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1973 1800ES project
So back in April 08', I sold my old/andysbeta's old orange B230FT powered 76' 244DL for a reasonably measly sum of money. Not one who fails to burn a hole in their pocket, I heard through a friend/Volvospeed member that is neighbor in nearby Saratoga had a single owner 1800ES that had been sitting in their yard for many years. I always wanted an ES because of how cool looking they were, but also my mom was in love with them back in the day [my grandfather was going to buy her one, but he passed away - this was 10+ years before I was even born]
So I went and checked it out and for having sat for so long it seemed like it might be a chore to get it going. Sure enough though I threw the battery from my truck in it and it fired off. Would not go into gear though. Also, the body was pretty good sans a few small spots of rust around the rear window glass and right next to the wheel well on the rear driver's side 1/4. I offered the 95-year old lady who owned it [it was her deceased husband's car] $2000 and she took it. Came back a week later with a new battery, some cleaning supplies and a jack. Washed it, threw the battery in, fired it up, threw the back end in the air with the jack, put it in gear, lowered the jack and unfroze the clutch disc. She was moving! Drove it around the block a few times and called it good to go 40 miles back home. http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_1595.jpg Although I really should have bled the brakes nothing catastrophic happened and I made it home. So I did some further cleaning [clay, polish & wax, lots of interior undusting] and she came out looking even nicer http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_1649.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_1652.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_1650.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_1651.jpg Than the DJet map sensor died. It sat for a bit, than Redwood Chair came to the rescue with a drilled map he had laying around. So I got it fired up, did some more maintenance, got some new front rubber for the original wheels [the black sirius ended up on the flathood 242], painted the centers black and started daily driving it. http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...S/Img_2064.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...S/Img_2092.jpg Winter 08' came around, and I decided to retire it for a while. A wiper arm broke off and I did not have enough money at the time to fix that and all the rubber seals the car was in dire need of [sitting all of those years really dried them out] so rather than risk allowing rust to further step it's ugly ass in I tossed my car cover and an extra tarp over it. I recently left my job of the past 4+ years [was sick of it] and while continuing temporary work on the side and searching for a new job I figured it's time to get focused on the ES again. So while I let my mind figure out what I want to do with the drivetrain on the car [it has a rebuilt b20f with about 20k in it which could be the base for many things, and also I might have the b230ft/holset/lh 2.4 from my red 244 to play with...] the only solid plan is to get the shell as straight as possible. I've stocked up on POR-15 products to attack the rust and also I plan on getting a welder. Although a car such as an ES is probably not the ideal platform to learn how to do bodywork, that is what I want to do and I want to do it right. I've also ordered just about every seal that the car will need. Pretty much the only goals I have for the car is to get it straight, rust free, handling good, peppier [stock b20 is too slow for me] and more stylish. The covers come off the car tomorrow. I will document all of the bodywork I will be attacking complete with pics |
Let me know if you need a hand with it.
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I know that they are not cheap but maybe look at the V-performance.com supercharger... it may be a good way to "pep" up the b20, especially since it is fresh off a rebuild.... Just a thought...
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Classy Car!
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Nice car, I may need to get in touch if I have problems arise. Feel free to do the same.
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perfect.
im really diggin the roof rack. |
Nice shades
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Did you get any spare parts with the car? I have a laundry list to send you if you did. You can also send me yours.
I am restoring a '73 ES that belonged to Ken Pruett (from IPD) for 25 years. It was he and his wife's daily driver the entire time. Fortunately, it's in pretty good shape. However there are some rust spots I'm attending to. I had to replace the entire bottom lip the tailgate glass door seals against and I still have to tackle a couple of other spots. I even welded in larger diameter drain holes (plus one extra for a total of three) to try and prevent the lip from rusting out again. Good luck with the project and let me know if I can help. |
OMG, they are indeed very rare, don't ever sell it, you got it so cheap! :omg:
Have fun with it! |
It's too bad the 244 has to go, but I'm sure this ES will end up looking great. It wants, no, it needs the B230ft/holset with a manual trans.
