stupidity 1964 Volvo 122S - Amazonian rustforest. Electroshite.

[juular]

It's typical that I've got it down to only the easy bits of welding left, and I can't be bothered. So I've been doing displacement activities instead.

@Lacquer Peelhelped me drop the front suspension off.

It was then a case of slowly removing everything bit by bit. The plan is to at least strip and paint the crossmember so that I can put the engine back in.

Things are in pretty good condition for being nearly 60 years old. Not a single bolt sheared or rounded, and nothing is beyond reusing.

The plan of attack is to firstly strip, clean and rebuild the calipers.  Again these are in surprisingly good condition and when I chopped the lines off, nice clean brake fluid came out which is a great sign.  The pads and fitting kit also look almost new, so those are simply going straight back on.

After that, I'll be wanting the suspension cleaned and rust treated.  I'd like to be able to just hand this lot off to a media blasters / powdercoaters but not sure if I have the cash to do so.  It's likely this will involve some time with a jetwash, wire wheel, and then soaking in acid.

[juular]

The sun shining for weeks on end in Scotland can only mean the world is about to implode in on itself, so I better get a move on with this.  I did make an effort to go out and do normal human people things at the weekend, then realised people are cunts and that everywhere is full of them. 

First job was to utilise the sunshine to get the front crossmember derusted and painted so that I could refit it and allow the engine to go back in.

I'll probably give the engine bay a quick coat of the car's original colour (Pearl White) before the engine actually goes in.

It was then on to sorting the inner arches on the rear. I've been putting off doing this bit as it's an utterly shite job, lying on my back at an awkward angle getting covered in weld and not being able to see much. I started off with filling in the gap with cardboard to make templates.

This got transferred to steel then welded in. 

Next up was to fill in the bottom of the arches where they meet the sills. For this I used the trusty duct tape method to mark the shapes.

Transferred onto steel and cut out.

And repairs done.

The next job will be to do exactly the same on the other side, then the end of the welding really is within touching distance.

[Lacquer Peel]

There's so much new metal here I feel like I'm in the mid-2000s again.

Great to see. 

[juular]

3 hours ago, Lacquer Peel said:

There's so much new metal here I feel like I'm in the mid-2000s again.

Great to see. 

[juular]

Plan is to get the engine fitted in the next couple of days, so I started tackling the engine bay.

So what needed done was to clean up and paint the area where the crossmember attaches, then gives the whole engine bay a going over with the sander to remove all the brush marks. I'm using a really heavy duty primer which works great, but it goes on thick and lumpy.  I'm not bothered, the engine bay is never going to look great and in six months it'll probably be covered in oil and coolant anyway, but I at least want it to be all the same colour.

With that area tidied up and the sanding done, I started undersealing the front end, then gave the engine bay a coat of high build primer.

This was finished off with some rattlecan in the original car colour (79 Pearl White).

The finish has a stippled look in comparison to the factory smooth finish but I'm OK with that, it looks hard wearing like a truckbed or something.

Although I'd identified all the remaining rot in the boot floor I hadn't cut it all out, so I got that chopped to try and encourage me to get it sorted.

I need to go further with the other side, but it's all simple flat bits. I've officially run out of metal - that's a whole sheet used on this car.

I ended up having to chop off the rear lower valance sections as where they attached to the floor was rotten.

At first glance they look sort of OK.

Oh.

That's a problem for future me.  They don't look mega difficult to fabricate if I had to make new ones.

Finally, I still hadn't fitted the passenger side outer sill, mainly because I needed to modify it.  I managed to get two full sill panels but they were both driver's side ones.  What I need to do is cut off the ends, then fabricate the curved end on the left, and weld it onto the right.

So I need the mirror image of this.

Copying the shape.

In place.

Welded on, then hit with hammers to curve it over.

Then finished off with the flap wheel.

My tolerance for welding in this heat is pretty much zero, so I'll be doing more mechanical bits next.

 

 

[juular]

Glued that sill on. Another step closer.

The main job of the weekend though was to fit the engine. 

Step one, engine mounts and crossmember refitted.

Step two, wheel the engine out to the car and refit the engine mount brackets.

Step three. Sit in the shade and stare at the engine for an hour.

Step four, fit the wrong bolt into the engine mount bracket, shear it off and then spend the next four hours trying to weld a nut onto it, giving up, having to go buy new drill bits, and drill and tap a new hole while shitting myself that I was going to break through into the engine internals. For added jeopardy a thunderstorm was approaching.

Step five. There is no step five.

Step six, fit massively oversized bolt.

Step seven, assemble engine crane in 26C heat and curse being prone to migraines.

Step eight.  PLOP.

 

[danthecapriman]

Lovely job, engine and the bay look fantastic.

That engine mount bolt though😄🤬  
Funny how when you watch them doing stuff on tv it’s never a big deal. ‘Oh no, oh well, just weld a nut to it and it’ll come right out…’ yeah right! This is exactly the sort of shit that happens in the real world.

