SMB - my daily driver

[Velorum]

Originally Posted by Yaxley

Or try these

http://www.maplin.co.uk/snap-rivets-10-pack-1900

Good call - have ordered some to play around with

[Yaxley]

Originally Posted by Ian Hutchinson

have ordered some to play around with

Good idea to experiment if you haven't used them before - alignment is critical!

If you can secure the covers in place with tape, then drill a 3mm hole through the cover and the door card - then they should all line up!

The 'plug' part then goes through both and the 'pin' part expands the plug to grip. Alternatively use a 1mm drill to mark through both and enlarge the hole in the door card afterwards - they used to be re-usable, not sure of the exact design pictured.

Good luck!

[Velorum]

Well there has been a distinct improvement in the weather today - the sun is out and its a lovely day! Time to get on with a few more jobs.

The wing mirrors had definitely seen better days, faded from black to grey and repaired with mastic where they had been damaged. I bought some new ones from eBay for about £20 - not O/E but pretty good quality. Fitting is fiddly and much swearing was heard as one of the clips on the N/S door card broke and the internal trim plate (manual adjustment bit) mounting tab broke off. Why is that the simplest jobs take the longest time? Anyway, the door card now has an added self tapping screw to hold it in place (in an unobtrusive place) and the trim plate is held on with some superglue until I can source a replacement (wanted ad placed in relevant section!). All worth it in the end as the new mirrors look 100 times better



Fragile and cracked door pockets removed - the vinyl needs a polish though! Ive done this to every 240 Ive owned as they seem to break if someone looks at them the wrong way!



Still playing around with the DIY radio blanking plate - not sure that this is an improvement - perhaps a small chrome Volvo logo as fitted to the wing under the indicator repeater would look better? Its a temporary fix anyway while I wait for one of those upper cubby holes to turn up - there doesnt seem to be many around in good condition these days so it might be quite a wait



A couple of repro engine bay stickers just for fun




Black bumpers and grill polish up very nicely with some cheap peanut butter from the local supermarket!




And then after a hoover out, and clean of the head lining and dash a jolly good wash and wax - first time for months, the old girl must be in shock



A most enjoyable day

[stephend]

"'Ere mate, you looking at my door pocket in a funny way?"

Looking very nice! What is it with Volvo and mirror fixings? I had to replace a mirror on my 740 after it got smashed by a low-flying pheasant (!) and there was no way I could remove the interior trim plate to get access to the fixing screws without breaking it. I thought about trying to get a replacement at the scrappie, but would probably break that one as well getting it off. So the fixing screws are proudly displayed for the entertainment of my passengers! Fords have a fixing screw concealed under a blanking plate...

[Paul240480]

Looking great there Ian. I used Linseed Oil on my bumpers & trim . Used it for some time. I've found that over time that has sort of gone mouldy. Worse on my 850 which if you look closely now has little black-ish mouldy spots!

I've got some silicone spray now (as reccommended by vlv240) . Not used it yet though.

Keep up the good work. ' Thumbs Up' < that's cos the smilies are not playing yet, lol.

[Velorum]

Beware the perils of stuck on wind deflectors! The set on SWB must have been on there for years. The near side one fell off somewhere in the week taking some paint along with it - removing the concrete like residue left even more of a mess.



Time to remove the drivers side one - what a state by the time I had finished



Interesting to see the chrome underneath. As nice as it might be I wasnt about to start stripping all of the paint off to show it off - been there, done that and lifes a bit too short. A good rub down and it was time to mask everything off ready for a spray with Halfords matt black

[Velorum]

The results, although not perfect were OK - I can live with them!

[Velorum]

Last job of the day before a Sunday beer was to fit the upper dash cubby unit that I have finally managed to get a hold of



Thats better

Now, wheres that beer?

[Velorum]

The new dash cover arrived this morning from Australia

Its an excellent fit and a much better solution to the cracked dash problem then my earlier fix of self adhesive vinyl

I laid it out loosely on the dash for a few hours in the hot sun to smooth it out before sticking it down with the pads supplied



I have to say that this is excellent quality - Im very pleased with it

[Velorum]

Originally Posted by Clifford Pope

Regarding seized spark plugs - are they more likely to free when hot or cold?

In the meantime you could give them a good soak in penetrating fluid - Plus-gas or similar, or diesel is said to work well. Tightening seized threads a fraction before trying to unscrew is said to be a good way of getting some initial movement.

Just a quick update on this one

Well, after 2 weeks of applying liberal quantities of 'Plus-gas' to number 2 & 3 plugs I took SMB to the garage today. The mechanic called a short while ago to say that he had managed to get them out without damaging anything. Hooray! I had mentally prepared myself for the worst, even to the extent of the head needing to come off. Phew, what a relief!

He is fitting a new down pipe at the moment and that should be all current outstanding work done on the mechanical side of things. It will be a relief to get the old girl back and return the modern VW garage loan car with its computer displays and various beeping warning sounds - its like something out of Blakes Seven