There are only crickets in here...

Post by **BlackBart** » 15 Aug 2020, 12:30

You are a smart cookie!

Post by **volvolugnut** » 15 Aug 2020, 13:21

Just building on others shoulders.
volvolugnut

Post by **CIK7** » 15 Aug 2020, 19:54

I just became one of the crickets on here. Been here like once before. I've wanted a 122 wagon and p1800 wagon for the past...2 years perhaps. The tailgate on both are intriguing. The fold down on 122 and full view glass panel on p1800.

Post by **BlackBart** » 16 Aug 2020, 16:26

Welcome additional crickets!

Saturday a group of us had a small cars & coffee at a local coffee shop. We had two 356 coupes, our newly manual-swapped BMW E30, a '67 911, a track-ready 240Z, a BMW 3.0CS coupe (beautiful).....and a '63 Ivory white Volvo 1800 coupe! B18 with SU carbs. I was talking with him so much I forgot to take a picture, sorry! The interior was red but the seats were re-covered in black at some point.

Those are the early ones with the horns on the front bumper, the grille protrudes out a bit from the surround, and they have the old hubcaps with the red centers. He said it was just full of mice, almost up to the hood. The blower housing was full of mice.

Now he's completely redone the engine compartment, new paint, all brackets painted, blower housing grey, all new brake lines...it was a nice job. Some rust bubbles on the rear quarters behind the wheels, but other than that, really sweet.

He's very excited about old Volvos and wants to start locating B18 and B20 parts if he can. His brother has a 356 coupe and they have a replica 550 Spyder they drove up here from CA, no top.

Nice to meet some new and interesting people. The BMW 3.0 guy is a retired doc and very nice. He's had FIVE of them over the years. I rode folded over in the back "seat" of my friends short wheelbase 911, which has essentially straight pipes. WUT a hoot!

Post by **BlackBart** » 18 Aug 2020, 12:49

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Early one. Completely different side chrome.

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I like these old skool roof racks.

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I like the way this one sits.

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Post by **subzerocarfanatic** » 18 Aug 2020, 18:52

Some of the images above remind me of the old Volkswagen fastback that had dual carbs on them, we had 2 of them and the Volkswagen station wagon type i believe it was.

Post by **BlackBart** » 19 Aug 2020, 12:25

Totally un-Volvo related, but my latest project was to swap a manual transmission for the automatic in my son's '86 BMW E30. Hardest thing I've attempted I think. You're building and installing things you've never seen, so it's harder then just remove and replace jobs. Then there was the wiring.....thank gawd my son figured all that out and did it all himself. It started right up, back up lights came on, and he eased the clutch out with no throttle and it rolled out of the garage. We're still amazed.

We did some shake-downs, he had a new exhaust hanger tab welded on, he took it up the pass in Glacier Park (6500'), I drove it out the freeway a ways, then he drove it 1700 miles to Illinois for school. No issues! HAH!

You need a decent salvage transmission (fingers crossed), the shifting assembly and shifter, manual pedal box, the hydraulic system, flywheel and clutch, cross member, driveshaft, exhaust hangers, some wiring and a reverse light harness, all new seals and bushings, and mounts. We put in a new starter while it was apart, as it's very difficult to get to.

Some process pics.... We worked many days till midnight. Many obstacles and minor crises overcome, it was a good exercise for him. We just kept stubborning ahead.

Home for two weeks

It's a bear to get out. You need to tip it back until the head hits the firewall, then use 3 1/2 ' of extensions and a wobble joint to get on the bellhousing bolts blind, above the transmission, from the back.

Used parts man scammed me and sent a pedal box from the wrong car. We cut welds and modified to factory.

Old melted sensors in the donor car

Always use new bolts!

Post by **BlackBart** » 19 Aug 2020, 12:53

A bit of wire wheel...

Mocked up the car in the kitchen. Parts gradually disappeared into the garage.

Smoke wrench for old gooey bonded rubber bushing

Rebuilt driveshaft - different length by a foot.

Silicon bronze clutch pin! (instead of plastic)

You need this. Brilliant for $25/day.

What we learned is that they were all wired for the manual, then they added an automatic harness to those order with auto. he had to find all the connections to the auto harness, disconnect and dead-end them, and connect the other end to the proper place in the harness. We finally found a missing connector inside the drivers kick panel instead of under the dash.

Ready to lift. We spritzed some bright paint on so it would be easier to see the bolt holes in the dark up there - worked pretty well. The bell housing bolts are reverse torx heads, or "fairy heads," or "e-torx." You need a set of those sockets. No room for a hex head bolt in the aluminum casting shapes.

Red and black paint marked which are torqued twice.

Paint marks show if anything has backed off at next check

I love new hardware.......

Post by **BlackBart** » 19 Aug 2020, 13:15

I made a huge mistake when we tipped the engine and partially attached trans backwards to access the top bolts. The new starter is hanging in the sheet metal spacer at the rear of the block, and attached at the front with one bolt to the block. The solenoid housing caught the seam on the bottom of the brake booster drum, bound up, rotated upwards, and bent the shit out of the sheet metal spacer. Spent two hours tapping, pulling, sheet metaling, & lining up bolts in holes before we got it flat and aligned again. I was NOT going to take off that clutch and flywheel again! Arrggh.

Then it went more smoothly. The manual has a way smaller case and easier to access bolts.

Rebuilt shifter with new parts, shims, cups, bushings, clips, molybdenum disulphide grease.

We made a temporary shift knob for $1.85 from a local craft store. Drill a hole, add some Danish oil, Bob's your uncle.

New timing belt and flush the cooling system, put it back together!

The official correct way to bleed the cooling system...

A functioning car!! We couldn't believe it!

I love Alpina wheels - even if they're fakes.

Going to the Sun highway, Glacier Park, 7AM.

Packed for the big migration east....

Post by **volvolugnut** » 19 Aug 2020, 13:21

Thanks for the documentation and photos. It does not matter to me to have stories like this for other brands. I have several different brands in my fleet. I had a laugh about 3 feet of extensions - this is why I keep buying cheap, used tools when I find them. And you used the green tape wobble joint stiffener trick. I like how you spot painted the bolt holes and alignment marked the torqued bolts. Lots of good ideas here to borrow.

volvolugnut

There are only crickets in here...

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