amazon as every day drive

[hazaa]

Originally Posted by classicswede

For a daily driver upto 40mm lowering is good.

Poly bushes don'd make the suspension stiffer just better located. The top wishbone bushes are a must in poly but all the other bushes are ok in rubber.


Shocks I sell the GAZ adjustables. They will go from soft to hard but are not cheap. You could look at something like gas pressure Monroe ones or KYB even as a ok budget shock.

LPG as long as it is installed reasonably well and a decent vapouriser it should be good. Fuel consumption should be fairly good with these engines on LPG.

I have some photos of the welding needed but only the lower wishbone mounting point. Next full one I do I will take some photos

hi man, thx can you send me offer for shock for those GAZ adju (those are russian?)?

will wait for full pictures regarding welding.


one more question is how hard is to find overdrive gearbox? and if there is some thing good or bad about them?

[Faust]

I've made the following mods on my Amazon daily driver... really transformed the car in my opinion:

Lowered 30mm on Lesjofors progressive springs

Fully polybushed (EVERY bush)

KYB gas dampers

Uprated anti roll bar (sway bar) at the front

5.5j steel wheels with 195/65/15 tyres

Car handles beautifully with little or no body roll - will take a decent sized roundabout at 30+ mph with no issues. Not noticed the rear end being twitchy due to the front ARB... always used to drive Capris so I know about back ends being a bit twitchy!

Also got a Weber 32/38 carb, 4 branch manifold, custom built Powerflow stainless exhaust, heated rear window, hazard lights, up-rated alternator, up-rated blower fan, halogen headlight conversion, Hella Rally 3003 spot light, new fuse box (plus an auxiliary box on the inner wing mounted on a 123gt relay bar for all the electrical accessories), silent coat sound deadening/dodo matt foam to quieten things down, Cobra Daytona seats... the list goes on as this is just off the top of my head!

All work done by me. Took a while, mind!

[classicswede]

GAZ are a UK company and all made in the UK

https://www.classicswede.co.uk/Front...4_8176678.aspx

https://www.classicswede.co.uk/Rear_...4_8176679.aspx

[Army]

So not related to one of these

[hazaa]

HI Faust,

thx for info very nice, you put it on 2.0 or 1.8 engine?

i was thinking about Fully polybushed but than it isnt more stress to car body?
i always thote that better is to put some bushes to poly but rest to use regular rubber because than it is less stress to car other parts, because we dont have the best roads in world

[Faust]

Originally Posted by hazaa

HI Faust,

thx for info very nice, you put it on 2.0 or 1.8 engine?

i was thinking about Fully polybushed but than it isnt more stress to car body?
i always thote that better is to put some bushes to poly but rest to use regular rubber because than it is less stress to car other parts, because we dont have the best roads in world

Car came with a B20b (twin SUs). If you've got a B18, then use that... nowt wrong with the 1.8 lump. Some say it's a bit more revvy than the B20 which they prefer. Don't know about this personally as I've never driven one.

Polybushes: yep, you'll always get a harsher ride with them fitted over the more compliant rubber type. Personally, I'm prepared to sacrifice some 'comfort' for the better, more responsive ride you get from poly. All down to personal preference... if you want a comfy 'nice' car to cruise in on a sunny Sunday afternoon, then go for rubber bushes. I drive my car with a certain (ahem) 'vigour' so I like the updated bushes (I should grow out of taking pleasure at surprising modern cars with just how well a sorted classic can go - I am 43 after all! But the hell with that... cars are meant to be driven in my opinion!)

I used bushes (well, 90% of them) sourced from Brookhouse Volvo. They are supposed to be the 'road' bushes rather than the really harsh ones you might use in a rally/track car.

Be aware that a lot of people recommend using a normal bush on the body side of the panhard rod, and a poly at the diff end to avoid excessive noise & vibration being transmitted into the car.

I've fully polybushed mine and have not noticed any problems. Thought I'd mention it as it causes some issues for some people.

Unless your car is a total basket case, I wouldn't worry too much about putting stress on the shell. If you are going for a full-on Rally car then you'll need to stiffen and up-rate the shell. But for road use, you should be OK. Don't forget that a really stiff car will not always be that pleasant to drive as it'll be a bit skittish on uneven surfaces. Example: MK1 Escorts. It's rare you'll find a fully seam welded shell in a road car for this reason.

