick panel and under the carpet in the driver's side footwell, that have just been cut.  I have no idea where they originally ran but I'm guessing the ones under the carpet were for the seatbelt buzzer, which does not work.  Another thing to add to the list of things to look into.

• There are a few minor things that need to be taken care of before I go on any longer trips.  We need to bypass the dimmer switch for the dashboard lights.  Right now I have no lights at all and I'm told the dimmer can be the culprit for that.  I don't relish the idea of having to drive home from somewhere in the dark, especially with no dash lights.   Also, my water temperature gauge does not work.  I have not determined if it's the gauge or the sender (or both) that is/are the problem.  Ian says that we can run a temporary line and gauge, assuming the sender isn't the problem.  That may be a temporary solution.  Not having driven this car any distance, I'm not comfortable driving without knowing if the car is overheating.

  ---

  April 26, 2005:

  Tick, tick, tick...

  Woohoo!  The car finally left the garage last week for it's first real drive since I bought it.  There are still some things that need to be sorted out with the engine but we didn't break down anywhere.  At least I should be able to make it up to the car show in Edison on 5/1.

   

• During the drive we discovered just how worn out my springs are.  The car is sitting so low right now that my shiny new exhaust system scraped the pavement a couple times when we went over two very minor dips in the road.  Not good at all.  I knew the springs were pretty worn out when I bought the car and I had planned to do the suspension system this fall, but I just can bear the thought of destroying my new exhaust system before then.  I've got an appointment on 5/3 at a local shop that works on old European cars.  We had planned to do the suspension ourselves but I'm going to do the front and rear bushings as well, which is not something we're equipped to tackle.  Just makes sense to have them do the shocks and springs while they are under there.   Can't wait to see how the car drives after replacing the ancient suspension bits.

• On a related note to the springs, Duane at Foreign Autotech told me to check the engine mounts as well because as they wear they would also cause the exhaust system to sit lower.  We checked and sure enough, they are shot.  Picked up two new ones from Duane today and Ian got them installed in about an hour.

• We got the new steering coupler installed, though it took a bit of finessing to get it in.  We replaced the horn wire while we were at it hoping that would solve the problem of my non-functioning horn.  Unfortunately, it didn't help.  The horns themselves work and the relay is OK, but we can't seem to get the horn button to function. 

• After all the hard work on the fuel injection system this winter, it turns out that my throttle cable is shot.  It's rusted and doesn't allow the throttle to release quickly when I let off the gas.  We've tried lubricating it but nothing seems to help.  I broke down and ordered a new one from Sweden.  It should be here in a week or so.  None of my usual sources in the US carry them for some reason.  I can't believe I'm the only one who's had this problem.

• Finally got around to bypassing the dimmer switch for the dashboard lights so now the lights actually turn on when I put the headlights on.

• Got new light bulbs for my dashboard.  Granted I'm told the 1800's dash lights have three settings: dim, dimmer, and off, but I figured new bulbs would have to make an improvement.  Got 6 of them in with no problems.  The two in the oil temp and water temp. gauges are impossible to get at.  My oil temp. gauge doesn't work so I'm not too concerned with that one.  I'll hold off on the water temp. gauge bulb until I pull that gauge out.

• On that note, I'm getting another water temperature gauge from a fellow VSA member.  Hopefully this one will work so I can replace mine.  If not, I'll have a spare that I can send out to get rebuilt at some point.  Fingers crossed that it works.

• Got a nice little wood shift knob on Ebay that will kind of match my wood steering wheel.  It's even got the Volvo logo on it.  Unfortunately, it only fits the shifter on the manual transmission so it could be quite a long time before it gets to be installed in the car...

• Did a little rust repair on the floor pans and battery tray.  Neither area was terrible but there was surface rust and I wanted to get it contained before it worsens.  Some scraping, sanding and a coat of POR-15 has put my mind at ease.

• We replaced the fuel pressure regulator.  After having spent a couple hours cleaning up the old one I had, we have now discovered that it leaks.  Not a good thing.  So it was off to Duane at Foreign Autotech to pick up a shiny new one!

• Right now I'm in the process of attempting to touch up one of the many knicks in the paint.  I bought a product called Langka that is supposed to really help smooth out the paint after touch-ups.  We'll see how it goes.  If it works as advertised I'll move on to the rest of the chips and scratches that need attention.

May 20, 2005:

Let the fun begin

Well, I got rained out of the Edison car show.  Just didn't clear up early enough to take the car out.   I was disappointed but ended up signing up for another show in Princeton just last weekend.  It was so nice to finally get the car out to be seen.  Got lots of compliments even though there are several large scratches/chips that I still need to take care of.  Apparently I won a second place trophy, though I only found out second-hand as I pulled out of the show early when it started to rain a bit more seriously than it had been all morning.  Naturally, the sun came out about half an hour after I got home... 

• Got my new springs/shocks/bushings installed on 5/3 at Dario's in Ewing.  What a great experience.  I can't say enough good things about Dario and his shop.  He really seemed to enjoy having the car in.  We must have just chatted for about 20 minutes when I went to pick it up.  And he actually spoke to me about the work he did, rather than ignoring me and talking directly to my boyfriend.  That's a first.  I wouldn't hesitate to go back there for any future work that we couldn't tackle ourselves.  Three thumbs up, if such a thing were possible.

• We've discovered a couple more issues with the automatic tranny that will make me much happier to replace it when we finally have all the parts.  It leaks like a sieve.  I have to add fluid every time I take the car out.  I carry two quarts of transmission fluid and a funnel with me everywhere.  Not a huge problem, just an inconvenience.  Also, apparently the shifter linkage is quite sloppy.  A bushing apparently died long before I bought the car and someone rigged up a homemade solution that isn't really helping.  I sometimes find that when I think I'm in Drive, I'm actually in 2nd gear.  Rocking the shift lever from Drive to Neutral and back again, for some reason seems to solve the problem, usually on the first try.  I'm trying not to think of these as problems but more as "charming quirks".

• On the subject of changing transmissions, I've now managed to collect a few more parts to go with the manual transmission I've already got.  I got a balanced driveshaft on Ebay a few weeks ago and I picked up a clutch pedal assembly from someone on the 1800list.  I still need to find an overdrive switch, the little light that mounts on the dashboard, and a clutch cable.  The cable is readily available so that's no problem.  The search continues...