Well done getting it sorted though.

[warninglight]

This car is now unrecognisable from when I last saw it 2.5 years ago. Absolutely amazing work!

[warninglight]

The last time I saw it...

[High Jetter]

Roof sign's not central

[warninglight]

Also just realised a few weeks ago I repeated that theme with my new purchase, but this time both are estates...

[juular]

Mini update. Bonnet hinges cleaned up and sprayed.

[mullett471]

On 6/22/2023 at 6:11 PM, juular said:

Mini update. Bonnet hinges cleaned up and sprayed.

I thought it was a Volvo?

[juular]

A fairly wet weekend, so picking away at some bits that still need done.

Caliper inspection. No doubt the calipers will need a full rebuild (one of them had been left with the bleed screw missing 🤦‍♂️). As done previously, I tried using the grease gun to push the very stuck pistons out, but noticed that the pipe unions were imperial rather than metric.  Using a bit of spare brake pipe I made up an adapter for the grease gun.

Getting the big piston out is simple enough. The two smaller ones need the caliper to be split in two so that one can be clamped shut to keep the grease in. This is OK to do with these calipers as they don't have an internal passageway between them, rather they use an external bridge pipe.

So far it looks like I will have to buy pistons as well as they are a bit rusty in places. However I also have another two calipers off the scrap car which might be in better condition, so I may be able to construct one good set between them.

Next up I decided it would be a good idea to get a heater box sorted, as currently the gaping hole in the engine bay is letting a bit of water in. It turns out I have not one, but three heater boxes in my spares pile. I have no idea how that came about but I'm not complaining.

First box, dismantled.

The flange is a bit crusty. It's repairable, but that's a job for future me.

This one is much better. Just need to clean it out and maybe give it a coat of paint.

I took the heater cores out and filled them with coke in an attempt to unblock / descale them. Turned out to be a good idea as they were quite choked up.

Now I just need to test the blowers and see which one works best.  Interesting to see the differences between all the heater boxes, they all have slightly different blowers and cores.

Rear brakes.  The amazon rear drums are held onto the axle stub by a sort of stretching drum arrangement which means that they are impossible to remove without a puller.  A member of the Volvo UK owners club kindly posted me a puller to borrow to do the job.

Foosty.  The good news is I don't need new shoes, but unfortunately the adjusters and the wheel cylinders are frozen solid.

These axles have a more complex adjuster unit that you can open and close using a square pin on the back. Both are absolutely seized solid.

A bath in penetrating oil will hopefully free those up.

 

As for the wheel cylinders, I will need to make up yet another adapter as these use a different type of flare from the front calipers. A real mishmash of fittings and standards going on here. I suspect that they are scrap and for £25 each I may as well just fit new ones.

Finally, I set about checking over the carbs.

So apart from being caked in shite, everything seems to be in good condition. Jets are clear, floats work, throttle spindles have a bit of side to side play but no radial play which means they should be sealing OK with any luck.

The float bowls were full of.. whatever this is.

A good clean up and lube of all moving parts was done. I'm staying optimistic this is all they need. I mixed up the pistons between the carb bodies. Remind me of this when it isn't running properly.

That's all for this week.

[juular]

Some nice little pancake filters arrived.

I then finished off all the welding on the inner nearside arch.

In the process I managed to set my immaculate headliner on fire, and damaged a couple of door cards.

It was all over in about 5 seconds. It was the last thing I'd have thought would go up given I was essentially welding next to the boot floor but there you go.

It could have been a lot worse!

I set about dunking everything I could find into vats of citric acid to remove all the rust.

This included the rear lower panels that I stripped the paint off. They looked a lot better at this point and so was hopeful I could save them with a quick patch here and there.

They came out of the tank rust free.

Unfortunately in much of the case, metal free as well.

Not sure what to do with them. Might smother them in filler and then bolt them onto the car, waiting until I can afford replacements.

Lots of degunking was done.

I can now see what overdrive I actually have..

 

Then acid treatment.

Then lots of parts painting.

Finally lots of things arrived!

Now on my way to Shitefest so progress is halted until the hangover abates.

[JMotor]

Liked for progress.

Sad for the small fire. As you said, it could of been MUCH worse.

[juular]

Patina check.

Ageing like milk.

On the way to Shitefest I picked up a new dash top, a full carpet set and a set of NOS Monroe shocks from someone with a garage full of spares.

I also picked up a set of Lucas style mirrors.

 

Apart from that it's mostly been parts cleaning, derusting and painting.

While I was away I left loads of stuff in acid baths which nicely cleaned all the rust off.

A before and after comparison on springs.

This stuff went a bit powdery from the phosphoric acid but it's all really good condition.

Primer then paint.

Finally some satin black.

The brake and clutch hydraulics were rebuilt with new seals.

 

Finally, I took the calipers apart and honed the bores.

