The other option Alan is to approach someone like Martrim, Woolies Trim or similar and buy the correct foam and vinyl and recreate your own dash pad. I daresay you could do it for considerably less than £250 and it would be in the general ethos of home restoration.

Whichever way you decide (repair/rebuild/new Volvo parts/leave alone) it will all be part of GAMs patina so from that persepctive, it's all good.




The other way of viewing this is that your lad is more likely to deprive you of GAM than the RB so i think that makes the RB safer for its long term tenancy with you. :thumbs_up:

I have 18 months of breathing space Dave - that is how long I have given myself for Project GAM, and that coincides with Dan finishing his A levels. Circumstances will dictate whether I can keep two historic Volvos at that point :-).

Alan

This is how the dash pad looks after a bit of silicone filling Dave:

https://i.imgur.com/qVjo4i2h.jpg

... actually it isn't too bad, and at least will stop moisture getting in for the time being.

Here is how the BT receiver/amplifier turned out with the original speaker:

https://i.imgur.com/1fWWaJvh.jpg

... as you may see, it is very unobtrusive and it works very well with my iPhone.

:-)

Alan,

I think I was in the right place at the right time when I purchased my dash pad I got it from eBay, must have been Brookhouse's page because when it arrive it was in their packaging and it only cost me £170 - result!

Doug.

Just noticed, you're only 30 miles from me Othen. I am just across the country line into MK borough.

Do you get to many local club gatherings?

My speaker is mounted onto MDF and then used a pair of black tights to cover the speaker so you can't see it through the grill. Not that it matters. The rear speaker shelf is done in a similar manner so you can't see the speakers or the retractable belts.

I looked on Ebay Doug, but there were only LHD versions from the USA. I'll keep my eyes open as there is no particular rush - I can compare it with Mr Roberts some time and decide whether to invest £250 into making Aunt Maud look a bit prettier :-).

Alan

I'm not really a club meetings sort of chap - this forum is excellent though.

Alan

That is very helpful. In the fullness of time I think I'll reinstate the rear shelf speaker and use the LH channel to drive it.

By retractable belts do you mean seat belts? I don't have any in the back, just the C130 style ones in the front (reminds me of... Airborne!):

https://i.imgur.com/uCFzNrE.jpg

Alan

The photos are long gone but my mate did the write up previously: "I wanted the speakers to be invisible to the casual observer. The covering is acoustic cloth, so does not affect the sound. I also have a pair of small speakers under the dash and two tweeters let into the A pillar trims. The head unit is hidden under the dash, as is the ariel. No part of the system is really visible from outside the car. The sound from the system is excellent (to my untrained ear at least).

Make sure that each rear speaker is isolated from the other, with no path between. Also make sure that there are no holes through the surroundings (into the boot etc) , otherwise you might hear the speakers moving air. The body of the shelf is MDF and the three triangular supports are ply as this does not split when you screw into the side face. The shelf is secured from inside the boot (through the original parcel shelf) with 2 screws into the centre rib and one screw into each outer rib."

Yes retractable belts, Volvo started prepping the cars for them so they could be installed, maybe 1966. The reels are mounted under the rear parcel shelf on a plate and the web comes through a slot in the parcel shelf.

You can replace the front statics quite easily and you can keep the the clip mechanism on the tunnel as well: https://youtu.be/nr3GLOiq4pc I have original 140 retractables in my 142 which use the same clip as the AMazon but have never seen another pair for sale so assume like hens teeth.