Recommissioning a barn find Volvo P1800ES
Discussion
Time for an update as we managed to make some good progress recently. This is a quite a long post as we’ve done quite a bit. Sorry the pics aren’t so good, I didn’t get as many as I hoped along the way.
First thing we did was pull out the old fuel tank, pump and filter and replace with all new items. We got hold of a genuine new Volvo fuel tank and treated the underside to a coat of stone chip for extra protection. We swapped over all the brass fittings and it dropped straight into the car.
We also fitted a new fuel sender unit, Bosch fuel pump and new fuel filter and replaced all the rubber hoses right up to the hard lines. We also cleared the hard lines out with a blast of air from the engine bay.
With everything at the back renewed we moved to the engine bay. First thing to do was pull the injectors and fuel rail. Upon testing we discovered they were locked solid. Replacements aren’t cheap so we decided to soak them for a week in a bath of carb cleaner, but that didn’t fix them.
We could have sent them away for a refirb, but instead we decided to treat it to new ones. Replacements are typically £500+ a set, but after doing a lot of research we found Summit Racing in America sell Beck Arnley injectors that are a direct replacement for £220 shipped including duty charges.
Another fault we found was the cold start injector in the inlet manifold. This was also dead and a replacement would have been £350, but after some research we discovered the Jaguar XJS V12 from the same era uses two identical injectors and we sourced a good used pair on ebay for £35.
We also renewed all the rubber fuel hoses up front and then powered up the fuel pump. We had no leaks and a steady and correct 32psi which meant the regulator was fine.
With the fuel system sorted we changed the oil, oil filter and air filter and popped off the valve cover to oil up the cam and valves. We then turned the engine by hand and It moved freely with now untoward sounds. It was now time to remove the fan belt, connect a new battery and give it a first crank to build oil pressure!
However, the starter motor was dead. A replacement was soon sourced and fitted and we able to crank it over. The oil pressure gauge shot up to 70psi and the oil light went out.
We also did a compression test and the results were not looking good. We had readings all over the place and well out of spec. Whilst this caused some concern, we decided to carry on and go for a start. Afterall, the car has been sitting for a long time and the valves were likely to be rusted, so I was hopeful that if we could get it started they would lap themselves back again.
We fitted a new coil, points, condenser, plugs, leads, rotor arm and distributor cap. The water pump and alternator span freely so we also fitted a new fan belt, flushed the coolant and fitted new radiator hoses.
After a bit of fault tracing because of no spark, we put the key in and cranked the engine. At first it coughed and spluttered but it eventually fired up!
At first it would barely idle, there was a bit of smoke and it was very lumpy. However, it very quickly smoothed out and began to idle well. We let it run with the radiator cap off to burp the system and the longer it ran the healthier it sounded.
After about 5 minutes it was running very well and idling at a steady 850rpm. It revved freely, sounded healthy and idled nicely. We also managed to run it up and down the drive a few times getting through the gears and you could feel everything coming to life. The clutch works, the brakes just about worked (although they’ll be getting a complete overhaul) and now there was no smoke out the exhaust.
We had it running for nearly an hour to get the temp up and after this amount of time it was running like a charm. By this point it was getting dark and we had to pack up, but we were delighted.
I’m now really keen to see what the compression is reading it’s been run in and I’m confident it’ll be improved. The compression must have evened out and increased as it was running so well.
Next things we need to sort are an oil line that feeds the gauge as this is weeping, the diff cover seal needs doing, we have a new water pump and thermostat to go in and of course a complete brake overhaul. I also want to fit new shock absorbers and flush the coolant a couple more times.
I also purchased a set of original wheels which have been reconditioned with nearly tyres fitted. Saves us messing about with the old ones and we’ll bolt those one when we do the brakes and shocks.
We now have a running a driving car!!
First thing we did was pull out the old fuel tank, pump and filter and replace with all new items. We got hold of a genuine new Volvo fuel tank and treated the underside to a coat of stone chip for extra protection. We swapped over all the brass fittings and it dropped straight into the car.
We also fitted a new fuel sender unit, Bosch fuel pump and new fuel filter and replaced all the rubber hoses right up to the hard lines. We also cleared the hard lines out with a blast of air from the engine bay.
With everything at the back renewed we moved to the engine bay. First thing to do was pull the injectors and fuel rail. Upon testing we discovered they were locked solid. Replacements aren’t cheap so we decided to soak them for a week in a bath of carb cleaner, but that didn’t fix them.
We could have sent them away for a refirb, but instead we decided to treat it to new ones. Replacements are typically £500+ a set, but after doing a lot of research we found Summit Racing in America sell Beck Arnley injectors that are a direct replacement for £220 shipped including duty charges.
Another fault we found was the cold start injector in the inlet manifold. This was also dead and a replacement would have been £350, but after some research we discovered the Jaguar XJS V12 from the same era uses two identical injectors and we sourced a good used pair on ebay for £35.
We also renewed all the rubber fuel hoses up front and then powered up the fuel pump. We had no leaks and a steady and correct 32psi which meant the regulator was fine.
