O.K. So I'm now restoring it - Now without Pics!

[CBA]

Things wrong with car TODAY in order of how bothered I am about it - and that I have not found a cheap or easy enough solution for yet.
- @60459Miles

1 - Strut bearings knock grind and rattle (almost* sourced... but if anyone can get them and compatible spring cups I'd love to know where)

2 - My interior is green (middish/darkish met green car) and I need a drivers door card, 4 interior door handle "cups", a drivers seat, (or set of seats and door cards+handles+bits that go with the green carpet)

3 - Boot spring/pneumatic/hydraulic, Whatever... I think I've taken too many bumps on the head -> two boot supports.

4 - forget gearbox, the synchro was never meant to work "all the time" anyway.

5 - My propshaft sometimes rattles like hell, sometimes it's just normal noise tho... I'd like to know what part(s) I need before pulling it apart and to know if they in fact exist.

6 - welding will wait for now

7 - the paint is really bad + back bumper is ruined by previous owners "attempt" at bodging, + 2 doors need replacing (one is dented, other is rotten) - I cant spray a whole car and it's not worth thinking about paying for a respray... What the hell do can I do about the paint when It's all straightened out body wise but has multicoloured doors? the only solution I can see is getting 2 of the same colour doors, it could happen and even then it needs some serious touching up.



Help me make this post shorter!

[volvosneverdie]

Super-post. The mother of all posts.

If your bumpers are black (ie not colour coded) rub them with linseed oil.
A good few people on here have gone that route and they come up really well.

I'll leave the rest of you're questions to other folk.
I don't want to be greedy.

[garth]

And untill I get any photos I aint saying shiat!

But as our VND said linseed seems to be the stuff.

[jtbo]

Linseed oil is bit dangerous, sometimes it can have flammable point of +42C, and mixed with thinner it is sort of explosive, however it is good at salad I have heard. So rub it slowly and don't handle open fire near rags wet of Linseed oil, it is weird stuff.

You can find service manual kind of Volvo green books from this forum, go to technical resources section and choose green books, then pick what does interests you, those were something used in Volvo garages.

[Speedy88]

An alternative to rubbing your bumpers is putting the blowtorch on it, just be careful around the chrome as it will make it brown.

[CBA]

Thanks, I'll try the linseed on the front bumper, I know it has a heavy vapour or something...
- Will take some pictures, keep forgetting -
Theyr'e streaky grey, like the plastic wasn't mixed properly or something.
I'll look at the green books, why I didn't find it myself I don't know... thanks.

[Ride_on]

The white rubber unseal is a pig to get off, I find simple slow progress with a wire brush on drill is the only way. Angle grinder works too but take metal aswell and requires more safety equipment. (I'm on respirator, glasses and ear defenders these days for everything except welding). Bitument underseal, no idea but white spirit or petrol are worth a try otherwise its wire brush on drill.

You are lucky to have a good car if it has survived a good poke for rust, usually the sills and wheel arches rot through. Get it rustproofed before next winter. By the sound of it there quite a few small spots, my worry would be that you have found pin holes, but they are usually accompanied by larger rusted sections on the inside. If the metal feels strong enough, just fill as a temporary repair, but for a more permanent repair you need to cut out all the rust and weld, but you could be at it for years, so I'd opt for a mix of temporary repairs for light damage and internal rust proofing to survive the next winter. It will be much easier if you can make small repairs, use a dremel to clear away a small space and hand paint primer and paint in after filling. The welding of the wheel arch + sill could be messy if there is thinned metal from internal rust and/or remaining wax.

Also nothing wrong with a good filler to reshape a dented door panel, but depending on the damage it may be cratered, getting it flat enough for car paint is a skill that can only be learned from experience.

Engine adjustments - Unless this is very old, sounds like late 80s by condition, then you will have computerised ignition (which should not give any trouble), no points or timing to worry about. Make sure all the ignition is clean and not leaking HT (view engine in complete darkness, give your eyes 5-10mins to adjust and look for coronal discharge). You may need to remove the coil from the Renix unit to clean it properly. The carb I don't remember the 1.4 well but just idle and mixture to do, best done with gas analyser. Tappets are done easy enough, specs should be in the green book area, if not someone with a manual can help.

Gearbox + diff + half shafts should be bomb proof. Drive shaft needs to be torque up accurately if removed, handle with care they are rare and expensive 2nd hand items if they are damaged.

Shocks sounds like they are original, so definitely need replacing, see other threads for sources. Dia has some expensive ones I think.

No grease points as such, just door hinges etc. Incidentally top door hinge pin usually rust and need replacing, <£1 and needs a punch to change. Bottom one much harder to change but goes less frequently.

[CBA]

The pics!
---------

Pic 1 - Clock (been messed with you think?) numbers are not inline, gets worse farther to the right.


Pic 2 - more clocks

Pic 3 - ditto

Pic 4 - best pic of odometer.

Pic 5 - Fair wear for 60k?

Pic 6 - Gearstick/Gator, fair wear?

Pic 7 - Drivers seat

Pic 8 - Drivers Seat Detail.

Pic 9 - Ignition lock

Pic 10 - Pedals

Pic 11 - Rear offside arch.

