The car is at a body shop right now to get the floor pans, chassis box sections, and that dang trans mount fixed up. Hope I get the car back soon.

I replaced the starter over a lunch hour since I am working from home during the pandemic. I used that Bosch remanufactured starter, the smaller more powerful one. I cant think of the exact part number right now. Starts a lot faster and easier now.

Once the car comes back I can work on the upgraded exhaust install.

In the meantime I have been enjoying the car,... I get lots of waves and even one guy blocked me at the gas station to compliment me on the car. Car is running great too, no issues at all.

That's fantastic! Glad to hear that it was running and driving.

Glad you’ve even able to enjoy your car! Hopefully you have back on the road quick after the bodywork.

Winter is here and the car is back in the garage. The metalwork took longer than anticipated, but it's all solid and ready for many more years. Both front floor pans were replaced, chassis outriggers replaced, trans mount moved (my biggest peeve about the car, see previous pictures as to what the PO did). A corner of the driver side rear pan was replaced, all rust treated and sound deadening was applied on the repaired areas. All bare metal was epoxy coated as well to help prevent any rust.i got to drive the car for a week or two before it got cold and I wanted to park it anyways. He also fixed my OD so the drive back was a lot smoother. Never used the OD on the highway before, what a difference that made!

With any luck I can work on the exhaust over the winter which includes a powder coated Injected-b20 exhaust manifold and and Simons resonator.

Other small projects may include installing a Smith's tach on the dash, wiring up an AFR gauge and fitting a 140 airbox. I am soaking the front bumper bolts to remove them, to see what the car looks like without the overriders. Need to get a VP order in for some small parts too. There are plans... but will they get done? Time will tell.

Have a safe holiday season, everyone. Times are a little crazy nowadays.

Great to hear, David - congrats!

I saw that VP was doing a 15% discount for December in launching their new web site. So, I thought I would take advantage and get a few things. I had a devil of a time getting the order completed online; my credit card information kept getting rejected. But, their customer service was excellent and we got it all sorted out in the end.

I got 2 headrest mounting kits, my 140 headrests didn't sell, so I thought I would use them, and increase the safety of the car at the same time.

I got 30mm lowering springs, the Lesjöfors ones. I also have the ClassicSwede gravel rally springs that are supposedly stock height; I am torn between what to use. I like the stiffer ride with the rally springs, but the car looks so good lowered. That being said, our roads are not the best here. I had a '68 Dart back in the day, and I had to plan out my route so the headers wouldn't get bashed on big bumps. I am going to get some pictures showing the difference in spring height and post them up for interests sake.

I got a hood seal, and another for a friend in Saskatoon.

And lastly, I got a window guide kit for the doors.

I forgot to get a front spotlight driving kit; I really like that look, but forgot to add them to the cart.

I got the headrests mounted in a couple days, it took me about 2-3 hours on each seat to get it done. I took pictures and notes, I'll post a technical thread as well when I get more time. I think they look pretty good!

I do have a question about the window guide kit... do I need adhesive to mount them in? If so, does anyone have a recommendation as to what to use? Thanks!

Headrests are installed, and look pretty good actually. Colors are different but that's ok for now. I am writing up a tech article and I got pics as well. I hope to get that done soon.

Here's a quick rundown of how I did the headrests. Please let me know if anything needs to be clarified.

Please note: This was the way that I did the seat. There is a post on the web that details this out in another way which is just as good.
http://volvoamazonpictures.se/guides/Headrests%20in%20Volvo%20Amazon.pdf

I have heard that most seats from 67 on, will have the metal framing on the backrest to facilitate this process. You can quickly check by pressing into the back of the seat and feeling for the horizontal bar across the upper third of the seat. If you can feel this, you should be good to go.
Please have your headrests available at the time of assembly. They will help you line up the mounting kit to the seat.

Remove the backrest (vertical seat back) from the seat frame. 4 Philips head bolts on the seat mounts
Remove hog rings from the sides of the backrest. I used a couple of needlenose pliers to twist them out. It is easy to damage the seat cover, so be careful.
Remove the lower upholstery from the seatback.
Remove the entire vinyl seat cover from frame.
You should be able to see the horizontal bar across the back of the seat frame.



Note the metal holes at the top of the seat frame - this is where the large plastic piece from the kit gets mounted, and the metal pipe goes through. If you don't have these, then some fabrication needs to take place.