With the fuel system sorted we changed the oil, oil filter and air filter and popped off the valve cover to oil up the cam and valves. We then turned the engine by hand and It moved freely with now untoward sounds. It was now time to remove the fan belt, connect a new battery and give it a first crank to build oil pressure!
However, the starter motor was dead. A replacement was soon sourced and fitted and we able to crank it over. The oil pressure gauge shot up to 70psi and the oil light went out.
We also did a compression test and the results were not looking good. We had readings all over the place and well out of spec. Whilst this caused some concern, we decided to carry on and go for a start. Afterall, the car has been sitting for a long time and the valves were likely to be rusted, so I was hopeful that if we could get it started they would lap themselves back again.
We fitted a new coil, points, condenser, plugs, leads, rotor arm and distributor cap. The water pump and alternator span freely so we also fitted a new fan belt, flushed the coolant and fitted new radiator hoses.
After a bit of fault tracing because of no spark, we put the key in and cranked the engine. At first it coughed and spluttered but it eventually fired up!
At first it would barely idle, there was a bit of smoke and it was very lumpy. However, it very quickly smoothed out and began to idle well. We let it run with the radiator cap off to burp the system and the longer it ran the healthier it sounded.
After about 5 minutes it was running very well and idling at a steady 850rpm. It revved freely, sounded healthy and idled nicely. We also managed to run it up and down the drive a few times getting through the gears and you could feel everything coming to life. The clutch works, the brakes just about worked (although they’ll be getting a complete overhaul) and now there was no smoke out the exhaust.
We had it running for nearly an hour to get the temp up and after this amount of time it was running like a charm. By this point it was getting dark and we had to pack up, but we were delighted.
I’m now really keen to see what the compression is reading it’s been run in and I’m confident it’ll be improved. The compression must have evened out and increased as it was running so well.
Next things we need to sort are an oil line that feeds the gauge as this is weeping, the diff cover seal needs doing, we have a new water pump and thermostat to go in and of course a complete brake overhaul. I also want to fit new shock absorbers and flush the coolant a couple more times.
I also purchased a set of original wheels which have been reconditioned with nearly tyres fitted. Saves us messing about with the old ones and we’ll bolt those one when we do the brakes and shocks.
We now have a running a driving car!!
Edited by croissant on Monday 30th November 13:32
Paul S4 said:
Hopefully you won't have to renew the valves.....although if the car was designed to run on leaded fuel, it may be worth getting the head refurbished with hardened valve seats, if that is feasible ?
My Elan developed a HGF after a long European trip, so when the head was off it was decided to get that done, even had the uprated Sprint bigger valves fitted. The difference after it was done was amazing. Just wondering if it is worth doing it on your Volvo....
After that wash it looks amazing.
There is a really good video on Youtube somewhere, of a Restomod of a P1800 in a lovely blue colour, that was done by a Swedish racing outfit (IIRC) but they made subtle changes as it was mainly a road car. The fit & finish was incredible....
if only I could remember what it was called !
Good progress on your car....great write up and very interesting.
I'm reading mixed things online about whether this car has hardened valve seats, but you're right, it might be worth pulling the head and getting them done.My Elan developed a HGF after a long European trip, so when the head was off it was decided to get that done, even had the uprated Sprint bigger valves fitted. The difference after it was done was amazing. Just wondering if it is worth doing it on your Volvo....
After that wash it looks amazing.
There is a really good video on Youtube somewhere, of a Restomod of a P1800 in a lovely blue colour, that was done by a Swedish racing outfit (IIRC) but they made subtle changes as it was mainly a road car. The fit & finish was incredible....
if only I could remember what it was called !
Good progress on your car....great write up and very interesting.
I did actually get a quote from a reputable machine shop that's quite local and they want £600 for a complete head overhaul. Not bad all things considered and as this is a pushrod engine with the cam buried deep in the block I wouldn't have to mess about with timing if I were to pull the head off. I don't plan on doing big mileage in this car, so for the time being I'll leave it, but it's certainly something I'll likely get done.
Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:
LTT Leather Care. Deep Clean and Leather Protect. Those two are all you'll need. Bin the Auto Trim stuff, it contains oils, which will be a magnet to muck. Speaking as a leather refinisher of 10 years.
Thanks for the recommendation. I've been underwhelmed with all the products I've tried so far. The LLT stuff does look good, although not cheap, but if you think it's worthwhile I might give it a go.Paul S4 said:
Just found a link ( if it works....!) to that beautiful Cyan P 1800 Restomod
https://monochrome-watches.com/the-petrolhead-corn...
Amazing car IMHO !
Ahhh yes. I’ve seen that. Really nice... but it costs £500k !! 200 times more expensive than minehttps://monochrome-watches.com/the-petrolhead-corn...
Amazing car IMHO !
Paul S4 said:
Yep That Cyan car looks amazing...presumably your 'wider banded steels' would not be quite as wide as those on the blue Cyan car !
