Volvo P1800ES...kinda

Yeah, that’s the money shot. The hood fitment is perfect. 

Impressively straight sir.  Really looks like fun.  Should truly confuse people at the car shows at the old volvos are rare enough before cross-breeding.

It's absolutely stunning!!! I hope you're feeling that all those hours spent on body prep, sanding, etc. were worth it. Looking forward to seeing the assembly - Mazdeuce is right, chrome is going to look amazing against that paint.

It looks black completely. I checked the pictures through an iPhone, laptop and tablet. All black. 

Sine_Qua_Non said:

It looks black completely. I checked the pictures through an iPhone, laptop and tablet. All black. 

It is blue, but I agree, it needs to be in the sun or parked next to a black car to really tell. Easiest to see on the masking paper. The important thing is that Mrs NOHOME is over the moon with the color. 

NOHOME said:

Sine_Qua_Non said:

It looks black completely. I checked the pictures through an iPhone, laptop and tablet. All black. 

It is blue, but I agree, it needs to be in the sun or parked next to a black car to really tell. Easiest to see on the masking paper. The important thing is that Mrs NOHOME is over the moon with the color. 

 

I can see the blue on the plastic. Yes, you are correct about your wife’s happiness. 

Is the rear hatch on in any of these pictures? Trying to figure out if the glass for back there is just that big or...

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Is the rear hatch on in any of these pictures? Trying to figure out if the glass for back there is just that big or...

The glass is that big

Fantastic! Love me some dark blues

Sine_Qua_Non said:

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Is the rear hatch on in any of these pictures? Trying to figure out if the glass for back there is just that big or...

The glass is that big

Holy crap!

Good thing its in Canada.  Here in north Carolina it would get hotter than the face of the sun in the summer with all that glass. 

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

The greenhouse effect is a concern, especially with that big engine under the hood. The AC is on the "Must have" side of the project requirements. Guessing tint will also be on the list.

One of the reasons I started using the MGB GT less and less was because it gets stupid hot inside.

Maybe I should have painted it white?! (original color of the Volvo shell)

Pete

84FSP said:

 Should truly confuse people at the car shows...

Especially as they see it from a distance, and it looks like a super clean 1800ES with cool wheels.  Then they walk up and look under the hood and inside and go 'wtf?'  Then they look underneath and, well, just give up trying to figure it out.

Wow, that is beautiful.  BTW, 3M Crystalline or Ceramic window tint will really cut down on the heat without darkening the windows.  So that might help make life easier for your a/c system.

In reply to BrianC72gt :

That is good to know. Will look further into the product.

Pete

Apparently I havent checked this thread in a while. Amazing. 

Proof that it is blue.

Actually, looks kinda purple! Not what I see when I look, but I guess this paint plays with the light.

You can see the black  front fender of the FRS photobombing the Molvo.

That body looks like glass & really like the blue.  Your "zen bodywork" clearly paid off.  The chrome is really going to make it pop!

This is one amazing build. Just made it through all 88 pages. Great Job. 

NOHOME said:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: In reply to NOHOME: How much simpler do you feel it would have been if the wheelbases matched and the cowl location was within a few inches? I'd love to do something like this, and trying to wrap my head around what is/isn't important to have lined up between the two cars is a fun exercise.

The three measurements you want to take

1-The distance front- to- rear between the front axle and the middle of the front seats. Give yourself a 3" window

2-The distance side-to-side between the front seats. Once again, 3" variance is about the most you want to see

3-Wheelbase. Anything over 2" going to be hard to blend in and requires a metric E36 M3load of work to resolve.

If those all align, then the rest can be resolved with a cut-off wheel and a welder.

I have noodled doing this with an MGB. The wheelbases are almost identical. MGBs are dirt cheap and running crash-damaged Miatae are also cheap. You can literally drive the Miata under the gutted MGB. Lower the shell and start welding.

I realize you typed this along time ago , I just read through all these posts over the last couple of weeks and saved this one. 

Do you still have the stock Miata measurements for your 1,2,3 above? 

Also how did you decide you needed the extra 7" in front of the fire wall vs behind the seats or somewhere else?

In reply to Somebeach :

Funny story....

I realized that I needed the 7" in front of the firewall shortly AFTER I had assumed that the 7" required would be BEHIND the seats. OOPPSS!

I located the front half of the Miata chassis under the Volvo and lined up the front axle to the front wheel openings. This put the driver quite close to the window.  I then decided to locate the driver ( siting in the stock Miata seat bolted in the stock position) in the best ergonomic driving position that I could. Doing this moved the front axle centerline back 5" from the Volvo wheel opening.  So, in the perfect world, I would have extended the front by 5" and added 2" behind the seats.  Instead, I just shoved the drive position back 2" and  and did all the lengthening in front of the firewall. 

I got lucky with the center to center on the seats and did not end up sitting outboard behind the a-pillar. 

In case it was not clear...I really did not know what I was doing when I started this entire project.  

On another note, busy weekend.... the Volvo  760 challenge car  has been evicted from the shop. I hopped over the border to collect a bunch of P1800 parts and also  did a 4 wheel brake job  on the FRS..Then shoved the Molvo back into the shop where it will get center stage until it drives out under its own steam next spring.

Pete

Pete

Back on center stage..

And just cause I wanted to see how shinny stuff would look on the car, I put this in place.

Should see some steady progress now that it is back in the shop. Last real "fabrication" job is going to be the electrical.  Simultaneously at least one of the Petes will be fastening stuff to the exterior of the car.

Pete

wont be this one. ill stick to the mechanicals,im about trimmed out with the damn mustang

Excellent. I'm excited to see this thing come together. You've put in a lot of really good effort. You deserve the great results that you will get.

Awesome man - home stretch now.

Have you seen the Urchfab "Mongrel" build? It's a Ford Anglia 100E hat atop an NB. Reminds me a lot of your build for obvious reasons. He didn't have to change the wheelbase, however.

I'm so excited to see chrome and glass in this.