http://www.brickboard.com/FORUMS/uid=45406 The Volvo owner's resource since 1997. en Copyright 1997-2009, Jarrod Stenberg Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:33 GMT Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:33 GMT brickadmin@denizen.net brickadmin@denizen.net volvo 1440 http://www.brickboard.com/images/logo_b_25.gif http://www.brickboard.com/ 25 25 The Volvo owner's resource since 1997. Don't know what country you are in, but in the USA we have about 65,000,000 muffler shops and 99.99% of them can install a "like-stock" muffler vor about $65. That said, I just threw an almost new one in the trash. Honestly! http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1379780&rss=1 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:41 GMT Mike, I just installed a new rear end in my car and have a set of good used rear drums from my old rear end. They are guaranteed unwarped, as I used them until recently. If you pay shipping, you can have them for free. http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1378259&rss=1 Fri, 9 Oct 2009 04:45 GMT No, it's the 24-valve inline-6 first used in the 1995 E300D (which I have), then in the 1996 model as well, until in 1997 they added a turbocharger to it. Without turbo, the engine makes 136 hp at 5000rpm (which is huge for a Diesel), runs imperceptibly (can't even hear it at 100mph) and delivers 38mpg on the freeway. The only reason to go for a V-configeration is space confinement. An inline 6, by its very design, runs much smoother than a Vee-6. -- www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1371640&rss=1 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:33 GMT I am, by my own admission, obsessed with engine oils. I own numerous, rather different vehicles, among them pre-war motorcycles with oil slingers, rotary-powered race and street cars, Diesel-powered trucks and passenger cars, and of course my Volvo. EVERY single vehicle gets the very oil I personally consider the best for its specific application, regardless of price. I am even going so far as to feed $24-per-quart MOTUL to one of my cars, and I change the oil on my race cars every weekend. That said, and without writing a lengthy essay on engine oils, I would suggest to use non-detergent oil for the first 400-or-so miles to allow a break-in. Then refill with non-detergent oil until you reach 900 to 1000 miles. Then swap to 20W-50 VALVOLINE VR1, as it is the only "street legal" oil whose zinc content will protect old pushrod engines from premature wear. (There's a VALVOLINE racing oil, available from JEG's that is even better.) Yes, certain Diesel oils do the same (I use mineral-oil-based 15-W40 VALVOLINE Blue &#091a Cummins-approved test winner&#093 in 3 cars/trucks, among them my '71 Dodge gasoline pickup, but unless you accumulate serious mileage with your Volvo, there's no merit in using it over VR1, not even price-wise. Due to the still rather large engine tolerances, I advice against synthetic oil, including synthetic Diesel oil (I use ROTELLA Synthetic 15W-40 exclusively in my 24-valve Mercedes Diesel). If you want to use synthetic, however, I suggest you go with MOBIL 1 High Mileage exclusively. -- www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1370396&rss=1 Sat, 5 Sep 2009 23:32 GMT Chris, thank you for your quick response. I am a retired SCCA Pro road racer and my business partner and I are running a 200+ mph roadster with an experimental engine in land speed racing, so I know a little bit on the subject of speed. I really meant STOCK, bone stock, not supercharged, not running on Nitro. Again the question: what are the most powerful, highest compression STOCK B18/B20 engines out there? (I understand that there's a 10.5 compression B18 head, somewhere, so which one is it and how can it be identified?) -- www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1369790&rss=1 Thu, 3 Sep 2009 00:14 GMT Hello, All! I was just wondering what the horsepower output of die various B18/B20 engines is. I understand that the B18-powered PV544 Sport with dual SUs is rated at 90hp. But there are other Volvos, especially the fuel injected P1800s, that have more power. What's the status with the B20s? Differently asked, if you were to look for a bone stock B18 or B20 engine, used, taken out of a running car, which one would have the most horsepower? More detailed, which are the "best" cylinder heads, boosting the highest compression and the "best" cam? Would be cool if we could make some kind of a list for future reference. -- www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1369729&rss=1 Wed, 2 Sep 2009 20:02 GMT Hello, guys! First, thank you for your quick replies. As you may have noticed, they rank from "your engine is compressionwise in excellent condition" to "your rings are somewhat worn." I expected that. To get more responses, let me go into a bit more detail. I drive the car hard, on the freeway sometimes close to redline, and it screams. Performance wise, I do not have any complaints. Two things bother me: 1) Lately, there is some blowby, trying to escape from the oil filler cap on top of the valve cover. If I have the engine idling without the cap on, it's very obvious. 