Project Volvo 740, interior headlining finished! Pg 23.

[danthecapriman]

12 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

That headliner looks good - my Civic hatch has a knackered headlining, the vinyl has been battered to fuck, so I might have to add some of that.

It’s this stuff,

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272614060742?var=571734252794

Ive not actually used it yet though. Hopefully in the next few days I’ll make a start. But, it looks and feels brilliant.

[danthecapriman]

Had a few decent days so I’ve cracked on with this. 
The headlining backing board is now covered. The material went on ok, used proper automotive interior spray glue rather than cheapo spray glue, which has worked very well! It’s very strong and heat resistant too so shouldn’t be prone to losing its strength when in a hot car. 
Basically, as you’d expect, glue it from the middle and work outwards from there, gently pushing the fabric down and smoothing out any air pockets. 
I did get a couple of small creases into it where the fabric had to go around some tight bends/corners but you can carefully smooth these out, or, as I had to, lay a kitchen towel over the material then use a hot iron with steam function to warm it up and iron out the crease. Just got to watch out for getting it too hot or too wet!  
I’ve cut out all the big openings leaving a little excess so it can be glued and wrapped around the edges of the sunroof opening etc as it was originally. 
It’s drying now in the shed so hopefully tomorrow I might be able to fit it!

Ive also leak tested the car now the sealer in the sunroof has thoroughly cured. With someone sat inside I dumped a shit load of water all over the sunroof lid/roof, including directly onto the seal joint. Not a drop entered the car. 
To further prove it was ok I fed sheets of clean dry tissue into the interior sunroof seam. Again, not a drop of water or damp anywhere. I’m sure it’s fixed now, but it’s meant to rain tonight so I’ve left the car uncovered so we’ll see in the morning! 
This is definitely worth checking if you’ve got an old Volvo from this era. I bet lots of them are suffering leaks from this bit of the sunroof, or if not they probably soon will be!

In the meantime I’ve used some offcuts to re trim the inside of the sunroof lid itself. 
This doesn’t really have a back board, it’s got a metal panel inside the lid which the material just sticks onto. It’s in two sections though annoyingly. The smaller section is for the sunroof tilt open part. 
It’s not exactly 100% as it was when new but it’s a rough approximation of that! And I think it looks pretty damn good!

The little section originally had an embroidered pattern type thing to it, so I got my mum to do something similar on her sewing machine. Just makes it a bit less plane! 
This actually took longer to do than covering the big board did but there’s lots of tight corners and poor access to certain bits. 
Now that is done the main board can be put back in and the trims reattached.

While I was at it, some of the factory applied sound deadening pads had come unstuck from inside the roof skin and were just hanging down so I’ve ripped them out and put new ones up. These were leftovers from the Capri. Had some off cut’s laying around too so I stuck them up in the roof above the windscreen. Every little helps and all that!

Getting there! Slowly!

[Wibble]

Looking good!

[danthecapriman]

It’s been monsoon season here today, pissing down fairly heavily and constantly all day so far. 

Just been out to have a look inside the car and…

 

It’s absolutely bone dry inside!!🥳 hooray! 
No leaks, no damp, no drips on the seat, no wet carpet. I’m officially saying the sunroof is now fixed. Bloody thing. 
Now I can refit the main headlining board. 

[danthecapriman]

Still dodging the showers and getting this done, albeit slowly!

Main headliner board is back in the car. All the roof edge plastic trims are back in to hold it. Rear view mirror, sun visors etc back in too.

 

Just having trouble now with the big plastic trim that goes at the end of the headlining in the roof above the tailgate.

The plastic trim is quite big here and actually covers a big bit of the end of the headlining. 
Trouble is, the headlining is now heavier and thicker than it used to be which is pushing the plastic trim off the roof and clips that hold it up.   
It’s so bad that the original plastic retainer clips are either popping straight back off or, in some cases the plastic they’re made of has become so brittle they’re shattering under the force of the headline pushing against them. 
To help I’ve added two screws and penny washers up into the rear roof crossmember box to pull the headlining up and take a bit of the pressure off the plastic bits. It’s still not enough though! 
So, plan B is to do what Volvo should have done and not make the retainer clips out of the worlds most brittle plastic and I’m making replacement clips, as close as I can, out of nuts and penny washers welded together!

These are a few of the destroyed plastic ones!