• Having finally gotten the car out to a show, I have now become addicted to the whole car show scene.  I don't care about the trophies, it was just a blast getting to hear from people who've had an ES in the past or just those who've never seen one before.  I really didn't even get a chance to walk around the show much.  I was just enjoying having my own car there!  That said, I'm signing up for several more shows:

  •     8/6 - Das Awkscht Fescht - Macungie, PA (www.awkscht.com)

  •     8/21 - Rolling Iron Car Show - Allaire Historic Village (http://www.allairevillage.org/EventsPages/RollingIron.htm)

  •     10/30 - Lincoln Club Car - Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA (http://www.gsvsa.org/Peddlers Village 2005.PDF)

July 3, 2005:

Summer Update

Lots going on so far this summer.  I hosted a Tech Day with my local VSA chapter and we had 3 other 1800's and a 240 show up.  We all got a lot done so the day was a big success.  Here's what's been going on with the ES...

• We replaced the rear limiting straps on the car with some help during Tech Day.  The one old strap had torn when I had my suspension work done so now both straps are replaced and ready to go.

• Tried to install the Pertronix ignition at the Tech Day only to discover that it doesn't seem to work in my car.  We discovered that my car's coil is wired differently than the other 1800's that were there (one from the same year as mine) so that's probably part of the problem.  For now, we've got the points back in the car until we find someone really familiar with the ignition system.

• We're on the eve of the IPD annual sale and I've got a list a mile long of parts I'm going to order while they are on sale, including the famous IPD sway bars.  We'll also be buying all the parts needed to recondition the M41 transmission sitting in my garage, including:

  • Clutch kit (pressure plate, disc, release bearing)

  • New gaskets and seals for transmission and overdrive

  • Clutch cable

  • Clutch fork boot (currently MIA)

  • Clutch alignment tool

• As I write this the ES is up on jack stands again.  We finally got around to pulling the front seats, rails, console and carpets out to do some rust treatment on the floor pans.  I scraped the pans both inside and under the car where undercoating had pulled away.  I removed all the remaining drain plugs in the floor pans so ensure good coverage with the POR-15.  I've already ordered new plugs from Mr. G's Enterprises and I'm awaiting their arrival.  There were a couple holes that had rotted away a bit too much to accept a plug anymore so I filled them completely with POR-15's Epoxy Putty. 

• Unfortunately, we had to cut up the existing gas pedal in order to get the carpet out.  The two screws that held it to the floor pan were completely rusted and they just would not come out.  Good news is that my new gas pedal arrived yesterday so we are ready when the time comes.

• I brought the carpet pieces in the house, gave them a good vacuuming with my Dyson (love it) and then scrubbed them clean using some upholstery cleaner.  Finished up by vacuuming again.  They don't look new obviously, but I have to say the carpets are definitely looking a bit better.  There are a few worn spots that are just going to stay that way. 

• While the carpet is out, I took the opportunity to remove what was left of the insulation up along the firewall.  It's in pretty bad shape.  It seems to be some kind of natural fiber, faced with what appears to be a black burlap.  I've purchased some new black burlap from a local fabric store and I plan to baste it to the front of some new insulation (yet to be purchased).  Then I'll screw it back up into place and it should look fairly original... I hope.

• I'd also like to do some sound insulation on the floor pans while the carpets are out.  I looked into the cost of sound deadening materials and it's insane.  What I'm thinking I might try instead is to purchase some fiber-based carpet padding (similar to a very heavy felt).  It should have a very similar effect for FAR less cost.  If it works, I've saved a lot of money.  If not, it won't have cost me much and it's no big deal to remove the carpets again to replace it.

• And speaking of carpets, I'm going to attempt to replace the original snaps that held the carpet in place.  I found a source for these and I'll be looking into ordering them sometime this week.  My old snaps are severely corroded and some no longer work at all.

• While all this is going on, Ian has been working on the parking brake.  Up 'til now, I've had no functioning parking brake at all.  During Tech Day he did some fiddling and got it to work a little, but today he pulled the rear wheels off to take a look at the brakes.  Turns out something associated with the parking brake assembly at the rear wheels got assembled backwards (not sure exactly how) so in his attempt to tighten up the brake, he was actually loosening it.  He also did some work cleaning up part of the parking brake assembly under the car.  Everything associated with the parking brake has now been cleaned, tested, and lubricated, so once it goes back together it should work much better.  Here's hoping.

• We finally got the new inner door sills that Ian ordered a couple months ago.  I'll finally be able to replace the original corroded ones once we get the carpeting back in the car.  Woohoo!

• A local chapter member has graciously offered to give me the few remaining bits I need for my automatic-to-manual swap.  I was missing the column mounted overdrive switch, as well as the overdrive light for the dash.  As soon as our schedules work out, I will be able to pick up these parts.  Thanks John!!!

• I'm looking forward to eventually doing the transmission swap, hopefully sometime this fall before it gets too cold in the garage.  With a reconditioned transmission/clutch, it should feel like a new car when we are done! 

The M41 Transmission

The M41 in Progress

Driver's side footwell before POR-15

Driver's side front seat area before

Driver's side after

Passenger seat area before

Passenger area after

Firewall Insulation

Firewall Insulation

Firewall insulation

Inner door sill

Here's what the transmission looked like the day we picked it up. It and the engine had been sitting outside in the elements...

A few cans of parts cleaner later and here's what it looks like now. The transmission has since been separated from the engine for easier storage. It awaits some reconditioning when the new parts arrive.

There has clearly been some rust repair in this area before. Notice the patch piece.

Not much rust here. Just some very minor surface rust in places.

After the POR-15 (inside and out) this floor pan should be set for many years to come. Awaiting the arrival of the new floor plugs

This area had the worst rust, though not bad by any means. A few of the floor plugs were missing which had let water in, causing the more serious rust in this area. The metal is still solid and after some scraping and POR-15 it will be good as new.

After POR-15. The white patch in the lower left corner is the POR-15 Epoxy Putty that I used to fill in the two drain holes that had rusted too much to allow the use of a floor plug.

The far left side of what's left of the firewall insulation.

