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1967 Volvo 1800s - The Second Time Around



Late-1960s new old stock flat-faced French Marchal Ampilex halogen headlights have been added to the car. The low "city beam" bulb is in the reflector in the front of the lamp, the high beam is a combination of the low beam light and the rear bulb reflector. At one point only the French police could use these lamps due to the high output lighting the units provide.
 
I've owned two (both 1800E's) and both ended up getting run into. One of them twice. I won't tempt fate a third time #cursed
 
Located in Southeastern Vermont. I'm not much for car shows anymore after being in the vintage car business for over 40-years, you get tired of them. Like to drive and take trips with my older cars instead. If I do drive one to a show it gets left in the parking lot.

Well you're not far off. If you ever cruise down and find yourself in the southern Berkshires I'd love to cross paths.
 
I've owned two (both 1800E's) and both ended up getting run into. One of them twice. I won't tempt fate a third time #cursed

One of the issues of driving 1800 series cars is they are small 96.5-inch WB verses 102-inch 122S, and low and drivers of big SUVs, trucks and the brain dead don't see them.

You have to drive them like you ride a motorcycle - defensively.

What is the WB on your PV?
 


I wanted to do other more fun things on the 1800S first, but decided to do what it needs underneath first and get the dirty work out of the way before raising the power. It is now up on jack stands for a complete front end rebuild and checkout before all the snow goes away and spring arrives: At the minimum it will get the control arms checked for straightness and the bushings replaced, new ball joints, tie rod ends, and the steering box will be adjusted. Let the games begin!!

After all is well it's going to get a good front end alignment.
 


An intermittent loss of power to the taillights was traced down to the headlight switch. It is an odd Lucas unit that my Lucas supplier tells me is not even listed in his period catalogs. So I rebuilt it with best parts from 3 switches.

Due to no headlight relay being used on the 1961-'69 P1800 and 1800s cars and the Lucas headlight switch contacts not being protected and subject to quite a bit of amperage that causes arching every time it is used. The headlight contacts eventually wear away.

The switches have one brass sliding contact that can be seen in the center bottom of the photo above (one other contact plate is shown below the switch). One of the top projections on the second sliding contact plate in the photo has been burned away by arching over time. The upper one is still whole but that projection has a flat spot that has also been caused arching. The springs on the left are under the brass contact and help to make good a good connection with the copper contacts in the plastic switch cover.

When this rebuilt switch is used with the relay or relays that will be connected w/the Ampilex lights this arching will no longer be an issue.

Another problem with these switches is the end of the copper contacts are swaged over the plated steel strips used to connect with the wire push on connectors and these connections loosen up in time. Corrosion also forms between these two pieces and both issues can break the connection to the lights on each of the circuits. On this car it caused the taillight circuit to only work intermittently and the need to rush back home before it got dark several times.

The fix is to clean everything really well, and re-stake the copper and also solder the connections as seen in the lower photo.

Spare parts can be had easily by buying used switches and disassembling them for parts.

Use dielectric grease on all of the wire connections on the outside of the switch.

New Lucas switches are hard to find and very expensive if you fine one - this repair only cost $15 for another switch for parts and 1.5 hours of time.

 
The PV has the same 102.4 wheelbase as the 122/140 does.

It's also pretty tall, a good 10 inches taller than an 1800.

John, Never have owned or driven a 544 or 444, do they get tossed around on the highway when its windy? A 122s does and I think the 220's wagons maybe a little more.
 
More than a 122 or a 140, at least with the stock suspension. They weigh less, they're worse aerodynamically. Mine used to sort of sway back and forth in the air currents coming off semi trucks. The bilsteins and IPD sways stopped that almost completely, the stock suspension is just pretty wiggly.
 


This 1800s was either fitted by a Volvo optional air conditioner at the US import center or by the selling dealer. The unit was manufactured by Frig-A-King of Dallas, TX.

Will be switching to a modern Sanden compressor as most do with these systems to replace the original Borg Warner two-cylinder pump. The units have had vibration issues since being introduced that leads to cracking the mounting brackets, the units are also noisy.

This under dash evaporator has survived in good condition and is almost finished being restored including having the adjustable outlet vents re-chromed.

The under dash unit and the system hopefully will be installed before it gets hot this summer.
 
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You never know what you might find in and old car. While rebuilding the 1800s front end the cross member was found to be filled by a mouse nest. This pile in the picture was from only one side.

It was vacuumed out, and the inside of the cross member was checked with a bore scope on both sides which found only surface rust and no pitting. The drain was then plugged up and three gallons of evapo-rust were put in it and left overnight and drained. Now rust free it was left to dry out for several days. Next it was fogged with a zinc rich coating with a hand held air powered pressure washer and left to dry.

Following that the bottom of it was filled with thick 600W gear lube to coat the inside of a triangular shaped stiffener and then drained. Next the entire inside cavity was covered with Fluid Film so it well never rust again. https://www.fluid-film.com/automotive-applications/



This car has led a very sheltered life and on the plus side the upper and lower control arms have much of the original paint on both the outside and inside. The lower control arm bolts in the middle of the photo have never been rusted which made it very easy to get it all apart. After taking the nuts off the control arm bolts it was easy to pull them by hand. After installing new ball joints and control arm bushings and repainting the control arms and parts it will all be reassembled.
 
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I had the exact same mouse hotel situation going on in my 1800 front cross-member. I imagine they must use a tiny drum-line to spread the word.
 
I had the exact same mouse hotel situation going on in my 1800 front cross-member. I imagine they must use a tiny drum-line to spread the word.

Must happen when the cars are stored away for a while.

I worked on a 1930 Cadillac for a customer some time ago who left the carb off for of it over the winter. Mice took dog food and stuck in two of the cylinders that had a valves open. When he towed it to get it started and the "Dog Food Lock" broke both of the heads and ruined some of the lifters and the lifter bodies.
 
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