Rusting Rainforest. Volvo 121 - A Potted History.

[dugong]

Remember I mentioned you could get a B18 as an AQ-120 Penta marine engine? I remembered I'd taken a picture of one at the Volvo Museum.





The breather, carb and fuel pump arrangement look like they're application specific. You could also get a marianised B30 straight 6, and later on a B234 16v if you really felt the need.

[dugong]

You can see the difference in the nose cones between cars. They became a lot simpler, presumably to save on production costs. The indicator units changed, too.



1958 Amazon (first iteration nose)



1966 Amazon (third iteration nose)

[dugong]

 

Time for some sort of update. Currently, the car looks like this:

 

 

 

Engine's out and the front end's gone for blasting. The B18 was taken to the unit next door for the planned refresh - new gaskets and a clean. When it was stripped, I was in for a bit of a shock:



Big end shells are the Vandervall originals from 1966, and they're deeply scored. Bear in mind this is from an engine that ran and idled fine, despite a tendency to breathe heavily. 





Top compression rings have snapped on each piston. 



Rear crank oil seal is leaking despite being less than two years old. Its saving grace is that it hasn't dumped all over the [similarly-aged] clutch and killed it like its felt-lined predecessor did. 

I had a right palarver with the supplier who refused to exchange my original RCOS - they reckoned SCTSH and me had butchered it getting it out. I asked for the cover back for a second opinion and they were having none of it. 
Crank and bores are OK for the moment. I'm pricing up the replacement parts on Brookhouse \ Classic Swede at the moment. My wallet is adjacent and currently contemplating suicide. 

I'm still waiting on a price from the bloke who did the work on the suspension, so I know how much is left in the pot. 

I can see this turning into a money-borrowing situation. It's £600 to rebuild the B18 and the B20E I have in storage is seized solid. 

[Jim Bell]

Testement to the keep runningness of old swedes.

 

Keep it up man.

[scruff]

I'm always amazed how tolerant "old school" engines are, what are the mains like?

[dugong]

I'm always amazed how tolerant "old school" engines are, what are the mains like?

Mains are serviceable for the time being. 

[dugong]

After a hiatus, the Amazon's now MoTed again. The preceding months have not been pleasant and there's still a great deal left to do on it. 



In basic terms it's about 80 per cent finished. The interior's still filthy, there's loose wiring everywhere and the seats are as threadbare as they were in 2010. The [rebuilt] carburettor continues to give problems and the brakes have yet to bed in. 



It collected quite a bit of workshop dust after being pushed around the compound for months at a time. I gave it a gentle rinse with the jet wash set low to remove the filth. The new windscreen seals appear to be doing their job, which is satisfying given that the A pillars weren't exactly averse to letting trickles through in the past. 

Classic Swede in Anglesey supplied a set of revalved Gaz shock absorbers. I've paired these with Amazon Cars' 20mm progressive lowering springs, which have removed the drunken body lean in corners. Initially I'd decided on Bilstein B6s but after trying a 120 so equipped, I found the ride too jarring, especially on rebound. The infamous V-Performance in Long Island sell their own recalibrated B6s which are supposed to be as incredible as their customer service is appalling. After reading too many horror stories, I decided life was too short. 

Tommorrow I'll be cracking on with replacing the door trims and attempting to set the new door mirrors in a position other than 'ornamental'. 

[rml2345]

Congrats on the MOT and glad you've got the thing back again. Looks like all the pain will be worth it eventually!

[Sudsprint]

Great rolling restoration thread.

 

I am always surprised at the survival rate of these Volvos - such a lovely shape too.

[mat_the_cat]

What an ace thread! I dunno what it is, but the fact there are others who are willing to spend more than the car's worth in repairs makes me feed good. Like I'm not the only daft sentimental fool around...

 

Oh, and Dai at ClassicSwede is a top bloke - he's helped me out before with (non Volvo) LPG stuff.

[Rocket88]

What an ace thread! I dunno what it is, but the fact there are others who are willing to spend more than the car's worth in repairs makes me feed good. Like I'm not the only daft sentimental fool around...

 

 

I defy ANY member of this 'ere sainted Forum who hasn't done this to take one step forward.....................

[lisbon_road]

Very impressed.  Many thanks for sharing, really good story.

[mercrocker]

Top work Mr D.....I think I would, too, that is a lovely Amazon that deserves the ruination of your finances.   My Cowley is going the same way - I can tell when this is going to happen because I screw the receipts up instead of keeping them neatly filed.   Less chance of Mrs R. finding them....