Mike

[Vintagewrench]

Originally Posted by hazaa

regarding suspension my idea was to lover it 25-30% so it is little lover but still that you can drive normal even in winter.

Hazaa, Don't know how much snow you get in the winter there but I have had years of experience of driving Amazons thru snowy Vermont winters and would advise you not to lower it because of it.

On a lowered car the front crossmember, engine, exhaust, and underbody will drag in the snow, slow you down, and at times make it impossible to make much progress or climb hills.

A couple of bags of sand in the trunk will help with traction and be available if you do get stuck.

An alternator is also a good addition because with the lights, wipers, and the heater blower all on at once most generators cannot keep up with the power drain, and starting the car on morning after if it is very cold can be difficult due to the battery being a bit rundown.

Rubber covered winter wiper blades are also helpful.

[hazaa]

yes we have snow, but like in every country in this side, so i think that if i lower it for 30-40mm than it shoudnt not be a problem..
because i will drive only public roads, i dont drive of road.

yes new wires and fusees and alternator must have

[Pigeon]

Personally I found an Amazon to be very good in snow (for English values of "snow") and cold weather in general - after all it's Swedish so you'd expect it to be designed to deal with that sort of thing. Since you're just a hop across the Baltic I'd expect it to deal equally well with your winters in standard form. By the same token I'd not want to change it from standard in any way that might compromise that ability.

(Also found it similarly good when going off the beaten track - having inherited from my dad a tendency to regard "Unsuitable for motors" signs as a challenge rather than a warning.)

If you spend any significant amount of time going over 50mph or so then it is worthwhile to fit an overdrive gearbox if it hasn't already got one. (Parts needed: O/D box and propshaft, and it all just bolts in.) Apart from that they really don't need anything changing. The engines are bomb-proof and even the single-carb B18 has adequate power - perhaps a trifle low but not unsatisfyingly so. Remember that although the Amazon has - and deserves - a reputation for being built like a tank, it is nevertheless a whole lot lighter than a modern car which is small enough to have an engine of similar output. Volvo bodyshells of that era are very efficient - simple but well-designed structures that are both strong and light. So it doesn't need enormous power in the engine, and as long as the rust and other repairs it may need are properly sorted it'll be more than strong enough. (Contrast the 1800 bodyshell, which is British and sucks in the same traditionally British ways that every other bodyshell that Pressed Steel had a hand in sucked.)

If you do want more power then more carbs will serve you better than more capacity - to fit a pair of SUs and a B18B camshaft (but keep the B18A-spec head gasket) to the existing B18A will gain you more than swapping it for a B20A.

Fitting a fuel injected engine (B20E) is certainly possible - I have, and would again, but then D-Jet kind of specially tickles my fancy, and it's unquestionably a lot more hassle than simply upgrading the carbs. Also it doesn't give all that much advantage over a twin carb setup. In general terms it's more trouble than it's worth unless you have, like me, some specific unusual reason for wanting to do it.

Fuel consumption seems to end up around 30mpg no matter what engine you've got or how hard you drive it.

Yours is 1968 so it should have disc brakes and a servo, which means you're fine in that department. And those lovely seats that you can sit in for hours and still be fresh as a daisy when you get out.

The mechanical fuel pump is reliable but it's also 50 years old, the diaphragm can split eventually, and replacements are hard to find and expensive (any that are not must be sold by people with websites that are too useless for me to find out about it). Conversely, low-pressure (suitable for carbs) electric fuel lift pumps seem to be all over ebay for pocket money prices, and an electric fuel pump does help with starting in that you don't have to crank the engine over just to get fuel up to the float bowls.

[Army]

Originally Posted by Pigeon

...
The mechanical fuel pump is reliable but it's also 50 years old, the diaphragm can split eventually, and replacements are hard to find and expensive (any that are not must be sold by people with websites that are too useless for me to find out about it). ...

VP automotive sell kits at prices that I consider to be reasonable

http://www.vp-autoparts.com/main.asp...tno=1201030102