The center area of the driver's side footwell. This piece is held in only by a single clip and two screws along the bottom. Just touching it releases clouds of dust, disintegrating fiber, and the traces of former residents... mice.

The insulation as it crosses past the heater. It stops on the other side but I'm inclined to believ there should have been another piece in the passenger footwell area. I may improvise something over there.

This is one of the original (or at least on the car when I bought it) inner door sills, used to hold the edge of the carpet and the door opening weatherstripping in place. It is aluminum and over the years, galvanic action between it and the steel screws holding it in place, has caused the damage you see here.

.

The M41 Transmission

Here's what the transmission looked like the day we picked it up. It and the engine had been sitting outside in the elements...

---

July 5, 2005:

Summer Update 2

Just had to give a quick update here of the progress we've made with the interior...

• We got the carpet pad pieces cut to fit the floor area.  The piece around the gear selector needs a bit of finessing to get it to fit.  Also, installed the padding underneath the rear seats.

• Ian was completely successful with the parking brake.  It now works as good as new and it didn't cost me anything apart from a can of brake cleaner!  Here's Ian's description of what he did...

"I removed the driver's side rear disc and discovered why I couldn't get it adjusted.  Apparenty, whoever assembled the parking brake shoes last installed the adjuster assembly backwards.  The adjusters are the same on both sides, so therefore need to be installed the same.  However, on Robyn's car, the driver's side is installed mirrored to the passenger side - making the adjuster work backwards.  Once I saw this, I was able to adjust it and the shoes tightened up as they're supposed to.

Also, I removed the lever bar between the handle and the cable adjuster and found out why the whole thing was so tight.  The bar rotates on two pins which are part of two brackets bolted to the body.  Inside the bar ends are two plastic bushings.  These two bushings were dry as a bone and therefore the bar was practically siezed to the brackets.  Once I got it all apart (which actually took quite a bit of effort), cleaned up and lubed with some grease the whole system works as it should.  Robyn POR-15'd the parts too, so now they're all black and shiney.  LOL!  I don't even think we need to replace the cable now, which should make Robyn happy.  It's nice when something can be fixed without buying any new parts.

Unfortunately, the brake light is still on.  The parking brake switch checks out fine, so the light must be triggered by something else...

"

• I ended up needing a new grommet where the speedometer cable comes up through the transmission tunnel.  While scraping and cleaning to do my POR-15, I discovered that the current solution was a dried up lump of white gunk that looked like caulking of some sort.  In any case, it was dried and cracked and not really doing a whole lot anymore so I pulled it out.

• I got the new firewall insulation piece finished.  I had thought I'd use the old one as a template but it was just too stretched out and crumbly so we spent about half an hour under the dash taking measurements for the new insulation.  That done, we cut out the remaining carpet pad and with a little tweaking it fit perfectly (much to my surprise).  Then I pulled it out and glued the new black burlap facing onto it so it now looks just like the original one did in 1973.  I'm extremely pleased with how well this all went.  It was nowhere near the headache I was expecting.

• I've discovered that this webpage is getting really long and probably takes forever to load for those using a dial-up connection.  If time permits anytime soon, I hope to do some reworking to break this up into multiple pages.  Please bear with me.

• Insulation in place

  Before and After

  By using the original carpet pieces as templates, I traced out the shape for the new carpet pad insulation. The center piece around the shifter shown here, still needs some trimming to get it to fit properly. I'm hoping this will help cut down on the road/exhaust noise inside the car at a fraction of the cost of true sound insulation. Time will tell.

  The original firewall insulation piece and my just finished new one. Can you tell which is which? : )

  .

  

  Insulation in place

  By using the original carpet pieces as templates, I traced out the shape for the new carpet pad insulation. The center piece around the shifter shown here, still needs some trimming to get it to fit properly. I'm hoping this will help cut down on the road/exhaust noise inside the car at a fraction of the cost of true sound insulation. Time will tell.

  ---

  July 13, 2005:

  Summer Update 3

  Work continues on the interior...

   

• Installed the new snaps into the old carpeting.  Nice improvement over the old corroded ones!

• The firewall insulation piece is installed and looking great.  What a worthwhile project despite the fact that most people will never even notice it.  Am I obsessed?  Maybe.

• The padding over the tranny tunnel had to be replaced with a thinner piece as it was too thick to allow the carpet snaps to reach to the screw studs mounted in the body.  The thinner padding still made for a tight fit, but it fit in any case.

• The rest of the carpeting has been reinstalled.  So nice to see the car going back together.

• The new inner door sills posed a bit of a problem as the mounting screws that came with them were too thin. 

• The center console, seat rails, and seats have been reinstalled the interior is back in one piece again.

• Everything looks great but during my carpet cleaning I noticed that the carpet over the foot rest is a bit more worn from use.  I'm thinking I might get some brown vinyl and sew a cover piece for the foot rest to prevent it from wearing further.  A little Velcro on the back should hold it in place nicely, yet still make it removable for cleaning or for shows. 

Firewall insulation Before

Firewall insulation Finished!!!

Carpet

New gas pedal in place

Interior work finished!!!

This is what the original jute insulation looked like before I pulled it out of the car. Not doing much of anything apart from holding about 30 years of dust.

The new firewall insulation installed in the car and looking good. And hopefully it will keep some of the engine noise out of the cabin.

The carpet reinstalled with new snaps and padding in place

My brand new gas pedal. The old one had to be sacrificed to get the carpeting out. The screws that held it down had rusted so badly that we couldn't get the pedal out without cutting it up.

Apart from the cleaner carpets, you can't even tell how much work went into the rust treatment and sound insulation.

.

Firewall insulation Before

This is what the original jute insulation looked like before I pulled it out of the car. Not doing much of anything apart from holding about 30 years of dust.

Hoist? We don't need no stinkin' hoist!

Almost out!

Paul shows everyone that engine hoists are highly over-rated.

After much work and nail biting (on my part), the engine is almost free of the car.

.

Hoist? We don't need no stinkin' hoist!

Paul shows everyone that engine hoists are highly over-rated.

---

December 11, 2005:

It's going to be a long winter...

• In case you hadn't noticed, or in case you live in the deep south, it's cold outside!!!  Progress on the transmission swap has been slow to say the least.

