Volvo PV444 wins 1957 Petit Lemans at Lime Rock!

[blueosprey90]

I have removed the passenger door for a new door card, new window felts, new seals and a general refurbishment.

The interior bottom of the door and maybe three inches up has more rust than I would have liked. Attacked it last night with a wire brush and a phosphoric acid rust converter and it looks better. Plan is to spray the bottom section with Eastwood’s interior frame rail paint with the hope that it will seep down into where the door skin folds over and spray the other treated rusty areas of the interior door with Eastwood’s rust encapsulator paint.

Door card is all measured out and ready for drilling the holes for the door panel clips.

[blueosprey90]

Almost finished with the passenger door. Exterior touch up paint not entirely satisfactory as paint not a good match. I think the car had been repainted previously so the color is off.

Added a new rear view mirror that should aid in backing up as well as on the highway.

The main door surround seal is shaped like a K, with a smaller upper arm and a longer lower arm. I sliced off the upper arm of the K and it allowed the door to close with a firm pull.

Window mechanism creaks. I think I decided to apply some grease. Still need to add chrome to the door card and install.

[blueosprey90]

Putzing along in the Volvo last month.

https://youtu.be/9XQsbM5-KDc

[blueosprey90]

The car has been sitting in storage since late May or early June. But there is a CT MG Club drive tomorrow, so I decided to get her out.

I got the car started easily and let it run for 6 or 7 minutes. When I moved it, I noticed a fair amount of fuel on the floor, but thought little of it. Usually, after sitting for a long time, my fuel pump leaks until the gasket swells up a bit. So I drove the car home, but then noticed that I had a good leak at the rear carburetor, dripping onto the exhaust manifold. It took quite a bit of fettling, but I finally got the carb leak resolved.

My turn signals, however, are only working intermittently. I think there is a brass colored relay way up under the dash - sort of the size of an old film canister. Will be really difficult to get at.

Does the turn signal relay for the PV444 tend to fail?
And how to test?

Or is it more likely a problem with my turn signal stalk in the steering wheel?
And how to test this as well?

Anyway, will plan to take out tomorrow. After that drive, I'll probably change the oil and get ready for winter. I'll probably bite the bullet and buy new tires as the ones on the car are 18 or 19 years old.

[blueosprey90]

Went out to the garage last night.

Turn signals: The turn signals had stopped working. Somewhat difficult to sort, but it turned out to be a bad connection at the “fuse box”. Got out some 60 year old electrical contact cleaner elixir taken from my dead father-in-law’s garage and cleaned up the connections. Now working fine.

I did pull the turn signal relay. It was a simple device with just two connectors, one being the power wire from the fuse box.

Horn had also stopped working, but traced to the connector at the bottom of the steering column that had come loose.

[blueosprey90]

Changed the oil and had in mind to change the brake fluid, but was unable to remove the cover on the master cylinder. Will need to develop a plan.

Also thought I would change the headlights, but the Halogens that I thought I had were not Halogens.

Put the car back into "temporary" storage.

[blueosprey90]

Our attempt to party with the VSCCA at West Point Military Academy ended in a fail. Pulled off the highway to gas up. When I sat back in the car, heard a loud bang of unknown etiology. Went to start. Starter seemed to spin, but not turn the motor. What with the loud bang, I thought we broke the crankshaft or maybe transmission input shaft, as we had been pushing hard at about 65 mph. But hours later on getting home, the starter doesn’t spin the flywheel, so maybe just a starter problem and not fatal to the engine.

[Army]

Let us all hope for the cheapest possibility

[blueosprey90]

I went through my spare parts and found two starters. One is presumed to be good – according to an uninformed note to myself. One had been pulled from the car for unknown reasons and is presumed to have failed.

I also found an extra flywheel.

I’m wondering if the starter operates like a high torque starter, where the starter gear is engaged to the flywheel ring gear at all times – as opposed to the bendix style where the starter gear flies out and retracts as you apply and then cut power.

[Derek UK]

The solenoid on top pushes the gear into the flywheel teeth when you turn the key and activate it. Bench test the starter before putting it in. Pop it in a vice and add juice.