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I did not get many spares with the car unfortunately, just a couple of belts. I'll have a lot of spares though since I won't be re-using a lot of the stock parts. Mine has the same problem with the bottom lip on the hatch - the seal was toast and water got back there and did it's work. One section goes outside the lip onto the body of the car but everything is fixable. I was planning on making a better drain setup as well so it won't happen again. Quote:
Since it's a 73 the trans tunnel is larger and a T5 will fit good. With the b230 mounted upright IIRC a B20 bellhousing will bolt up, and V-Performance has a T5 adapter that will work without machining that bellhousing. As far as room goes running a stock 90+ manifold with a smaller turbo would work good but with the Holset it would either not fit or be super tight [also I don't know if I'd want that much heat that close the upper-A arm bushings, speaking of those I also want to lower the mounting points for more camber]. I'd probably want a header to move it up which I'd rather run anyways with an external gate. |
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0326.jpg
Uncovered! http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0520.jpg Still looks pretty clean But these pictures tell the rest of the story, and they will be the first things I attack http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0521.jpg Under the rear glass on the back http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0536.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0537.jpg The dreaded lower rear glass lip....after looking at this I think I might need to find a way to put a whole new lip in there.... http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0522.jpg At some point it got hit in the back, gotta pull this dent out http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0523.jpg Where the rear 1/4 meets the back panel http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0524.jpg There are reminders like this everywhere on the car that it was gold in a former life.... http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0534.jpg And reminders that the person who painted it did a failtastic prep job http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0524.jpg Below the drivers door http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0527.jpg Rear 1/4 right behind the wheel well http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0528.jpg Ewww ugly falling apart hoodliner! http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0529.jpg That's how most of the body seals look.... http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0530.jpg Some rust behind the battery tray http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/Img_0533.jpg The dash. Plan now is to strip the upper and lower vinyl/padded sections down to metal, repad them and rewrap them in suede. Gauges need to be rebuilt [moisture getting inside of them....] and I'll ditch the wood behind the dash for some CF. Probably going to tear into the car this weekend or sometime next week. Start taking out the interior, taking apart stuff in the engine bay [no manifolds/wiring/etc], taking off all the trim/glass/etc too. |
"...and I'll ditch the wood behind the dash for some CF."
Nooo! I know it's tempting to play around; but don't underestimate the appeal of a time-warp throwback classic. Wouldn't turn you away from suspension and engine modifications though. That lip could go either way. Most DS roofs look like that, we just have to deal with it. Grind, ospho, form with JB weld is what I's suggest in the meantime. Sweet. Car. |
If you do decide to get tear apart the dash PM me there may be some things I need.
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I think brushed or polished metal would look better than CF in this classic.
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noooooooo cf!!!!!!
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Highway 1, I think |
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Also about the CF part, I'm just thinking about having it as the dash inlay. I might do aluminum. I don't know. I'm not too concerned at this point, especially with keeping everything on the car 100% classic. The interior should be a good mix of old/new [still going with wrapping the upper and lower dash pieces in ultrasuede, also going to recover some Recaro's in ultrasuede with royal stewart plaid inserts [headliner will be done in royal stewart as well]. Also as far as paint goes I'm up in the air. I was thinking navy blue, british racing green or john deere blitz black. |
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Dropping some knowledge, Ken!
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Surf the coast for 20 years and you will know it too.;-) |
Looks good Pat. As always with your projects, I look forward to seeing the results.
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Wuddup?
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Pictoral update coming soon. Especially when good ole' Kenny aka Redwood Chair comes and yanks his B20 :nod: |
any progress?
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progress?
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I begged him to keep it in there, :-D and apparently good sense prevailed.:) |
^ That is true, except you didnt really beg me to keep it in there because you wanted it haha
Not much progress, the big progress will be getting it out of the driveway and into the garage up top so I can work on it there instead of having it outside, will be much better. |
Ah, progress. I am looking forward to this progress.
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Hell, I'd probably call AAA to come move it :-P |
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I'm still first in line for a freshly rebuilt B20 should you decide to abandon it. I hope.;-) Good luck on the build. LMK if you need a hand with the bodywork I have some fancy materials on loan for a while. |
I may have solved your tailgate woes. X-Ray Auto in Seattle has the sheet metal for the rear of the car (from above the glass to the bottom seam, to each tail light. Essentially it's a used weld-in panel. I would have gotten it, but they want $1000 for it. I thought I'd be better at trying to fab sections from a rusted rear end section I got with my ES (and it worked).
Here's their contact info: 2639 NW Market St Seattle, WA 98107 Neighborhood: Ballard (206) 789-5455 I've been to their shop. I was droolin' all over the place with the cars they were workin' on and the spare parts they had. They are great people to work with as well. |
So this is back rolling again sorta.
Last week I picked up a 87' 744ti from RyanHackett. It was free, but it was missing a few things [turbo/ic/piping] and the engine apparently had a dead hole [which I might investigate] on a non-skinny rod block. I paid Henry [urbanwheeler] pretty much in whatever he wanted off the car [aside from a couple things] in exchange for making it a shell [for a V8 lemons car] Mostly picked it up to grab the harness/ECU's/etc to go along with the 94' b230ft I never was able to sell to swap in the ES. Mount solution/b20 oil pan/etc is already figured out, but next is the trans. Other than that, bodywork is the main focus. |
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You mean you're not going to restore it to stock and give it your mom, like a good son?