• Ian did finally manage to get the automatic transmission separated from the engine, and the engine is now mounted on his engine stand.

• In an effort to speed things up, or at least make them more comfortable, we have brought the engine into my sunroom where there is a wood stove to keep things nice and toasty.  Crazy?  Maybe.  But if I have any hope of driving the car sometime next year, drastic measures were required.

• So far I've been busy cleaning the engine up.  We have the crazy idea of maybe repainting it while it's out of the car.  We'll see how well the cleaning goes.  If I can't get it really clean there's no point painting it.  If nothing else, cleaning the engine will at least make working on it a bit more pleasant.

• While the engine is out, we're also going to go ahead and replace the oil pump.  The old one seems to be working fine, but with 210,000 miles on it and counting, it makes sense to replace it while it's readily accessible.  I hate the thought of getting the engine back in the car and having the oil pump die shortly thereafter, since the only way to really get at it is to pull the engine.

• IPD sells a heavy duty replacement oil pump along with some other oil pump "upgrades" that I figure I'll spring for.  This is one part I never want to have to deal with again.  And the heavy duty pump is only a few dollars more than the stock replacement.

• It's funny.  People complain about engine oil leaks.  The drain pan on this engine has been covered in oil for so long that the red paint on it is completely intact.  Too bad I can't say the same for the rest of the engine.

The only way to work!

One side down

Bye bye oil pump

Oil leaks are your friend

The Garage Mahal

After much muttering, Ian got the engine into the sunroom and we got to work.

I've gotten most of the oil off this side of the engine. We still need to remove some more parts so I can get to everything. I did some wire brushing to remove some rust. The whole thing will get wiped down with Marine Clean before we even think about painting it.

It's just too much of a pain to get to this thing with the engine in the car, so it's time to replace the oil pump while the getting is good.

After 32 years and an apparently endless amount of leaking oil, the drain pan is looking really good. Certainly better than the engine block.

This sign was presented to me at our Volvo club holiday dinner, in appreciation for the two Tech Days I hosted. Gotta love it. As soon as it warms up a bit, I'll actually get to hang it.

.

The only way to work!

After much muttering, Ian got the engine into the sunroom and we got to work.

---

December 27, 2005:

Engine Progress...

• Well, the cleaning went well, thanks to some parts cleaner, and POR-15 Marine Clean.  After that it was a coat of Metal Ready to prime the surface for paint, a bit of masking tape, and then the engine got a coat of POR-15 rust preventive paint.  What a difference just that first coat of paint made!

• Next up it was time for POR-15 Engine Enamel in Classic Ford Red, which after some research, I learned is pretty much the same color as the red Volvo used originally.  It took two coats to get good coverage over the black POR-15 base coat, but WOW!!!  Definitely worth the time and effort.  The engine bay is really going to look bad next to the shiny engine...

• While we were at it we also repainted the fan blade in yellow and the two pulleys in silver.  They don't appear to have been painted originally but they were looking pretty bad so some silver engine enamel solved that.

• The new oil pump was installed after I finished up with the painting.

• The front and rear engine seals got replaced as well.  We switched over to IPD's silicone seals rather than use stock felt ones.  I'm glad we did this swap as the old rear seal was missing a piece about 2-3" long. 

• I've got a new oil filler cap to go on the car when we're all done too.

• The engine is now back out in the garage and in the next day or so we'll bring the manual transmission in for cleaning, painting, and new gaskets. 

Let's get started

One down...

Finis!

Details, details...

After a throrough cleaning, surface prep, and masking, this engine is ready for some paint.

After a coat of POR-15 rust preventive paint things are already starting to look better.

After two coats of Classic Ford Red, you'd never know this engine is 32 years old and has seen over 210,000 miles.

And NO, the engine doesn't look pink as shown in the picture. That's just a really bad photo. If anything, the red has a slight hint of orange to it.

And let's not forget all the other little bits that needed some sprucing up. The fan blade got a couple coats of yellow engine enamel and the starter, received a couple coats of black.

.

Let's get started

After a throrough cleaning, surface prep, and masking, this engine is ready for some paint.

---

February 22, 2006:

Where has the time gone?

• Wow!  Lots happening and not enough time to sit down and write about it.  Let's see...

• Ian dropped the radiator off to be cleaned and pressure tested at Finger's Radiator Hospital up in North Brunswick.  For $32 they did all that, plus I got a nice freshly painted radiator returned to me.  All we need now is a fin comb to straighten some of the bent fins on the radiator and it will look as good as new!

• The manual transmission came into the sunroom to get a slight overhaul and cleaning.  Ian changed out the gaskets and as he removed parts from the tranny, I was right there cleaning everything up.

• Once cleaned, the parts that were originally red got a fresh coat of the same POR-15 red paint that I used on the engine.  Nobody will ever see the transmission once it's installed, but it sure will look nice in the pictures I'll take when we reinstall the engine!

• We also got the flywheel resurfaced and Ian installed the new clutch, throw-out bearing, etc.  Engine and transmission are pretty much ready to go.

• Next, Ian got the "new" clutch and brake pedals installed in place of the old automatic's larger brake pedal.  The entire process took a few hours and actually went a lot more smoothly than I ever thought it would.

• There was a slight break in the action at the end of January as we drove out to a town near Pittsburgh to pick up my "new" 1979 Triumph Spitfire.  I've always wanted a convertible and now I've got one!  We lost a little "Volvo time" since we found that the Spitfire needed some brake and u-joint repairs once we got home.  There are still a few other things to take care of but that's for another time and another web page...

• With the engine out of the way, there's now plenty of room to get in the engine bay and tackle replacing the solid brake lines.  FINALLY, the kit I bought from Classic Tube can get installed.  So far we've gotten all the old tubes tagged, photographed, and removed. 

• The plan is to empty out the engine bay, clean it up, treat the surface rust with a coat of POR-15, and then re-spray the engine bay while we have easy access.  Even if we just spray can it, it will still look better than it does now and there will be no rust.

• To that end, we'll be removing the blower for the heater, brake booster and few other bits that will get in the way of doing a decent paint job.  It remains to be seen if we'll remove the wiring harness or just wrap it up to keep it free of paint and paint around it.

