Reviving a barn find P1800ES

[142 Guy]

Looking at the Skandix diagram the 1800ES is different than the 140. It looks like there are two short hardline sections at each caliper and the 140 only has one. On the 140 the second flex line goes directly into the caliper body. Given that both flex lines match to short hard lines at the caliper on the 1800 then there is probably less (no?) risk of mixing the flex line fittings. Your only risk is mixing the primary and secondary circuits on the calipers.

The 1800 was fitted with the 140 brake calipers starting in 1969 (same part numbers) and I made the error of assuming that the installation would be the same. Close inspection of your car shows that the flex lines approach the caliper from behind the suspension. On the 140 the flex lines approach the caliper from in front (they actually are mounted to a clip that floats on the anti sway bar upright).

[P1800 ES]

Originally Posted by 142 Guy

Looking at the Skandix diagram the 1800ES is different than the 140. It looks like there are two short hardline sections at each caliper and the 140 only has one. On the 140 the second flex line goes directly into the caliper body. Given that both flex lines match to short hard lines at the caliper on the 1800 then there is probably less (no?) risk of mixing the flex line fittings. Your only risk is mixing the primary and secondary circuits on the calipers.

The 1800 was fitted with the 140 brake calipers starting in 1969 (same part numbers) and I made the error of assuming that the installation would be the same. Close inspection of your car shows that the flex lines approach the caliper from behind the suspension. On the 140 the flex lines approach the caliper from in front (they actually are mounted to a clip that floats on the anti sway bar upright).

That's correct. The two hard lines mount into the front of the calliper and they both do a U turn pointing to the back. I guess as long as I have them connected the same way on both sides it'll be ok.

[P1800 ES]

Time for an update!

As with many projects, the final 10% of work has taken 90% of the time. Sorry for the lack of pics in this post. I promise there will be more once the detailing of the car happens next.

My last update ended having fitted all new brakes, but we still needed to fill with fluid and bleed. What should have been a simple task took several attempts and of course more parts needing replacing and refurbishing.

The rear brake bias valves commanded an overhaul as they were blocked preventing me from being able to bleed the system at the rear. This was a pretty straightforward job and for good measure we also fitted a new master cylinder. After sorting these parts we eventually managed to get the brakes bled and working correctly. It now stops very well indeed.

Don't worry, that's not brake fluid leaking, it's just penetrating fluid









We were now able to safely take the car for a proper drive and very quickly a couple more issues became apparent.

One issue was with the cooling system. It wasn’t overheating at all, but the bottom radiator hose and radiator never got hot after a long run. The other issue was that the overdrive kept engaging randomly on its own in any gear.

First thing to tackle was the cooling system. We had good heat in the car, so the pump was working fine and we knew we had no air in the system, but we decided to pull the radiator and back flush it. A lot of chunky crud came out and we had it flowing really nicely after this. I filled it with boiling water and could feel all the fins were warm so we know it was flowing.

We also tested the thermostat which was fine, so we painted the rad, refitted it and filled with LiquiMoly cooling system cleaner and ran it up to temp. After this we flushed the system a few times until it ran clear and now everything is working as it should.





The overdrive was the final mechanical issue and a little more concerning. Not only was it really annoying, but it ran the risk of breaking something with its sporadic behaviour. We knew that it worked, but something was amiss with the way it was behaving.

We decided the best thing to do was dive in and start pulling things apart. First thing we noticed were a few loose bolts holding the inspection plate and the solenoid was only partially screwed in.

We dropped the inspection plate on the overdrive unit and surprisingly it was immaculate inside. No swarf and just clean oil. We also removed the solenoid and cleaned it out.

We bench tested the solenoid and it appeared to be fine, so we cleaned out the filters and put everything back together properly with fresh oil. To our surprise it now performs perfectly and only engages when asked in 4th gear just as it should. I still don’t know exactly what was at fault, but suspect it was the loose solenoid.