They won't be as wide as the Cyan's. I now have a second set of wheels to band if I want to and reckon I can add another 2 inches to fill the arches out. If I do that I'll drop the car 30mm also. It will be some time until I get round to that, but it keeps the project alive for longer.FATCO said:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-P1800ES-Manual-Ov...
I saw this and thought you’d finished it and were flipping it. Glad to see you’re still beavering away.
No, not my car, although it's exactly the same spec and even same mileage. I think he's got it keenly priced as I saw one sell on auction for £13k, so it's not far off I guess.I saw this and thought you’d finished it and were flipping it. Glad to see you’re still beavering away.
Just a quick update with some positive news. The engine has restored itself to good health after running it a few times. i was preparing myself for an engine rebuild but that's no longer necessary.
First job I did over the xmas break was to replace the oil line that runs from the block to the pressure gauge in the dash as it was leaking quite badly. It was fidly but didn't take long. The engine is 100% leak free now and just needs a good degreasing and jetwash under the hood.
Once the oil leak was fixed I properly warmed it up and took it for a brief run up the road. It pulls really well indeed and sounds strong and healthy. Not bad for a car that's been sitting idle for so long.
After this I did another compression test and the results are much better with just over 160psi on all cylinders except one which showed about 180psi. I did crank it quite a bit longer on that cylinder, so i suspect that's why it read so high.
Either way, compression is restored to a very healthy level and oil pressure was very good reading 70+pis from cold and 50+ psi when up to temp. All of this indicates a strong and healthy engine now. It fires up on the button without touching the gas pedal, idles smooth and solid, pulls well through the revs and doesn't smoke out the exhaust.
Next task is to overhaul the brakes completely, fit new wheels and tyres and then I can get on to detailing it properly inside and out.
Here are the latest compression results:
First job I did over the xmas break was to replace the oil line that runs from the block to the pressure gauge in the dash as it was leaking quite badly. It was fidly but didn't take long. The engine is 100% leak free now and just needs a good degreasing and jetwash under the hood.
Once the oil leak was fixed I properly warmed it up and took it for a brief run up the road. It pulls really well indeed and sounds strong and healthy. Not bad for a car that's been sitting idle for so long.
After this I did another compression test and the results are much better with just over 160psi on all cylinders except one which showed about 180psi. I did crank it quite a bit longer on that cylinder, so i suspect that's why it read so high.
Either way, compression is restored to a very healthy level and oil pressure was very good reading 70+pis from cold and 50+ psi when up to temp. All of this indicates a strong and healthy engine now. It fires up on the button without touching the gas pedal, idles smooth and solid, pulls well through the revs and doesn't smoke out the exhaust.
Next task is to overhaul the brakes completely, fit new wheels and tyres and then I can get on to detailing it properly inside and out.
Here are the latest compression results:
Time for a small update as we’ve made some progress lately.
We are keen to take it for a drive now that it’s running. As it’s tax and MOT exempt we just needed to sort insurance.
I contacted Onecall who I am already insured with and they came back with an annual quote of just £55 fully comp, 3000 miles, breakdown cover and all the works. It should have been £95, but they offer £40 off a second policy, so I jumped on that. I’ve never known insurance to be so cheap!
Next tasks were to fit a thermostat, filled it with coolant and fitted a new rad cap for good measure.
Now that we have everything sorted under the hood and the car is running well, we plan to give the engine bay a proper detailing and restoration in the near future. More on that to come.
Here’s a quick pic of the oil pressure after warming up the car. Pretty good I say!
For some reason the previous owner dismantled parts of the car before laying it up and we were given buckets of parts and spares. All the chrome trim on the passenger side was missing, but after rummaging through the boxes we found everything, and the hardware needed to fit it all.
It was bugging me every time we went to the car that this was all missing and I was dreading having to source these as they so rare, so I’m pleased we found everything and got it all fitted correctly.
Whilst rummaging in the parts buckets we also found a brand-new genuine Volvo taillight to replace the cracked one on the car. I was close to buying a pattern part for £60, so that saved a few quid.
We then turned our attention to the interior.
The clock was the only gauge on the dash that didn’t work, so I decided to investigate what was happening. The owners club wasn’t much help. It seems they all break and everyone just lives with it, but I was determined to figure it out so took it apart.
It’s a wonderfully archaic blend of a mechanical wind up mechanism with an overly complicated electronic solenoid winder that triggers every 2 minutes to keep it wound up.
I blasted some compressed air and lots of crud came out. I then gently lubed everything with silicone spray and wound it by hand. To my surprise it kicked back into life and when I added power to the solenoid it all worked, triggering the winder every 2 minutes.
I didn’t get many pics of this, but it keeps good time and it’s back in the car functioning well.
Next task was to clean the grime that had collected around all the gauges. I have no idea what this was, but it was another thing that bugged me every time I looked at them.
Whatever it was came off with a new Stanley blade and they’re much more pleasing to the eye. At some point I’ll address the pitted matt black gauge surrounds.
We are keen to take it for a drive now that it’s running. As it’s tax and MOT exempt we just needed to sort insurance.