Pic 12 - Rear offside inner arch bottom

Pic 13 - "front" of that arch

Pic 14 - Corner of sill Rear right.

pic 15 - was expecting more than that

pic 16 - Bodywork seam.. metal islike putty, see where i dented it.

pic 17 - Rot on back door (what to do?)

pic 18 - More door rot.

pic 19 - Back end, I straightened the lights. need to pull the crease out of the back panel.

pic 20 - Rear left end of sill

pic 21 - The worst bit.

pic 22 - it's a bit cruddy there...

pic 23 - The good inner arch, getting some rust treatment before wing goes back on.

pic 24 - lovely innit?

pic 25 - front left sill end, quite tidy.

pic 26 - view from below that corner of sill - sky is in view.

pic 27 - whole sill, good - just the back end.

pic 28 - the car

pic 29 - the bad inner arch, had a bump, the guy said it hadnt, just replaced them because they were rusty... hello? - horse head delivery?... yes i was wondering....

pic 30 - it's not that bad... been hammered back in shape a lot by me tho...
lot of welding to replace it??? can someone do this for me, I'll pay for this job to be done right

pic 31 - front right sill corner *vertice.

pic 32 - same corner

pic 33 - just first 2 inches?

pic 34 - pea sized hole under fusebox

pic 35 - *with lid off

pic 36 - other side, same place, slightly bigger hole, and what looks like a crack?

pic 37 - that area...

pic 38 - the bad rear arch, it's solid, just surface rust.. been bumped on this side, all along swiped it or something.

pic 39 - left side rear floor.

Pic 40 - inside of rear left sill end

pic 41 - "" rear right sill end

Pic 42 - Front right suspension.

Pic 43 - front left inner arch, they're all the same. #

pic 44 - my colour of interior... need green handles!

pic 45 - it's ok at the front lol...

pic 46 - love the blue tint on top of windscreen!

pic 47 - top of boot hatch... how to sort that out?

pic 48 - the bad side.

pic 49 - there is no pic 49.

----------------------------

there you go.

[CBA]

You reckon the mileage is legit?

[volvosneverdie]

ha ha! Nearly bought that a while ago from Gumtree!
Pics made it look very tidy.
Looks like the seller was hiding a bit of the truth.
Good on you for restoring it mate, you've got a lot more nerve than me.
I had a mk2 that was a very similar, if not the same color. 5 speed B reg 3 door and I wish I'd never sold it.
Good luck with it man, I'm sure it'll look killer at the end of your fettling.

Ps the digits on the mileometer look ok to me. None of mine have been 100% straight.

[CBA]

I'm goona cut out each end every thinned piece of metal, go from there... I can seal over what I cant afford to weld right now and do it bit by bit, have a 10 month MOT to play with. Once the wings are painted I'm back on the road, just bits of paint, laquer and welding to finish...
then for BIG service. interior renovation. blah blah blah...

If anyone notices anything worrying in the pics let me know Thanks.

If there are any made to measure repair patches for any of the missing bits of metal I would love to know where I can get them.

[volvosneverdie]

I'm goona cut out each end every thinned piece of metal, go from there... I can seal over what I cant afford to weld right now and do it bit by bit, have a 10 month MOT to play with.

If there are any made to measure repair patches for any of the missing bits of metal I would love to know where I can get them.

google Hadrian car parts.
They do a lot of patern panels, and I think repair sections too from memory mate.
Sure I saw low arch sections there.

[CBA]

Just the ticket Thanks for the panel place, has *nearly everything I want.

[CBA]

I'm really going to town on this motor, it's too late to go back now anyway .
- documenting the restoration. (Remembered I have the original bill of sale)


need to add a few tools to my toolkit, a drill... a sanding disc, a flapper... that sort of thing- 350 grit paper
600 grit, abrasive cloth and t cut is all I'd like to need...

- Sources for normal shockers under £30 each, as cheap as possible, I drive gently, or at least smoothly - they'll be ok. - if you know somewhere REALLY cheap? mail order/online/close to bolton?

- I'm thinking the bump has bollix'd the suspension on the right hand side, the haynes manual will have the measurements for the steering geometry and such won't it - I have one on order.

- this is all going to have to be done the slow way, the car is at a turning point, any worse and it's not worth it... - What's the best way to stop the rust getting worse while not necessarily doing the body repairs just now? - I just want to paint my wings, rust proof the tatty bits and stick a quick coat of paint over it so I can use it, then repair properly as I can afford. need to "rustproof the rust"... just carry on with a thick coat of cheap rustproofing primer, or is there something better and more full of goodness I should use?.

[Ride_on]

Dude find the macro setting on your camera, or step back a bit alot of the photos are too close anyway, we need some context. Another tip is to switch off the flash and steady the camera with your hands or elbows on a solid surface to remove the shake.

Rust doesn't look too terminal, most of the car is good, but here will be some all-the-way-through bits that will be hard to rebuild. Window corners are hard and will be hard to reseal after, filler probably best. You could consider a re-skin, but into some money for tool and skin, then paint etc. You may also find the internal parts of the doors a rusted away. Give the tops of the doors a good thump, if you hear rust dropping inside its bad and the outside will get very flappy. They mostly rust from the inside.