This past fall I acquired a 1966 Volvo 1800S.
It had been sitting neglected for some 14 years.

First thing is I don't have the keys for it. Who can make the keys?
Second thing is, I would like to see if it will turn over. What should I address to make this happen? Details will be greatly appreciated.

I don't believe the radiator has any fluid in it at this time. Not even sure on the gas tank if it has stuff in it as well. The drive shaft was disconnected from underneath and left in the passenger side floor.

Does anyone know how to get the build sheet on these vehicles? Also, looking for what options were available for it as well.

I look forward to the help as I begin a full restoration project.

Thanks.

If it doesn't turn over EASILY AFTER PRIMING IT to protect the crank & bearings, I'd just yank it out.

Personally, I WOULD pull it out, take the head off, if rusted, drop the crank out the bottom & knock each piston down a little, clean up the rust, then push the pistons out & see what you have. More often than not they need very little replaced, very rare to see mains & bigend bearings worn out, the cam bearings go first more often.

Welcome to the world of old Volvos.

Resurrecting a car that has sat for 14 years will involve checking EVERY system on the car, but to begin you should check the condition of the engine.

The comments made below are made assuming the car is completely stock.

1st thing to do is to see if the crankshaft can be turned. You will need a 13/16" wrench or socket. And speaking of wrench sizes, almost all of the stock fasteners are UNC or UNF and use standard size wrenches and sockets. However there are some exceptions, most notably, the brake and clutch systems use metric wrenches and there are even a couple of British standard fasteners too.

If the crankshaft can be turned, you should pull the spark plugs and put a little engine oil in each cylinder and hand turn the crankshaft a couple of revolutions before trying to start. At the same time, check to see if the generator/alternator and the water pump pulleys are turning too. If either 1 isn't turning, remove the belt.

You might want to change the oil and filter. Make sure to get the correct oil and filter. Use 30wt oil and an oil filter that has an check valve and a relief valve. The drain plug uses a copper sealing washer and it really should be changed too, but for some reason these are hard to find.

At this point, the engine should only be run to verify that it can run so you don't need to deal with the cooling system or fuel system and in fact, you don't want to use any part of the fuel system other than carburetors until you have checked the fuel pump, fuel lines and fuel tank.

Pull the air filters and see if the pistons inside the carburetors can move up and down and if they do, put some gas in the float bowls by removing and reinstalling the float bowl covers, disconnect the fuel hose from the fuel pump to the front carburetor, reinstall the spark plugs and wires and try to start the engine.

A good locksmith can make a key, but I can pretty much guarantee that it will cost less to just carefully drill the old tumbler and replace it with a new tumbler assembly.

Besides, you can bypass the stock ignition system with the correct supplies and tools.

FYI, with my brother, I own a Volvo repair shop that specializes in rear wheel drive Volvos with a focus on the pre-1976 models.

Besides Volvo, there are at least 5 large suppliers of parts and you might be surprised at how many parts are still available. However, most of the suppliers are in the EU.

We buy and stock parts from all of them and we do have a website.

Good luck!


--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com

"Use 30wt oil"

Are you talking about using that in the gearbox? Good choice, especially with an overdrive. Straight cut oil lasts an eternity with helical gears. Use the 80W-90 gear oil for hypoid gears only.

"The drain plug uses a copper sealing washer and it really should be changed too, but for some reason these are hard to find."

They are hard to find because they never need replacing. It's COPPER, just anneal it once every so often.

"Use.....an oil filter that has an check valve and a relief valve."

How often have you seen one without a relief valve? I use those for bedding in a cam else if you knock a lobe off, you can fill the filter with trash, then the relief valve cracks open & lets trash through the bearings.

no text.

+1 to everything Eric said. Don’t trust anything unless you have inspected, cleaned, repaired repaired as required and confirmed operation of each system.

On the website I’ve linked below you will find loads of info, under documents tab you can find owners manuals, service manuals and parts books.

https://volvo1800pictures.com/

Welcome.

a start?

GreenBooks from OZ
go to

https://ozvolvo.org/archive/

type 1800 in the search box.