Concerning Parts

With the new rear panel in place, my amazon is beginning to look a bit like a car again (well, from the back anyway). In a possibly over enthusiastic moment I offered up the rear reflectors and mounts. I also tried a rear light cluster.

As it has been such a long time since I began stripping the car, these parts took me a little while to unearth they were in need of a clean up. I have concluded that I need to get organised and a parts audit is in order . I have spent a day cataloging.

Over the years I have acquired quite a few Volvo spares, both new and used, which I have stashed away in the loft and other places, along with those parts that have been removed from my amazon. Some areas are remarkably well stocked, others are less so. I am also concerned about the condition of certain parts and whether they are serviceable. With this in mind I have created a spreadsheet to help me keep track and work out what I might be looking for.

Most of the parts I have so far removed have not been properly cleaned and so I have also decided that I need routinely and systematically clean, assess and refurbish as I remove. I have also begun to do this with the parts in storage, beginning with the light clusters and the reflector mounts.

I found these to be in pretty good condition and after a clean up with wire brushes and the now obligatory Fertan treatment, I have given them a coat of etch primer. I have also sprayed the rear of the reflectors with a top coat of Toyota silver (it's what I had to hand).

These are the kinds of tasks I can do when I don't have enough time to tackle the bigger jobs (like the bodywork) and so I am planning to keep a rolling program on the go. I have so far cleaned and polished the rear lights, throttle linkage, inlet manifold and heat shield, wiper arms, coil, washer bottle, expansion bottle.... Of course I realise that none of these tasks are urgent, but it all needs to be done before I can make it to the start line.

< previous post next post >

Comments

Boot (Trunk) Excavation

As I suspect you are aware, issues with rot in the boot (trunk) of the Volvo 120 series are common and my Amazon is no exception. Over the years it has been 'repaired' a number of times and not always sympathetically. I have made a start removing the filler and the patchwork of metal plates that make up the n/s and the floor next to the spare wheel well. I've ground off some of the welds, chiselled and bent back the non-original metal. As I have already reported the lower rear quarter replacement panels are definitely not correctly positioned but I have successfully managed to uncover the original boot floor which although is in a very poor condition, does give me some points of reference for the rebuild. Incidentally, a word of warning. I had to remove a lot of seam sealer and I really should have been wearing gloves. A slip with the scraper brought the session to a rapid conclusion. I was lucky not to end up in A&E. Now that I have investigated more tho...

Volvo Amazon Inner wing Repair - Part 2

As indicated in the previous post , the intention was to work on to the rear offside arch next, but the inner arch repair sections still haven't arrived. It seems that they are out of stock with the wholesalers in Sweden, and that there is no indication of when, or even if they will be delivered. I am now beginning too think that I will be lucky to see them before Christmas. Change of plan then. I have re-jigged the garage and I have turned the car round to create space to start on the nearside inner wing. There is also the windscreen corner and battery box to sort out, so this should keep me busy for a while. Just like with the offside repair panel, I noticed that there was a problem with the wing bolt hole alignment, although in this case it appeared to be less pronounced. I judged that it would still necessitate removing of the box section from the rest of the repair panel. The existing inner wing was in a poorer condition on this side and so I need to replace at least some of ...

Progress Report: Rear Window Removal and More

It has been a while since my last post, but I haven't been entirely idle. After my initial investigations into the state of the boot floor (see previous post) I have removed more from the car in preparation for repairs, including the rear window. This was the last piece of glass still fitted to the car and I was concerned about damage from grinding sparks. The stainless trim that surrounds the glass is extremely delicate and really expensive to replace, so needs to be removed and stored carefully. I used a couple of old plastic spatulas and they seemed to work pretty well although in hindsight, I think it might have been worth investing in some proper trim removal tools. One important thing to note is that the chrome finishers that sit on the C pillars are actually held in place with bolts, so if you are attempting this yourself, do not try and prise them off! They will break! Instead, you will need to get at the retaining nuts from inside the car by ...

PROJECT VOLVO

Search This Blog