Non-Update: Heater has yet to go back in.
On another note, I think a modified B20 is in the cards to get popped into the car at some point. I am going to try to find a block around here if I can. I have heard that they are quite plentiful, but I tend to doubt that information, being in such a small market as Sask.

Update: Heater is all rebuilt and ready to go back in. All foam seals have been glued back onto the car with spray adhesive. I'll get a few extra hands to help me out to pop it back in, hook up the cables, hoses and whatnot to make it functional, and hopefully I can start the darn thing to drive it this summer. I'll post some pictures soon. I tried to stop thinking about how to get it all back together, etc etc.... and just do it. If I fail miserably, I start over, not a big deal. it's all about the learning process.

Good job David, I need to embrace that just try it attitude more often, looking forward to pics.

Painted parts to go together. I ended up using a small brush dipped in a glob of spray adhesive to brush on the inner channels for the seal to stick to. In hindsight, I could have just sprayed the foam gasket and that would have been enough in my estimation.


Old seals getting ripped out... brake cleaner worked great to get the goop off. No rust underneath, which was a nice surprise.


Seals freshly glued in, please ignore the classy firewall grommets. I used Jackson 840 spray adhesive to spray on the foam side of the gasket, that I got from a local fabric shop. I ended up making cardboard fitted blockers to fit around the gaskets, so the sides wouldn't get sprayed. Eating breakfast waffles paid off for once, I had a good amount of nice thin cardboard to cut.


one half of the heater box together... the other half is kinda boring. It looks nice when put together, imagine the other side is on . I used 3M strip-caulk to 'seal' the two halves of the box.


To recreate the coiled end of the heater control valve tube, I wondered what to bend it around without kinking the tube. Deep sockets to the rescue. 15mm did the trick just fine. it took a bit of fiddling to get the coil into the box, and both flaps to operate without hitting the coil. I tried to replicate the conditions that I took the box apart with.


While I am on a roll, here are a few more pics of what has gone on lately.
New rad front! This is the "winner racing" rad off of ebay.


New rad rear!


New seat webbing for the drivers seat. The webbing is from iPD, the clips from Olof. I bent the clips slightly to get the clip through the slot in the webbing. A bit fiddly, but worked well. I had a local upholstery shop put in new foams top and bottom (foams from Olof), and re-do the stitching on the lower rippled section where it attaches to the side panels. I assume a lot of seats had the thread ripped out here. Luckily the vinyl was not torn, and it looks rather nice. I haven't done the butt-seat test, I am keeping the seats out until the heater box is in. That'll give me more elbow room to work with the box.

Lots of good, solid work there, David. Keep it up!

Nice work...the rad makes me chuckle. I remember when Robert Jackson had those built and was "marketing" them for like $700. Then the Chinese factory that was building them puts them up on ebay for 1/2 that. Retribution is sweet. FWIW, I have also released my rad drawings for free. Can't get one built for that cheap though.

Thanks, guys! Heater is back in with a bit of fiddling.... here's some pics. Car wasn't too happy about starting, so I wasn't able to see if anything leaked. A charge of the battery is in progress.

Started the Volvo today and it got up to idle pretty quickly. Some might argue this fact isn't that important, but bear in mind the car hasn't turned over in 1.5 years. It was a bit thrilling to hear it again. Even better, at this point I can detect no leaks, which was the reason for the whole heater box rebuild in the first place.

Now to build up some cash for something else to do... maybe brakes and gathering engine parts for my B20 that I have yet to pick up (I'll be in touch soon I promise, Dale, just firming up my schedules). Now I just want to drive the car for the summer to enjoy it before it goes out of commission again.

Speaking of B20, has anyone looked at the MPPE build specs, and if so, does anyone have an opinion of the finished product?
http://www.vclassics.com/mppe1.html

Hi David - I think the push rod people here all know about Phil Singer's MPPE. He sold it a few years back for around $8K. The build is just a high quality build with one important difference...he went to Europe to source a bunch of his parts and information. I still think that's the most significant difference between his build and the usual IPD ISKY cam builds that are a little underwhelming.

Lots of suppliers in Sweden and on the continent that are willing to help and have nice new cam grinds and other performance parts that are on the shelf and ready to ship. I've built 4 engines recently spec'ed this way and I've been way happier than dealing with US "suppliers" (many of whom have poor supply or old tech parts and some that have very recently stopped supplying).

That being said, there is only so far you can go with these things and 160 hp at the crank is pretty straight forward and would set you back around $3-4 K in parts and machining alone. Getting another 20 or 40 HP and that basic number almost doubles. Then there is the time of the builder.