I have found that the order of assembly is important. There are some modifications that need to take place that might impact the assembly later on.

Work on this once piece at a time.
There is a large threaded plastic piece in the kit. The metal pipe and this piece fit together. There are notches in the pipe, and the plastic. Sleeve the two together so the notches line up at the top.

Once these 2 pieces are together, make a notch in the foam above the mounting hole in the top of the seat frame. This will allow the pipe to go through the foam.

Test fit the plastic nut onto the plastic piece. Make sure it can screw on without binding. If you don't get the plastic piece and the pipe correctly aligned, it will distort the circumference of the threads and it will be near impossible to thread that nut on to clamp the upholstery between the nut and piece afterwards.

Once both plastic pieces are fitted, test fit your headrest to them outside of the seatback. Do they slide through without binding? Adjust as needed.

Once that is done, slide the whole works down through the top of the seat through the mounting holes in the top of the frame, sending the steel notches down to the cross piece of the seat frame. Before the plastic piece clicks into place at the top of the seat, you may have to widen the pipe notches a bit where they contact the crossbar. At least, I had to do it for mine. There was no way that the pipe notches were going to easily fit around the lower crossbar. And I wasn't going to smash (too much, anyways) the top of the pipe to force it down onto the crossbar. That would affect the fit of the plastic nut mentioned above. Use your headrest to line up both pipes onto the crossbar and ensure that they go in straight and don't bind up. Mark where they will contact, pull the headrest out, and widen the pipes if required.



Slide the pipes down through the mounting holes and have them click in at the top. Insert the headrest to make sure it doesn't bind, and bend those widened tabs around the crossbar. The pipes are now mounted. The upholstery is next. Remove the headrest.

Refit the vinyl back around the seat. Make sure it is as close as possible to the screw holes, hog ring holes, etc as before. You will then see the plastic pieces pushing against the upholstery.

I took a blade and carefully cut across the top of each piece, then trimmed around it. Go slowly and with intent to make sure the knife doesn't slip. I used a star pattern cut from the outside to the inside in case the knife slipped. This was easily the most nerve wracking part of the process. Trim the excess off.



Once both holes are trimmed out, place the large washer, rough face down, onto the plastic piece. Secure it with the small nut that you tested with earlier. Hopefully the nut goes on smooth. Once both nuts are on, the upholstery is secured to the seat once more. It should look like a clean install at this point.


Here is a pic of how the whole upper plastic pieces go together.



Now the other fun part... securing the vinyl seatback cover. Install the hog rings as best as you can to secure the vinyl back to the seat.

Once that is done, the headrest can be actually mounted. You will have a few pieces left over... a conical small round part, and a large nut. The large nut goes onto each headrest spike first, then conical washer goes small-side up over the headrest spike. The conical washer may have to be "split" a bit to get it around the spike. There was a mold part in mine, so it easily fit over top. Insert the headrest into the seat to the desired height, and using the large nut, screw it down onto the plastic threaded piece that resides in the seat. That will tighten it up. Your headrests are now installed.

Reinstall the seatback into the car and enjoy what should be a safer drive.

Springs!

Here are a couple pics of the Classic Swede Gravel Rally springs versus the Lesjofors 30mm lowering springs.

Pictures are Rear springs (Lesjofors and CS), then Front (Lesjofors and CS).

I haven't done any coil measurements yet, i was on a roll uploading pictures so I thought I would pop these here for now.

I used trim adhesive tape when installing my window guides, and that might not have been enough. The adhesive part isn't the problem, the conformity is. They're fine and aren't going anywhere, but they did sag a couple of times on me before they took a set.

Good write-up on the headrests. I grabbed a set from Chapman for one of my cars back before they closed and tossed everything into a dumpster, but they're still in the box.

How tall were the rally springs? How did they ride? Did you get any information on spring rates, or did you do any measurements and/or calculations to that end?

Edit - and yes, VP online ordering doesn't work with Canadian credit cards, but phoning them is easy-peasey. I shot myself in the foot a little bit with that regard though: they had to order a bunch of stuff I asked for from Sweden, and it took a couple weeks for them to get the order together. When they did I got an email telling me it was ready to go, but what I glossed over was that they also asked if I wanted to add anything to the order or if they were ready to ship it. 3 weeks later I was wondering where my box was and only then did I read the email properly.

