General: 'Lucky' - Volvo Amazon 133

[ClassicCarMan]

The parts for the engine have now arrived and with the garage, so just now awaiting for them to do the work of fitting the engine back in the car. Wheel nuts have also arrived so I now have a full set, although the new ones are bright and shiny whereas the original wheel nuts are all rust - so I will have to do something about that. I have not had chance to paint the original wheels yet (only to wire brush them with the drill and paint rust treatment all over them) as the weather has been very wet and windy. I do not have a garage so it makes things that little bit harder.

Ordered some ArboMast Auto Grade (very cheap @ 2.25 each), a half decent skeleton gun, and some wooden sticks from Dortech Direct (direct@dortech.co.uk) bargain postage too at less than £5 to the Isle of Man, as the windscreen leaks. I have been looking at what others have done in the forums to get tips on what I should be doing. Hardest part will be getting the windscreen surround area dry enough to use the mastic at this time of year. I just want to stop the leaking first. Worry about rust in windscreen surround area and replacing the windscreen rubber later on in the year when my finances can cope with the strain...Thinking in meantime to purchase a breathable car cover to try and dry out things but will need to investigate this and costs. Can get very windy here so it will need to be well strapped down too.

[ClassicCarMan]

I went round to Auto Logic to see how things are yesterday and the engine is back in the car and she started up first time they tell me. It still needs the timing sorting, the carbs balancing and a few other things but I should get her back in a weeks time as they are up to their eyes in work at the moment. Then pay the eye watering bill...

I have no had chance to do any paint work on the original wheels as the weather has been so wet and windy. I have looked at getting them done professionally to speed up things, but as the going rate seems to be £80 per wheel (two quotes) I think I will hang on until the better weather arrives, and do it myself although as things stand that could be a long wait!

I am still waiting for my order from dortech to arrive, so I have been chasing them up about that. I have been looking at car covers - PJ Classic & Vintage car covers seen reasonable and the Stormforce Car Cover in particular (I hope it lives up to its name as there are severe gales here today). I plan to get my order in next week (pay day!). Seems odd that the cover is £2.00 more expensive on ebay than their own website - ebay fees perhaps?

[Tail]

I would say its a lot easier to squeeze sealant in behind the windscreen seal with the trim removed, the trim sort of spreads the windscreen rubber, for a temporary measure until the weather picks up and it worked a treat for me is to use 'Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure' used it on my boat and since then on the Amazon before I fitted a new rubber and it does seem to creep right into the gaps and seal them. £7.95 from Amazon

http://www.captaintolley.com/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CAPTAIN-TOLL.../dp/B002UPK51C

[Rover95]

Several Rover owners who have had screen leakage problems (though not me personally) have use Capt. Tolleys & they thoroughly rcommend it

[ClassicCarMan]

Thank you for your advice Tail. I will certainly look into that, could be the easiest solution. To be honest I am scared of removing the windscreen trim - I know from when I had a 1959 Morris Minor (Yiddy, as I called her) what a nightmare getting it back in can be. Whatever I tried I just could not get it back in completely all the way around - one corner was left hanging in mid air and the windscreen 'pros' would not even look at it. In that case I had trash both the rubber and metal trim and go for a later model 1098cc windscreen rubber which used a plastic windscreen trim.

[Tail]

My windscreen fitter tried putting the screen in with the trim attached even though I told him it wont work as once in, the trim stops you getting a gun in behind to squirt the mastic in so in the end I told him to leave it off and I would do it. It took two of us and some old speaker wire but once we got the hang of it, it only took about 30 minutes the corners causing slight difficulty needing to be held in place until past them but overall it wasn't the nightmare I was expecting.

[ClassicCarMan]

Thank you very much Tail for the advice. I have purchased some of Captain Tolley's stuff from Amazon today as you suggested (I had some Amazon vouchers for Christmas). Sounds really good stuff - I just need to make the areas under the rubber and screen as dry as I possibly can. If it does not work then it seems I will have to go down the route of removing the trim to get it properly sealed up with mastic, but I am concerned what lurks beneath the existing rubber (rust and so on). If it looks bad I might just put a cover over the car until I can afford to get the whole lot done in one go - (I already have a new windscreen rubber). I always take the pessimistic view, as based on experience, (in my case) it nearly always ends up correct!

But please tell me your technique - did you use then the speaker wire to hold the rubber channel open and as it was removed pushed the metal trim in the vacant gap? I have to hand it to you.

[Tail]

Yes that's exactly what the wire did, it was reasonably thick speaker wire not the single strand very thin stuff as that would have stretched and broken probably but it was I had to hand and it seemed to go ok. You can virtually push the top and bottom in by hand its the corners that the wire helps with and have your helper gently push home the trim as you remove the wire and don't get too far ahead with the wire. Slowly is the way to go as the trim will bend and distort if mishandled. The first side took a while as we got into a rhythm but the second half only took ten minutes and don't forget to slide the joiners on before you finish fitting the second side.

[ClassicCarMan]

Thank you again for the advice. I feel more confident doing the job now. I have chased DorTech and they have re-routed the delivery (whatever that means!) so I should get it in the next few days. We shall see....

[ClassicCarMan]

Collected the car from garage yesterday morning. Battery was dead so they had to jump start her to get her going (twice!). So another thing to sort out but no surprising due to her inactivity. Once warmed up she was OK and the 15 mile journey home went without mishap, but brakes very Morris Minor like i.e. start braking well in advance and use all those gears, so another thing to sort. Windscreen Sealant etc, finally arrived - company gave up with courier and posted the stuff again using Royal Mail next day.


Weather still awful so considering now next steps. I am purchasing a breathable cover tomorrow (P J Car Covers) as the bill for the car was a less than feared, partly as they have been working on it on as and when they can basis. Thinking now on getting the original wheels professionally painted after all (which have been in the back of my Honda Jazz for 4 months), so I can get on with getting rid of the wide wheels on the car and get the new original tyres out of my Dad's shed to go with the newly painted wheels. Of course then we will get guaranteed dry weather then for weeks on end...but I am keen to get something done despite the horrible weather. I hope this will also make the car nicer to drive and sort the slop in the steering and which to drive straight, currently you have to have 10 degrees left on the wheel! Could be the steering bush.

I am also hoping that replacing the fuel sender will sort the dickie fuel gauge, but at the moment I am playing chicken staying indoors. Getting very wet and very cold, very quickly are not my favourite past times, especially when it is not vital! Did that last weekend lying in mud trying to fit a new headlight bulb on the Honda - over 2 hours before I finally got it done, had to use feel as you could not see a thing - well could you probably could if you took the entire sectional plastic inner wing off - but I did not fancy yet more hours getting wet.

I am thinking taking the old girl to a body shop place next Saturday just to get a proper assessment of the cars body condition as they have ramps so can look underneath, etc - so I at least then I will know what I am up against. Yesterday I tapped a bit of the fluted rear section behind the rear wheel with a finger and made a half inch sized hole in the process! Plan is to leave car under cover until I can afford to get a bit done, back under cover and so on until the car is on a sound footing. I will take pics when it gets drier but who know when that might be. I should have bought an amphicar instead! I swear I am growing webbed feet...