• A couple days ago, Ian dropped the entire front suspension out of the car.  First he built a dolly to put the car on, so that in the event of a snow storm, we'll be able to roll the car out of the way and fit my MINI in the garage.  Next up, it was a matter of getting the old, very stubborn bolts holding the suspension to the body loose.  After much muttering and a few banged fingers, he got everything loose.  All the old bolts will be replaced with new high strength bolts (especially since a couple of the old ones sheared off during removal).   Next up, we'll be bringing the entire front suspension assembly into the sunroom for, you guessed it, some cleaning and painting.

• While it's out of the car, we'll also replace the upper control arm bushings.  They were near impossible to reach with the engine in the car, but now they should be a piece of cake.

• Things still left to do include wiring up the overdrive and installing the switch and O/D light on the dashboard.  I also still need to figure out if I want to use a stock rubber shifter boot or try to figure out a way to install a nice leather one instead.  I lean toward the leather, but still need to figure out how to actually install one.

• We've set ourselves a deadline of 3/25 to be finished.  That's the day we'll be hosting the "Engine Install Party".  Barring any major problems or bad weather, hopefully we should be ready to go by then.

Good as new

Almost done

Bye-bye automatic!

It's out!

Before

Blizzard of '06

The freshly tested and painted radiator

The transmission being reassembled after getting a fresh coat of paint and new gaskets

The new clutch and brake pedals are in

Solid brake lines were tagged before removal to help with reinstallation of the new lines. If we didn't plan to paint the engine bay, we could have skipped all this.

Ian's custom Volvo dolly just in case we need to move the car while the front end is disassembled. And yes, those casters are each rated for 750 lbs. so no worries about being able to handle the weight!

The front suspension/brakes/steering out of the car and ready for some cleaning and painting.

The engine bay before we get to work cleaning it up. Still need to remove a few things before we get down to any serious work in here.

With 18+ inches of snow predicted, we got to work and managed to get all three cars into the garage. There was still enough room to open the door and get in either the Spitfire or the MINI, though you'd have to be nuts to take the Spitfire out in that much snow!!!

.

Good as new

The freshly tested and painted radiator

---

March 2, 2006:

• We got started disassembling and cleaning the front suspension.  It quickly became apparent that getting off the old undercoating, no matter how bad it's condition, was going to be a nightmare.  And I have been working a lot of overtime the last couple weeks to meet an approaching deadline at work.  We pretty quickly decided that it was worth spending the money to have everything professionally cleaned and media blasted. 

• Ian dropped all the parts off on Tuesday and for a quoted price of $150, we should be getting back a whole pile of nice clean parts that can then get a coat of POR-15 and a top coat of semi-gloss black.  It's money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

• I ordered all the primer, and paint today for the engine bay respray.  My plan is to get in the engine bay this weekend and really start cleaning things up in preparation for a coat of POR-15. 

---

March 6, 2006:

• The primer arrived the day after I ordered it along with a gallon of POR-15's Marine Clean.  Unfortunately, I had to work much of this past weekend so I didn't get as far as I had hoped.

• While doing some final disassembly, Ian discovered an old mouse nest in one of my defroster ducts.  Explains why we never got much airflow out of there!

• On Sunday afternoon, I got into the engine bay (literally) and managed to get the whole thing scraped clean and sanded.

• Today after work, I got back in there and went over the whole thing with my Marine Clean solution and an old toothbrush.  It's amazing how big an improvement just a really good cleaning has made.  Of course, there are still the little rust areas that need attention so my work is far from finished.

• When I got out of the engine bay tonight after my cleaning, I looked back at my car and a chill went down my spine.  What the heck are we doing???  My car has no engine, no suspension, no steering, no front brakes, no brake lines, no fuel lines.... I must be insane!!!  There are Volvo parts all over my garage and house.  Heck, I've got the hood comfortably residing up on my guest bed, where it's been since November.  It's hard to imagine everything ever coming back together so I guess I'll take it one day at a time.

• Ian had removed the heater core/blower from the car in order for me to clean the engine bay.  While I was cleaning tonight, he decided to tackle that.  Turns out it needed some attention.  It's now in pieces (Yikes, more pieces) on my workbench.  We're ordering a new gasket kit for the whole assembly and it sure needed it apparently.  The controls have always been pretty sticky and now we know why.  Parts of the blower assembly that are supposed to open were seized shut!  Fortunately, the whole assembly can go back in the car AFTER the engine is back in place.  That means, I don't have to tackle getting that whole thing cleaned and painted before our 3/25 deadline (which feels like it's tomorrow).

• When I get done with this write-up tonight, I'll be placing an order for all the remaining bits (we think) we'll need to complete the engine assembly:  clutch fork boot, heater assembly gasket kit, coolant overflow bottle (my old one is opaque and you can't see the fluid level), rubber hood buttons, defrost air ducts, new paper air ducts for the heating system, speedometer cable (mine has a slight kink and it's easier to replace now than later), and a new hood gasket.

• Tomorrow night, its back out to the garage to go over the whole engine bay with Metal Ready to neutralize any rust and prepare any painted surfaces to receive POR-15 paint.  If everything dries out quickly enough, I should be able to get the POR-15 on tomorrow night as well.  If not, that will be Wednesday's project.

• By Friday at the latest, I should be able to apply the self-etching primer to allow the POR-15 to receive the green paint.

• They are forecasting really nice weather this weekend (fingers crossed) so I should be able to get some green paint in the engine bay this weekend.  I plan to do some wet sanding between coats so I may or may not get all the green done this weekend. 

Driver's side

Driver's side

Driver's side

Passenger's side

Passenger's side

Passenger's side

Nose

The best seat in the house (or garage)

The whole front end assembly as it appeared when we got it into the sunroom to start working on it

The end result of a several hours of disassembly.

Here's a shot from an angle you won't see very often. Can you guess where its taken from?

Before any cleaning has begun

After sanding is completed

After cleaning with Marine Clean

Before cleaning has begun

After sanding is completed

After cleaning with Marine Clean

I had considered repainting this area, but just with a good cleaning with Marine Clean, I think it's good to go just as it is

Here's a perspective you don't get very often.

.

The whole front end assembly as it appeared when we got it into the sunroom to start working on it

---

March 11, 2006:

Moving forward finally!!!