 

Hopefully this will hold the twat up!🤬 

Several other bits of plastic trim (predictably!) have suffered broken clips etc so have either had to be replaced or glued in the hope it’ll fix them. 
Volvo’s materials choices with these interiors were absolutely terrible though! Whatever plastic they chose to make the interior bits from is utterly utterly shit. It’s not helped with the sun/heat/old age but they just crack and shatter so easily. I don’t think there’s a single piece of trim in this car now with the correct amount of fixings or clips left. Nothings loose or rattling but it’s so annoying.

It’s looking pretty good though imho. Last job will be to tuck the excess fabric in the sunroof hole up around the metal edge of the sunroof, trim it to final size and push the edge protector/retainer trim on.

[Wibble]

What an absolute pain in the arse! I know you’ll get there though and it is looking great. Let me know when it’s finished and I’ll drop the Senny over 👍😉

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Wibble said:

Let me know when it’s finished and I’ll drop the Senny over 👍😉

😂 

If I was take one thing away from all this… Don’t touch nothin! Do not touch, interfere or anything with headlining’s!

Does the Senny need one?

[Wibble]

😆Yes, it does but it won’t be getting one any time soon! I just don’t have the patience these days and would have probably lost my temper and launched it🙂. Hats off to you sir!

[danthecapriman]

48 minutes ago, Wibble said:

😆Yes, it does but it won’t be getting one any time soon! I just don’t have the patience these days and would have probably lost my temper and launched it🙂. Hats off to you sir!

Well if you ever fancy doing it and need a hand… 👍

[Wibble]

3 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Well if you ever fancy doing it and need a hand… 👍

Thank you! I really appreciate this and you’re not far away. Maybe one day we should organise a south central shiters meet? Aero Lounge maybe?

[danthecapriman]

Another day and it’s a step closer to completion!

I managed to get the plastic section of trim above the tailgate opening to fit properly. The headlining back board was responsible for it not fitting properly before. Possibly a combination of the board getting wet and it being out of the car now for some weeks made the rear end of it lose its shape so then it was pushed against the plastic trim panel and forcing it off. It’s been pushed back to shape and held with double sided carpet tape now (all fits conveniently under the plastic trim panel when done!) and the panel is now back in. 
Even this was a pig though, behind the tailgate courtesy light unit in this big plastic trim is a metal cross member in the cars roof. To fit the trim there’s a square hole in the cross member which has a plastic clip pushed into it, then a big plastic peg basically fits through the roof trim and into this clip to hold it tight. 
Naturally the peg snapped off! I got a replacement and then when fitting that the square clip also snapped! By now this was really pissing me off so I ripped it all out and had a think about how to replace all this shit plastic rubbish with something actually fit for purpose. 
Problem was, the cross member is solid and inaccessible so you can’t use a nut & bolt. Cable ties would have worked but you can’t get it to go through the hole and back around again because it’s all enclosed.   
Then I had a brain fart!

I bought one of these a while ago for a job on the Capri…

 

A riv-nut tool! 
It basically acts similar to a rivet does but it inserts a threaded tube into whatever you fit it to so gives you a captive nut. Ideal for inaccessible places like enclosed cross members etc.

Once one of these was fitted into the old square clip hole it was solid and could take a bolt & washer. Which worked perfectly. So well in fact, one wonders wtf Volvo were pissing about at with these shit plastic clips!

Next job was to fit the headlining material around the sunroof opening ready for the edge trim that goes over that. Simple matter of gluing it and trimming carefully around the sunroof rim.    
The clamps are because I used some leftover contact adhesive squeezed into the gap between the roof and headlining back board. I just used it up tbh but figured it’d at least help take some of the weight off the material at the centre.

        
 

While that’s drying I’ve scraped off any rusty flaky crap off the inside edge of the sunroof surround and painted it with some rust converter. Might at least help slow things down if nothing else. It’ll need doing properly really but since the roof desperately needs repainting I’ll worry about it then.

So here’s how it looks at the moment.

Looks so much nicer now. The whole car need’s thoroughly hoovering out and cleaning as there’s dust and loads of old disintegrating foam from the old headliner everywhere. It’s even sticking to the new headliner now too!   
Last job left is to fit the centre courtesy light back in place - which I can’t do until the glue dries and clamps come off!

Id definitely recommend anyone get one of those riv-nut tools though. I don’t find it a tool I need often but they’re really handy to have and it can get you out of the poo sometimes. That one was a cheap eBay job, and it does the job.

 

 

[danthecapriman]

Headlining is now finished! At long last!

Centre courtesy/dome light is now refitted and everything has had a hoover down to get rid of the remaining old foam dust. It’s looking pretty good in there now.