I contacted Onecall who I am already insured with and they came back with an annual quote of just £55 fully comp, 3000 miles, breakdown cover and all the works. It should have been £95, but they offer £40 off a second policy, so I jumped on that. I’ve never known insurance to be so cheap!
Next tasks were to fit a thermostat, filled it with coolant and fitted a new rad cap for good measure.
Now that we have everything sorted under the hood and the car is running well, we plan to give the engine bay a proper detailing and restoration in the near future. More on that to come.
Here’s a quick pic of the oil pressure after warming up the car. Pretty good I say!
For some reason the previous owner dismantled parts of the car before laying it up and we were given buckets of parts and spares. All the chrome trim on the passenger side was missing, but after rummaging through the boxes we found everything, and the hardware needed to fit it all.
It was bugging me every time we went to the car that this was all missing and I was dreading having to source these as they so rare, so I’m pleased we found everything and got it all fitted correctly.
Whilst rummaging in the parts buckets we also found a brand-new genuine Volvo taillight to replace the cracked one on the car. I was close to buying a pattern part for £60, so that saved a few quid.
We then turned our attention to the interior.
The clock was the only gauge on the dash that didn’t work, so I decided to investigate what was happening. The owners club wasn’t much help. It seems they all break and everyone just lives with it, but I was determined to figure it out so took it apart.
It’s a wonderfully archaic blend of a mechanical wind up mechanism with an overly complicated electronic solenoid winder that triggers every 2 minutes to keep it wound up.
I blasted some compressed air and lots of crud came out. I then gently lubed everything with silicone spray and wound it by hand. To my surprise it kicked back into life and when I added power to the solenoid it all worked, triggering the winder every 2 minutes.
I didn’t get many pics of this, but it keeps good time and it’s back in the car functioning well.
Next task was to clean the grime that had collected around all the gauges. I have no idea what this was, but it was another thing that bugged me every time I looked at them.
Whatever it was came off with a new Stanley blade and they’re much more pleasing to the eye. At some point I’ll address the pitted matt black gauge surrounds.
Edited by croissant on Monday 1st February 17:15
The carpets in the front had already been pulled out by the previous owner so we decided to pull all the carpets and give them a shampoo. Halfords own brand carpet cleaner is really good stuff combined with a drill brush attachment and they all came up looking great! There are some stains we couldn’t shift, but they are largely covered by the seats.
Here’s a couple of before shots.
And a few shots of the cleaned carpets.
With all the carpets and trim stripped out we gave the interior a thorough hoovering and wipe down and we just can’t believe how solid this car is. They all rust away in the footwells, sills, the entire rear end, wheel tubs… but this car is solid and brilliant throughout.
We then fitted all the carpet back into the car. I didn't have any contact adhesive, so we'll install the piece by the boot latch next time and also the door finishing strips before we put the seats back in.
For now though, this is how it sits. We just got to finish the interior install and fit the new wheels and tyres before we can take it on its maiden voyage!
Here’s a couple of before shots.
And a few shots of the cleaned carpets.
With all the carpets and trim stripped out we gave the interior a thorough hoovering and wipe down and we just can’t believe how solid this car is. They all rust away in the footwells, sills, the entire rear end, wheel tubs… but this car is solid and brilliant throughout.
We then fitted all the carpet back into the car. I didn't have any contact adhesive, so we'll install the piece by the boot latch next time and also the door finishing strips before we put the seats back in.
For now though, this is how it sits. We just got to finish the interior install and fit the new wheels and tyres before we can take it on its maiden voyage!
Paul S4 said:
Good to see the progress...!
Re the instrument dials...presumably they were OEM black surrounds ?
Either way, if it were my car I would put chrome bezels on.... it would not be too difficult as they seem to be Smiths dials...or you may prefer to keep them as they are !
I’m undecided what to do with them. They’re really not too bad, but there is some wear and pitting. I think chrome would be a bit much, so if I do anything I’ll be matt blacking them againRe the instrument dials...presumably they were OEM black surrounds ?
Either way, if it were my car I would put chrome bezels on.... it would not be too difficult as they seem to be Smiths dials...or you may prefer to keep them as they are !
V6 Pushfit said:
Lovely project what will you do with it when it’s finished?
Thank you. It's been a fun project to keep us entertained during the relentless lockdowns. We don't have any particular agenda other than having some fun, continuously restore and enjoy as a spring / summer weekend car.Running costs are next to nothing and it's garaged, so we can lock it away, forget about it and come back to it whenever we want a bit of fun.
As things stand we have no plans to sell and the long term we'll continue to improve it, get it reliable and performing well.
Usget said:
Absolutely love this. Archaic technology like this fills me with joy. Like the old Nakamichi tape deck which didn't have auto-reverse, they had a physical mechanism to eject the tape, flip it over, and re-insert it so that it could play Side B.
It took me by surprise and it was lots of fun getting it going again. Such an overly complex piece of kit for a car clock. There's going to be something oddly satisfying driving along knowing what's going on behind that clock face.It won't be of interest to some, but I'll try upload a video of the mechanism and solenoid winding.
