White 83 242 Commuter

[toms_elleck]

*Edit* most recent image:


Bought this car from Jack:
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=317092





Jack kept the wheels, so I put some steelies on it to get it home.






The next day, I put a flathood and single rounds on it. The grill and bezels are hideous, I still need to clean them up and fix all the broken tabs. I also didn't have long bolts for the headlight spacers with me, so it's rocking the sunken, dead eye look for now. But it's a start.









It's not a perfect match at all, but the paint will work until I get an original paint white flathood. I love that Appliance paint. Half of our old white 66 bug was painted with it. It goes on super thick and stays shiny for a very long time. Hard to beat at $5/can also.


Once I got home, I bolted on some redrilled Style5 RC090 wheels with 235/45/17s all the way around.













At this point, I've only had the car 3 days, so I haven't had a chance to clean it up too much. Looking forward to cleaning this car up quite a bit over the next few months, repairing some dents, adding a good stereo, and customizing the interior a bit. The goal is to build a cool looking, comfortable, reliable, fuel efficient (yeah right) commuter car to drive to work every day.

[Mueller]

Great progress....I wish I had your drive/enthusiasm in getting a car going and on the road!

[Harlard]

Thomas, dibs on those wheels for when you get bored of them.

[Redwood Chair]

Nice ride.

Originally Posted by slammed145

It's not a perfect match at all, but the paint will work until I get a # 189 original paint white flathood.

Gonna only come on an 83 homologation flathood car, as it was #42 white till 82, and 83 was the first year of 189...

[toms_elleck]

Originally Posted by Mueller

Great progress....I wish I had your drive/enthusiasm in getting a car going and on the road!

Thanks! I had to get as much done as I could that weekend, and take advantage of being away from home. So don't expect the rest of this thread to happen that fast.
I'm actually looking forward to chasing down all the little crap, doing the Stage 0, and then pretty much leaving it slow, soft, and quiet. It'll take a while, but I'll enjoy it.

Originally Posted by Harlard

Thomas, dibs on those wheels for when you get bored of them.

I'll shoot you a PM if and when that happens. I do plan to strip and polish the barrels one of these days, but I want to leave the centers and bolts like stock.

Originally Posted by Redwood Chair

Nice ride.

Gonna only come on an 83 homologation flathood car, as it was #42 white till 82, and 83 was the first year of 189...

Thanks! And Dammit! Thanks for the info on the hood. Plan B: repaint this hood with #189 from Tower Paint.

[Xeroni]

Originally Posted by slammed145

Whoever put weights on the outside lip deserves to be fired.

Also dat positive camber.

[toms_elleck]

Got a little bit more done this weekend.

Started to hammer out the big dent in the front fender. Jack sold me a replacement with the car, so this is more practice than anything. It's good enough for the fender liner to fit back in there now, but it's not at all ready for paint. I'm going to try and hammer a nice clean body line back into the fender lip. If it doesn't go well, I'll drill out the spot welds and replace the whole fender.

Before:


Current:











Finally, chopped two coils out of the front, and one coil out of the rear.

[toms_elleck]

Oh yeah, some beauty shots:












Forgot to mention a few other things:
- Installed an adjustable IPD panhard rod
- Stuck some foam into the shifter hole and got the shift boot bolted into place (WHAT a difference in noise inside!!!)
- Removed the trunk badges, and tried to clean up the paint under them, but it's not that pretty. The badges seem to have wiggled and rubbed through the paint in places. So I'm not sure if I will reinstall the badges, or what.
- Began the interior cleanup. I think the PO, either it was Jack or the owner before him, was a chain-smoking wet dog. So it's going to need some major attention.

[Coupid]

Damn man, way to power through the new project. That went from 0-100 real quick. Throw some of that appliance paint over the fender dent and it will be almost invisible until you put the new one on.

[Tuff240]

Originally Posted by slammed145

was a chain-smoking wet dog

Who redrilled the wheels?

[Redwood Chair]

Originally Posted by slammed145

Got a little bit more done this weekend.
If it doesn't go well, I'll drill out the spot welds and replace the whole fender.

Or grind the spot welds back on the dead panels, and don't drill holes till you rivet it back together.

[toms_elleck]

Originally Posted by Coupid

Throw some of that appliance paint over the fender dent and it will be almost invisible until you put the new one on.

Just a bit more hammering, and then I'll do exactly that. Just ran out of time this weekend to go any further. Than this initial shaping.

Originally Posted by Tuff240

Who redrilled the wheels?

California Wheels in San Jose. They used steel inserts rather than machining the taper. Makes it quicker, I would think, because all you need to do is drill a through hole and press the insert into place.

