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    Thread: Volvo 122S(S)

    1. #1
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States

      Volvo 122S(S)

      Hi all,

      I am starting this build thread on my 1966 Volvo Amazon 122s. You may be thinking, why a Volvo? Well, it all started way back when I was three years young. My dad picked up a '70 Volvo 140 series wagon from his cousin for free. Other than it catching on fire in his cousin's back yard when he came to take it away, my dad's old Volvo served us well for another eleven years until he sold it back in '96. I remember countless times when I'd be riding shotgun and my dad would have me shift gears. I also owe my love for wrenching to that car. I recall my dad and I always doing something to it; adjusting the points, brakes, trying to drill a hole through the window (during a window-channel repair -- lol) and so on.

      Around the time when I was learning to drive, I convinced my dad to buy an '85 240. I drove that around while saving up money for my first car. One morning on my way to work, I spotted a very clean 122 series Volvo and it had a for sale sign on it! It was red with a white top and sported a set of chrome smoothies. It was love at first sight, but I didn't have the money and needed a newer/more-reliable car as a daily driver. I eventually bought a Miata which I still have. I've done a lot to it including tripling its horsepower. Although it's a lot of fun, I still would often reminisce of the time when I first saw that sharp red and white 122 Volvo so many years ago. A couple years ago I started looking at 122s. Long story short, I bought one just a couple blocks away for a reasonable price, was rust free and had decent chrome. I must admit, I got major cold feet once I had the cash in-hand to purchase it. This was mainly because of may delicate living situation and the fact that I already had two other cars. To be honest, I'm still not 100% sure I made the right decision, lol -- but hey, you only live once!

      Although the car was drivable, it was scary. I started upgrading the suspension, wheels and tires. Cleaned up the tired 1.8L with a new water pump, pertronix ignition, a dual exhaust etc. I came to the realization that I needed to rebuild the motor and upgrade the transmission to at least an overdrive. I'm sure you guys have done it too, try to find parts for a foreign 50 year old motor. ...and of course you want more power; for a Volvo owner, well, you want a lot more power. And then you get on YouTube and check out all the fun the Sweds are having with their V8 vintage Volvo's. The big issue with putting a V8 in a vintage Volvo is the fact that, like many of the other small cars from the '50s and '60s, the k-member is very narrow. Then I stumbled across Robert Jackson's Volvo-x build diary who's manufacturing complete IFS for these little cars. With his suspension, my biggest hurdle would be eliminated! While Robert of Swedish Ops is in the final stages of finishing my front suspension, I've been busy doing everything I possibly can to prepare for its coming. Below are some pictures of my build. Since I don't have a pic of my car before I started modifying it, this first one isn't it, but looks exactly like I got it other than the side mirror placement being different.



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      This next one was taken soon before I started seriously tearing into the car. This was shot at a winery up in Napa California. I was taking pictures of it for a photo contest held buy IPD (an aftermarket Volvo parts supplier). This random chick visiting from South America wanted to pose with it. What was I goin' to do? Who says old Volvos aren't chick magnets! lol

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    2. #2
      Join Date
      Oct 2007
      Location
      Camas, WA
      Posts
      640
      Country Flag: United States

      Volvo 122S(S)

      Looks like a very clean project. You will love the suspension kit Robert puts together. It has allowed my project to proceed much quicker than it would have. Keep us posted with the progress!

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
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      Since I'm still waiting for my suspension, I started with the trunk. The car's trunk lid torsion springs have lost there energy and have eaten away on the hinges. I modified the hinges and bought a set of these struts from McMastercarrcom. They work great. They're rated at 90lb -- way too much. I'll be buying a set of 70lb struts -- should be perfect.

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
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      The big day! The official start of THE BUILD. Here you can see my work environment. Considering that it's joined with a apartment building parking garage, I must say it isn't too bad. I installed some opaque plastic in the back to help keep the leaves dirt and wind down to a minimum. I also installed a box fan towards the outside/rear of the carport to help exhaust dust fumes and smoke away from the balconies above. lol

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
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      As you can see, I've already put a little money into the engine bay -- oops. How do you like the Mazda Miata alternator? Worked like a charm.

      The new boosted brake system worked really well. (If any of you would like the custom bracket and tandem Wilwood master cylinder let me know. The same goes for the rebuilt radiator.)

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
      Okay, okay, enough reminiscing, let's get to work

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      Okay, well... maybe just a little bit more reminiscing. lol

      It's amazing how this once ~90hp 1.8L is heavier than the 450hp LS6 I'm putting in

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      Here you see the firewall...

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      ...Now you don't

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    7. #7
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
      Fitting the firewall.

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      I know, I should be wearing eye protection, but isn't that what glasses are for?