EDIT... I managed to upload it to Vimeo. It doesn't seem to embed on here, but here's a link to the video. Turn the volume up to hear it working
https://vimeo.com/507604072
Edited by croissant on Tuesday 2nd February 17:05
Usget said:
How does the solenoid know how long two minutes is, and why don't they use the thing that tells it, to power the clock! 
Love it - and the rest of the car.
At the beginning of the video you can see the winder solenoid triggering. The winder is connected to the clock mechanism which rotates until the electrical contacts meet. When the contacts meet it triggers a pulse of energy to the solenoid which winds it back.I tried to capture this in the video. Love it - and the rest of the car.
Hopefully that makes sense?!
I guess it's designed like this so the clock doesn't constantly consume power and instead it only relies on a single pulse of energy every 2 minutes.
Another update as some more has happened lately.
With the car running well and with it all insured and taxed, we were keen to take it out on its maiden voyage.
We had only driven it 40-50 yards up and down the driveway and the brakes had hopeful signs of life, so we thought we’d take it for a run to see if we can get the callipers exercised before overhauling the brakes. If we could get the callipers operational it would save a bit cost in replacing them.
Before we took it out I wanted to change the diff oil. There’s no record in the tech log from the previous owner of this ever being done and it was showing signs of a leak, so thought it best to refresh this beforehand. The diff is also quite visible from the rear so I was keen to get it looking a little nicer also.
First thing to do was get the cover plate off and drain out the 50 year old oil. As you can see it was pretty manky and ugly back there.
With the cover off we cleaned it up, gave it a coat of stone chip and fitted it back on with a gasket and a good bead of RTV.
At some point I want to give the whole underside a thorough clean and proper coat of underseal to protect it and make it look nicer. For now though, this will do and the priority was to get it mechanically sound.
It was sub zero when it came to filling the diff and the oil was like treacle. It took a bit of faffing about to make up a pump and get the oil up and in, but we used a foot pump and a Robinsons squash bottle to great effect.
25psi was as high as we’d pressurise it as we didn’t fancy an exploding bottle of oil, but it was enough to get the oil flowing into the diff. It took a little while as we needed to get nearly 2 litres in, but the diff eventually filled and is now leak free.
I didn’t have any faith in the flat spotted, cracked, mismatched and very old tyres so we also fitted the new wheels and tyres onto the car. These are the correct size and it sits so much nicer now. The old chrome rings were very tired also, so we sourced a new set to finish it off.
The first drive was very exciting whilst being pretty nerve wrecking. At first everything was going well. It ran great, the gearbox felt nice, it tracked straight, the suspension all felt good and generally it felt really sorted.
We took it steady and headed straight to the petrol station to brim the tank with premium unleaded, but after that things started to get a little weird.
Although it drove very nicely, the brakes clearly had a major issue. It would stop ok, but the callipers would bind and the brakes would stick on. They would release and free up on their own eventually so we pressed on and were determined to see if we could get them exercised.
We got on the motorway and it was driving excellently. The overdrive worked, it cruised at 70-80mph comfortably with no untoward noises, rattles or vibrations and the gauges showed good oil pressure an no overheating. Very happy days.
But once we left the motorway and used the brakes again they just kept binding up. It was pretty scary at times, so we decided to nurse it home and call it a day.
We covered about 30 miles of careful driving and the brakes showed no signs of improving, so instead of messing about with the old callipers we bit the bullet and new callipers, discs, pads and flexi lines were ordered all round.
This weekend we got the car up on stands and pulled all the old gear off and replaced with new.
As you can see, the old discs and callipers are looking a little past their best. What should have taken a couple of hours ended up taking most of the day as the old discs were seized onto the car and the old lines were a complete pain to remove.
But we got through it and once all the old parts were off, refitting the new was pretty straightforward.
Unfortunately we didn’t get time to fill with new fluid and bleed the system, but we’ll do that soon and fingers crossed it should stop well.
One other issue we noticed whilst driving was that the bottom radiator hose was cold even after a fairly long drive. The car didn't overheat and there was good heat inside the car, but I suspect the radiator is blocked.
Next jobs are to bleed the brakes, check there's no leaks and get these working properly. We then want to pull the radiator out, back flush it and refit with a new water pump.
Stay tuned for more updates soon now that the weather is improving!
With the car running well and with it all insured and taxed, we were keen to take it out on its maiden voyage.
We had only driven it 40-50 yards up and down the driveway and the brakes had hopeful signs of life, so we thought we’d take it for a run to see if we can get the callipers exercised before overhauling the brakes. If we could get the callipers operational it would save a bit cost in replacing them.
Before we took it out I wanted to change the diff oil. There’s no record in the tech log from the previous owner of this ever being done and it was showing signs of a leak, so thought it best to refresh this beforehand. The diff is also quite visible from the rear so I was keen to get it looking a little nicer also.
First thing to do was get the cover plate off and drain out the 50 year old oil. As you can see it was pretty manky and ugly back there.
With the cover off we cleaned it up, gave it a coat of stone chip and fitted it back on with a gasket and a good bead of RTV.