• After three and a half months of doing nothing but disassembling and stripping bits of the car, today we finally took a step in the other direction.... The engine bay has been painted.  Woohoo!!!  I think this car might actually come back together someday.

• The credit goes to our friend Manny, who came down today and ended up painting the bay himself.  I was a nervous wreck about getting in there with the spray paint myself.  Fortunately, Manny has had lots of practice on his own car so he jumped right in.  I can't thank him enough!

• I've now decided that since the engine bay looks so nice, I'll really need to touch up the underside of the hood.  Those little black patches of POR-15 where I touched up the rusty areas, just aren't going to cut it anymore.  That's a relatively "easy" painting project so I'll tackle that myself when time permits.  It's not something that needs to be done before our 3/25 engine install deadline.

• Ian picked up the first batch of parts from the media blaster and all I can say is "Wow"!!!  I swear they look like they were painted but it's just the bare metal.  They look brand new.   Everything looks so nice, in fact, that we decided to bite the bullet and spend the money to get the rest of the suspension odds and ends cleaned up.  I was thinking I'd clean some myself to save some money but there's no way I could ever come close to getting anything that clean.  I should be starting on painting the clean parts tonight but we've decided to go out to dinner to celebrate my engine bay being painted.

• Ian bought a $3 fin comb and finally got a chance to comb the fins on my radiator.  What an amazing job it did.  The radiator looks good as new.  No more dented areas.

After hitting the rusted areas with some POR-15

Two coats of POR-15 self-etching primer

Our makeshift spray booth. Actually it worked better than I had thought it would

The engine bay all masked off and ready for paint.

After getting the basecoat of green on.

.

After hitting the rusted areas with some POR-15

---

March 30, 2006:

Closer and closer...

• Well, the front crossmember, suspension, steering and some brake parts got a coat of POR-15 and then a topcoat of POR-15’s semi-gloss chassis paint.  Looking really nice now (and I hope it stays that way).
• In between coats of paint on those parts I was out in the garage trying to shine up the engine bay a bit.  Some rubbing compound and finally wax did bring up the shine a bit more.  Before waxing though I carefully installed my new emissions decal in the same location as the original.  I still need to order a new coolant decal but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
• I also installed a new hood seal while it was still easy to get in the engine bay. 
• With the waxing finished I declared the engine bay “finished” and we started putting parts back in (woohoo).
• Ian partially reassembled the front crossmember and then mounted it to the car with shiny new hardware.  After that he finished reassembling the suspension. 
• The steering box went back in, along with the tie rods.
• While Ian was working on all that, I was installing the new door seals that I had purchased.  My old ones were intact, but they were very dried out.  The new ones went in fairly simply with a little patience and made a nice difference in how the door closes.  Much more solid feel than with the old seals.
• The morning of the big install day, we were up early and out in the garage.  Ian installed many of the new stainless steel solid brake lines along with the fuel lines.  He finished up reassembling the front hubs/brakes so we could get the wheels on the car and get it down off the dolly it’s been resting on since November.  He wanted the front end of the car down as low as possible for the installation.
• Our help arrived that morning and after finishing up the brake lines, it was finally time for the engine to go back in.  It took a total of about 3 hours to get the engine back in.  Much of that time was spent fighting to get the engine mounts into position, until someone finally realized it would be easier to mount the mounts to the car and then slide the engine in between them.  Live and learn.  All went well with the exception of some scratches on my freshly painted firewall.  I’ll need to touch that up before we’re through
• We wrapped up around 8:30 that night, went out to dinner, came home and passed out.  It was a long day.
• We’re currently in the process of reinstalling all the wiring, and the remaining parts that had been removed to allow for the bay to be painted.  
• On Sunday, I finally worked up the courage to drill the hole in my dashboard for the overdrive light.  I had been avoiding it for fear of not getting the hole properly lined up and having to live with it, but once again, everything went well and I now have an overdrive light.  Of course, it’s not wired up and neither is the overdrive switch…
• I still have some painting left to do.  The heater box, brake booster, and air cleaner housing are all going to get painted a nice semi-gloss black.  I also need to paint a few bits that hold the hood closed green.  And finally, since the engine bay is now looking so nice, I’ve decided that I’ll “need” to repaint the underside of my hood.  The little patches of black from my POR-15’ing last year are really going to look terrible now that everything else looks so nice.  It will mean investing in a new set of hood insulation pads but in the end I think it will be worth it.
• The next deadline we are working toward is May 7^th, which is the date of the first car show that I’m signed up for.  Barring any unforeseen problems, I think we should be in pretty good shape.

The front crossmember back on the car, along with the steering box.

The finished engine and transmission awaiting reinstallation

The installation crew hard at work

My dashboard survived my drilling and now sports an overdrive light

.

The front crossmember back on the car, along with the steering box.

---

April 20, 2006:

Closer and closer...

• It's been almost a month since the engine went back in and it still has yet to start again.  We ran into a problem with the driveshaft.  I was not aware that Volvo had used two different diameter driveshafts over the years and naturally, the one that I bought last year is the wrong one.   The fatter driveshaft mates up to the overdrive but not the rear differential.  The thinner driveshaft mates up to the rear differential but, you guessed it, not the overdrive. 
• After doing some research and talking to a few experts, we've learned that the J-type overdrive was produced with two different size output flanges.  One for the fatter driveshaft (for the older higher horsepower 1800's) and one for the narrower driveshaft (for the later, lower compression 1800's).  To get the car back on the road in time for the first show, Ian is going to pull the output flange off one of his currently dead ES's and put it on my car.  Then we can look for a replacement for him later.  He should be able to get the flange off his car and hopefully on mine before this weekend ends.
• Once the driveshaft problem is solved, he can reinstall the transmission mount and then proceed to finish up the engine.  He held off reinstalling the intake and exhaust manifolds because the transmission mount is not in place.  We were afraid with the engine at that angle, it might be possible to scratch my freshly painted engine bay. 
• I just finished up getting the heater box, brake booster, air filter housing, and charcoal canister cleaned up, treated with POR-15 and painted semi-gloss black.  In a few days they'll be thoroughly dry and ready to go back in the car.  With the heater back in, we can button up the interior.
• Later today, I'll be getting some green paint on the hood hinges and hood hold down mechanism.  All that will be left to do is respray the underside of the hood.  I'll need to remove the hood insulation that I had installed last year first.  Not something I'm looking forward to.
• I had planned to get my gas tank renewed, but we opted instead to buy a new tank.  Ian was not sure how well they were going to be able to repair my apparently leaky pick-up tube, plus they said it could take up to 2 weeks to return the tank to me.  That would be cutting it really close to the May 7th show.  Ian's frustration level at this point is high and he said it was worth it to him to kick in the extra $200 just to get a brand new tank.  In fact, the UPS man should be dropping the tank off today.  I've already got a new fuel filter ready to go.  It will be so nice to be able to drive more than 100 miles on a tank of gas!
• I just called VP Autoparts and ordered the remaining engine bay decals that I need to replace so they should be here sometime next week.