Then a coat of high temperature paint.

Next up, caliper seals and pistons, then I might as well start putting things back on the car.

[danthecapriman]

Those bits all came up really well after the acid bath!

All this sort of stuff is one of the things I definitely underestimated when doing the Capri, all these parts, nuts/bolts etc etc take ages to strip, clean, check over, prime, paint…    
I remember using lengths of scrap timber with hundreds of holes drilled in them, inserting all the screws & bolts into the holes so the heads were sticking up in the air and not touching anything then spraying them all with etch primer followed by (usually) black paint. It must of looked ridiculous if you’d seen them all sat drying! 
It all makes a heck of a difference in the end though.

[juular]

10 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I remember using lengths of scrap timber with hundreds of holes drilled in them, inserting all the screws & bolts into the holes so the heads were sticking up in the air and not touching anything then spraying them all with etch primer

This is a really good idea!

[juular]

Just tagging this on.

Got bored yesterday evening and fitted the caliper seals and pistons. There's something so incredibly satisfying about taking a caliper baked solid in rust and ending up with something clean and shiny.

 

[sdkrc]

The progress on this is fucking spectacular. 

[GMcD]

Seconded. It's outstanding!

I missed the previous update. Thank fuck you spotted it and put it out. 😥

[juular]

Got Covid again. It can fuck right off.

Been at the Amazon in short bursts. Got the front running gear on..

Attached the bonnet to the hinges.

Steering column and box refitted.

Check out these bushes that originally came off the car. From the typeface I reckon these are original 60s rubber. Absolutely immaculate.

All of this is going back on, because new rubber will be nowhere near as good.

 

[Sunny Jim]

Another Shitefest covid victim, hope you feel better soon. I keep trying to start things, feel dizzy and have to stop.

[juular]

8 hours ago, Sunny Jim said:

Another Shitefest covid victim, hope you feel better soon. I keep trying to start things, feel dizzy and have to stop.

Likewise, hope things improve rapidly for you. I got the dizziness for a couple of days but now it's mostly tiredness.  It's frustrating having to stop doing things every few minutes!

[High Jetter]

Covid, or Shitefever from the BG's?

[juular]

And the weldathon is complete!

Last bit of metal that went on the car was the spare wheel well floor.

With the boot floor and spare wheel well done, there was just some minor bits to be finished off that I had tacked in a while back.

The return on the rear quarter where it meets the removed lower trim.

Various small crusty bits around the rear cut out and replaced.

 

Rear door frames.

And that's it. Next, to see how many boxes of flap discs I get through trying to make it look pretty.

It's now mostly onto seam sealing, painting and refitting parts.

Bonnet catch, gearbox crossmember, radiator mount and front panel were tidied up and painted.

Radiator descaled with only the finest quality chemicals.

The heater matrix control valve was freed up with a screwdriver, oiled, and then tested with a heat gun to make sure it responds to temperature. Seems to work. Here you can see it open.

And after a few seconds of the heat gun on full blast, closed off.

That meant I could rebuild the heater box and give it a quick coat of satin black.

Various engine bits refitted : oil filter, thermostat, manifolds, fuel pump and spark plugs.

Leaving the carbs off until I've refitted brake and clutch lines, as it looks like they'll get in the way.

Once the carbs and starter are on, I'm most definitely tempted to start it off a can.

[outlaw118]

Heroic M9

[juular]

With the welding done I thought it would be a good idea to get into the cavities and chassis rails with some acid to prevent them rotting from the inside out. I got this spray bottle on ebay with a long lance and 360 degree nozzle which does the job well.

While that was drying out the welds on the bodywork got smoothed out with a flap disc.

Clearly quite a few pinholes left, so that will get a skim of filler before anything else.

Time to seam seal and paint the underside.  Before that it would help if I could actually get under the car.

That's better, and as with the 240 project this was a mega satisfying cleanup.

Seam sealing commenceth.

Then primer.

Topcoat then underseal next in a few days.

Skimming the bodywork that was welded.

Turned attention to the rear lower panels which as I showed earlier were completely fucked and full of pinholes. These were soaked in an acid bath so there should be no actual rust left.  In reality these need replaced but I will mend and make do for now since they're purely aesthetic and not structural. In the future if I come across some cheaper panels I'll swap them out.

Started by rebuilding the flanges so that they could be bolted to the car.

Next up I covered the major holes on the back side with some foil tape. This will act as a bit of structure to hold the filler in.

I'll then be going over them with a couple of skims of filler and a quick coat of primer for now.

Finally, while the weather is nice I gave the gearbox a completely pointless lick of paint.

 

I've ordered a whole load of different rubber door seals from Temu which came to a grand total of about £15. I reckon I won't have to buy any original seals, which is a good thing as a set just for the doors is well into 3 figures.

Next up some more painting, then gearbox, propshaft, axle and suspension can start to go back on.

[dozeydustman]

This is all good stuff. Please don’t stop!