At some point I want to give the whole underside a thorough clean and proper coat of underseal to protect it and make it look nicer. For now though, this will do and the priority was to get it mechanically sound.
It was sub zero when it came to filling the diff and the oil was like treacle. It took a bit of faffing about to make up a pump and get the oil up and in, but we used a foot pump and a Robinsons squash bottle to great effect.
25psi was as high as we’d pressurise it as we didn’t fancy an exploding bottle of oil, but it was enough to get the oil flowing into the diff. It took a little while as we needed to get nearly 2 litres in, but the diff eventually filled and is now leak free.
I didn’t have any faith in the flat spotted, cracked, mismatched and very old tyres so we also fitted the new wheels and tyres onto the car. These are the correct size and it sits so much nicer now. The old chrome rings were very tired also, so we sourced a new set to finish it off.
The first drive was very exciting whilst being pretty nerve wrecking. At first everything was going well. It ran great, the gearbox felt nice, it tracked straight, the suspension all felt good and generally it felt really sorted.
We took it steady and headed straight to the petrol station to brim the tank with premium unleaded, but after that things started to get a little weird.
Although it drove very nicely, the brakes clearly had a major issue. It would stop ok, but the callipers would bind and the brakes would stick on. They would release and free up on their own eventually so we pressed on and were determined to see if we could get them exercised.
We got on the motorway and it was driving excellently. The overdrive worked, it cruised at 70-80mph comfortably with no untoward noises, rattles or vibrations and the gauges showed good oil pressure an no overheating. Very happy days.
But once we left the motorway and used the brakes again they just kept binding up. It was pretty scary at times, so we decided to nurse it home and call it a day.
We covered about 30 miles of careful driving and the brakes showed no signs of improving, so instead of messing about with the old callipers we bit the bullet and new callipers, discs, pads and flexi lines were ordered all round.
This weekend we got the car up on stands and pulled all the old gear off and replaced with new.
As you can see, the old discs and callipers are looking a little past their best. What should have taken a couple of hours ended up taking most of the day as the old discs were seized onto the car and the old lines were a complete pain to remove.
But we got through it and once all the old parts were off, refitting the new was pretty straightforward.
Unfortunately we didn’t get time to fill with new fluid and bleed the system, but we’ll do that soon and fingers crossed it should stop well.
One other issue we noticed whilst driving was that the bottom radiator hose was cold even after a fairly long drive. The car didn't overheat and there was good heat inside the car, but I suspect the radiator is blocked.
Next jobs are to bleed the brakes, check there's no leaks and get these working properly. We then want to pull the radiator out, back flush it and refit with a new water pump.
Stay tuned for more updates soon now that the weather is improving!
Thanks for the kind comments. I'm pleased we're keeping the wheels stock for now. We still have the old wheels and I'm really tempted to do something with these, but we'll see.
The more I tinker with this car the more I realise how advanced it was for its time and the more admiration I have for Volvo as a car maker. I've owned 30+ cars and this is my first Volvo and it certainly won't be my last.
The more I tinker with this car the more I realise how advanced it was for its time and the more admiration I have for Volvo as a car maker. I've owned 30+ cars and this is my first Volvo and it certainly won't be my last.
Paul S4 said:
This is a great read !
I am on my second Volvo, a 1983 metallic blue 360GLS was my first, I am now on my second, a silver C30 1.6 Drive e R design. The C30 has styling cues from your P1800.
My Dad had a white Amazon 122S 'back in the day', it was an early one with the all red rear lights, with overdrive and that famous strip speedo ( really just a cylinder with red markings on if I recall )
Your car does seem to have been 'over engineered" but in a good way of course: the amount of steel in the back of that is amazing compared to modern cars.
Just a suggestion for you: would it be an idea to put "dynamat"? I think it is called under the carpets to add a bit of insulation/sound deadening?
It just looks a bit bare under the carpets !
And do you need any petrol additive ? My 1970 Elan needed Valvemaster Plus to prevent it from 'pinking' as it was designed to run on the old 5 star fuel.
The additive raised the octane by 2 points, so Shell V power 99 became 101 octane... and the Elan ran so much better with that.....as you can imagine !
I had thought about some sound deadening, but for now I just wanted it back together in standard form. Good suggestion though.I am on my second Volvo, a 1983 metallic blue 360GLS was my first, I am now on my second, a silver C30 1.6 Drive e R design. The C30 has styling cues from your P1800.
My Dad had a white Amazon 122S 'back in the day', it was an early one with the all red rear lights, with overdrive and that famous strip speedo ( really just a cylinder with red markings on if I recall )
Your car does seem to have been 'over engineered" but in a good way of course: the amount of steel in the back of that is amazing compared to modern cars.
Just a suggestion for you: would it be an idea to put "dynamat"? I think it is called under the carpets to add a bit of insulation/sound deadening?
It just looks a bit bare under the carpets !
And do you need any petrol additive ? My 1970 Elan needed Valvemaster Plus to prevent it from 'pinking' as it was designed to run on the old 5 star fuel.
