I guess I’m going to call him “Leo”

[foggydogg]

The doors might be off one of the several donors that passed though his life. The left front fender is a replacement, obviously.
While I used the term 'rattle can', he could just as well have bought quarts and sprayed it. He did say "Rustoleum" out loud though.
The matte finish is all the rage these days, so it looks cutting edge-y.
That trunk handle looks mighty tasty.

[DonnVa]

I drove old Leo around tonight for about 30 miles, he’s running great. I love driving on the twisty country roads around me. I’ve been getting some good reactions the last few weeks. Tonight a gentleman pulled up to the left of me as I was driving back towards my subdivision, then braked and pulled into the turning lane on my right at a stop light and was all excited. He said, “what year”, me “62”, he said “I had a 60” the let out a big smile and a big “yeah”, with fists in the air pumping.. Made me smile and laugh. Another guy a few weeks ago did something similar without the extra excitement.

[DonnVa]

I just put some Torque Thrust II’s and and tires on last weekend and took some pictures. I also added a few more shiny things. Leo is running great. I picked up some good spare parts from a fellow Volvo guy in VA a month ago. I got a bunch of little things, plus a nice dash pad, a set of 3 bolt HS6 carbs, and a combo one piece intake/exhaust manifold w/ two outlets. I swapped out the front carb base w/ the one I got and my throttle plate doesn’t hang in that one, so it fixed my high idle issue. I swapped out the grills for the ‘67 and later version until I can find the inner grill surround trim to complete the original ‘62 look. Kinda funny, the new wheels make the old paint job look better.

[scot850]

Like those wheels! You are right, they do make the car look better.

Neil.

[DonnVa]

Like those wheels! You are right, they do make the car look better.

Neil.

I’ve called that paint job an “old Bentley, Rolls Royce paint job” and haven’t really liked it that much. But, those wheels make the paint job make more sense, if that makes sense. I went over to a new friends house yesterday to show him the wheels and to look at his P1800 that he’s putting together and he said “are you sure you want to paint it all black?” Well, those wheels are making me think twice about it. I told him that I’m not sure I’m going to do that now. I think I’m going to live with it until the spring and see. I can fix the body flutters and just re-spot spray it with Rustoleum gloss back and knock back the gloss w/ 800 grit to keep the same look. That’s what I did when I fixed the right front fender and I can’t tell the difference between old and new. I’ll get it ready for paint that way. Leo’s black and silver paint scheme may live on.

[scot850]

My grandfathers 1961 121 came new with the California white lower and black roof.

Neil.

[DonnVa]

I’ve been doing a lot of little things the last couple of months. New door seals, trunk seal, replaced both vent window seals, window scrapers, door handles, re-keyed door and trunk locks to the same key, installed a windshield washer bottle and etc. I found and bought a NOS ‘62 vintage chrome airplane trunk handle in perfect condition and a not so new chrome one that is on the car now. My friend that is putting back together his late father’s P1800 gave me a post ‘71 M41 with J Type OD that I’m starting to refresh now. The car is still running great and I’ve been scooting it around every chance I get. One thing I noticed the other day is with the new seals, I can actually hear the clicking sound of the turn signal relay. I also refreshed a later version one piece intake/exhaust manifold w/ two O/P’s and changed the exhaust to be compatible.

[scot850]

Wow that is one heck of a lot of work, but it is all really worth all that effort!

The O/D 4 speed is a great option to have. Makes it much nicer to run on the highway and improves the mileage greatly. The manual transmission is fairly simple so even I was able to strip and rebuild one!

Thanks for the update. I enjoy reading about the progress.

Neil.

[DonnVa]

Wow that is one heck of a lot of work, but it is all really worth all that effort!

The O/D 4 speed is a great option to have. Makes it much nicer to run on the highway and improves the mileage greatly. The manual transmission is fairly simple so even I was able to strip and rebuild one!

Thanks for the update. I enjoy reading about the progress.

Neil.

I can’t wait to get the M41 w/ OD installed. Highway driving is really a no go w/ the M40 or really not fun taching out over 4k just to do 65-70mph. I’ve got the OD disassembled and I just placed my VP order. They don’t need much. Just seals, o-rings, springs, counter shaft and an input shaft bearing for the M41.

[DonnVa]

I installed the M41 three weeks ago and installed a new dash amongst a bunch of small things. The trans is shifting great and the J Type OD is kicking in and out smooth. I took old Leo to the Richmond VA Swedes (RVASwedes) car show today and he got awarded the Fan Favorite award and tied for best interior, but a recount will happen. Lol