General: 1968 US Combi Being Outfitted with Vintage Performance Parts

[Vintagewrench]

Hello everyone, I am new here and am from the US and live in the State of Vermont in New England. Have had a number of 122s and 220's and a 1967 P1800s in the past.

I waited for 35-years to purchase this three-owner 220 from a friend. It spent its life in inland Florida and Georgia (no rust) before coming up here to New England where it has only been used in the fair weather months and carefully stored over the winter.

It will be used a shop car for my early auto restoration shop that is celebrating 40-years in business this summer and also a very active old car online magazine: TheOldMotor.com during the spring, summer, and fall.

I have alway liked high-performance automobiles and since this is such a nice original car, it is not being altered in any way other by using bolt on performance parts that can easily removed to turn it back to a stock condition easily and quickly.

Two of the early additions can be seen below: a Judson Supercharger that I am rebuilding for it and a Abarth exhaust system that is what we call in the US N.O.S. (new parts that were never installed on a car and have been in storage since being manufactured.)

I will update this thread as often as I can and hope you enjoy it.



The Judson Blower above, and below the Abarth exhaust system.

[classicswede]

Very nice looking car.

I did not know that they made teh system for teh estate models

[Ron Kwas]

VW;

Welcome to this Forum, from not far down the road!

Your wagon looks nice, and your previous experience with red block Volvos will clearly serve you well.

I do have to take issue with your statement that the car "it is not being altered in any way"...that's a pretty definitive statement and IMO totally contradictory to in the next sentence saying you're going to be bolting on a Supercharger(!), because bolting on the supercharger means that you'll also be removing the dual SUs, and engine will now be fed by that different carb on the blower, and that will naturally require removing and changing the Manifold. I know of the Judson kit, but I know nothing of it's reliability and how hard (or maybe harder) it is on the motor, to say nothing of how hard the driver might be on the car after it's installed...

Cheers

[Vintagewrench]

Originally Posted by classicswede

Very nice looking car.

I did not know that they made teh system for teh estate models

Thanks, I am fortunate to be able to be able to have this car and not have to start with a rusty one.

You are correct, Abarth did not make a station wagon system, but by adding a bit of length between the front and center muffler it fits well and the sound is perfect.

[Vintagewrench]

Originally Posted by Ron Kwas

VW;

Welcome to this Forum, from not far down the road!

Your wagon looks nice, and your previous experience with red block Volvos will clearly serve you well.

I do have to take issue with your statement that the car "it is not being altered in any way"...that's a pretty definitive statement and IMO totally contradictory to in the next sentence saying you're going to be bolting on a Supercharger(!), because bolting on the supercharger means that you'll also be removing the dual SUs, and engine will now be fed by that different carb on the blower, and that will naturally require removing and changing the Manifold. I know of the Judson kit, but I know nothing of it's reliability and how hard (or maybe harder) it is on the motor, to say nothing of how hard the driver might be on the car after it's installed...

Cheers

Ron, you are correct, but I did add "bolt on performance parts that can easily removed to turn it back to a stock condition easily and quickly."

What I mean by "not being altered" is no cutting or modifying of the body or other parts. I run a restoration shop and in the trade, a car w/a modified body is referred to as being "cut."

Anything that is being replaced with a different component is being carefully saved, labeled and stored in "take off" boxes in the parts room which is dry and an ideal place to store things w/out deterioration and others are aware of it should anything happen to me.

The Judson is belt-driven by a 122 air-conditioning crank pulley that bolts on. The blower intake manifold bolts on it the place of the stock combo cast iron 1968 US emissions control intake and exhaust manifolds. Most cut these manifolds to separate them, but instead of doing that after a long search, I found a 1966-'67 only dual pipe exhaust manifold that bolts up the 1968 two-pipe exhaust. The unit comes with it own throttle linkage that hooks up to the rest of the existing system with a proper ball joint. The complete system is installed without modifying any original parts.

The supercharger only produces seven psi of boost which is quite mild compared to most turbo systems and increases the power output of the 68 B18 engine 30% from 115 to 149 hp. The Red Block engine and the rest of the drivetrain are overbuilt and extremely durable and with responsible use will hold up just fine. At over 150 hp at wide open throttle, standard Volvo clutches will slip and beyond that hp the overdrive clutch will do the same.

This car will not be raced or abused, and the extra power will be just what is needed here in the Vermont, the "Green Mountain State" for hillclimbing and for keeping up with traffic out on the Interstates.

[Ron Kwas]

VW;

I understand what you meant and what you wrote, and I didn't intend to come on too strong in response to your first posting here. As operator of a restoration shop, and former owner of vintage Volvos, you probably have a good appreciation of the original, but be honest...how often after a car has "non-cut" and only "bolt-on" modifications made (especially high performance ones) does it ever get returned to original? Many times, this starts the downward slope toward being driven hard, worn out, turned into a rat racer and eventual organ donor rusting away behind your shop...but I invite you to prove me wrong in a year or three at a Volvo get-together.

Cheers

[Vintagewrench]

Wanting to use a few pieces of period-correct speed equipment on the 220 Station Wagon I bought a Judson Supercharger as can be seen above on a P1800. I had one in the past and was very satisfied with its performance which does not affect regular around town or highway driving at all. The blowers were also fitted to 544, 122s models.

The Judson is an axial unit using sliding vanes of micarda in an aluminum rotor and are held against the inside of the cast iron housing by centrifugal force. The unit starts generating boost pressure as soon as the rpms pick up coming off of idle speed and peak at redline at about 7psi and adds at least 30% more power, bumping the original 115 hp. up to 149 hp. The vanes are made of reinforced micarda, a tough thermosetting plastic and cloth composite that is the same material used for Volvo "fiber" camshaft gears.



It utilizes four sliding vanes that are mounted at an angle to an aluminum rotor with an alloy steel shaft supported by ball bearings. The vanes themselves weigh half as much aluminum, but are less subject to heat expansion. The rotating assembly is lubricated by the gasoline and air mixture and Marvel Mystery Oil supplied by a Marvel Oiler as seen below. The supercharger drive ratio is 1 to 1.101 and it spins at 6055 rpm at redline.



In the 1950's and 60's the Judson Research and Manufacturing Company of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania made these vane type superchargers for Volkswagen, MG, Triumph, Volvo and other cars including the Mercedes 190SL. The blower bolts on and does not alter the rest of car in any way.

The rebuilding process will be shared w/you here and on TheOldMotor.com

The chart below shows the performance enhancement on an earlier 544.

[Ron Kwas]

VW;

Good info and pictures...I will follow your reports with interest!

Cheers

[volvoid]

I like !
more please !

[Saner]

Great to see another period modifer here. I too have a Judson and am looking at a replica Ruddspeed or Arbath exhaust.

One thing to note with the Judson, your gains may be optimistic. The Holley Carb is very crude and difficult to fine tune. I shall be considering a Weber or other replacement when I have teh time to look at spacing. Also, make sure it is well supported to the block. They had a fixing at the front tieing it in, but not the rear. Where they can crack.