      Grinding sponsored by Sunshine Bakery

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    8. #8
      Join Date
      Jul 2012
      Location
      Iowa
      Posts
      399
      Country Flag: United States
      Pretty cool build and not something you see every day.
      Miles Boyer
      The car hobby is dangerous,if the speed doesn't kill you, the cost of parts will.
      91 V8 S10
      88 Cutlass Pro-Tour
      97 Chevy lifted Z-71
      96 Corvette

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Dec 2010
      Posts
      709
      Very cool--that looks like the perfect builder car!

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
      I'm still waiting on the suspension to show up so I'm focusing on the trunk area. After much thought I decided to delete the spare tire which will give me more room for the dual exhaust. Additionally, I'll be able to center the tank.

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      Below you can see the grafted section of steel to extend the tank recess over towards the left. It is now centered and the new tank from Tanks Inc fits like a glove.

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      I'm really happy with how this turned out. It is very ridged with the pre-fabed 'tank frame' I made out of 1" angle iron.

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      I needed to raise the floor of the trunk about 2 inches to accommodate for the deeper tank. This isn't all bad. The up-side to this is that not only will the tank not sit too low, like some later model Mustangs, it'll also give me provision around the trunk floor for shallow storage -- perhaps tools or a jack.

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    11. #11
      Join Date
      Apr 2001
      Location
      The City of Fountains
      Posts
      15,971
      Country Flag: United States
      Cool project!

      Andrew
      1970 GTO Version 3.0
      1967 Cougar build
      GM High-Tech Performance feature
      My YouTube Channel Please Subscribe!
      Instagram @projectgattago
      Dr. EFI
      I deliver what EFI promises.
      Remote Holley EFI tuning.
      Please get in touch if I can be of service.

      "You were the gun, your voice was the trigger, your bravery was the barrel, your eyes were the bullets." ~ Her

    12. #12
      Join Date
      Feb 2010
      Location
      Central Texas
      Posts
      78
      Country Flag: United States
      Great project! I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

    13. #13
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
      Its been a long time now since I posted anything new so here it goes:

      I haven't been able to work on the car directly, but a lot has been happening in other ways towards fulfilling this dream of mine to one day have this car as my fast little Swedish gal to drive around and make all the girls jealous. There has been much drama over receiving key parts to make this build continue. I am not at liberty to provide details at this time but the good news is that I have received enough of my parts to continue.

      Secondly, I've now moved out of a apartment building in Oakland to the Boise ID area. This is so much better in regards to building this car; I now have a SHOP on my property! The shop has now become my latest hobby since through it, I'll have the means to finish the car. I'll soon be updating this thread with pictures of progress!

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    14. #14
      Join Date
      May 2011
      Location
      Brisbane, Australia
      Posts
      453
      Country Flag: Australia
      Really cool project so very glad you are following through despite the dramas. Look forward to seeing it progress!
      1967 Mustang Fastback - widebody https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/...stang-Fastback
      1966 Plymouth Fury III
      1961 Oldsmobile 88 "bubbletop" = next project

    15. #15
      Join Date
      Mar 2015
      Posts
      5
      Country Flag: Sweden
      Interesting build, i'll be follwing it.
      If you're looking for another parts source i can recommend: www.vp-autoparts.com
      Ironically, i dont order Volvo parts from them, but i regularly order Mustang parts, i've spoken to them in person and they're parts are of high quality.

    16. #16
      Join Date
      Mar 2012
      Location
      Lethbridge, AB
      Posts
      177
      Country Flag: Canada
      i'm loving these old volvo builds! just awesome!
      Build Thread!!!https://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?88692-1971-Speedipus-Rex&p=925864&posted=1#post925864

    17. #17
      Join Date
      Mar 2010
      Location
      AZ
      Posts
      801
      Country Flag: United States
      I may have missed where you said it, but I caught where you said dual exhaust, what power plant is this getting?
      Robert R.
      1988 S10 blazer 5.0L SBC 700R4 body off build.
      1991 S10 Blazer 4.3L too low daily.
      1975 Cutlass Salon currenlty 350/th350
      Stupidity should be painful.

    18. #18
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
      Thanks for the info and the encouragement!

    19. #19
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
      I've built an LS-6 Sir! I'll post pics soon. I know it's just a 346(+.010 lol) but it's what I can afford and I'm going for economy After all, it'll only be 2400lbs.

      Quote Originally Posted by ArtosDracon View Post
      I may have missed where you said it, but I caught where you said dual exhaust, what power plant is this getting?

    20. #20
      Join Date
      Mar 2013
      Location
      Southern Idaho
      Posts
      54
      Country Flag: United States
      Here's a picture of the almost complete motor. I finished it before the move but it's currently under a cover so here's a earlier picture. I got a little carried away with the red paint but it was fun. Plus, if the engine's rebuilt, one wants it to look like it's hand built and not some crate motor. The Ford Red is to honor the original pushrod red block. Call me a purist!
      Attached Images Attached Images  

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