Finally got around to picking up the engine from Dale and some new rubber that the car sorely needs this past weekend. Right now, the spare is a pancake-flat Michelin XZX made in France, and the other 4 are MotoMaster M+S made back in 1992. It was great to meet Dale and see his projects in waiting. I also got to go to Willow Park to pick up some scotch, so all in all it was a fine trip. Regina to Calgary and back over 2 days is a lot of driving though. I picked up an engine stand (on sale) at Princess Auto and with the help of a friends crane, I plan to get the engine off the pallet and in the air. Then I can decide what upgrades to pop in. The possibilities are endless....

Not too much of an update, but I have 4 Konis on order from iPD. They were on sale (about 30 US bucks off), and factoring our super-strong dollar into the mix, I ended up paying the regular US price. I thought Bilsteins might be a bit too harsh for daily driving. I also bought a new fuse box for the interim as well, but I hope to totally re-wire the car someday.

Speaking of Konis, does anyone have an opinion on progressive vs. linear springs? I am tempted for the 30mm drop progressive springs (from Olof/VPD). I had sent a note to Amazon Cars in the UK, they custom make 'fast road' springs. They are the most tempting, but with the dollar doing terribly against the Pound, that might not be the optimal route right now at about $700 CDN. i would end up getting their Superflex bushings as well to add to the tally. It's not a high priority at the moment. The end goal is to have a competent, powerful, well-handling daily driver.

While I had the car up on the stands while the new tires were being fitted, I took a few pictures. Turns out I have one unrepairable wheel. It's a stock wheel, so I don't care all that much. Everyone likes pics, right? I haven't seen those twisty-looking dampers before.


The underside is just caked with undercoat/schutz. I figure this can be good and bad at the same time. Good-probably protected from rust. Bad - what is it covering up?


And lo and behold, a right front outrigger that looks half decent, but is like paper mache. Good thing I just got a shipment from Olof. I'll have to contact him again.


Speaking of Olof, I just got some caliper rebuild kits, since my drivers side caliper was leaking. All seals, pistons and boots replaced. What a PITA that is, it was a frustrating fiddly job with those damn boots. I thought I might as well learn and gain some experience before I go the Wilwood route.

I had one of those twisty shocks on my '66 when I got it, all four shocks were different from each other. To me that's as unspeakable as repairing one brake.

Speaking of brakes, I see the design of the outer boots haven't been addressed yet. The outer boot is a real PITA because the inner & outer surfaces aren't supposed to be glued together between the pistons, at least not according to any of the calipers I took apart. I ended up trimming the boots on my rebuild kits so they slide over the pistons, instead of possibly tearing or pulling off the caliper. At least that way I can clean the crud off them before sliding them back in.

I think all 122s in Canada are heavily sprayed underneath. It's a suspicion, anyway.

What is that - thing - that looks plug welded to your frame rail right behind the outrigger?

And were you able to use a mechanical fan behind your new alloy rad, or did you have to go electric?

I have a second repair kit for the other caliper, I will be doing that soon. I see what you mean about trimming the boot, since pushing the piston in past that outer boot edge is very dicey, in my opinion. It was tough for me to gt the piston square to push it down equally past the piston seal. I had to take my time, little by little.

Matt, I am following your spring information closely to provide useful information for my choices as well. Thanks for writing that up.

That bracket-y looking thing is the transmission bracket (669925 if my schematics are correct). I'll be honest, I don't know what it is supposed to look like, since the car was converted from an Auto to an M41. The bracket does have the rubber mount mounted, so it appears to be okay. I am finding out more 'undocumented features' on the car, the deeper I go.

As for the rad, I haven't mounted it yet. If the mechanical fan fits, I'll go with that for now. The dimensions are very close from old, to new. Web research tells me that for an electric, a Flex-a-Lite 112 fan will do the trick. I don't want to do the zip-strips between the fins if I don't have to. Flex-a-Lite carries mounting kits as well, and Summit has a big selection to choose from. I would like an automatic control for temperature. Based on my initial measurements and thoughts, a 12 inch electric would be the way to go.

Finally fitted the new radiator today. Everything went rather smoothly, I did have to cut down the new replacement original-length hoses in order to make them fit without too much flexing. I measured the distance from the fan blades to the rad fins, it looks like there is 3/4" of room, so I am happy with that for now. New bushings were installed on all mount points, and new steel collars as well for the top bushings. The dimensions are pretty darn close to the original. I haven't filled it with coolant since I won't be driving it during the winter. Here's some pics.

Rad Removed


Rad Installed Front


Rad Installed Rear


Rad view, top down