The additive raised the octane by 2 points, so Shell V power 99 became 101 octane... and the Elan ran so much better with that.....as you can imagine !
I also do need to use an additive and have been using millers vspe multishot along with premium unleaded. It's octane booster, lead additive and ethanol neutraliser which came recommended by the owners club. It's £30 for a bottle that treats 10 tanks and not bad value. The castrol valvemaster is equivalent but costs a little more, so I'm told.
Paul S4 said:
Yes the ValveMaster Plus was quite pricey if I recall, but it was a few years ago. Halfords used to sell it at one time, but I am sure there are cheaper places (!!)
I would be tempted to put a full stainless steel exhaust on yours with a bigger and neater single tail pipe....to me that OEM one just looks a bit 'awkward' some how...!
But that is just IMHO of course.
It would probably give it a bit more of a' rorty' sound as well...
Having never driven any older Volvo ( older than a 1983 360 anyway !) how does it handle ?
If it is based on the Amazon I would reckon it would be pretty good, seeing as they rallied those, and of course the 544 (?) before that.
I haven’t mentioned it on the thread yet, but the previous owner fitted a full stainless system in the early 90s at great expense. I’ve got the receipt somewhere in the paperwork, but I think it cost about £300, which back then was a lot. It’s only had a few years use and it great shape. It has a very subtle burble but looks stock. I know what you mean about the odd tailpipes, but I kinda like them!I would be tempted to put a full stainless steel exhaust on yours with a bigger and neater single tail pipe....to me that OEM one just looks a bit 'awkward' some how...!
But that is just IMHO of course.
It would probably give it a bit more of a' rorty' sound as well...
Having never driven any older Volvo ( older than a 1983 360 anyway !) how does it handle ?
If it is based on the Amazon I would reckon it would be pretty good, seeing as they rallied those, and of course the 544 (?) before that.
As for the handling, it was very compliant. It soaked up speed bumps really well and although we didn’t chuck it around, it felt sure footed yet pretty supple. From what I could sense I would imagine it would understeer if pushed, and would take some effort to get it to oversteer. I’ll be sure to update my thoughts on how it drives the more I use it.
Time for an update chaps!
As with many projects, the final 10% of work has taken 90% of the time. Sorry for the lack of pics in this post. I promise there will be more once the detailing of the car happens next.
My last post ended having fitted all new brakes, but we still needed to fill with fluid and bleed. What should have been a simple task took several attempts and of course more parts needing replacing and refurbishing. It's a very complex braking system and it proved tricky diagnose, but we got there in the end.
The rear brake bias valves needed an overhaul as they were seized and blocked. This was pretty straightforward job and for good measure we also fitted a new master cylinder. After sorting these parts we eventually managed to get the brakes bled and working correctly. It now stops very well indeed.
We were now able to safely take the car for a proper drive and very quickly a couple more issues became apparent.
One issue was with the cooling system. It wasn’t overheating at all, but the bottom radiator hose and radiator never got hot after a long run. The other issue was that the overdrive kept engaging randomly on its own in any gear.
First thing to tackle was the cooling system. We had good heat in the car, so the pump was working fine and we knew we had no air in the system, but we decided to pull the radiator and back flush it. A lot of chunky crud came out and we had it flowing really nicely after this. I filled it with boiling water and could feel all the fins were warm so we know it was flowing.
We also tested the thermostat which was fine, so we painted the rad, refitted it and filled with LiquiMoly cooling system cleaner and ran it up to temp. After this we flushed the system a few times until it ran clear and now everything is working as it should.
The overdrive was the final mechanical issue and a little more concerning. Not only was it really annoying, but it ran the risk of wrecking the gearbox and overdrive with its sporadic behaviour. We knew that it worked, but something was amiss with the way it was behaving.
After doing some research we decided the best thing to do was dive in and start pulling things apart. First thing we noticed were lots of loose bolts holding it together and the activating solenoid was only partially screwed into the bell housing.
We dropped the inspection plate on the overdrive unit and surprisingly it was immaculate inside. No swarf and just clean oil. We also removed the activating solenoid and pulled it apart.
We bench tested the solenoid and it appeared to be fine, so we cleaned out the filters and put everything back together properly with fresh oil. To our surprise it now performs perfectly and only engages when asked in 4th gear just as it should. I still don’t know exactly what was at fault, but suspect it was the loose solenoid.
I’ve now done a few hundred miles in the car and it’s performing brilliant. It's such an event to drive! It starts on the button and runs very well, cruises on the motorway decently and absolutely everything is working on the car. It feels really solid and steady and you'd never know it was nearly 50 years old and been abandoned for half its life.
The other task I wanted to tackle was the headliner. For some reason the previous owner removed this from the car and we found it at the back of the garage where the car was stored. It was covered in mould so Aldis finest mould remover was deployed and it cleaned up super nice.
Fitting the headliner proved to be a very challenging task especially becasue of the sunroof. I really really hate fitting headliners to cars! Ours had shrunk over time, but we got it in and looking ok. Unfortunately there’s a few minor tears from when the previous owner removed it, but we’ll patch these up with matching material when we can source some. All things considered I'm happy with how it cleaned up and went back in.
