1961 Volvo PV544 in Holland

[Army]

Found a not so good modification. Bit of a nasty gash in the cross bracing under the rear seat to make way for inertia reels.



As I want to keep the seat belts it looks like I´l have to come up with a nice finish to this modification...

...to be continued

[blueosprey90]

Army, do you have any sense of where the seat belt mounting points should be? I have a PV444. The prior owner installed 2 point belts, mounted basically immediately under the seat back. They come up around my thighs.

I would love to install a 3 point of 4 point set of belts.

Also, enjoying your posts and all the pictures.

[Army]

Originally Posted by blueosprey90

Army, do you have any sense of where the seat belt mounting points should be? I have a PV444. The prior owner installed 2 point belts, mounted basically immediately under the seat back. They come up around my thighs.

I would love to install a 3 point of 4 point set of belts.

Also, enjoying your posts and all the pictures.

Have you got a PV544 parts catalogue? If so there´s an unhelpful picture - group 9 page 7 - of a three point (non inertia reel) seat belt set up...

...I´ll make a few pictures for you tomorrow showing what has been done to my car. I think the central transmission tunnel fixings and the fixings in the B pillars are more or less ¨standard¨.

The lower mount is most certainly in front of the rear seat step - and I think if you wanted a three point set up (inertia or not) you´d be best off fixing from / near that corner as the belt needs to be relatively straight from the lower point to the B pillar fixing.

[norustplease]

Originally Posted by Army

Thanks - I thought as much.

Bit of a shame it wasn´t done when the paint job was completed - the up side of course is that it was a lot easier to remove!



Good to hear that bit of confirmation - thanks. According to the Dutch PV club the Amazon seats are considered to be an upgrade.

I´m waiting for some cloth from VP Automotive in Sweden so I can re-do these Amazon seats in the style of the original interior code for this car (40-197). I´m hoping the original back seat coverings are going to come good - they are very grotty - but it would be a substantial saving if they don´t need to be replaced...

I have fitted a pair of Ford Ka front seats into my PV 544, having carefully stored the originals so that they can be reinstated if someone wants to go back to original. The Ford seats tilt and lock to give access to the rear seat and also have headrests. I aim to reupholster them to match the rears, but given that they are a blue-ish sort of pattern, it isn't that obvious that they are at odds with the rest of the interior unless you look closely.

[Army]

Originally Posted by norustplease

I have fitted a pair of Ford Ka front seats into my PV 544, having carefully stored the originals so that they can be reinstated if someone wants to go back to original. The Ford seats tilt and lock to give access to the rear seat and also have headrests. I aim to reupholster them to match the rears, but given that they are a blue-ish sort of pattern, it isn't that obvious that they are at odds with the rest of the interior unless you look closely.

I googled those seats and they look rather appropriate (a couple of used in Morris Minor conversions out there) - I get the impression the built-in headrests aren´t too too intrusive and I imagine the width of the seats suit a narrow car like the PV well.

Have you put any pictures (of this upgrade) on the web?

How did you sort out the mounting points? I assume you were able to use the lower parts of the PV mounts too?

[Army]

...this is the slog - oh dear - takes for ever =>

Painting bits...



(That´s a coat of Fertan epoxy over the top of Brunox rust proofing stuff)

...in between stripping paint off other parts ready for rust treatment




The lower corners / underside of the car has been encased in bitumastic goo which has done a sterling job but makes repainting rather difficult if left in place.

Removal is slow going. I´m using paint stripper to loosen the bitumen and then scraping off as much as I can.

Higher up the front part of the body there´s been a coat of stone chip applied to the chassis legs. This too has done a good job of holding back the rust (for once!) but also needs to be tackled with paint stripper as my favourite angle grinder and wire brush attachment just manages to heat up this stuff and push it about.

So today was just paint stripping and scraping - waiting until the paint stripper dries is very important for the next step with the wire brush and angle grinder as large fast rotating wire brushes flinging wet paint stripper about the shop isn´t pleasant...

[norustplease]

Originally Posted by Army

I googled those seats and they look rather appropriate (a couple of used in Morris Minor conversions out there) - I get the impression the built-in headrests aren´t too too intrusive and I imagine the width of the seats suit a narrow car like the PV well.

Have you put any pictures (of this upgrade) on the web?

How did you sort out the mounting points? I assume you were able to use the lower parts of the PV mounts too?

They do fit very well, and as you say, they are the right width. they are popular in Morris 1000's, probably for the same reasons.
I fitted them by dismantling the original seats and runners and then bolting a 5mm steel plate across between the mountings. The Ka seats have to be slightly modified by grinding off the mounting rivets on the short legs and removing them. You can then bolt them onto the plate via their runners, using packing pieces to get the right height, etc.
There are no mods needed to the original cantilever brackets off the cross member and transmission tunnel, and you can return it to original spec with a couple of spanners.
The Ka seats are quite comfortable and supportive.
I did have a thread on another classic car forum, but Photobucket decided to suspend free hosting and we all lost our images in the various parts of the forum. I will try and find my original images and post them.

[Army]

Originally Posted by norustplease

They do fit very well, and as you say, they are the right width. they are popular in Morris 1000's, probably for the same reasons.
I fitted them by dismantling the original seats and runners and then bolting a 5mm steel plate across between the mountings. The Ka seats have to be slightly modified by grinding off the mounting rivets on the short legs and removing them. You can then bolt them onto the plate via their runners, using packing pieces to get the right height, etc.
There are no mods needed to the original cantilever brackets off the cross member and transmission tunnel, and you can return it to original spec with a couple of spanners.
The Ka seats are quite comfortable and supportive.
I did have a thread on another classic car forum, but Photobucket decided to suspend free hosting and we all lost our images in the various parts of the forum. I will try and find my original images and post them.

I have heard that the pictures still exist on your account but they are just blocked to the outside world if you don´t pay them dosh.

Whilst I am interested in seeing the effect, please don´t bust a gut - pictures are often a pain...

[Army]

Originally Posted by Army

...I´ll make a few pictures for you tomorrow showing what has been done to my car. I think the central transmission tunnel fixings and the fixings in the B pillars are more or less ¨standard¨.

...

One day late (!)

Still perhaps better late than never?

The B pillar height taken from the upper surface of the rear seat ¨step¨ is 66 cm to the upper mounting point (on my car <= might not be standard / factory)



On the transmission tunnel the distance from step to hole is 33cm (on my car <= might not be standard / factory)




####


In other news I´ve installed a privacy compartment so I can sit in the back and complain about whoever is driving...

[Derek UK]

A strong hot air gun and a oscillating tool are good weapons against bitumen. Hand scraper will of course also work.