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Hi All-
I'm brand new to this forum, so please excuse my ignorance...
I have owned a P1800E for approximately 5 years -- it has not been well taken care of. I was young when I bought it and am only now appreciating it in the way I should.
It did run once, does not anymore -- last time I checked it needed a fuel pump, but this was probably 4 years ago. Since then it has sat in my back yard on a concrete slab -- but not up on blocks :(
I'm looking to have someone restore this in Connecticut, I'm not looking for an original restoration, but I do want to improve on what is already a great car. I'm not sure if the engine will need replacing at this point although I am willing to do that. The car also needs to have its frame rails replaced and possibly some of the floorboards -- otherwise, the body is in decent shape, with only the usual quarter panel rot (it will need to be stripped down, repaired and sanded/painted eventually).
I do want some suspension work done, and also perhaps some minor engine work, I was considering installing a bigger engine, but most here recommend against that, so I will stick with stock for now. The car only has 59,000 miles as best i remember.
My question is -- do any of you know where a good place to have this done would be? If possible, i would like to ballpark cost too, but i know this has about 15,000 variables ;) I'm not so concerned about resale value or anything like that (ie, im willing to pay more to restore it than i could sell it for within reason) -- i am basically interested in having a unique car that i can keep and enjoy for a long time and i want it to look nice, drive well and be fun.
Thanks for any help or guidance! Please let me know if I'm stupid for wanting to do this -- but rest assured that I realise how dumb i was to let such a fine automobile be neglected for so long.
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i'm in CT. i have a '73 1800ES. i know some good mechanical guys here, but no Volvo specialty body guys. my recommendation would be to get it drivable and then take it to John Parker in Syracuse, NY - http://www.v-performance.com. if you won't be coming back East for a while, i'm sure we could work out a delivery for you. i might be going to see John soon anyway and i could potentially take it up there for you.
i also have a pretty new fuel pump i just harvested from another '73 ES if that's all it needs to run ... don't know if it would be the same as yours, but does anyone here know?
Ron K is also in CT ... maybe he wants to be in on this?
jake
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hey guys-
i'm thinking the car may need to have the fuel system flushed as well at this point -- its been sitting for a while and i vagualy remember putting in some gas stabalizer at one point but it may have been too late.
a tow to syracuse could be pretty expensive i would think...although he may be the best guy to give this to so it would probably be worthwhile.
like i said in my email, i can arrange for you to see the car if that would help. the car is in New Milford.
thanks again for your interest and help!
-camden
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I am reading this because I am a Volvo tech of the times and do rust repair for me.... Currently the work I do is out doors, and I wish for walls and a roof..
I oddly have almost every tool you need to do all the work... and live in NH USA... I know of no volvo places in Ct at all though...
A very long time ago I was hired to help with a 356 porsche and it was about 15k to do that car the first time.. It was restored to be like new...
With in 14 days the owner who was a chopper tech decided to tinker with the carbs and burned it to the dash board!!!
Back it came for another over haul... This time was worse than the first as engine parts were ruined...
So it is worth what you want to put into it... If you restore it well, it will be worth far more in some years ahead....
If you don't get it covered soon you won't have a problem either... Mac
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If your frame rails and floors are shot you may have more bodywork
than the car is worth. If it was mine I would look for a donor car
with perhaps not too good an engine.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma
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Yep, I couldn't agree more, unless this particular car has great sentimental value. Three years ago, I decided to restore a 122S that had some known rust issues. There was one small hole in the passenger's floor, rot in the C-pillars (the bright strip there on 122s can be a water trap), some bubbling along the bottom front fenders, and some other "let's restore it now or it'll get away from us" sort of things.
$17,000 later, I got back a beautifully painted, all solid metal, straight rolling shell. Multiply the rust you know about by 7 or 8 and you may be close. The bodywork was done professionally by a good friend who charges relatively cheap rates -- but that's how much work had to be done. 16 months, maybe $4K more and hundreds of hours of my own work later, I've almost got a driving car again. So, that's well over $20K for a mildly improved 122S in mostly new condition.
After 24 years and hundreds of thousands of miles of faithful service, we didn't want to junk the car and start over. Spread the cost over those years, and all the years I plan to keep driving the car from now on, and it's not outrageous. But if the starting point had been a rust-free (or very low rust) body shell, costs to get it into show condition would have been $8-9K.
Once you start getting some bucks tied up in a restoration, there's no turning back... think about this a lot more times than twice.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Mike122S
on
Tue Jul 22 08:36 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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The truely ignorant person is the one who does not know enought to ask any questions. You ask many questions, so you must be very wise!
Rust is the biggest problem here. I would definitely have a qualified repair person take a look at the cancer. I don't live in CT, maybe someone nearer could help you out? I've been tinkering with cars for many years now, and if there is one undeniable truth, its this: You will pay twice as much (3 times, if you have someone else do the work) to make a car worth more than it is now. In other words, lets say your decrepit 1800 is worth $500 right now, in #5 condition. To bring it up to respectable driving condition, ie #3 status, you might spend $5000 more...but the actual value of the car will only be $2500 or so. Logic says, junk the bugger and find a $2500 #3 1800 you can drive.
That's logic. However, most folks in the old car hobby (myself included) are not logical people, but instead sentimental enthusiasts with only a smattering of logic. Since my smattering of logic tells me to fear rust, though (having grown up in upstate NY,where cars usually rust to pieces within 10 years unless they are garaged), I'd be very wary about tackling a project that involves replacing frame rails. I've done it, on a '71 BMW 2002 I owned once, and its not fun. Paying someone to do this would be even less fun, I imagine. Quarter/ floorpan rust isn't so bad, though, and I believe the patch panels are readily available.
Whatever you do, logical or not, best of luck to you!
--Mike
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hey guys-
thanks for you replies! i was under the impression that the "frame rails" on this car are actually only support rails and not full frame rails -- can someone enlighten me or explain this a little better?
also -- there was one point that i forgot to mention -- i'm in chicago, il and this car is still at my parents house in connecticut, so i will organize most of it over the phone. this also prevents me from doing the work myself, although i would love to. i miss connecticut and plan to go back at some point, but i dont think the car will last that long!
thanks again guys!
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