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1) Totally stock. Less power, less overall fun, less reliability, more desirable when completed due to being stock but would end up costing more. 2) Have a beautiful rare cool car that hauls ass in a reliable manner and spend 1/2 to 2/3 as much doing it She was cool with option two. |
Updates
the good news- *the rust was hardly a big deal on it [mostly surface, and fixed now], body is almost a shell and ready for paint [still need to find a trick to get the inner door handles off so I can get the door panels off, also need to remove the rear side glass]. Numerous other dents are gone. *B23FT I picked up is opened up getting all new seals/gaskets, everything inside looks good. Also scored a 90+ and a 16t. *Got the T5 for it, just gotta get some money together to send to Dale for the adapter. Also need to get a B20 bellhousing back from Redwood Chair. *Got seats from a 02' MBZ SL500, not crazy racing seats but comfortable, supportive, powered and heated. *Got nice 15'' mesh Enkei's to put on it, currently in the middle of polishing the lips [centers will be black] the bad news *I don't have a way to upload pics to show said progress *I gotta put the car on the shelf for a month or two and finish other projects *The a-hole I share my shop with stacked a ton of stuff on top of the pile of trim I removed from the car, bending some of them. I'd like to kill him but I need someone to pay the other half of rent on the shop I guess.... |
Whatever happened to this?
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I have been keeping it and all of the associated parts in storage.
Sometime in between, about a year or so ago, I did have a place to work on it. Got the LH 2.2 harness built among other small things. I recently acquired a shop space and moved everything over there, I plan on starting it again soon. I'm thinking about just tossing the drivetrain in and getting it going, and worrying about the whole gnarly restoration later. |
Wooohooo an update!
B23FT is almost ready to go in! Ordered a baffle box, plate and B20 oil pump from Hi-Performance Auto. Once that stuff is in the pan will go on and she will finally go in the engine bay. Details about the engine - 120k B23FT bottom end with fresh seals and gaskets AN 10 return [Yoshifab's kit] AN 10 crankcase vent [Yoshifab] B20 oil pump/pan with early B21 oil delivery pipe 398 SCP head w/K cam & adjustable gear Custom intake manifold [B21F intake with shorted runners and Yoshifab custom plenum] 90+ exhaust manifold with 19T |
Update again -
After losing storage space on the car, I almost sold it. But I decided to actually send the car off to get the rust fixed on it. I found the perfect person to do the work - he has done all the bodywork for a well known VCOA guy who deals with a lot of 1800's. Very excited about this |
Hi mate,
I was in Santa Cruz during August, should have come to see this beauty :cool: Can't wait to see pictures, and good point for the rust repair !! |
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So yesterday, I got a mixture of motivation and laziness - so instead of dropping in the B23FT I have for test fitment, which would have involved borrowing a load leveler, and schlepping my crane from the other side of my house [which involves a truck since I live on a hill], I simply took a bare B230FT block I have, bolted the adapter mounts to it, and set it in the engine bay by hand. I slapped a junk head on it, as well as a T3 bolted to a old style manifold
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...psdddafnfd.jpg I plan on running a 90+ with a K24 or 19T, either of which should be much smaller than the old style manifold with a T3. Should have more room with a smaller turbo. http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps75ouqxpj.jpg The intake manifold has obvious clearing issues, even without the giant master cylinder/brake booster which I am trying to retain. My plan for it is to cut the flange and about 3-4'' of runner, weld a couple of 2'' 90 degree elbows to the end into some velocity stacks inside of a nice sized plenum. I think with the runners already at a 45 angle and the additional 90's, it will tilt the plenum under the booster and master. I might have to cut an edge of the plenum to clear the steering shaft. I am running a Yoshifab CCV plate in place of the normal big plastic box, so that will be fine http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...psq8wcadpy.jpg The nose of the car, while unique, also makes things very tough as far as mounting a radiator that will suitably cool a turbo engine, on top of an intercooler and oil cooler. I have found that a Mini Cooper S or Saab Viggen intercooler will work well with the nose. For the cold side outlet, I will have to cut into some sheet metal. I am trying hard NOT to cut into the body of the car but that is one spot that I can't really avoid. With the engine also in place, I have 9.5'' of clearance from the block to frame rail where the radiator sits. The water pump needs at least 6''. I found a radiator on ebay that is crossflow [stock turbo redblock style] but similar dimensions to the upflow stock 1800 radiator [16'' X 20'']. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Northern-209...5ULZ79&vxp=mtr With that radiator, I only have about 1.5''-2'' of space. Standard electric fans with center mount motors will not clear, I have found an alternative and while expensive, I think it will give me enough space to make it all fit with the water pump pulley. http://www.the-fan-man.com/shop/side....html?cPath=31 I'm also thinking of running a standard fan, that radiator, and an electric water pump with a machined outlet to fit in place of the water pump. http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...psb0ak4oll.jpg |
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...psemtexwn0.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps9fl0fdnj.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps9r8b2m7d.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...pstkn0t718.jpg rust is gone. making it a driver here soon. probably going b20+t5 |
Do you have a b20?
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