---

May 10, 2006:

It lives!!!

• Ian put the output flange on from his car and as ready to install the narrower driveshaft we got from John Adamchak.  We thought we were finally going to make progress but the driveshaft, or at least the front half of it, proved to be about 1/2" too short.  Aarrgghh!!!  Finally, Ian pulled the driveshaft from his car and we used that.  The length is perfect and I FINALLY have a driveshaft.
• Got the new gas tank installed.  It went in nicely apart from the fact that the holes for the fuel sender screws were unexpectedly in metric. 
• I installed the new coolant decal and air filter housing decal from VP Autoparts. 
• Ian finished hooking up all the remaining hoses, wires, and components.  The engine bay looks absolutely amazing.  It's been a long process and I thought we were insane at several points along the way, but the end result just looks so great.
• I decided that the hood was going to have to wait.  I still can't decide if I want to pull off the existing insulation to respray or if I'll just mask around it and paint.  If I do remove it, which will be a nightmare, I can't decide if I want to go with the silver insulation again or a more stock color black.  I've decide to hold off on that project until I can make up my mind.
• On 5/3, we finally fired the car up.  Well, we tried to fire the car up.  The starter would not engage.  Ian pulled it out and tested it, reinstalled it, and tightened up the connections but still... nothing.  We had read that the solenoid can sometimes stick and that a little tap with a hammer can loosen it up.  We gave this extremely technical solution and shot and sure enough, the car turned over.  Took a few attempts to get it started but finally the engine came to life again.
• Happiness was short lived.  We noted that the idle was extremely high and the car was running lean again (red hot exhaust manifold).  Fuel pressure tested OK.  We decided to try to richen the car up by adjusting the ECU, at least as a temporary fix and figured that the car should be OK to make the 2 mile trip the next day for it's scheduled front end alignment.
• The drive to the shop the next day was "interesting".  Despite the ECU adjustment, the car was still running lean.  About 1/2 mile from the house the transmission, began making a really loud, constant, whining sound and the car backfired a couple times, something it had never done before.
• We picked it up the next day after the alignment and an emissions test to see just how lean it's running.  The test showed a CO level of 0.1% where normal level should be between 1% and 1.5%.  Eeek!  And that was with the ECU turned to full rich.   We drove it home, with the tranny whining all the way, and resigned ourselves to the fact that there was no way we were going to make it to the scheduled car show in two days.  The show was the goal we had set for ourselves back in November and was supposed to be the big unveiling of the new manual transmission.  I was disappointed but realized it was best not to push things and cause more damage.
• Ian got on the phone with John Adamchak, who had helped us out with driveshaft parts and advice when we had run into trouble a few weeks before.  John graciously offered to pay us a house call and take a look at the car.  I was ecstatic.  I still didn't think the car would be ready for the next day, but at least we'd be on track to maybe make it out to Carlisle on the 20th. 
• John came over in the afternoon and after about an hour or so, they determined that the MAP sensor, which had been fine before, would no longer hold a vacuum and was probably the source of our problems.  Fortunately, we not only had a spare, but it was in good condition and held a vacuum well.  Ian replaced the old sensor, and that made a big improvement.  A bit of fiddling with the timing and idle adjustment and the car was running better than it had before. 
• The high idle turned out to be the throttle cable which had been adjusted incorrectly and wasn't allowing the throttle to release completely.
• So I now had a running engine but there was still the matter of a transmission that sounded like it was ready to self-destruct.
• Ian and John went for a little test drive to see if John could diagnose the noise.  When they returned, Ian said the noise had decreased but was still there.  John felt that though we had filled the fluid to it's maximum level, it would take time for the oil to get worked up through the whole transmission.  He recommended driving it a bit more to see if the noise went away.  Sounds like a good excuse for a trip to the Dairy Queen if you ask me!!!
• Later that evening we got in the car for the 15 mile trip to the DQ.  The engine was purring away and sure enough, the transmission noise was all but gone.  But a new quirk appeared.  The car was occasionally bogging down, and almost stalling.  Then power would return and we'd continue on our way.  Very strange.  It gets stranger... As we kept driving, I noticed that this phenomenon only occurred when we turned right.  The harder the right hand turn the worse the power loss, until on one extremely sharp turn, the engine stalled completely. 
• Once again, despair returned.  We were so close to being able to attend the show but the Swedish car gods were doing their best to thwart us!
• After returning home, Ian opened the hood and did a little poking around.  The fix was simple.  A couple wires from the distributor that run over to the firewall, near the steering column, were getting caught up by the steering column and shorting out, causing the car to lose power.  A simple reroute of the wires and the problem was solved.
• With that last hurdle, we realized we could make it to the show the next day!  We quickly reinstalled the center console, and heater ducts, which were the last remaining bits of the interior left to go back in.  The car was done!  It was hard to believe after so many months, that I actually had a whole car again.  With no time left for the Zaino treatment I had planned, I gave the car a quick detailing with some Z8 and she was ready to go. 
• The next day was spectacular.  The weather was perfect and we were meeting up with several friends, both Volvo and MINI, to attend the car show.  We hadn't told anyone the car was roadworthy so it was a surprise when we showed up in the morning.
• But the biggest surprise came later in the day, when the Sexy Swede won first place in the "Pre-1979 Import class"!  The judges said I should give the other Volvo owners classes on how to detail an engine bay.  If only they knew...