2) At startup, there some blue smoke, and there's also a bit of blue smoke at normal operation, although most of it is black smoke, meaning too much fuel is fed to the carburetors because they are worn. (I twice adjusted the SUs and synchronized them to the max.) I just did a fuel system cleanup, feeding Seafoam, as someone suggested, straight from the fuel pump to the carburetors. Wow . . . spark plugs are covered with soot now, already fouled one plug! The main question I have is this: does the fact that compression increases when spraying oil into the spark plug holes mean the piston rings are somewhat worn or that the valve seals/seats are bad? I do have a lovely 1967 B18 engine from a 122 wagon here. Only 85K miles on it, guaranteed, and I could pop it in in case the rings are the problem. However, if it's the head, maybe due to the fact that we don't have unleaded gas here anymore since . . . what . . . the early 1970s, then I would rather shop for a high compression head on eBay and have that one freshened up by a machine shop. I'm hesitant to take the wonderful, low mileage engine apart, more so if it's not even necessary. So there we are. Hoping for more input from you guys. Thanks! Bernard -- www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1363361&rss=1 Sat, 1 Aug 2009 22:23 GMT Hello guys! Asking for your opinion/input/evaluation of a compression reading. Here are the facts: 1962 Volvo 544 Sport, stock B18 engine. Mileage unknown, could be as low as 100K+ and as high as 300K. Not a clue, as the car lived most of its life in a California mountain community. May have been driven primarily very short distances, for almost 50 years. Drove car to work, only 3 miles, let it cool down for an hour. Compression: 1) 146 2) 130 3) 121 4) 143 Sprayed a bit of Marvel's Mystery Oil in cylinders 2 and 3, and redid compression on those two cylinders. 2) 138 3) 138 What's your take on the engine's condition? Thank you all for your input. Bernard -- www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1363164&rss=1 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:14 GMT Bob, you highjacked this post but that's alright with me. My car had a fairly new, bone stock exhaust system when I got it. I don't know what I was thinking, but at the time we had a Bugeye Sprite and an MG Midget, both with this ANSA style end muffler, and both sounded fantastic, not too loud, but with the typical spitting noise when getting off the gas. So I "stole" the best of those mufflers and put them on my car. The car got noisier, but not to the point where it gets annoying, like on rice burners with truck-sized mufflers. The sound is actually beautiful, raunchy, but not as beautiful as I was hoping for. The engine makes the noise, and obviously British 4-bangers sound different from Italian ones (Alfa Romeo) and Swedish ones. Bummer. Right now I'm waiting for a nice header to come my way, and then I'll start over with a straight pipe from there, and finish the exhaust off with a replica of the Abarth system that was sold for many cars, Volvos included, back in the 1960s . . . with one twist. I'll have a large end muffler, mounted like the original one, but with 4 small diameter (2 sets of 2) end pipes. Moss motors sells a muffler like this for TR6 models, and usually 2 of the pipes (one either side) are plugged, meaning the TR6 has only one set of dual end pipes, left or right, depending on what country they sell the car (RHD or LHD). I'll have 4, like the 1950s and early 1960s Porsche 356 Abarths and Carreras. Note that these pipes are really small, about 1-1/4 inch in diameter, times 4. http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1362498&rss=1 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:34 GMT My trunk lid won't stay open. It seems to be the same system as, for example, on Porsche 356 cars, where you open the trunk lid, lower it slightly, and then it holds itself. To close it, the trunk lid has to be lifted slighly, and then lowered slowly. It's some kind of a pin, most likely only on the left side, that "rolls" into place and out of place. I know that the problem is not the hinges themselves; it's the part mounted/welded to the body, and I have no clue on how to repair that part or if it's even available. Anyone with some insight? Bernard Check out my Volvo: