Volvo P1800ES...kinda

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Thank you. Still a few rough edges, but will get there. Too busy trying to get the challenge car done right now.

Pete

NOHOME said:

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Thank you. Still a few rough edges, but will get there. Too busy trying to get the challenge car done right now.

 

Pete

I am fairly certain that your perception of "rough edges", and mine, are _slightly_ different.  

volvoclearinghouse said:

NOHOME said:

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Thank you. Still a few rough edges, but will get there. Too busy trying to get the challenge car done right now.

 

Pete

I am fairly certain that your perception of "rough edges", and mine, are _slightly_ different.  

QFT

Once you've brought this to SWMBO's discriminating expectations, what do you and the other gazillion PETE's have up y'alls shorts.....winter project wise?????

In reply to 759NRNG :

The Molvo still needs a fair bit of taming before I call it good with about 40 items on the laundry list. Top three that kept me from driving it more than afew times this summer: The interior dB level needs to come down substantially, the AC needs to get installed and the wipers/squirters are not working.  Then I plan to drop the T5 to replace it with a new or rebuilt unit and the rear gear is going to go from a 3.73 to a 3.31 that is on the shelf. If anyone has a manual NA miata steering rack on the shelf that they want to sell, drop me a note.

In the shorter term, I have a customer MGB arriving for some rust remediation. 

I am also repatriating my MGB  GT back from the barn where it has been for the last year and will go over it so that it can be sold next spring, or driven by myself, or if a sufficiently  evil thought creeps in, it could become the next project. Open to suggestions.

The S-Car-Go has been parted out and is out of my life, freeing up some funds and space. 

Mustang Pete is putting a 4 valve Mod engine, with or without dual Turbos, into a Fox Body that he has laying around. Then we need to get back to building a custom chassis for his 1959 GMC using a Crown Vic front suspension and a Lincoln IRS. Then we will see what he wants to do with the cherry 740 Volvo wagon that he just  accidentally bought. It is one of those rare cars that is way too nice to cut up, so it must be cut up! 

Other than that, not much going on.

Pete

Mgb: boosted 35000v6?

What are you running now, a depowered Miata rack?  

Check out www.car-part.com.  You should be able to find a manual rack near you for about $100.  

Yeah, currently a de-powered rack in the Molvo. It is on the line for being acceptable as is; fine when moving, but a bit of effort to park. No worse than the MGB on sticky tires, but easier would be better.  I kinda don't want to clutter the bay with the PS pump stuff.

The only vision I have for the GT is a GM LFX out of a Camaro. While the Caddy engines with an auto box are cheap, the manual box versions tend to command real $$. But lets face it, the Molvo is a much more attractive place to spend the time and $$ resources at this point.  Realistically, assuming I can find the time to go through the car, it will be for sale in the spring.

Pete

MGB/GT, with the bullet that LooseC is running in 'PinkP' , 5spd and a 8.8 fomoco rear end.

In reply to 759NRNG :

That swap has been done. It would need to include AC. One of the reasons we stopped doing drives in the GT is because it is a sauna in the summer. Even without AC, and the 302 up front, the Molvo is no where near as hot as the stock GT.

Pete

In reply to NOHOME :

I now consider A/C to be a planned project for all of my cars.  I may end up with the first Spitfire with A/C, which will probably cause a lot of traditionalists heads to explode.  But you comments about the BGT also apply to my GT6. And since the GT6 and Spitfire are essentially the same inside, well... 

And I figure what I learn from that project can be applied to fitting a more modern HVAC system to the 1800ES. 

NOHOME said:

I kinda don't want to clutter the bay with the PS pump stuff.

Pete

Electric Power Steering (EPS) powered column from Saturn Vue is a popular hot-rod swap.  electric motor on column lives behind the dash, above the pedals.  IDK if that can be packaged in Molvo, but it's an inexpensive and readily available option.

In reply to AngryCorvair :

I am aware of that option, and while it would require some fabrication, once again that trail has been blazed by the Miata guys. There is even a vendor for around 1k Usd. If I can find a rack for $100 I will try that as the easy button, its pretty close to acceptable already, so fingers crossed the higher ratio will make the difference.

NOHOME said:

In reply to AngryCorvair :

...once again that trail has been blazed by the Miata guys.

silly me, i forgot that you invented the automobile.

:-P

Ok so my bullet transplant didn't get your approval......tell me where I can read about the 760 not going to the challenge....please

In reply to 759NRNG :

Desperately trying to forget about that day of my life.

Pete

In reply to 759NRNG :

I think he just finished hitchhiking from Florida to Canada.  And he probably still smells of torched Volvo.  It may take time.

My 94 Miata had a manual rack and the girlfriend had a really hard time in parking lots and such.  I ended up adding power steering to the Miata and moving the manual rack to the Exocet.  I wouldn't want to drive a manual rack under a V8.

jwagner said:

My 94 Miata had a manual rack and the girlfriend had a really hard time in parking lots and such.  I ended up adding power steering to the Miata and moving the manual rack to the Exocet.  I wouldn't want to drive a manual rack under a V8.

I was going to say the same thing about my wife having a hard time with parking my manual steering 91 Miata. And she pushes around 1 ton hooved animals for 40+ hours a week. Our next one will have power steering. 

As another data point, my 110 lb 5'2" wife drives her 350-V8 powered, 1968 Camaro with manual steering (and manual drum brakes). Apparently I married a truck driver.

Although in fairness, that steering is like 8 turns lock-lock.

I have no appreciation for how much difference the Miata manual racks makes compared to the powered rack. A few people who have driven the Molvo say it is a bit "Darty" so that alone might be worth addressing. Bottom line, it cant hurt to try.

Does it have enough positive caster dialed in?  

In reply to AngryCorvair :

Good point. On rear wheel drivers I like as much caster (ie like a motorcycle) as I can. Of course that increases low speed steering effort.

Had it aligned to stock Mata settings.  While not a problem, it is not a pleasure to drive at parking speeds.  Low on the list of things that need development.

If you decide to go electric -- do your homework.  Not uncommon (probably the norm) to end up with boosted steering at the expense of feel and things like self-centering.