The whole interior has been hoovered out and given a good wash with a bucket of soapy warm water and cream cleaner. Just needs some cockpit shine buffing on now to shine it up again. 
It’s not perfect and it’s not absolutely the same as original but it’s 100% better than it used to be and looks so much nicer inside the car now. Plus, the sunroof is now fixed too so it shouldn’t happen again!

The next job was to replace the top and bottom radiator hoses.   
I wasn’t originally intending to tbh but earlier this year I was doing something else and noticed they were both in a bit of a state, with some rough looking ends and various cuts, cracks and chafing on them. Squeezing them showed them to have gone extremely soft too. They’re 35 years old though in all fairness so a good time to replace them.

Heres the old ones. Definitely past their prime!

The reason for the chafing damage turned out to be from the clamp that holds the positive battery to starter cable to the inner wing. It’s extremely close to the bottom radiator hose so I’ve also rerouted the cable slightly and repositioned the clamp so nothing can touch the hose now.   
I had also intended to reuse the antifreeze that was drained out since it’s only a year or so old, but on looking at it afterwards I’ve used new instead. It’s turned a horrible semi transparent brown colour with only a faint tinge of the original blue colour to it, so even after all the years I’ve had the car and cleaned & flushed it through there’s still a bit dirt and grime in the cooling system!   
Just need to recheck the coolant level now it’s cooled down and it’s done.

Next job should replacing the rear springs & shocks. Finally.

[Wibble]

Wow, that is really impressive!

[danthecapriman]

Took this out for a pointless drive around today!

It’s been a few months unused while I’ve been doing the bits & pieces on it so since it’s mostly now done and the sun was out I’d take it out to blow off the cobwebs. 
It’s so much nicer to be in this car now! I swear it’s actually quieter, and there’s no flaps of material hanging down in the rear view mirror. And, it smells nicer too!

Mechanically the new brush pack on the alternator is working a treat too, much better charging!

Overall a very much more pleasant drive and place to be now after all that.

With the new rear springs & shocks it’ll be even better. 
Might have to wait on those though as I need to get the Crapi finished next! Not much left to do there but other distractions keep stopping me getting it done. And I want it on the road this summer…

[danthecapriman]

I’ve done bugger all on this since last time, just using it occasionally. House move is now in the final stage so I’m trying not to start anything too involved and not immobilise anything! Which means the suspension will have to wait.

Took it for an MOT yesterday and it failed! Believe it or not the screen washer pump shit itself and has seized solid. Which was the only failure, so a good result really. 
Couldn’t get one off the shelf so it’s on order and should be here soon, then it’s just a re-test.

The old pump is dated 87 though so it’s had a good innings. 
I did check the fuses (all ok) then pulled the motor out and wired it directly to the battery and it just sparked so it’s definitely dead. To be safe I’ve tested for voltage at the wires too (0v when off, 12v with ignition and washer switch on) so there’s no others problems, hopefully a simple pump swap for once!

While it’s all apart and I’m waiting on the new pump I’ve flushed the washer bottle out with hot soapy water then poured boiling water from the kettle through the tank and flushed out loads of limescale and sludgy mank! Then cleaned the area around the tank and the wiring connector.

Decent result though and an easy fix for a change.

[danthecapriman]

Got my new screen washer pump and fitted it on Saturday, all working now!

Just been and had the retest - MOT’d now until 27th September 24.

 

Next job for this will be loaded up with stuff and moving house. Not far off getting a moving date now!

[Shirley Knott]

3 months without an update here- Did the Volvo prevail and enable the house move?

Wagwan @danthecapriman?

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, Shirley Knott said:

3 months without an update here- Did the Volvo prevail and enable the house move?

Wagwan @danthecapriman?

Gawd, things did not go well last year!

The house was actually sold 3, yes 3 times. Every time it fell through.

First time was a nice family who really wanted it, but in the end pulled out because of an arse hole developer on some land next door. He submitted a ludicrous planning proposal (which got rejected!) but the people buying our house read the objections and decided they didn’t want to get involved with what was happening. It’s a bit of a long running feud with this developer, he’s a grade A prick who’s exceptionally unpleasant and greedy. I mean they all are, but he’s particularly bad.

Second time was an odd woman and her husband who seemed keen. They submitted an offer, we accepted and the rest of the selling process started. It got so far then ground to a halt. After a lot of messing around it turned out they had put an offer on another house at the same time and were playing each off against the other then settling on the one that got them more and completed first! So that went to hell.

