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1967 Volvo 1800s - The Second Time Around

Really enjoy seeing all of the unique vintage parts. Such a nice car!

Thanks didenpx, after two years with the time I have had available to work on it this project it is starting to shape up, but finding all of these vintage high performance parts holds things up and takes a lot of time and leg work.

Your "E" is also looking mighty fine now that its painted and going back together. Is there a chance it will be on the road this season?
 


Thanks didenpx, after two years with the time I have had available to work on it this project it is starting to shape up, but finding all of these vintage high performance parts holds things up and takes a lot of time and leg work.

Your "E" is also looking mighty fine now that its painted and going back together. Is there a chance it will be on the road this season?

I've got it registered for Larz Anderson Swedish Car Day in August so that's the current target. Hopefully it will all come together in time.....
 
I've got it registered for Larz Anderson Swedish Car Day in August so that's the current target. Hopefully it will all come together in time.....

I just checked out you thread and it looks like all of the heavy lifting is done, although all the smaller details can take a lot of time. Good luck making the show date, hope it all works out OK for you
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Most production car alternators do not have high enough quality bearings which are capable of running regularly at 6,000 plus rpm on the track. After the last races the Delco unit which was on the car was getting very noisy and it has been replaced and upgraded with a Mechman six-phase racing alternator with shaft bearings capable of spinning at up to 8,000 rpm. The mounting tab visible below had to be trimmed a bit in the milling machine to fit and a radius was cut into it at the same time to keep cracks from forming. The mounting hole was also enlarged slightly.

There was only 1/2" clearance between it and the front header pipe so a shortened GM 350 V-8 alternator bracket and a longer belt position the unit 1.5" away and keep it running cooler.






Also installed an electrical cutoff switch underneath a reproduction cowl vent cover that is mandatory with most sanctioning bodies to allow track or corner workers to shut of the electrical power after an incident. Placing it there eliminated drilling a number of holes in the bodywork so it will be easier to return the car back to its original form if need be later.



Machined up this bracketry from 6061 aluminum to position the battery behind the roll bar on the passenger side. Once again the mounting bolts pass thru original holes in the panel that were plugged after the body was painted at the factory. The forged hold down studs are 3/8" in dia. for added strength. The lip on the floor keeps the battery from ever moving forward.



An Optima battery which only weighs 26 lbs is secured in place by a strap machined out of 1/4" 6061 aluminum.

Future plans call for a reinforced hold down strap. The panel curves up sharply behind the battery and keeps in place, but to be on the safe side L-shaped straps will be added behind it to prevent it from ever moving rearward before the next race.
 
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Its been a really busy summer although I did find the time to do a number of tweaks and adjustments to the car but no modifications in preparation for the VSCCA Mt Equinox Hill Climb last month. All the work optimising things paid off because this years fastest time up the Mountain was 35 seconds quicker than last year.

The photo above shows it on a rare level spot, passing by a parking lot partway up the hill. The tough climb to the top is 3500 feet and the average slope of the road is 15%.

Here is a link to a video of it leaving the starting line.



Preparing it now for the VSCCA Fall Finale at Lime Rock Park Speedway on the last weekend of September and am hoping that the newfound speed and better handling will drop the lap times by about five seconds on the 1.5-mile track and result in a mid-pack or higher finishing positions in three races filled with a variety of racing cars. It is the heaviest of the cars (about 2300 lbs) that race in its class and it is powered by the unmodified original to the car 115 HP B18B w/a 10.00:1 CR, where as all other Volvos are powered by B20s along with other higher-powered and lighter cars so finishing mid-pack would be victory of sorts.



These photos show an original Volvo Competiton Services header found after a long search for one of the hardest to find of all vintage pieces of speed and racing equipment offered by the Company. The early-to-mid 1960s 4-2-1 header design was later updated slightly by the aftermarket and is still produced today in Sweden. It will be interesting do back to back tests next year with the modern KR Trimming header that is now on the car.

 
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David, your car looks so dang awesome and it's performance backs up those looks. Looking forward to your findings. I have a cheap Patriot header that I'll be looking to upgrade to the KG unit in the future as I doubt the current one will hold up and I know it lacks in performance, it was just a quick alternative at the time.
 
David, your car looks so dang awesome and it's performance backs up those looks. Looking forward to your findings. I have a cheap Patriot header that I'll be looking to upgrade to the KG unit in the future as I doubt the current one will hold up and I know it lacks in performance, it was just a quick alternative at the time.

Steve, Thanks, all of the time spent on it is beginning to pay off, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs at Lime Rock next weekend.

You are not losing much power using the patriot header because frankly there isn't much to gain on these motors for street use over what the excellent 4 to 2 original cast iron exhaust manifold with a set 2" pipes provides for. One of the later larger injected exhaust manifolds however are supposed add a few more horsepower.

As you probably know the early Volvo Competiton Services catalog and handbooks state that the tubular header only nets a 4 HP gain over the original cast iron unit.

The later aftermarket true 4-2-1 headers of the type KR trimmings sells have slightly longer primary tubes than the Volvo Competiton Services piece and probably net a few more HP at high RPMs.
 
That is a bizarre-looking siamesed center on that Volvo header.

It certainly is and it appears that the 1-3-4-2 firing order may allow #3 and #4 cylinder exhaust charges to scavenge each other and improve the exhaust gas flow for both cylinders. The unusal large rectangular opening may have assited with this flow?

