1968 Volvo project Pure Volvocity by 68EFIvert

9 minute(s) of a 519 minute read

1-17-2013

I swung over after lunch and picked up the wheels. They look pretty good. Can't wait to get them on.

Front

Rear

Well I was a little conservative with the wheels on the rear. I don't mind where the outside of the tire is but I have about an extra inch on the inside I should have used up. I think I could have put on 10" wide wheels and about a 295 tire. Oh well. 

The front are really close. I could have done about 1/4" less back spacing there. The car is about an inch high in the back but will settle with more weight in the car. The front is about 2-3" higher than the end rise height. Overall I think they hit the bulls eye

1-18-2013

Here is what I figure the cost will be:

Car was $1650

sand blasting and epoxy was $1700

Suspension and braking system including lines, mc, pedal assembly will be $9,000 when all is said and done

Wheels and tires $4200

Paint, glass, chrome and body $20,000+/- 

Interior will be full custom and I will ball park $15,000 (Likey much less)

Misc stuff which adds up quickly $3000

Engine and transmission (from electric fan to rear end) $15,000

These estimates may be on the high side but if my math comes out right it is close to $70,000. I hope it comes out lower than that. I tend to estimate on the pessimistic side and am ususally happy when done. Robert and I have discussed this topic and he feels I am high on my estimates but we'll see. I tend to add things on to the build as I go and when you do that things get expensive real quick. It is easy to say that is only $300 more and I may as well do it now. 

My dad has always said that speed cost money. How fast do you want to go? To me the car is not an investment. Cars are liabilities for the most part. I do this becasue I use it as a creative outlet and I love it. When it is done I will have an very unique car that I will love. That is all that matters to me. I am just blessed that I have the financial abililty to afford to do this. 

It does seem to be a lot of money for a set of tires and wheels. I wanted to keep the cost under $3000 but didn't like what I could get for that. About 7 years ago I purchased about the same quality wheels and the same tires for my Mustang and it was about $1500 less. If you think about other things like hamburgers. What were they back in 1968, $.10 each and what are they now $5? Times change and things get more expensive.

1-20-2013

My car got hit pretty hard in the rear. The rear panel was already replaced but there was so much damage hidden by bondo by the lights I got a new panel to replace just those areas. I'm not going to replace the whole back panel, it is decent shape.

I am not too worried about the damage to the quarter panels. I will be raising the wheelwells to almost the body line. When I do that I'll have the metal that is wrinkled above the body line replaced and then they knew fenderlip will cover the areas below that. I'll pretty much be a custom quarterback when I'm done with it.

I have a lap joint on my passenger side front fender that looks a lot like your quarter panel. Pretty bad repair actually. The black primer really seems to hide a lot of the details of the damage. I'll have to slice the fender and then rewelded it after I removed the lap joint. After that I think it'll be a decent repair.

For the rear bumper I'll likely use these old Corvette style that Robert showed in his build. I really like the lines and how it just seems to flow with the car very well. I may shorten it slightly so does it doesn't extend quite as far to the center of the car. For the front bumper I'm still undecided. I have the original bumpers here but I also have an old bullhorn bumper as well. I have also been given some thought about old Camaro RS split bumper. I'll have to wait and see how the front valance goes and just what bumper will fit best with the car at that time.

I ordered a new steering column yesterday. After reviewing the expensive parts it would take for the original steering column I decided it was cheaper and easier to buy a new column to into the car. I decided to stay with the straight steering column so the steering wheel would be a little closer to the dash than if it was the tilt column. The Tilt column just seems like it would extend too far into the cabin. I would give up 5-5 inches of space. I fear the steering wheel would be too close for my driving preferences. I will drop down to a 14 inch steering wheel to get a little bit more leg space.

I will be going into knee surgery in about 30 days so I'm trying to wind down some of my projects. I think I will put the car back on the rotisserie and install some subframe connectors and then call it good. When I recover from my surgery I'll start working on the engine, firewall and transmission. I will likely be out of the garage for a couple months.

1-24-2013

The front wheels are 6" bs but I think I could have gone with 5.75". I have not done anything with the alignment but adjust the tie rods a little. IIRC the Wilwood brake kit I am running increases the track width about 1/2". If that is true then if you use the standard Swedish Ops brakes a 5.5" to 5.25" bs may work great and the wheels would look better.

The rear wheels are 5.75". If I were to order them again I would have ordered 10" wide with 6.5" bs. I would have then put on a 295 tire. . It really wouldn't have had to change my plans for the fender flaring much.

Robert may have some input on the effect of the different brake options effect on the track width. Wilwood could also answer that question.

2-11-2013

I'm making a little progress on the firewall. I've got the majority of it cut back to the vertical section of the battery box. I narrowed the pedal assembly by 2 inches and have mocked in the steering column. I will be using an Ididit column. I need to double check some measurements before welding everything together. I won't be able to do the new transmission tunnel until I get the engine and transmission in. I hope to get the engine by the end of April. I need to make sure the IRS is happy before I buy that. 

I had to modify my plans for my pedal assembly. I originally planned to use a Wilwood pedal assembly but I ran into interference problems with the master cylinders. I will be using the original pedal but I will be converting it to a hydroboost system. I plan on retrofitting a hydroboost system from a Chevy Astro van. It should be here in the next few days and then I'll be able to do a little bit more mocking and hopefully welding.

2-15-2013

I got a little bit more work done to the firewall today. I don't think I'll be able to do much more until I get my engine and transmission though. I also plan to work on putting in my hydroboost in this weekend.

My Budnik steering wheel finally arrived today!

2-17-2013

I got a bit more done today. The hydroboost is fitted, some more smoothing, grinding and welding. I still need to fill the holes for the original coil and an old heater related hole on the top. The hydroboost should clear the engine but I am not going to do anything else until I have the engine in place. 

I have to wait until I figure out my tax liability before I buy the engine. Once that is done I will pick up the engine. I have to have my ACL and meniscus repaired on Thursday so I will be out of commission for a little while.