Originally Posted by Redwood Chair

Or grind the spot welds back on the dead panels, and don't drill holes till you rivet it back together.

Excellent tip! That makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

[toms_elleck]

Just read Pat's tips about carpet cleaning in this thread, so now that's part of my plans for next week.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=320393

Originally Posted by Tuff240

I should make a video of how to clean the carpets.

Best way to clean it thoroughly with basic tools most everyone has:
1. Remove the carpet. (not as difficult as it sounds, but it's not a 5 minute job either)
2. Vacuum off all the big stuff.
3. Use generous amounts of Castrol Super Clean (or Purple Power since it's cheaper, but not quite as strong) sprayed over any stains or heavily soiled areas to the point where it is visually damp in those areas.
4. Heavily mist entire carpet with Super Clean.
5. Heavily mist entire carpet with water hose.
6. Focus on 1/2 or 1/4 sections at a time and use water, Super Clean and a hand held brush to agitate into a foam. You MUST keep it wet the entire time. This requires misting entire carpet occasionally with water while you work one area. Once you feel you have agitated the entire section thoroughly, continue on until entire carpet is done. Keep carpet wet.
7. Hang the carpet somehow (saw horse/old chair/steep driveway) and thoroughly rinse the carpet until there are no more bubbles and the water that runs off is clear.
8. Look for any areas that are still dirty or stained. Repeat steps 6 and 7 again in that area.
9. If you have a wet/dry shop vac, vacuum as much of the water out of the carpet as you can.
10. Hang carpet where it can dry.
11. After it's dry and you install the carpet back in the car, dry brush and then vacuum it thoroughly and it will soften back up a little more.

The more effort you put into it, the better it will come out.
Rust and red colored stains will not come out. Most black and dark stains will.

Volvo original carpet is very nice and high quality. It fits better than any aftermarket carpet currently offered. So if it is not worn through to the backing, I suggest trying to clean it.

Thanks Pat!! There's obviously the voice of experience in those instructions.

[MoCounselor]

AWESOME progress so far man! I have to say, your thread is not helping me stay the course on my 142 project, as I have access to this car's twin that I could pick up for $600 or less.

Nice work, interested to see more of it unfold!

[Tuff240]

Originally Posted by slammed145

California Wheels in San Jose. They used steel inserts rather than machining the taper. Makes it quicker, I would think, because all you need to do is drill a through hole and press the insert into place.

How much do they charge for that?

Originally Posted by slammed145

Just read Pat's tips about carpet cleaning in this thread, so now that's part of my plans for next week.

http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=320393


Thanks Pat!! There's obviously the voice of experience in those instructions.

No problem. I've cleaned A LOT of 240 interiors. If you were closer I'd say come over and we could just use my extractor.

To expand on that a little, you are wanting to break loose the dirt and the bubbles/foam will help carry it away. Same reason you want a fair amount of bubbles when washing your car. The dirt gets suspended in the bubbles and the rinse carries it away.

Make sure to spray the Super Clean before getting the carpet wet, it lifts the stains out better that way.

If it dries up it sticks right back on the carpet, so keep it wet. A quick mist every now and then until you do a full rinse usually suffices.

[122power]

Nice car and good work! We have a 945 white wagon and call it storm trooper. I can see this car getting that name as well. Love the white valence too!

[toms_elleck]

Originally Posted by Tuff240

How much do they charge for that?


No problem. I've cleaned A LOT of 240 interiors. If you were closer I'd say come over and we could just use my extractor.

I was originally quoted $480, which just about killed me, but ended up getting a friend deal at much less. ET Mags in San Leandro quoted me $250 for the drilling, which seemed totally reasonable. By the way, it sounds like they order blank wheels in custom offsets and drill them for your application. It's all gasser and street rod stuff on their website, but they've also done a bunch of custom wheels, and I imagine could be a good source for an inspiring young man who wants to make 5x108 BBS wheels available to the community... Or if nothing else, just a good resource to have on hand someday.
http://www.etmags.com/wheel_repair.html

Extractor, huh? What is that, some sort of carpet shampoo-er / cleaner? Are you in Oregon or nor-Cal these days? I'm going to be in Modesto pulling the B20 out of our Orange 242 sometime in the next couple of weeks. I'll PM you..

[amerbritcan]

Looks like the driver's door has had a knee taken to it, my 242 had a very similar dent after I slipped on my wet lawn walking up to it.