John, As you know the later more advanced versions of this header use separate pipes for each center cylinder which apparently adds more horsepower. Modern flow testing has also revealed that raised exhaust port floors or a tab welded into the bottom of the mouth of each pipe add power.
 


What we have learned about original Volvo Competition Services (VCS) and later R-Sport 4-2-1 exhaust headers: The 1st photo shows the early header we found recently, after restoring it. It is mounted on our B18 racing head. The dark spot on the center pipe is some of the remaining original porcelain coating. It is quite light and only weighs 8 lbs and has a 2" outlet.



This photo shows it with VCS intake manifolds for Solex side draft carbs (similar to Weber DCOE's.)



This image shows the early porcelainized VCS header in the catalog. Since the original cast iron 4-2 manifolds were so well designed the VCS header only gave a 4hp gain.



The 4th photo shows the later R-Sport header with added individual center pipes that probably pick up a few more hp because of better scavenging, it also has a 2" outlet.



Modern 4-2-1 KR Trimning header on the 1800s with longer center pipes and a 2 1/4" outlet is an equal length design that may add a couple more HP. The muffler is used at tracks that require one and for road use, a section of tubing replaces it for racing.
 
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We been busy all winter working on the new B18B engine and other things on the car upcoming racing season. The photo above shows the crank as it is now after removing all of the stress risers and semi-polishing it while checking flywheel runout (8lbs the original is 22 lbs), and the runout of the center main bearing (only .0005) before it gets cryogenically treated and the journals get reground.

The rods (below) are also lighter than the originals, and the steel cam gear (only runs at half speed) has also been lightened (one pound) and balanced.



 
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Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

Steven, Thanks, you've also done a nice job on your 122s!

Its been a lot of work and there's more to do, but hopefully it will pay off.

Rod or rod bolt failure is probably the one only things that would cause one of these engines to blow other than a broken lifter or cam so we went with what many engine builders consider to be the best on the market. In doing so the result was ending up with a rod that is stronger and lighter than any of the cheap Asian knock offs on the market.

No rod failures means no ruined engines, which are expensive to replace and time consuming. Spending the $$ up front means saving down the road...errr track.
 
I just finished reading through the thread after starting it a while back. Very cool project you have here and it's fun to see what people thought was best back in the day. I look forward to seeing and hearing more about the project. :cool:

Lastly, what are the rules on tires? It looks like you have, or had, the Michelin Premier A/S tires mounted at one point from an earlier picture. What are the rules on what tires you can run, as those leave a lot on the table performance wise?
 
I just finished reading through the thread after starting it a while back. Very cool project you have here and it's fun to see what people thought was best back in the day. I look forward to seeing and hearing more about the project. :cool:

Lastly, what are the rules on tires? It looks like you have, or had, the Michelin Premier A/S tires mounted at one point from an earlier picture. What are the rules on what tires you can run, as those leave a lot on the table performance wise?

Thanks for the kind words about the car! And yes, as opposed to racing tires what I am using does "leave a lot on the table performance wise." Another issue is there are very few 15" street-legal tires available today with much grip.

All cars in the VCCA are limited to OEM size wheels that in this case are 15". I was able to successfully lobby to use 5.5" wide rims instead of the 4.5" original size, which helped a lot. As to tires we can only use 70 series tires that include street, or Dunlop racing tires ($$$). Last year they opened it up to Hoosier and Goodyear racing tires.

Up until now, I've been using what time I have to spend on it, making it safer and optimizing the chassis and drivetrain and have cut my lap time by about 8 seconds at Lime Rock and 35 seconds at the Mt Equinox Hill Climb. So far, I've turned it from being a backmarker to getting closer to the middle of the pack.

Since I also have been driving it on the road (10K miles last the last two years), and to the races I have stayed with the Michelins for now.

When and if it gets to the point where I trailer it to the track and only use it for racing it, I will then begin using racing tires. That may happen later this year after the new and more powerful engine goes in it, and a few other changes are made. At that point, the lap times should drop another 2 to 3 seconds a lap and it will be closer to the front of the pack.
 
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This is a set of photos the of Solex 45 ADDHE carburetors we found after a long search to complete the Volvo Competition Services intake system. The before image below shows them as found. The images include the intake manifolds, a new old stock air cleaner with a modern element (we have the original filter,) and the (lightweight 8lb) early Comp Services header. It has all been been loosely assembled to see how everything fits on the '67 B18B cylinder block and the racing head found earlier. The carbs have been cleaned up and inspected, and the parts to rebuild them will be ordered soon. Until the rest of the engine parts arrive and the crankshaft returns from the grinding shop, our attention has been turned back to working on the car.

Because of Covid-19 we will not be racing this season which leaves more time continue rebuilding other components of the car including the steering box pictured below.







Photo below from a Volvo Competition Services catalog of the intage system.



Next up as a part of a steering box and column rebuild the original unit box was taken out and preserved, and four used steering boxes were purchased with the hopes of finding enough good parts to rebuild two. One for the 1800s and another for the 1968 220 station wagon.

The photo below shows the four box castings and two sets of parts in excellent that were salvaged. The second photo below contains the parts selected for the 1800s and the last two images show the finished result.







 
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