Third time it sold almost immediately as it went back on the market. It was a divorced lady and her new partner. Both loved the house, but the bulk of the money was coming from her ex husband who was buying her out of her old house. Things again ground to a halt… it eventually turned out that this money was inexplicably in Belgium for some reason and he couldn’t get it transferred over due to money laundering regulations! So that went in the crapper too!

Basically we spent almost the entire year getting ready for something that never happened. Most of our stuff is packed up in boxes waiting to go. 
The property market in England is an absolute shambles tbh. It needs a major overhaul and there needs to be penalties for people who arse about (like our buyer 2!). As it is they did that and caused the chain to fail and then pulled the plug and walked off into the sunset. We and the rest of our chain lost houses and sales and it cost us all money. 
We all know nothing will change though because this happening just means someone somewhere is making more money from these things being done twice (or more!). Rip off Britain. Again.

 

So, nothing happened over Xmas. The market pretty much dies from December onwards. But the house is still on the market. 
Last weekend we got some viewings again, yesterday we had three viewings. One of yesterdays was a lovely family who absolutely loved the place and offered the asking price within an hour of viewing it! 
So it is, again, now provisionally sold. On Monday the whole process starts again. 
With a bit of luck it’ll work out this time. It also is fantastic timing as it means if it all goes through ok we’ll be moving in the spring time which is ideal!

And just to prove how bad the property market is in this cuntry, in the last 3 years, this house has technically been sold 7 times!! Each time it’s fallen through! That’s either incredibly bad luck or something is wrong in the system.

Anyway, fingers crossed 🤞 

[Dick Longbridge]

There's one positive to come out of this, Dan. It's slowed down your bulk diecast buying and in turn, diecast sales on here. This has helped maintain domestic harmony in our home! 

Joking aside though, fingers crossed with the latest buyer. What a shitshow!

[Shirley Knott]

38 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Gawd, things did not go well last year!

The house was actually sold 3, yes 3 times. Every time it fell through.

First time was a nice family who really wanted it, but in the end pulled out because of an arse hole developer on some land next door. He submitted a ludicrous planning proposal (which got rejected!) but the people buying our house read the objections and decided they didn’t want to get involved with what was happening. It’s a bit of a long running feud with this developer, he’s a grade A prick who’s exceptionally unpleasant and greedy. I mean they all are, but he’s particularly bad.

Second time was an odd woman and her husband who seemed keen. They submitted an offer, we accepted and the rest of the selling process started. It got so far then ground to a halt. After a lot of messing around it turned out they had put an offer on another house at the same time and were playing each off against the other then settling on the one that got them more and completed first! So that went to hell.

Third time it sold almost immediately as it went back on the market. It was a divorced lady and her new partner. Both loved the house, but the bulk of the money was coming from her ex husband who was buying her out of her old house. Things again ground to a halt… it eventually turned out that this money was inexplicably in Belgium for some reason and he couldn’t get it transferred over due to money laundering regulations! So that went in the crapper too!

Basically we spent almost the entire year getting ready for something that never happened. Most of our stuff is packed up in boxes waiting to go. 
The property market in England is an absolute shambles tbh. It needs a major overhaul and there needs to be penalties for people who arse about (like our buyer 2!). As it is they did that and caused the chain to fail and then pulled the plug and walked off into the sunset. We and the rest of our chain lost houses and sales and it cost us all money. 
We all know nothing will change though because this happening just means someone somewhere is making more money from these things being done twice (or more!). Rip off Britain. Again.

 

So, nothing happened over Xmas. The market pretty much dies from December onwards. But the house is still on the market. 
Last weekend we got some viewings again, yesterday we had three viewings. One of yesterdays was a lovely family who absolutely loved the place and offered the asking price within an hour of viewing it! 
So it is, again, now provisionally sold. On Monday the whole process starts again. 
With a bit of luck it’ll work out this time. It also is fantastic timing as it means if it all goes through ok we’ll be moving in the spring time which is ideal!

And just to prove how bad the property market is in this cuntry, in the last 3 years, this house has technically been sold 7 times!! Each time it’s fallen through! That’s either incredibly bad luck or something is wrong in the system.

Anyway, fingers crossed 🤞 

They recon property sales are up there with divorce and bereavement as one of the top three stressful life events.

Certainly our experience has never been good. It's almost always a shit show throughout it seems 🙄 

Hopefully things pan out for you this time eh!

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, Shirley Knott said:

They recon property sales are up there with divorce and bereavement as one of the top three stressful life events 

I can well believe that.

As with most things in life, it’s other people that create the stress and problems.