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Time travel back to 1987.. I was in high school, and had just bought my first car. A '67 122 wagon. Being the broke high school kid that I was, new parts, available only from the dealer, were generally not an option.
So, I knocked on the door of a fellow who had a couple decrepit wagons sitting in his yard. A nice fellow who answered the door. A bit eccentric perhaps, but a nice guy. Over the next several year, many an hour was spent in his wood shop discussing Volvos and other important life subjects.
The man had some stories.
He never did let me take any parts off his two wagons, as he had future plans for them. He was gracious with his spare parts piles, and he helped keep my car on the road for many years, and I learned about old Volvos, and car work in general from him.
He passed away a few years back. So fast forward to now.. my brother recently got in touch with his partner, who has really been wanting to get these cars out of her back yard. Not that she doesn't appreciate old Volvos, but she knew she sure wouldn't get around to them. So, we bought them, figured to drag them home and evaluate.
The first is a late '67 model (dual circuit brakes, but no other '68 earmarks).. that one seemed most solid, so that's where we started. My brother actually.. went over with the usual heap of stuff.. a battery, some gas, starting fluid, some tires... Lo and behold, he got that '67 running and drove it out of there. 15-20 years of sitting, I'm really not sure.
That left the '64... it's been sitting for at least 25 years. Maybe more, nobody really knows. This was, in its day, a bit of a hot rod, though the extent is rather unknown. It's got the old IPD headers, the 3rd motor mount (busted through the rusty inner fender, of course)... ah well.
The rocker panels are gone, other cancerous rust here and there, but the floors are rock solid.. who knows, maybe not a parts car after all...
So, we put a battery in there, no key so a quick hot wire, starting fluid... Damned if the thing didn't fire up almost instantly.. sounds kind of snappy even, and not too awful much smoke, doesn't sound blown. Definitely getting oil to the rockers. We'll see.. brakes also came up. Well... the master cylinder held pressure. Not sure if the wheel cylinders moved.
I'm sure Alan would be pleased and proud of his cars!
In any event, we'll be going back for more work soon.. it would be absolutely amazing still if we're able to drive that one out of there.. but it's a lot closer than we expected it to ever be...
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Cheers!
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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well.. we couldn't do it. Not this time. Not yet.
*sigh*
There is no clutch.. probably the clutch disc is shredded.. nothing there. Let the clutch out, no go.. not even a wobble, not even a change in RPMs.. rats.. everything else was a go.. should have checked for a clutch with just the starter motor before we even tried anything else...
Gonna have to tow this one out, or pull the tranny on the spot. Considering it's rapidly approaching 0° out there now, pulling the transmission is sounding less than appealing..
bit of a bummer... will keep you posted.
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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Aww.
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Bummer Matt, but you are still way ahead of the game with everything else that seems sound. If that turns out to be the biggest deal you are still smiling, eh?
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Welcome back to the fun cars. These under complicated machines are just fun to work on, besides, they always start! I prefer to drive the 67 over the 08, at least locally.
Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.
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Be sure to let Pebble Beach or Amelia Island know you are coming in 2010! But seriously, it is great to see a couple of the rarest of the Amazon body styles (less convertibles, of course) get working again! Fun to see.
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I don't know about Amelia Island, but.. damn.. Pebble Beach is a tough one.. they find you, they call you... you don't call them.
That said, I haven't check my voicemail :-)
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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Great story, Matt. After you get them home a little rubbing compound should set everthing right.
Charley
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Very cool, I love 220's. Nice to hear they will be put to use in some way or another.
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Good to see a couple more 220s headed for the highway. The only thing better than a 220 is two 220s. You already know it but IMHO these are the toughest volvos out there.
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Patrick, '68 220, '92 Eurovan (work truck) '53 PD4104 (conversion).
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Great stuff, especially the pix.
While many are very particular about making EVERYTHING possible new before starting
an engine that has been out of service, I am of the other school. Get'er goin!!
Apparently we see eye to eye on that!
I'll be eager to hear more.
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George Downs, Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!
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A marvelous first chapter in what I'm sure will be a great saga, Matt. It warms the heart to hear of rescue missions of this sort. Keep us posted.
Cheers,
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Barry '67 122S "Betty", '69 122S "Veronica"
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How great is that?!?
Do you have a plan of attach mapped out already?
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"Plan of attach"...
Yup... attach one of them fenders that's sittin' in the back, attach the clutch release rod that is missing, attach a couple headlights, a battery, a license plate...
And drive it home.
:-)
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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Where's your sense of adventure? You don't need no fenders or clutch or headlights to drive a Volvo home!
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Of course, that is known.. and we went back today with no intentions of putting a fender or lights on. It's an easy 3 mile drive, one traffic light (easily timed in advance), no stop signs..
But, you gotta admit.. when driving a car that hasn't moved under its own power in at least 25 years, being able to make use of the clutch is nice... especially when it's all hotwired under the hood so there's no shutting it off and you never know if the brakes are going to go away at any given moment...
We did get it running on gas, through it's fuel pump.. 4 tires with air, brakes seem ok... but, we blew the clutch master cylinder (my shoes stink of brake fluid now), and it was getting dark.
A tad bit more eye candy on the score.. the late '67, which we took today in the resurrection quest site:
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note them spiffy Mustang wheels.. and no, the roof rack is not for sale :-)
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And now it's snowing.. we'll see about tomorrow. Man.. I thought these days of Volvo resurrections were over.. it's nice to be back.
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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fenders are optional...
so is the clutch seemingly...
but when a car sits this long and it's driving off the site seemed so unlikely, it sure would be nice if it worked just 'perfectly' when we drove it away! Which is possible. Tiger Auto Parts should have a master cyl rebuild kit in stock by 2 this afternoon, I figure we have a chance to have it on the road by 4:00.. and its cold/snowy so most cops probably won't want to get out of their cars (hoping).
Should be fun, this car is a bit of a heap but the motor sure sounds snappy and everything except the clutch seems to work at this point.
The next 10 days or so are pretty busy for Matt and I so we're hoping to get this cream puff home this afternoon with a bit of luck.
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That 67 looks great, even the wheels suit it. You scored!
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wouldn't that be sweet..
But no, just carpet over steel...
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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Can you ever really get the "get her back on the road" bug of our your system?
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I always have the urge to "save" an old car that I like that I bump into or come across. Almost all of them make no economic sense at all to spend time on, but it is just one of those things. I'll throw in here for Ron Kwas that the only factory wood flooring that I've seen in Volvos came in the 445 and P210 "Duett" series of vehicles. I would eventually like to get one of those as well, but that is a REAL labor of love to resurrect.
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My kind of plan, or, er, it would be if I didn't have such a bad case of shipwright's anyway. Press on Matt!
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