[tooSavvy]

..... ^^ .....SWMBO actually agreed the price of my 'oh..so..HOT S/S Ex' because I calmly explained the total rationale of spending over a years Insurance Premium on a pipe, to last the life of the vehicle.....

 

Screwing up receipts is cool, too 

 

TS

[dugong]

I took the car back to Wales today - on the way there the sunroof plate decided to tear itself free of its mountings and bounce down the A55. Luckily the oncoming traffic was light and FATHA_DUGONG retrieved the panel as it came to halt on the hard shoulder. 



I'm storing it on the back seat for the time being while I work out if \ how I want to repair it. It survived the 60 mph impact remarkably well and isn't buckled. The roof aperture doesn't appear to be too warped either. Given the circumstances things have worked out remarkably well. How and where I source the spares from is another matter. I'm still picking bits of debris out of my hair as I write this. 

I store a few things in my gran's garage so I had a sift through them to see what I could find. I've amassed a great deal of parts and I forget exactly what I've got.



Spare O\S wing may well be going to my friend Paul who recently had his 222S clobbered by a Sprinter van. It would come up pretty well if blasted. Wings are one of the few spares not produced new for the Amazon, although given the standard of many repro parts, this is probably a blessed relief. 



Several mystery seals, NOS Bosch points and a UJ spider, plus a mysterious smooth bore eyelet - possibly a clutch fork?



This was in another packet describing a sprung loaded seal of some kind. It goes on the back, that's how far my German comprehension goes.

 

Original Volvo seatbelt set. These may well replace the knackered Securon sets that look like they were fitted to my car some time in the Seventies. I have the massive Whitworth threaded eyelet that screws into the central tunnel somewhere. 



Partially stripped Blaupunkt Cologne UHF radio I need to have reconditioned. All of its components are bagged up around it. 



Oil pressure gauge that came out of a 140 Rallye instrument pack. I'd like to collect a couple more of these gauges so I can fit an auxiliary bank under the dashboard. 



Mystery bearing that has the Volvodelar part number 509463. 



I suspect these are brake servo, wheel cylinder or caliper seals given that they have a Girling stamp on them. 



An almighty tale of woe so far. Let's hope things improve - I haven't even finished cleaning it yet. 
 

[dugong]

Let's look at the loss of the sunroof slide in a different light:



In this shot we can see some debris from the catch slide's death on the passenger seat, a 123GT dashtop with its cut out for a rev counter (missing). The bakelite on the steering wheel has decomposed meaning your hands get shredded on a long drive. I'd forgotten about that having not driven it for four years. Also pictured : heater controls (not connected) and storage shelf (conspicuous by absence). 



The new door mirrors can be added to the list of reproduction parts that are near useless. Try and adjust the head by the stalk and the cam shreds itself all over the door. 





A couple of shots from the VOC carburettor refit to finish on. 

 

[Junkman]

Holy shit. Are you absolutely 100% sure it isn't possessed?

[dugong]

Holy shit. Are you absolutely 100% sure it isn't possessed?

It reckons it knows your P6. What I should infer from this I know not. 

[Junkman]

One of the members who showed up tonight at the P6 Club meeting turns out to be a preacher man, I didn't know that.

I don't know for which of the faith companies he performs his Abracadabra, but he offered to do an exorcism on the Rover.

I might take him up this time though, despite I usually don't subscribe to such Hocus Pocus.

Maybe you should consider similar?

[vulgalour]

Volvo performing the car equivalent of excited hat throwing, clearly.  It is looking superb, even in the slightly grimy and unfinished state it presently sits, that grey is just perfect for it.  You know the AS solution for the steering wheel is a vinyl/string wrap and/or waffle-back driving gloves.

[purplebargeken]

My 'zon has a crack at the 12 o'clock point. I wound some fishing line in the crack and bunged some electricians tape round it. Works fine for now. Must get some interior piccies. Hope to crack on with the rust on the rear arch this weekend. Maybe.

[Junkman]

There is this guy, he was once on Wheeler Dealers, who restores those bakelite steering wheels.

IIRC it wasn't even that £££bumrapish.

[dugong]

I have several other steering wheels but you can't get them off without a hub puller. I need to lend one. 

[purplebargeken]

I haz one but you is many miles away. Also got the proper one for these cars from Keith M as part of the deal. 

 

TBH, I will fill it and paint it. Done the same on many a wheel with no issues.