I also got the car up on the ramp at a friends garage a couple of weeks ago just to give it a thorough inspection and I can honestly say there is not a bit of rust on this car and it has survived remarkably well. Every other one of these I have seen on the owners club has rotted and been repaired and ours has never been welded and everything is in top order mechanically. The only thing I could see was a couple of tired looking bushes at the rear, but they’re still in good shape, they're just a bit tired.
The car is now complete, reliable and drives great. There’s a few jobs left to do such as, detailing the engine bay, undersealing the car, replacing some suspension bushes, fitting a new head unit and giving it a proper clean and polish, but these are all things that can wait and none are pressing issues. I'll be sure to post an update as I do these next tasks with more detailed photos of the car.
Ordinarily I would be looking for my next project, but with a couple of good useable classics in the garage to enjoy I’m turning my attention to building a garden room now.
Perhaps later in the summer I’ll start looking for my next project?! Hit me up if you have a classic that needs rescuing!
As with many projects, the final 10% of work has taken 90% of the time. Sorry for the lack of pics in this post. I promise there will be more once the detailing of the car happens next.
My last post ended having fitted all new brakes, but we still needed to fill with fluid and bleed. What should have been a simple task took several attempts and of course more parts needing replacing and refurbishing. It's a very complex braking system and it proved tricky diagnose, but we got there in the end.
The rear brake bias valves needed an overhaul as they were seized and blocked. This was pretty straightforward job and for good measure we also fitted a new master cylinder. After sorting these parts we eventually managed to get the brakes bled and working correctly. It now stops very well indeed.
We were now able to safely take the car for a proper drive and very quickly a couple more issues became apparent.
One issue was with the cooling system. It wasn’t overheating at all, but the bottom radiator hose and radiator never got hot after a long run. The other issue was that the overdrive kept engaging randomly on its own in any gear.
First thing to tackle was the cooling system. We had good heat in the car, so the pump was working fine and we knew we had no air in the system, but we decided to pull the radiator and back flush it. A lot of chunky crud came out and we had it flowing really nicely after this. I filled it with boiling water and could feel all the fins were warm so we know it was flowing.
We also tested the thermostat which was fine, so we painted the rad, refitted it and filled with LiquiMoly cooling system cleaner and ran it up to temp. After this we flushed the system a few times until it ran clear and now everything is working as it should.
The overdrive was the final mechanical issue and a little more concerning. Not only was it really annoying, but it ran the risk of wrecking the gearbox and overdrive with its sporadic behaviour. We knew that it worked, but something was amiss with the way it was behaving.
After doing some research we decided the best thing to do was dive in and start pulling things apart. First thing we noticed were lots of loose bolts holding it together and the activating solenoid was only partially screwed into the bell housing.
We dropped the inspection plate on the overdrive unit and surprisingly it was immaculate inside. No swarf and just clean oil. We also removed the activating solenoid and pulled it apart.
We bench tested the solenoid and it appeared to be fine, so we cleaned out the filters and put everything back together properly with fresh oil. To our surprise it now performs perfectly and only engages when asked in 4th gear just as it should. I still don’t know exactly what was at fault, but suspect it was the loose solenoid.
I’ve now done a few hundred miles in the car and it’s performing brilliant. It's such an event to drive! It starts on the button and runs very well, cruises on the motorway decently and absolutely everything is working on the car. It feels really solid and steady and you'd never know it was nearly 50 years old and been abandoned for half its life.
The other task I wanted to tackle was the headliner. For some reason the previous owner removed this from the car and we found it at the back of the garage where the car was stored. It was covered in mould so Aldis finest mould remover was deployed and it cleaned up super nice.
Fitting the headliner proved to be a very challenging task especially becasue of the sunroof. I really really hate fitting headliners to cars! Ours had shrunk over time, but we got it in and looking ok. Unfortunately there’s a few minor tears from when the previous owner removed it, but we’ll patch these up with matching material when we can source some. All things considered I'm happy with how it cleaned up and went back in.
I also got the car up on the ramp at a friends garage a couple of weeks ago just to give it a thorough inspection and I can honestly say there is not a bit of rust on this car and it has survived remarkably well. Every other one of these I have seen on the owners club has rotted and been repaired and ours has never been welded and everything is in top order mechanically. The only thing I could see was a couple of tired looking bushes at the rear, but they’re still in good shape, they're just a bit tired.
The car is now complete, reliable and drives great. There’s a few jobs left to do such as, detailing the engine bay, undersealing the car, replacing some suspension bushes, fitting a new head unit and giving it a proper clean and polish, but these are all things that can wait and none are pressing issues. I'll be sure to post an update as I do these next tasks with more detailed photos of the car.
Ordinarily I would be looking for my next project, but with a couple of good useable classics in the garage to enjoy I’m turning my attention to building a garden room now.
Perhaps later in the summer I’ll start looking for my next project?! Hit me up if you have a classic that needs rescuing!
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