Edit 2 - I went back a whole page and re-read what we talked about with these springs. I guess they were too tall after all? I got myself some ... 475 lb-in? ... for the front to see how they feel. Haven't installed them yet, but I anticipate them to sit a little lower than the ones I currently have since they're the same free length. I can always space them up. 550/145 give ride frequencies that are way too close together to ride nicely.

Thanks Matt for the reply. I'll respond better when I have more time, I am currently sitting in a chair at the rider game. I have not installing any springs yet.
In other news, I am trying to fit my b20e exhaust manifold and Simon's exhaust system. Not going great to be honest. I've got the difference in fastening distance figured out between the intake and exhaust manifolds, but the Downtube is the real problem. I think the exit on the manifold is too high compared to a stock manifold. The downtube is way too high underneath the car and is pretty much touching the frame. I cannot connect the resonator on either in this configuration. Kinda stumped as to what to do. I'd like to extend the manifold exit but I am pretty sure that is not possible. I'll get some pics up soon.

A small update:
1) Finally got my actual Simons sports exhaust installed. Installing in an originally-automatic 122 takes a bit of finagling, it's not a direct bolt-in process for this kit. Also, had to make some stepped washers for the B20e exhaust manifold/aluminum intake differences.
2) Currently tracing wires for my reverse lights that have never worked in the years that I have owned the car. Again, going from Automatic to manual involves some changes that the PO never did.
3) Hopefully wiring up a Smiths tach in the dash; only the mounting hole is drilled in the dash so far. I need to hook up a Smiths tach to a 123ignition, so a bit of internet research is required.

I'll try to get more details in this thread about the items mentioned above.

Some notes:
- Exhaust sounds great, took it out for a spin and maybe it's the butt dyno talking, but I feel more kick in the midrange.
- I gave up on the reverse lights for now. I found the wire, and can electrify the reverse lights, but I put a relay in and I cannot get them to work. I am pretty sure the reverse switch on the gearbox is working, but that's the only thing that is not 100% tested. I can hook up 12V on the wire, and when I shift the car into reverse, it shows 12v. It's a head scratcher for now. I have a new reverse gearbox switch, so i might try that, although it's getting a bit chilly out.
- relay hookups are as follows: 87 to the lights, 85 to the gearbox switch, 30 and 86 are 12V power.
More details to come. These are some scratchings that I will put here before I forget.

The reverse "switch" on the gearbox is very prone to failure. It's a wound wire (like a bass string) that dangles and makes contact with the shift shaft when in reverse. I've often seen them bent. Later boxes have "proper" switches on the shifter cover. I had this problem when I first got my car back on the road. It was a PITA to figure out why it was so inconsistent in operation. I toyed with the idea of putting in a standard style switch, but I got mine to work so didn't bother.

First off, here it is, in possibly the last drive of the fall. We've been pretty lucky to have such nice weather so far. Note the fancy headrests keeping the occupants a little safer. We (wife, dog and I) actually got to go for a cruise... I think it's the first time she has been in the car under its own power. And she liked it! That's a big win.



So I had a burst of energy to get the exhaust fitted with a ceramic coated B20E manifold and coated downpipe.
I got the exhaust mocked up (that middle stud did get replaced with a longer stud btw), with the manifold in place and the downpipe. Pretty straightforward so far.



Well, this doesn't look right. Why is this pipe so high? It looks like it'll hit the crossmember and not even line up with the resonator.



Yeah, this isn't right. Although I got my trans mount boxes moved forward as part of my floorboard replacement, this is a Volvo kit for a Volvo car. What gives?



I'm pretty much hitting everything on the way to the back of the car. This isn't cool at all. So, off to the internet. What I find out is that the B20E exhaust manifold is the same height as the old stock manifold (or so I am told, I don't have 2 here to compare). Some people say on the web that, yes, they did have to get the pipe bent; or No, they didn't have to get the pipe bent. What I do find out, is that on VP's site, it literally says for the 2" sports kit "Complete kit, Automatic transmission cars will require modifications.". Well, it doesn't really state what those modifications are. But hopefully 2+2=4, and this is the part that needs modification.

This is a bummer cause you cannot bend a ceramic coated pipe. So, off to VP once more to get another pipe. Live and learn, fit all the parts first, then do the pretty stuff afterwards.

You can see in the background that the old header is on the floor... it did its job, but I wanted to go to something more Volvo-y.