[Tuff240]

Originally Posted by slammed145

I was originally quoted $480, which just about killed me, but ended up getting a friend deal at much less. ET Mags in San Leandro quoted me $250 for the drilling, which seemed totally reasonable. By the way, it sounds like they order blank wheels in custom offsets and drill them for your application. It's all gasser and street rod stuff on their website, but they've also done a bunch of custom wheels, and I imagine could be a good source for an inspiring young man who wants to make 5x108 BBS wheels available to the community... Or if nothing else, just a good resource to have on hand someday.
http://www.etmags.com/wheel_repair.html

Extractor, huh? What is that, some sort of carpet shampoo-er / cleaner? Are you in Oregon or nor-Cal these days? I'm going to be in Modesto pulling the B20 out of our Orange 242 sometime in the next couple of weeks. I'll PM you..

Thanks for the wheel info.

Yes, it's a carpet shampoo-er. Same thing detail shops use. It has a heating element in it so it shoots steaming hot water/soap solution and has a very strong vacuum.

I'm in Angels Camp now. Not too far from Modesto. PM me when you are going to be in Modesto and I'll see if I can come visit.

[LC4CARL]

Love it.

[MoCounselor]

Care to give a quick tutorial on using the appliance enamel, as far as steps you took and how the finish ended up?

[toms_elleck]

Originally Posted by MoCounselor

Care to give a quick tutorial on using the appliance enamel, as far as steps you took and how the finish ended up?

Sure, but there's nothing too crazy about it. And I wouldn't claim that it's anywhere near the "right way" to do things. I used that paint just because I'm not decided about painting the whole car eventually, or just having the hood done. So this is a good enough for now situation. The appliance paint is just a slightly more durable rattlecan paint that goes on thick and stays pretty glossy for a long time.

To prep, I just washed with degreaser and then wet sanded the hood with 400 grit paper. I sanded it until it felt nice and smooth to the touch, no roughness or anything. It's not perfect, and I didn't fix the little dent where something was closed under the hood. I just sanded it smooth.

To paint, I laid down a medium/heavy coat, overlapping by 50%. It's a hood laying flat, so it's pretty forgiving as far as runs are concerned. It took 3/4 of one can to lay down the first coat. If there's any trick to it, it's this: paint somewhat fast, so that you can get the second coat on there before it dries. This paint doesn't flash like other paint, so I just spray the second coat within 1 or 2 minutes of the first. The second coat should be heavier, and more consistent. Because this coat will be your gloss, so if you leave dry spots, those will look like dull spots in the final finish. The second coat should be thick, and it will take a few days to dry entirely. I like to paint the second coat in swirls, to create a larger wet spot to simulate a larger spray pattern of a real paint gun, if that makes sense. I like to put it in bright direct sunlight to dry faster.

One more tip, try and paint it in the shade, because the bright ass white will start to blind you, and you won't be able to see your spray pattern.

BTW, I discovered this paint when I was touching up my wife's old 66 bug. The rear decklid, apron, and both rear fenders were appliance paint:



That's a spot where I painted a chip, so you can see the appliance paint against the real paint.








It was lowered.

[MoCounselor]

Thanks for the how-to. So, the rear fenders in the pic above (first one,) were the appliance paint? That looks pretty glossy!

[toms_elleck]

Got it cleaned up a little more this weekend. Wet sanded a couple of really crunchy parts with 600, 1000, then 1500 grit. An d then Claybar, and then polishing compound, and then Meguiers Cleaner wax. My arms are DED. But the car looks a lot better.








And then I drove it over to San Jose for the get together at In-N-Out, so that I could stand in a cold parking lot and talk about fuel injection with a bunch of other Volvo dorks. It was great.







And of course, there was another white 242 there, lower and with cooler wheels. Of course.



Up next, I have a lot of mechanical stuff that I need to do. It has a bad front wheel bearing and warped front rotors, so I'm going to replace the entire front strut assemblies with later non-ABS units. That way I'll get the bigger wheel bearings and vented rotors. After that, I need to go after the squishy engine and trans mounts, and then the driveshaft support bushing. The throwout bearing also sounds like it's making a bit of noise, but I'll try and hold off on that until I'm doing the clutch. I also wouldn't mind trying to quiet down the engine. It seems like the belts are making a ton of noise, so I'm going to try replacing accessory bushings and adding new belts. Might also look for a later AC compressor, because that big ass York compressor might be the source of all the noise.

I also have a lot of little visual crap to clean up and repair. Prep and paint all the black trim, rebuild and paint the front grill and headlight surrounds, remove the bumpers to smooth and repaint them, fix or replace some of the side trim, etc... And then continue cleaning up the interior. If I find a deal, I might swap in a lighter tan leather BMW interior, and then paint the vinyl parts to match. Just need to find a deal.

But for now, I'm just enjoying driving it!

[MoCounselor]

The car is looking on-point Thomas! Your's is definitely inspiration for mine! :D

-Ben