  • Step 1:  Remove engine from car
  • Step 2:  Completely disassemble front suspension/braking system
  • Step 3:   Well you get the idea...

• Most likely, that's the only trophy she'll ever win, because there's no way the engine bay will ever stay as clean as it was the morning we pulled out of the garage for the first time.
• So here ends the "Great Transmission Swap".  It's been a long and sometimes maddening experience, that Ian claims he'll never attempt again (no matter how much I tell him we could clean up the Spitfire's engine bay).  Ian's mechanical skills and my obsessive cleaning/detailing compulsion worked well to get through the project, but we can't take all the credit.  We had a lot of help along the way and I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who helped in one way or another.  We couldn't have done it without you all:
  • Nancy Graziano - for finding the engine hoist her neighbor was throwing away and dragging it home on one of the hottest, most humid days of 2005.  It served us well.  (see Nancy, I didn't forget you this time!)
  • Paul Graziano - for helping us with the engine removal, and install and for pointing us in the direction of John Adamchak.
  • Manny Lopez - for painting the engine bay for me and sparing me from having to do it myself.
  • Scott and Jay - for helping us with the engine removal, and install.
  • George Mitchels - for helping us with the engine removal (I think he was a bit too eager for that part), and for providing us with an endless supply of latex gloves, which I went through like crazy during the parts cleaning/painting process.
  • John Adamchak - for helping us out with driveshaft parts and advice and most importantly for the house call that allowed us to get the Swede out on the road for the car show!
  • Dick Sampson - for donating a beautifully made wooden shift knob to the Swede when she had none to call her own.
  • To anyone else I may have inadvertently forgotten.
  The shiny new gas tank installed in the car. Ahh... to be able to use the full 13 gallons in the tank, instead of just 8!

  A shot of the tank from under the car.

  The engine bay after over 5 months of work.

  The Sexy Swede after her victory at the Edison car show. Now where the heck am I going to put that trophy.

  .

  

  The shiny new gas tank installed in the car. Ahh... to be able to use the full 13 gallons in the tank, instead of just 8!

  ---

  June 30, 2009:

  Long overdue...

  Well, it's been far too long since I updated this site so here goes... Actually since the transmission swap was completed there hasn't been a whole lot that has been done.

   

  • We did finally get around to getting the sun visors rebuilt.  Actually Ian gave them to me as a Christmas gift and I installed them this winter.  It's been so long since I had them in the car, that I had forgotten how nice it is to have them.  The visors were rebuilt by Vinyl Specialties (http://www.autosunvisors.com/)
  • Last fall the car developed a deep rumble that only seemed to occur up at highway speeds.  Spring came and the rumble was still there, making me a bit nervous about taking the car too far from home.   A quick post on the 1800list brought a few suggestions, and the problem turned out to be low fluid level in the differential.  Ian topped that off and the rumbling sound is now gone.
  • This past fall, I also had a small bit of rust repair done by Dave Colvin of Bluestone Auto Body.  There was a quarter sized area of bubbled paint on the driver's side rocker just ahead of the door opening.  We had run into Dave at a car show out in York, PA.  While admiring his beautiful 122, we discovered that he had painted it himself, and that in fact, he had his own shop.  After some more chatting, I felt like he was the right one to take the car to.  His work was obviously good, and he is a Volvo enthusiast so I felt the car would be in good hands.  We took the car out in early November and picked it up a week later.  I could not be happier with the results.  Once he cut out the rust on the exterior of the car, Dave discovered some rust on the inner rocker, so that was repaired as well.  With the rust repaired, he coated the inside of the rockers on both sides of the car to help prevent future rust from forming.  Finally, he repainted and blended the repaired area.  The final result is perfect.  You can't tell which areas have been repainted.  I can't say enough good things about Dave's work, and I will definitely be taking the car back out to him whenever that time comes again.  Unfortunately, Dave does not have a website, but if anyone is interested in getting some work done, his number is (717)-600-8533. 
  • One of the most exciting things that has happened, though, has been the installation of a stereo in the car... finally.  The stereo I had posted pictures of earlier on this site is now installed in my Spitfire.  I decided that there was just no good way to install that in the ES without cutting the dashboard, which I did not want to do.  A local club member had suggested sending my original Volvo stereo out to be rebuilt... replacing the old internals with modern digital tuning and an auxiliary input.  It was a great idea, but the price was a bit more than I wanted to spend.  Then another club member suggested a hideaway type of system that his brother had installed in his Oldsmobile.  I can't remember the name of the system right now, but again, to get all the bits I wanted for my car, the price climbed up a bit higher than I wanted to pay for a car that isn't driven regularly.
  • Finally, the perfect solution fell in my lap when I wasn't looking.  One of my Spitfire club members had purchased a retro style stereo for his car, which turned out not to fit.  The dimensions made it sound like it would fit in the car and he was offering it for a slight discount since there was a small scratch on the face, and I decided for that price, it was worth a shot.  This stereo LOOKS just like an old car stereo, complete with the old analog style tuning display, but behind that display is an LCD display that lights up when the stereo is on.  The unit also offers: 
    • 240 watts
    • Digital tuning
    • RCA aux. inputs for iPod/mp3/satellite
    • USB input
    • CD DIN plug for CD changer
    • 4 channel RCA pre-outs
    • Separate bass & treble, front/rear fader
    • Digital clock
    • 18 FM & 12 AM pre-sets
    • Selectable USA and Euro tuner
    • Power antenna lead
    • Two year warranty
    • RCA to 3.5 cable included.
  • Best of all was the installation.  Not only did it fit in the car, but Ian was able to reuse the faceplate and knobs from my Volvo stereo which makes the new one really blend in well.  At quick glance, you might not even notice that it's not the original stereo.  This stereo can be purchased from Woody's Custom Shop.  They offer several different versions of the stereo, some intended specifically for certain cars.  The one I got is titled as being for a Triumph TR6 and is currently selling for $239 plus shipping.  Here is a link directly to the page:   http://tinyurl.com/npr9qw.  They also offer a less expensive version for $179, but it is only 200 watts and you lose the USB input.

  One of the old, bloated sunvisors

  The new visors installed in the car

  Finally there is music in the car again!

  .

  

  One of the old, bloated sunvisors

 

---