New Volvo owner!

Looks like the winner I expected!!

Good for you.

Build it well so that you can drive it like you hate it!!

---

JohnLane

Overkill is consistently more fun

You have the older jack, the crank style (rather than the scissors style), which is a good thing. VW's have them, too (I think they're known as the Bilstein jack). So what you do is when you're building the cage, have the guy put 4 short pieces of tubing that extend out through the rocker panel (then cut them off so they're flush) from the footings of the front hoop and a solid place right in front of the rear wheel well and then modify the jack arm with a good piece of smaller tubing that will slip into these other tubes, and voila! You've got a quick race jack system that works a hell of a lot better than the standard under the car setup (since those jacking points will get torn up or mangled, anyway). And then you can build stands for service that slip into those same holes and you will be safer than using jackstands. The spare probably has "SPARE" molded in huge letters in the tread. The tracks left behind look funny if you're driving through the dirt with one of those on.

And that GT stuff goes for a good chunk of change these days. People get all nostalgic for that -- especially for the grill/foglight combination.

Have fun with the new brick.

...Brian...

The gt came with an odd little donut as it doesn't have the butt cheeks to hold the larger spares. Also worth money to the right gt nut.

---

Zap zap my ass...

wow, learn something new everyday!

Its true. No butt cheeks!

alkun Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> wow, learn something new everyday!
>
> Its true. No butt cheeks!


Wow.. I had never noticed that.

---

Andrew M
Onterrible
30ish

Well it didn't pass the safety inspection

Major prob : The brake lights stopped working... I'm quite sure they were working good when we took it off the trailer... probably the fuse.

Minor problems :

- All the rear bushings need to be changed (major pita!)
- Steering rack, 1 tie-rod end, 1 ball joint, 1 wheel bearing, 1 steering rack boot... at that point I think I'll change the whole steering...
- one broken exhaust manifold stud (haven't check yet but I really hope it's not flush)
- I'm missing the exhaust tip! (that one should be an easy fix)

I'm angry because I don't feel like changing rear bushings right now... To me they are old, but not to the point of being dangerous... I'm not sure yet if I want to use stock rubber bushing or poly. I heard poly are even more a pain to install...

I'm fine with changing the front... I hate the bypassed power steering rack and the other parts are cheap and easy to change.

Well I'm really starting to regret buying a car I haven't seen... not sure I will ever do that again. At least, it is rust free! I paid a HUGE premium for that since a friend just bought an identical 242 GT from Ontario for 1000$...

I guess that's another grand that will go toward boring repairs instead of rally prep

---

Francois

Francois Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well it didn't pass the safety inspection
>
> Major prob : The brake lights stopped working...
> I'm quite sure they were working good when we took
> it off the trailer... probably the fuse.

Or grounding for the rear lamp assembly.
>
> Minor problems :
>
> - All the rear bushings need to be changed (major
> pita!)

Get some used links with better bushings already in.

> - Steering rack, 1 tie-rod end,


dead easy

>1 ball joint,

also super easy

1
> wheel bearing,

3 minutes, you're killing me!


>1 steering rack boot...

same time as the tie rod end--what's the problem?


at that
> point I think I'll change the whole steering...



no no no.
> - one broken exhaust manifold stud (haven't check
> yet but I really hope it's not flush)
> - I'm missing the exhaust tip! (that one should
> be an easy fix)

Folger's Coffee 5lb can works good. I actually did attach one on the back of pat Richards 2nd black Subaru when he was starting out in 01 or 02
>
>

Courage, mek!>
> Francois

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

When are you coming back from China again? Want to stop by Montreal on your way back? Looks like you could fix most of that in one night!

I'll buy a costco size tea box, a few cartons of ciggies, we should be good!

seriously, a friend is coming by tonight to help fix the brake light problem.

we will try to fix the broken exhaust stud and exhaust tip too if we have enough time.

I think I'll bring the car to a friend mechanic who has a lot of free time right now to have the remaining done. It's not too difficult but I just don't have enough free time right now.

The worst problem is to find a good steering rack... I think I might need to buy it brand new or from your side of the border since it juste doesn't seem to exist here in good condition.

Ah too bad I missed the 400$ part car 2 weeks ago! Now it would make things so much easier.

---

Francois

Francois Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When are you coming back from China again? Want
> to stop by Montreal on your way back? Looks like
> you could fix most of that in one night!
>
> I'll buy a costco size tea box, a few cartons of
> ciggies, we should be good!
>
> seriously, a friend is coming by tonight to help
> fix the brake light problem.
>
> we will try to fix the broken exhaust stud and
> exhaust tip too if we have enough time.
>
> I think I'll bring the car to a friend mechanic
> who has a lot of free time right now to have the
> remaining done. It's not too difficult but I just
> don't have enough free time right now.
>
> The worst problem is to find a good steering
> rack... I think I might need to buy it brand new
> or from your side of the border since it juste
> doesn't seem to exist here in good condition.
>
> Ah too bad I missed the 400$ part car 2 weeks ago!
> Now it would make things so much easier.
>
> Francois


Hey lets see what we can figure out, maybe a drop ship from my supplier JAC rack in MIchigan.

---

John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Goodness..... A bunch of whining about your nice rust-free Volvo!!

You did not really expect it to not need any maintenance did you?

John where is my clutch?

---

JohnLane

Overkill is consistently more fun

I know I should not complaint, but I really didn't think I would have to change every single bushing in the rear suspension just to have it registered!

That's the kind of repair I wanted to do in my free times over the next winter...

I'll stop whinning now, I promise! lol but I had to vent it some way... it's just that I now have the car at my place and can't even go for a ride in it!

Oh and while fixing the brake lights I was looking at the fuse box and it doesn't seem like the fuse could still be in place after a rough stage... I guess that changing to a more conventional fuse box is part of the rally prep of every old Volvo?

---

Francois

I have my stock fuse holder mounted up under the dash. Works great.

Brakelights.... Very often you will have a bad connection at the rear light housings. It is also possible that the bulb integrity sensor has packed it in. Chase power from the fusebox to the switch on the brake pedal to the rear of the car. If no power at the rear of the car it will be the bulb integrity sensor. Big round thing with a million wires going to it under the dash.

---

JohnLane

Overkill is consistently more fun

Brake lights are fixed!

Seems it was only a dirty fuse socket. Easy fix!

Are the lower outside lights are supposed to come on with the brakes? They just never light... Not with the brakes, parking lights or head lights...

Now I'm wondering if I should order poly bushings or just regular rubber ones for now since I want the car register as soon as I can to be able to move it to and from the shop...

---

Francois

Poly is firmer but will have to be babysat as it will accumulate dust in the bushing.

The OE style bushings for rear suspension work well provided you are not making big power.

---

JohnLane

Overkill is consistently more fun

In my travels the rear bushings seam to be bad on alot of Volvo cars ...The stuff wrong on your car is cake ... Its an old car ...Wecome to the world of RWD..

David

Hazardous Toys inc