So, off to my local trusted muffler shop. I marked the pipe where I wanted it bent - through measurements, I figured I needed a 2-2.5 inch drop on the pipe. This requires 2 bends, one to drop it, and then another further down, to bend it back UP to level it out to meet the resonator. They didn't have the car, and since I either didn't want to take the car to them (cause I hate people working on it), and I wouldn't drive it there and disassemble it, I just took the pipe. Dude said he could eyeball it, but it wouldn't be perfect. First fitment, well it certainly is pointing down.



I mark the pipe to where I think it needs to be back up. During this time, I hung the rear of the resonator off the donuts, and used a floor jack to get it level, and the measured the difference. About another 2.5 inches back up. Back to the muffler shop.



Ok! Not bad at all. Both pipes are lining up, and I'll be darned if the resonator is almost exactly level. Not bad at all, I am taking it!



Now of course the fiddly parts, putting it all together. My brother in law was kind enough to come over and help me out. One note, is that the overaxle pipe can fit both ways. One flat length is about 11 inches... the other is about 13 inches. The 13 inch section attaches to the rear of the resonator. The previous mechanic who I had work on it, had attached it in reverse to fit a different resonator, in order to fir that header in the previous picture. Once the pipe was turned around, it fit right together nicely. I got some band clamps off of the jungle site, I never liked those u-bolt things and the look of them turned me off. I think these look nicer anyways, and they fit well.



Resonator just clears the back of the passenger floorpan.



The donuts were fiddly to fit up, but seemed to hold well.



Just another shot of the piping to the muffler. It does get fairly close to the mudflap but it does not touch.



Note, the muffler was rotated down at the time. The internet did not appreciate this fact, in that everyone told me I was missing the tab. I was a bit lost as to how to attach the rear muffler to the car. Is there a specific mount? In the end, I just used a muffler mounting bolt to tie it up with the fabric strap. People say that those straps have broken in the past, and some have replaced it with a rubber isolator mount (the Touge Tuning kartboy Subaru 1" Extra Long 15mm mount, 1002-07-KB-011XL-15mm is what was suggested).



I cleaned this up a bit after this shot was taken, and added a nyloc nut on the end so it wouldn't easily shake loose.



The tailpipe fits much better as well, closer the bumper and more to the inside of the car. I think it sounds great personally, nice throaty sound, if I can ever hear it from the agricultural lump that's in front of me




Stepped washers! Almost forgot to add this in. So when you have a B20E exhaust, and an aluminum intake, when you go to bolt it to the head, you'll find that the mating surfaces are offset. This means you cannot use those flat conical Volvo washers like you may have used before. I contacted Cameron at Swedish Relics and tried to purchase a set of stepped washers from him, off of his website. Try as he might, he could not navigate the paperwork needed to send them up here. But, he did recommend getting chrome spacers and modifying them to fit the configuration. Top man.

So, to the jungle website once more and picked up 4 Hillman Group 943075 Chrome spacers.



A few cuts later, I think the measurements were 5 mm and 5 mm for the thicknesses...



And voila. Not bad for a hacksaw and a couple hours. I don't have many metalworking tools, if at all.



And you know, they don't fit too bad! I think I will install longer studs in the entire head just to be sure. The end of the studs are flush with the nut. I did pick up some longer studs from VP, so that'll be a springtime job.



Another shot of the washer. It does the job, I have to say.



I also replaced my OD switch with an LED switch, and no my overdrive works like a charm. Either I was burning out switches before, I am not 100% sure. But now it works flawlessly. I was buying Lucas switches for a more authentic look, and they were kinda garbage. This switch is rated for 25 amps. Link is below.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/25a-on- ... 0008803462

Now the next frustration point... figuring out the reverse lights. Thanks Craig, for the response. I have an new reverse switch but when I ground the wire off the relay (in place of the switch wire to simulate the switch grounding out), I blow a fuse. I need to think more on this, I might have other issues. Please keep in mind this car was pretty butchered when it went to a manual transmission, from an automatic. I was looking at the Manual schematics and finding odd wires... until I looked at the Auto car schematic. Then it all made more sense. I have everything identified, but there might be more at play.

I also though it was a nice idea Volvo had, to run all the electrical from the back of the car, OVERtop the doors, that way it wouldn't get damaged by water, impact, etc. They knew what they were doing!

Just popping this pic here for future reference... I'd like to figure out my Smiths tach as well to hook up to my 123Ignition. To the internet!