1961 Volvo PV544 in Holland

[arcturus]

Don't forget the restorers mantra."if it can go wrong it will go wrong"

[Army]

Originally Posted by arcturus

Don't forget the restorers mantra."if it can go wrong it will go wrong"

Why the long face chap?

Try to look at the broader brush strokes when there's a slight technical hitch.

(Sure have a whinge and a moan but then get back in the saddle)

[arcturus]

Problem is the 2 week delay in waiting for parts. Should have been ready for a show beginning of month then 'stat cover cracked. Two week delay waiting for part. Should have been ready for a show this weekend ,then bloo*y new replacement air filter filter wont fit. Another two week delay waiting on the pleasure of the couriers.Any way,have made up temp' wire gauze air filters. Should keep out flies etc. and a smear of oil on gauze should trap some of the larger dust particles.At least i can get it out on the road.
"if it can be fixed it will be fixed"
I cut my teeth on insulating tape and bent hairpins.

[Army]

Originally Posted by arcturus

Problem is the 2 week delay in waiting for parts. Should have been ready for a show beginning of month then 'stat cover cracked. Two week delay waiting for part. Should have been ready for a show this weekend ,then bloo*y new replacement air filter filter wont fit. Another two week delay waiting on the pleasure of the couriers.Any way,have made up temp' wire gauze air filters. Should keep out flies etc. and a smear of oil on gauze should trap some of the larger dust particles.At least i can get it out on the road.
"if it can be fixed it will be fixed"
I cut my teeth on insulating tape and bent hairpins.

Don't start me off on the subject of couriers - you have my sympathies.

I find it very difficult getting parts to arrive with "just in time" precision.

I guess it all boils down to the owning a classic car. If it makes you feel any better you'd probably have similar trouble with a seven year old French car...

[Army]

Well the first layer is on...







All I can say is that it is amazing - no matter how well you think you've got every nook and cranny ready for paint there's always a bit you've missed! (Especially on the larger parts)

Tomorrow I plan to sand these first layers back a bit to make sure I've got decent coverage - that the effing stuff has stuck properly - and to highlight the bits that need a bit of attention.

On the inside of the car near to the roof on the sides there will probably have to be a bit of filler applied. That'll be done next too.

[Army]

...but I'm feeling confident about this modification I've got in mind so I thought I'd show the progress so far.

Making up little brackets here =>



Even though 1mm Zincor is a little bit on the thick side for my hand punch I much prefer to use it when making holes than having to mess about with drills

Using M6 weld on nuts - note the different sides (!)



After a bit of welding and bending in some handy bending pliers...







With any luck a trial fit tomorrow in between the next coats of epoxy on the rear inside of the car and the inner side of the boot lid.

(It is all systems go at the moment)

[Army]

I had a quick go at making up new channels for the door seals and it looks like one of those things that actually is going to be more of a pain in the backside than first thought:



The fold in the corners on the parts on the doors is more rounded (instead of an acute fold as shown in the picture above)

I think it is time to break out the special money hammer from the tool box and use that to buy some pre-made bits. There is nothing more irritating than door seals that fall off doors because they are not held in place properly...

...I hope the (blinking expensive) channels turn out to be better than my attempt other wise they'll be sent back!

[Army]

The following pictures show what's floating about in the back of me 'ed

I've outlined the position of where (approximately) the custom inner wheel arch will go.



The plan is to use a similar solution to the solution available via the vkv club (Dutch Volvo club I'm a member of - see previous posts at the start of this thread)

https://www.volvokv.nl/onderdelensho...athway-2422654



Thing is I don't fancy paying 140 euros for their solution when I can add in a bit of extra robustness. I'll be fixing my custom inner arch to the outer wing with M6 bolts.

[Army]

Being extra careful about not warping the panel onto which I'm welding: For the stronger connections needed near to where I may or may not mount mud flaps =>



By tack welding the two part bracket in place I'm hoping to avoid any distortion of the panel



Then the bracket is joined

The other side of the panel looked like this (before grinding away the drips of weld penetration)



Final positions were chosen as shown =>



Nearly time to paint the inside in epoxy and then to add some seam sealant around the brackets for good measure

[Army]

Had a bash with the Poly Service epoxy products.

On the underside of the boot lid I've already got an epoxy primer in place. This has been coated twice and then sanded twice. The intermediate coating that allows me to stick conventional car paint on top is the "Pantserlak".

To help with sanding this is a light grey - so if I go through this coat or any subsequent coats I know where I am (and what remedies I need to take to make any sanding disasters good)



Again I'm struggling with the epoxy products. I've been thinning them by eye - they seem to be about the right consistency as normal car paint when I put them in my spray gun - but they behave like gloopy muck in the gun making orange peel surfaces pretty unavoidable.



Me thinks I need to stop being silly and go and buy a viscosity cup and take the hit in the extra cleaning

{For those who are used to spray cans - spray gun cleaning is a long winded chore that sucks the will to live - and makes you wish you had those trendy expensive bag solutions and several spray guns}