Has anyone ever noticed that the Brickboard is much friendlier than a lot of other internet forums? Not necessarily talking about other Volvo forums but the web in general.

I've been away for a while and focusing on my woodworking. Started participating in some woodworking forums and, man, some people are really looking for a fight it seems. I've gotten a lot of useful information from forums and am able to contribute more in the wood forums since thats what I do. But I'm surprised how often things flare up, something that just doesn't seem to happen here.

I can't remember the last time (if ever) things got ugly on the BB. Maybe its just the Amazon section, don't spend time with the cousins. ;)

Anyway its pretty refreshing how helpful everyone is, from the newbies to the experienced Volvo fanatics.

Not really much of a question, more of an observation and a pat on the back to the Brickboard.

-Mario E.
Lawrence, KS

The Alfa forums and Maserati forums that I've been on tend to be very nice also. But before everyone pats themselves on the back...don't venture into the "opinion" forum here, that is a very nasty, nasty over opinionated and close minded page.

I was thinking the same thing! Keep your opinions to yourself, and stay on (Volvo) topic, and we'll all get along just fine. :)
--
Mike F - 1984 244 DL - 317,000 miles
Original engine, transmission, drive train, starter
Undergoing reconstructive surgery with POR-15

1972 142 S - The Yellow Brick - 135,000 miles
All stock except for Weber Carb. B20B engine. M40

I love Volvo owners - But it takes a lot of work to run a board that survives, let alone thrives!
--
'96 855R,'64 PV544 driver, '67 P1800 basket case, '95 855, '95 854, the first three are mine, heh, heh, 485,000 miles put on 9 bricks

...seriously, a guys got to limit his surfing and Forum visiting, else he wouldn't get much of his other projects done...I limit mine "on-line Volvoing" to BB (pushrod) and Volvoniacs...I find both to be civil and informative Fora, and a day wouldn't be complete if I didn't check for an opportunity to advise and/or crack wise...

Cheers

Mario,

I'll jump in here to highly, highly recommend the only other forum that I participate in, that can be very helpful to 122 owners, but that many might not at first be aware of, simply due to the name; the "1800list".

Because the two models share so much in common, most of the topics on this Yahoo Group generate discussions that apply to both the 1800 and the 122, and that crossover is welcomed and supported, without any flak, ever.

The signal to noise ratio is extremely high, there are several high level experts, in several areas, who contribute regularly, and who can always be counted on to jump in, quickly, to correct any misinformation that might be offered, even for the

This provides a crucial "self-editing" function, that prevents misdirection, and misspent dollars. Phil and I both experience this, in both directions, in our participation on the 1800list (right Phil?) ;^)

Stock setups are encouraged, but there's also a good deal of "sensible", well thought-out modifications that are represented, while street-monster mods tend to attract less interest, and usually end up going offline or to another forum more suited to their needs.

gary - '67 122S, '72 ES

Hey Mario,
I got nothin' 'cept...yeah, this board has made my expectations of other forums too high and...how ya doin'? Sounds like you're doing good!
Good to see you back here!
Shayne.

Well, good is relative. I'm happy and thats good enough.

Had to focus on the business and the jury is still out but I feel a lot better about the direction its going. Not the best idea to start a business and try to restore a vintage car, and have special lady all at the same time. One had to go in mothballs for a while.

What you said is pretty much the thing. I expected ALL web forums to have the feel of the BB and nope, not the case.

Hows the gray car? Between you and Cameron there is a great website waiting to happen. Takes time I know but very nice examples of 122's that are pretty but still drivers. (although he did get that article in GRM) Maybe that can be one of Phil's features when Vclassic's second coming happens.

Best.

Mario

Wanna' fight?!? j/k :)

This is actually one of the first forums that I've participated in, so it has kind of heightened my expectations of how a forum works. Of course, when I've visited other forums around the internet I'm sadly disappointed not only at the lack of civility, but also at the lack of readily accessible/useful information, most especially when you have to filter through all the drama when searching their archives.

I acquired my first 122 back in August and got a tremendous amount of help just from searching the archives. Rooting through those, it was great to see the *friendly* help that's being dispensed. I've only posted a couple questions on here and in those instances I've gotten useful information pertinent to the question as well as some additional tidbits to keep in mind. Since I don't know too much just yet and still am a fledgeling shadetree vintage Volvo mechanic (woo hoo! pretty esoteric, eh? :), I don't really have too much to contribute just yet and am mostly lurking for more information. Keep it coming and I'll eventually get pulled in enough to participate more, hehe.

Thanks to all for making this the great board it is!

- Dan

Mario,

Yes yes and a definitive and resounding yes. The Brickboard is one of the friendliest and helpful fora I've ventured into. I appreciate the ability of the members to post the questions and replies of both the novice and the advanced technician with pretty much the same degree of interest and engagement. People here seem to value sharing their experience/knowledge as much as receiving that of others...

Along those lines. Sorry if it's bad form to cross-post this, but there's a thread active on the PV section of the BB. An idea is being floating to develop a database/network of Volvo-folks to share one-off tools, offer help in Volvo emergencies, etc. It would be a strictly voluntary basis, of course. If you'd like to check out the discussion thus far:

http://brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=956721

Let me know what you think.

Thanks everybody,
Aiden
Boulder, CO
1957 PV444
1966 220

Aiden,

This sounds like a good idea, but the management of it would be something to consider. Not naysaying; its just finding the extra time for someone to set this up in addition to playing with the Volvo's and earning money to feed the Volvo's.

Wouldn't this be something a Volvo club would be able to do? VCOA I believe. They have dues, you get the magazine and I wonder if this service might be built in.