http://www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1361096&rss=1 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:31 GMT And where, Eric? Asking because I have to replace the lower steering box seal as well as the rear axle pinion seal (where the driveshaft enters the rear axle) on my '62, so if you have those items in stock, I gladly order them from you. Bernard Check out my Volvo: http://www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1361095&rss=1 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:27 GMT Speaking with the experience of a 51 year-old car guy, who's in the classic car business, has now $8K in his $1,000 Volvo, and it stll looks like an abandoned car: http://www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html You can't win the game of buying a pig's ear and turn it into a silk puse without losing the farm over it . . . http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1360837&rss=1 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:29 GMT California junk yard parts; $25 for a nice set. Come up quite often Check out my Volvo: http://www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1360722&rss=1 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:56 GMT May the gods be with you and may you have tons of money to spend on this car. You'll need all you think you need, times 5. http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1360337&rss=1 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:23 GMT Thanks, Eric, got a replacement switch and it all worked out fine. http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1359720&rss=1 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:06 GMT Charly, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you're saying. The point I was trying to make (but clearly failed to do so) is a slightly different one, however. Most cars with faded paint look neglected and crappy. Generally speaking, the most a car is seen as a luxury car, the more it needs to be clean and shiny. Very few cars are qualified to show totally faded and worn through paint with pride. To mind come: 1930s to early 1950s pickup trucks, old Volkswagen Busses and Beetles, Mercedes Fintail sedans, and Humpback Volvos. It's in line with the "theme cars" I love so much, among them the "Joe Dirt" movie Daytona which I once owned. In line with that we specifically should consider the so-called barn finds that are up for sale. In such cases most people, potential buyers, whether preservatioists like myself, or restorationists, prefer to get their barn finds "as found" with spider webs and all. It's like the pirates' cave. Start messing with a discovery, and you take away much of the excitement. But, and here we agree as well, it's a totally subjective thing. Everyone his own . . . http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1358642&rss=1 Wed, 8 Jul 2009 02:47 GMT I'm in the business of dealing in collector cars (www.calforniaclassix.com) for a vey long time and it's not only providing me with a comfortable living, but I absolutely love what I do. In May 2008 I've bought a PV544 for $1,000 and put another $7,500 in it so far, all with connections in the business, mind you, and mostly my own labor. The car still looks like a $1,000 car today http://www.californiaclassix.com/Bernard/PV544-1.html), and it will look like it when I'm "done" with it, probably when I have reached the $12K plateau. Restoring a car is a lost proposition, unless the car is worth close to 6 figures when done. Alanauto (www.alanauto.com) has shown that it is possible to spend $100K on restoring a 544, and people who commission a job like that don't care abaout the money: They have it and want "that" car for sentimental reasons. Back to your 444. People like barn finds. The fact that you polished the fantstically patinated paint is a turn off for me like kissing a girl and finding out it's a frog with morning breath. While I liked the car as found, very much so, now it's a dead fish for me. I don't have 25 years to wait until it looks cool again, as I'm alread 51. Next thing is the rocker rust. Not having seen the car, I can tell it's fairly rusty. A bad welding job (wanting to sell the car) is worse than no job. My advise: leave the car alone. Get it running, vaccum it, and then it should sell for about $1,500, give or take a few hundred bucks. Shipping it across the country is too expensive, so advertise it locally. Good luck! http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1358289&rss=1 Sun, 5 Jul 2009 20:19 GMT I liked the car MUCH better with faded paint. Seriously! http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1358279&rss=1 Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:43 GMT VirgiltheVolvo, I e-mailed yoy directly to your site when you where