I’ve now done a few hundred miles in the car and it’s performing brilliant. It's such an event to drive! It starts on the button and runs very well, cruises on the motorway decently and absolutely everything is working on the car. It feels really solid and steady and you'd never know it was nearly 50 years old and been abandoned for half its life.

The final task I wanted to tackle was the headliner. For some reason the previous owner removed this from the car and we found it at the back of the garage where the car was stored. It was covered in mould so Aldis finest mould remover was deployed and it cleaned up super nice.





Fitting the headliner proved to be a very challenging task especially because of the sunroof. I really really hate fitting headliners to cars! Ours seemed to have shrunk over time, but we got it in with the help of a little heat from a hair dryer and it's looking ok. Unfortunately there’s a few very minor tears from when the previous owner removed it, but we’ll patch these up with matching material when we can source some. All things considered I'm happy with how it cleaned up and went back in.





I also got the car up on the ramp at a friends garage a couple of weeks ago just to give it a thorough inspection and I can honestly say it has survived remarkably well. It is totally solid, never been welded and everything is in top order mechanically. The only thing I could see was some tired looking bushes at the rear, but they’re still in good shape, just a bit soft.



The car is now complete, reliable and drives great. There’s a few jobs left to do such as, detailing the engine bay, spraying some cavity wax, undersealing the car, replacing some suspension bushes, fitting a new head unit and giving it a proper clean and polish, but these are all things that can wait and none are pressing issues. I'll be sure to post an update as I do these next tasks with more detailed photos of the car as it sits.

Ordinarily I would be looking for my next project, but with a couple of good useable classics in the garage to enjoy I’m keeping myself busy building a garden room now.

[sleek lemur]

Congratulations. It really is a credit to you.

And a great read as well!

[VolvoRoyS]

I've recently bought an 1800ES which I thought was in good condition but I am very envious of your find. I wonder if you could do me a favour. I'm trouble-shooting poor throttle response at the moment (you might have read my thread) and suspect that the wires in the plug to the throttle switch have been reversed. Could you peel back the rubber boot on the plug and check the numbers on the wires against the numbers on the switch body. You should find 17, 14, 20 and 9 on both but what I need to know is do they correspond because on my car they don't and wonder if that is my issue. Thanks in advance for your help.

Roy

[142 Guy]

Originally Posted by P1800 ES

The car is now complete, reliable and drives great. There’s a few jobs left to do such as, detailing the engine bay, spraying some cavity wax, undersealing the car, replacing some suspension bushes, fitting a new head unit and giving it a proper clean and polish, but these are all things that can wait and none are pressing issues. I'll be sure to post an update as I do these next tasks with more detailed photos of the car as it sits.

Ordinarily I would be looking for my next project, but with a couple of good useable classics in the garage to enjoy I’m keeping myself busy building a garden room now.

You should never say 'complete' in a sentence dealing with vintage cars. Its like poking a stick in the eye of the vintage car gods and likely to invoke their wrath.

If you had started out with the typical 1800 collection of rust connected by some metal, you would not be faced with the current problem of having to look for a next project. With a typical 1800 barn find, about now you would probably be right in the middle of the panel replacement exercise.

That said, it has turned out very nicely.

[VolvoRoyS]

Originally Posted by VolvoRoyS

I've recently bought an 1800ES which I thought was in good condition but I am very envious of your find. I wonder if you could do me a favour. I'm trouble-shooting poor throttle response at the moment (you might have read my thread) and suspect that the wires in the plug to the throttle switch have been reversed. Could you peel back the rubber boot on the plug and check the numbers on the wires against the numbers on the switch body. You should find 17, 14, 20 and 9 on both but what I need to know is do they correspond because on my car they don't and wonder if that is my issue. Thanks in advance for your help.

Roy

Not to worry now. I've taken the plunge and rewired the plug according to the numbers on the switch body and the engine now has a much improved throttle response. Amazing to think how long it has been like that.