The thing I keep thinking about would be a FAQ that covers the basic techniques and alternate tools to the factory one-offs. Also the common upgrades to some of the weak points of the Volvo engineering and common performance modifications. Ron Kwas has a great site for example.

There seem to be a few proven recipe's for engine mod's that are relatively safe but taking the systems approach is probably the best advice one could get. So posting this information on the web would be nice.

Phil has the MPPE, GRM did the hopped up 140, Cameron has the blown 122, and then there is VPD and one guy in Canada I think that has done a lot of work with cams and overbored B20's. And a guy in New Zealand that has nice information.

As it is it's spread out all over the web. But again time to actually do this is an issue.

I think Phil ran into this with Vclassics. Great site, I loved it. But the time to keep it going must have eaten into other things he was wanting to do. I think we all run into this.

Coolest thing I could think of would be a CD-ROM "book" with the collective information of the Brickboard arranged in chapters with a search function. So if you are trying to find window seals, then you would have sources linked with parts numbers.

Getting someone to do this from scratch would be huge; but we've all researched odd parts and found good deals or better product. Phil's aluminum timing set find is one, and you can get fiber sets from Advance I think for about $80 still.

Anyhow I'm not trying to diffuse your idea, it just reminded me of one of mine.

Let me know, I would be interested. The only odd tool I have is the hub puller.

Best,

-Mario E.
Lawrence, KS

I think Phil ran into this with Vclassics. Great site, I loved it. But the time to keep it going must have eaten into other things he was wanting to do. I think we all run into this.

It's better to do (X) things really well than (X+1) things less well. In my case it's often not so much a matter of having the time, but of having the focus and concentration necessary. VClassics was never something I was just willing to crank out in rough form, so it had to take the back seat for a while.

Don't count it out yet, though. It'll be back. I've been saying that for a while, but I'm still determined to make it happen.

that's the spirit, I'd hate to think it was the end of an era.

Whenever you have the time, appreciate the information you made available on Vclassics as well as the Brickboard.

Cheers and good luck. I'm lookin' forward to it.

--
Mike!

I know a few other Amazon owners in my neck of the woods and we're all fairly similar characters. Owning and upkeeping an older car goes hand in hand with certain traits, such as moderation, a bit of stoicism, forward planning and tolerance of problems and the patience to sort them out. Driving my Amazon has taught me to plan ahead, try not to brake (or speak) too quickly, be on the polite side to other road users and be grateful when they are polite to me (and I definitely get more kindnesses from people in the Amazon than any other car I've owned, even down to a much cheaper Channel Tunnel ticket because the seller loved the car!)

Tom

Yes I totaly agree. The BB has a very friendly 'atmosphere' which is one reason why I like it here. I do believe there is a bit more 'disagreement' in the younger car sections though, but still a pat on the back to the Brickboard!

Cheers! ben
--
P131, '65, B20B+M47. P131, '69, B20E+AW71L+LSD. (www.tinustechniek.tk)

Yeah, it's mainly the pushrod sections of the BB that aren't bad. The newer car sections have a bit more trouble/drama... And many other boards are a bit more disagreeable indeed.
--
Kyle - '68 142? - Oregon Volvo Tuners?

need to get worked up?
try the OPINIONS area of the Brickboard....
since there is a place for it, it doesn't pollute the other fora.
I think the number of dedicated fans rather than people who just have (insert forum topic) is a factor too.

I heard that round fender Volvos were the choice of hippies in the 60's and 70's. Perhaps many of the good folks here are former mellow fellows.

Peace and love, :-)

Joe M

J

I have been told by a partially reformed "hippie", the more affluent hippies drove Volvos, and the poor ones drove VWs. This mirrors my experience.

OBTW, the "wacked out" ones drove diesel Peugeots!! HA!!

I, personally, have become more affluent along the way!!

Mike

Yeah, I hadn't thought about that factor.

But more along the lines of the personality of someone drawn to this car. It definitely has its own personality styling-wise. I love it, of course. Think it just has great lines.

Second choice: 1963 Dodge Dart ragtop for the same reason.

And if I won the small lottery: late 60's Alfa Romeo Guilia.

Big lottery: Ferrari GTO

So it does make sense that the personality of the group would reflect the personality of the type of person that likes a funky old Volvo and appreciates its mechanical engineering and its quirks.

Certainly different than what you would get in a musclecar forum I'm guessing.

The various forums I visit all tend to be pretty good. Once in a while someone feels the need to flame someone else or someones feelers get hurt but overall not bad... Of course I tend to gravitate toward friendly forums!

My biggest issue is finding one where you actually get decent advise (like we do here)!

--
Mike!

As a novice mechanic, I really appreciate the insight and patience of the experienced veterans.

I also like how owning Amazons makes us instantly "family". Just like you always wave when you see another old Volvo on the road and talk with them for an hour when you both happen to stop at a gas station. It makes us all feel better about the $$$ we're pouring into these old beasts.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Every board sure has it's own personallity. This board definitely has the laid back personality, kind of the "don't worry be happy" Volvo board. Some of the other boards are way way into their performance mods and go-faster devices and this draws an entirely different crowd to say the least. I remember the first time I posted here some time last year, somebody jumped down my throat and gave me a ration of b.s. because I took cuts or so damn thing. Aside from that everybody here has been real nice. That is nice too because, liken unto your woodworking forum experience, I've got boards that I go to for my hobby that are absolute shark tanks and because of that I simply lurk around, gather the intel that I need, and almost never ever post.

Oh, welcome back.

Mark