Overdrive: Who doesn't have it?

[Volvo Canadian]

Hi Luke,

I just went out and measured, and the O/D is just as wide as the transmission - exactly the same, I'd say - which is 7 inches.

Yes, I forgot about the M41 output shaft. Let me know if you decide to do it, and maybe by then I'll have swapped-out everything. You would need to rebuild the 4th gear synchro.

[lukeball]

I went back out to the garage and took some more measurements. The tunnel is wide near the gearbox, but after the support it drops down to 5" wide. I don't think that the OD is a viable option anymore; it is going to be too difficult to make it work right.

However, I think that I am going to swap out the rear end for something with 4.10 gears. If the B20 makes greater than 150bhp then this should be more than acceptable. I would take a Spicer 30 w/ LSD, but I will have to see.

[Derek UK]

A somewhat oily picture, but it does show how the position of the OD relates to the tunnel (on a '66). I'm still of the opinion that you'll be able to fit one to your car. Can you post a similar picture of yours, oil optional, to show what it looks like please?



Would still like to see pics of your "special heater" trunking and the adjusting lever.

[lukeball]

I took some photos. First the heater diverter. There is a horizonal lever under the defroster lever that controls heat to the back of the car. As you can see the heater is connected to the tunnel and pushes air through the tunnel too the back floor by two vents.


Hard to see, but there are too vents on the sides of the tunnel between the seats.


As far as the tunnel from the underside, you will notice that there is less room. There is a driveshaft covering that can be cutout, but it won't make the tunnel larger, but more open.

Compare the second picture to yours and you will noticed that your drive shaft is larger and extends further back.

[Derek UK]

Great pictures Luke, thanks for posting them. Yes it does all look very tight in there and if Volvo did change the flooring about 1960 it must have been after yours came off the line.
The rear seat heater is also new to me and although the plate at the bottom looks rather crude, and not made from a piece of metal that i would have thought that Volvo would use. The control lever looks sort of official but the one attached to the diverter flap looks as if it could be aftermarket. It was quite a few years before they fitted the moulded plastic tunnel to the rear. Maybe a post on the Swedish Amazon Club forum would bring some interesting replies. I'm pretty sure you're a member and I look forward to seeing that.
Looks like the 4.10 axle will have to be the way to go.

[lukeball]

Originally Posted by Derek UK

The rear seat heater is also new to me and although the plate at the bottom looks rather crude, and not made from a piece of metal that i would have thought that Volvo would use. The control lever looks sort of official but the one attached to the diverter flap looks as if it could be aftermarket. It was quite a few years before they fitted the moulded plastic tunnel to the rear. Maybe a post on the Swedish Amazon Club forum would bring some interesting replies. I'm pretty sure you're a member and I look forward to seeing that.

There is already a post about it: http://amazon.forum.bilia.se/phpbb3/...hp?f=7&t=11006 It must have been an early prototype for the later one. However, it works well. I re-insulated the inside of the tunnel. The tunnel is made from two pieces and it looked like a home fab job, but it had to have been installed from the factory, because the original rubber matting was on top of it. The heater adapter is made of wood and covered with metal, which fits into the tunnel.

I would really like to know more about the history of the car. Why were the seats and door panels replaced with ones of the same color from the 1961 Volvos? There is also a rheostat switch mounted on the steering column (where the OD switch would go) that adjusts the speaker level from front to back. Special switches were also installed in the rear door locks that would activate the light on the dash, telling the driver that the rear doors were unlocked. The wiper switch was relocated above to control the rear defroster fan with 3 speeds. The wipers use a pull out switch with 2 positions. My biggest question is How would blood get on the headliner? Why is the driver's side of the car more rusted than the passenger side?

[Derek UK]

Perhaps you should bump the thread on the Swedish Amazon forum with the extra pictures. The one there doesn't highlight the slider under the main heater controls. My guess about these extra switches is that the original owner was someone who like to add what you might call "personal touch's" to his car and was rather inventive. Blood on the headlining? Well he also might have drawn blood while doing some of his mods. Most people do it when working on their car and often don't notice until later. Yours will have the cloth headliner so not so easy to clean as the plastic one. Rust on one side isn't unusual and depending which side it is may just be down to continuous use of the same poor unmade road while in Sweden. Can also be because it was always parked the same way alongside a house and the exposed side took a bit of a beating. I hope the rusty side isn't too bad.

The later front to back heater trunking also goes under the mat by the way. It's easy to remove and replace the rubber mat after taking the front seats out. Swapping the seats and door cards also easy and could have been done at any time in its early life. Have you managed to chase up any early history via the person you bought it from. I think you said they personally imported it from Sweden? From posts on the Swedish forum they seem to be able to get access to past owners and registrations, so the original Swedish reg number might turn up someone.

[lukeball]

Originally Posted by Derek UK

Have you managed to chase up any early history via the person you bought it from. I think you said they personally imported it from Sweden? From posts on the Swedish forum they seem to be able to get access to past owners and registrations, so the original Swedish reg number might turn up someone.

I have the original title. The car was delivered to the original owner, Dr. Nordek on January 9, 1959 in Kristianstad, Sweden. The second owner, Berndt Persson, who was a farmer in Gärsnäs, Sweden, purchased the car on February 13, 1964.

I would wonder if registration numbers can actually be traced back in Sweden or if there are actual car records available? The registration numbers change for each different owner, because they relate to a specific region.

[Derek UK]

Those two places are only about 30 miles apart so could well be in the same registration area. Maybe the Swedish friend who posted for you could make some enquiries?

[lukeball]

I thought about contacting http://www.121.nu/onetoone/foretag/t...registret-BD47 in order to see if they could track you actual registration numbers, but I have yet to do so.

Both registrations are stamped Gärsnäs, so that makes sense that they are close together. The original owner must have sold the car once the original registration expired, or does the stamp indicate when it was renewed? I tried searching Berndt Lauritz Persson, but I didn't find anything... actually the title lists the actual address! I never noticed that before.

This is getting interesting!