Amazon: New (to me) 1963 Volvo 122

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

She’s just a girl who keeps on giving Alan.

Super little project!!!😁

You are so right Andrew... I'm never short of something to do with Great Aunt Maud.

So, an hour or so of tinkering had the spring mechanism inside the wooden mangle roller working - it just needed some lubrication after 60 years of not doing much. I suspect the correct lubricant for it in 1963 Sweden would have been either whale blubber or reindeer tallow, unfortunately I had neither and so used RP90 from an aerosol. It gradually worked its way though, and with some exercise the mechanism wound and unwound.

I fixed the rotted wooden spar at the bottom with a strip of plywood I cut to size using the remaining section as a pattern. This worked fine and I was able to see where the previous staple marks were - so I stapled it back together. I was quite pleased with it:



... so much so that I fitted it to the motor car - just two self tapping screws at the bottom. This is the blind in the open position:



... you may see it just rolls up at the bottom of the radiator until the chain is pulled (lovely):



... which lifts it up to the top. Elegant simplicity - and the engineering of the day only 60 years ago.

I didn't bother to route the chain properly (as I didn't intend to leave the apparatus on the motor car), but you get the idea I think. The blind is working and could be fitted (given a smidgeon of whale blubber) in perhaps an hour - thereafter it would work (as if it would be required in balmy Britain).

The blind is safely wrapped up in the spares shed - just in case there is an ice age.

:-)

[142 Guy]

Just an observation about LEDs. Unlike incandescent bulbs they don't really dim. They have a forward bias voltage. Above the forward bias voltage they are on. Below the forward bias voltage they are off. There will be a very narrow transition voltage around Vf where they transition from off to full on; however, that transition voltage is typically narrow (0.1 - 0.2 volts). Run the LEDs very much above their Vf and they will be very bright and reduced to toast rather quickly.

You can vary the illumination level from LEDs; but, you need to use a technique called pulse width modulation which switches the LED off and on at high frequency. That requires some external electronic circuitry. If you want to dim the lights and don't want to fiddle with electronics, better off to stick with conventional incandescent bulbs and a simple rheostat or external resistor..

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Othen

You are so right Andrew... I'm never short of something to do with Great Aunt Maud.

So, an hour or so of tinkering had the spring mechanism inside the wooden mangle roller working - it just needed some lubrication after 60 years of not doing much. I suspect the correct lubricant for it in 1963 Sweden would have been either whale blubber or reindeer tallow, unfortunately I had neither and so used RP90 from an aerosol. It gradually worked its way though, and with some exercise the mechanism wound and unwound.

I fixed the rotted wooden spar at the bottom with a strip of plywood I cut to size using the remaining section as a pattern. This worked fine and I was able to see where the previous staple marks were - so I stapled it back together. I was quite pleased with it:



... so much so that I fitted it to the motor car - just two self tapping screws at the bottom. This is the blind in the open position:



... you may see it just rolls up at the bottom of the radiator until the chain is pulled (lovely):



... which lifts it up to the top. Elegant simplicity - and the engineering of the day only 60 years ago.

I didn't bother to route the chain properly (as I didn't intend to leave the apparatus on the motor car), but you get the idea I think. The blind is working and could be fitted (given a smidgeon of whale blubber) in perhaps an hour - thereafter it would work (as if it would be required in balmy Britain).

The blind is safely wrapped up in the spares shed - just in case there is an ice age.

:-)

Wasn’t it great when problems were identified and addressed from the shed rather than the laboratory, and simplicity reigned.🧐

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

Wasn’t it great when problems were identified and addressed from the shed rather than the laboratory, and simplicity reigned.🧐

I think Olaf designed this one in his shed in Bodø, and made the prototype out of some stuff left over from Ikea.

:-)

PS. I've just remembered that Bodø is in Norway - perhaps Mr Volvo was on holiday there (not many people would go to Bodø on holiday).

[Bob 1967]

I think the correct lubricant is Puffin Dripping !

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Bob 1967

I think the correct lubricant is Puffin Dripping !

Moose Saliva is reputed to be a good alternative though!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 142 Guy

Just an observation about LEDs. Unlike incandescent bulbs they don't really dim. They have a forward bias voltage. Above the forward bias voltage they are on. Below the forward bias voltage they are off. There will be a very narrow transition voltage around Vf where they transition from off to full on; however, that transition voltage is typically narrow (0.1 - 0.2 volts). Run the LEDs very much above their Vf and they will be very bright and reduced to toast rather quickly.

You can vary the illumination level from LEDs; but, you need to use a technique called pulse width modulation which switches the LED off and on at high frequency. That requires some external electronic circuitry. If you want to dim the lights and don't want to fiddle with electronics, better off to stick with conventional incandescent bulbs and a simple rheostat or external resistor..

Excellent. I did remember that from an electronics course during my first physics degree - but that was a very long time ago so the reminder was really useful.

In this case te bi-colour LED might still work as my idea for the rheostat was only to adjust the output until it worked rather than swapping out resistors.

I take your point about using incandescent bulbs for simplicity though - it might be sensible to have two tell-tales, perhaps one yellow (for LED available - OD inhibitor engaged) and another green one for it being engaged, both mounted on a small plate under the dash with the momentary switch.

This forum is so useful at generating good ideas.

Alan

[142 Guy]

If you don't want to do dimming, then LEDs are just about as simple as incandescent bulbs and these days probably have a better selection of mounting options and sizes. If selecting a bi-color LED, be aware that there are two general styles - 3 pin common anode / cathode and two pin. The two pin change color when the polarity is reversed which I expect would complicate the external circuitry.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 142 Guy

If you don't want to do dimming, then LEDs are just about as simple as incandescent bulbs and these days probably have a better selection of mounting options and sizes. If selecting a bi-color LED, be aware that there are two general styles - 3 pin common anode / cathode and two pin. The two pin change color when the polarity is reversed which I expect would complicate the external circuitry.

Many thanks.

When I get round to this job (soon - it is onto the first page of my 'to do' list in my estimates book) I'll probably use whatever comes to hand (LEDs or incandescent depending on which luminares I have) in my spare parts store. I'm pretty sure the only new part I'll need will be a latching relay, and I'll almost certainly use one of the period ones from Brookhouse Volvo that Mitch suggested somewhere above.

The beauty of running rather than restoring Great Aunt Maud is that I can make sensible changes without worrying about originality :-).

Alan

[Othen]

I have enjoyed the company of this old speaker for GAM's BT receiver for some months now:



... I found it is GAM's spares box and it fits the hat shelf grille perfectly:



Unfortunately the sound quality is degrading a bit (it will be about 60 years old), so I'm thinking I might try to find a modern speaker that would be a (more or less) direct replacement. The mounting holes are at about 110mm x 90mm.

Does anyone know of a speaker with the right dimensions and impedance that would fit?

Alan

PS. I'm rather hoping a car audio buff might see this and be able to point me in the right direction. The choice of modern speakers is bewildering for a simple soldier like me.

PPS. I'm wondering whether this could be made to fit and wouldn't look too much out of place:

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/speaker-drivers/4318507

... it comes from RS Components here in Corby - so it might be easy to collect (assuming it has a public sales outlet).