on your trip but you never responded. Oh, well . . . You are mentioning Mikunis; are you referring to the same or an identical setup as it is offered by John Parker (about $600)? http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1358278&rss=1 Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:26 GMT Absolutely lovely, with a priceless and irreplaceable patina that oozes originality! Two things you don't want to mess with: original paint and California black plates. http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1358277&rss=1 Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:15 GMT Sorry. Doesn't look good on your car. Keep it original! Luckily, I can offer you a perfectly straight, correct grille (not a sigle ding in it), plus an original hood ornament, plus $150 cash, plus all shipping charges. Seriously! On another note: please, people, don't put a single yellow fog light on the right of your car, as shown on the very early car. I was upset when Steve McQueen copied it from me but made an exception, because he was a cool car guy, but I don't want this to become too common . . . http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1358276&rss=1 Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:11 GMT My Hi-Beam/Low-Beam floor switch doesn't switch to high beam. I took the thing out, cleaned everything, and actually thinking about moving the switch in form of a flicker switch to the dash, as it's in the way of my left foot anyway. The switch has 3 terminals, marked as follows from left to right: 56b, 56, 56a. There are 4 wires going to the switch: left: yellow middle: gray right: 2 x red Theoretically, yellow and gray are low beam and high beam (or vise versa) and red is power, which would be coming from the light switch. But why are there 2 red wires? Can somebody bring "light" into this? Thanks, Bernard http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1357987&rss=1 Fri, 3 Jul 2009 19:20 GMT Thanks Ron, worked like a charm! http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1347079&rss=1 Sun, 3 May 2009 01:34 GMT Howdy, My '62 544 has the stock, twin SU HS6 (?) carburetors. The car runs healthy and scoots forward nicely, city and freeway, but it runs so rich that it emits black smoke from the exhaust that you I can even see clearly when it's idling at the stoplight: unburned gasoline! I did a quick search on the Internet on "adjusting SU carburetors" and on how to set the idle, synchronize the carbs, and adjust the mixture, but according to the net my SUs should have a mixture adjust screw/wheel on the bottom of each carb. Guess what: I can't find it! In fact, on the bottom there is the fuel inlet to the carburetor. Can anybody point me in the right direction? Thanks, Bernard http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1346701&rss=1 Fri, 1 May 2009 01:08 GMT I'm one of the most successful classic car dealers in the country, and a genius in marketing classic cars for as long as I can remember, so here are my thoughts. To get top money for a car, it has to be a no excuse, all finished car. Any kind of work left, any "only needs" statement will cost the seller money. If you have a 90% finished car that needs "only" 50 hours to be all done, deduct 50 times $65 = $3,250 from its value. If it "only" needs 100 hours, deduct $6,500 from its value, plus parts, of course. A full restoration now takes about 1000 to 3000 hours and cost $100,000+. If you'd like to see what a $100K+ Volvo 544 looks like, go to www.alanauto.com and see for yourself. After somebody spent $100K on a Volvo, he'll keep it. If he were to sell it, it would go for about $25K is my guess. Restoring doesn't make sense from a financial standpoint on any car worth less than 6 figures when done. So . . . put your Volvo up on eBay. Add some nice photos, then tell its true story. Start with an opening bid of $9.99. Place a reserve of $30K on it. When the auction ends, you have established the car's value by exposing it to thousands of potential buyers. Show the presentation to your wife right after you launched the auction, and tell her that you have no idea what the car is worth as it sits now, but she'll get 50% of the high bid from the estate. I don't know exactly how far you have come with the resto, Tony, but my educated guess is that you're looking at $6K to $8K, sadly. So put the $3K to $4K to your wife's balance sheet, then put the car back on blocks for a while. Once you have recovered from the traumatic experience, get back on it. You can't just put a number on memories. http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/?id=1345339&rss=1 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:09 GMT Use the text input below to search brickboard.com query http://www.brickboard.com/FIND/