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dmcgee Takes the Mello out of the Yellow. The 10 year anniversary project.

dmcgee

dmcgee

Jackass
Joined
Jul 14, 2003
Location
Denver, CO
Before we dive too deep into this project, allow me to introduce myself to those who don't know me. My name is Decklan. I'm 26 years old and I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I've been kicking around tb for 10 years or so, and on ClubVolvo before that. I've built a few cars over the years, but I have never done a proper build thread.


My 85 245 that has been in my family since new and mine since '02
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10293237706/" title="DSC_0495 copy by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7356/10293237706_dd3952d8e1_c.jpg" width="800" height="536" alt="DSC_0495 copy"></a>

96 850R owned '06 to '11
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10293401303/" title="DSC_0493 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/10293401303_be88f91612_c.jpg" width="800" height="536" alt="DSC_0493"></a>

78 242dl Bought in '10 for a daily. Was still my daily until recently..more on that later.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/8793445808/" title="Fixed-0511 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8256/8793445808_963a0c8da8_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="Fixed-0511"></a>


I've never really done a project thread for any of my cars before. Being broke and in high school, and then broke and in college, my timeline was always extremely slow. I always figured nobody really cared, so I never bothered, except to post a pic here and there. I have taken a great amount of inspiration from this community over the years. I feel like it's time for me to finally give back. I hope this thread helps somebody in some way or serves as inspiration like many other build threads did for me.
 
Preface: Part if not most of this thread will be boring. I like to write. I'll try to keep it as interesting as possible.


I bought this car last July('12) off of craigslist. It was fairly priced and I figured I could fix a couple things, turn it and make a bit of cash to fund my other projects. It had been sitting for a couple years and was rough in a few places, but I could tell the bones of the car were good. It has a b21 and a bw55 and no a/c.

This is what it looked like after I dragged it out of the lady's yard and ran it through a car wash.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10693176165/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/10693176165_5f39efe1bc_c.jpg" width="800" height="395" alt="Untitled"></a>


I wish I had a pic of the interior. It was originally dark brown and had faded to Purple. It was full of bugs, mice crap and foliage.

As I dug through the car I found a stack of records from the original owner, including the original window sticker! An older lady in Colorado bought it new and kept it through the early 90's. The records started up again in 2000ish in Waco. A student at Baylor had the car. It disappeared again until 2010ish when the P.O. bought it from a "restorer" in Canton, Tx.

When I purchased the car, I was elbow deep in the blue 78 project. I stored the yellow in my garage for awhile until I moved into an apartment.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/9185590816/" title="IMG_1998 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5348/9185590816_01d4a7eeed_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_1998"></a>

It sat at the top of my parking garage until I got a friendly notice from my building saying it was going to be towed. I decided to finally do some work to the car and get it ready to sell.

The lighter brown interior came from an 80 diesel.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/9185591894/" title="IMG_1993 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5481/9185591894_0392bb12a3_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_1993"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/9183339637/" title="IMG_1867 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/9183339637_e090679664_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_1867"></a>


After a short time on Craigslist, I had a buyer lined up. I backed out at the last minute. I had fallen in love with the yellow and the buyer was a 16 year old. I could only imagine it winding up in the junkyard in a year or two, and I couldn't stand for it to have that fate.
 
So since I decided to keep the car, it was time to do some real work on it. My friend Chris(Rectilinear) and I hatched a ..stupid plan.

It's pretty ridiculous for me to have 3 cars. I decided to take all of the best parts between the three and make two really well put together and sorted cars.

My blue 78 would be the major donor. Its body is pretty rough. It was never really worth fixing to me and was built for stupid fun.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/9371498291/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/9371498291_767c421a8a_c.jpg" width="800" height="451" alt="Untitled"></a>

Parts that would transplant from the blue to the yellow:
B23 and M46
Black interior
Dash and R sport gauges
Headlights, corners and grille

Parts that would transplant from the blue to the wagon:
RSI coilovers and bilsteins
Brakes and lines
Kaplan's strut mounts and strut brace
Wheels and tires
IPD sways, braces, torque rods, etc
Boxed control and trailing arms along with poly bushings

Parts that would transplant from the wagon to the yellow
SAM springs and bilsteins
Brakes and lines
Wheels and tires
IPD Sways, braces, etc

And then all the stock parts from the yellow would go back to the blue car so it could be sold. If you had trouble following all that..we did too.

Chris and I got on it and knocked all the suspension swaps in one day.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10284250025/" title="IMG_2685 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7330/10284250025_564ccd9a20_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2685"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10284108484/" title="IMG_2686 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2817/10284108484_d93d1d3f7d_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2686"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10284162116/" title="IMG_2688 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7416/10284162116_0b1c4e4005_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2688"></a>
Chris looking surprisingly happy considering what I asked him to help me with
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10284159225/" title="IMG_2689 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7435/10284159225_b27db19436_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2689"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10284228443/" title="IMG_2691 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/10284228443_e68121e6d6_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2691"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10284126126/" title="IMG_2690 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7431/10284126126_ae54731c9f_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2690"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10283978724/" title="IMG_2692 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3824/10283978724_5c2d80ec15_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2692"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10283809124/" title="IMG_2699 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7435/10283809124_ecb3086162_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2699"></a>
Lips had to be cut slightly in order to fit the wider tires
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10283880866/" title="IMG_2702 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5514/10283880866_42f93767fb_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2702"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10283834325/" title="IMG_2705 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7296/10283834325_ff06137ba2_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2705"></a>
And lastly we're left with this
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10283921123/" title="IMG_2706 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7422/10283921123_3e5aa719e8_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2706"></a>
 
With the suspension, brakes and wheels situated, it was time to swap motors. Chris and I started this at 3pm and had it done and the tools put up by midnight with a couple pretty long breaks, one of which being dinner. Yes, 78's are really that simple.

Ready to be removed
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10543997486/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5520/10543997486_241f8b28e9_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10543983896/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7378/10543983896_97f8f96b58_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10544013744/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7363/10544013744_cdd6e6c8de_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10544007744/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3812/10544007744_3daa75daff_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10544193833/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3763/10544193833_f5f517b145_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10544188243/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3715/10544188243_b690a1e66c_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
And back in
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10543994174/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5509/10543994174_7b4ae69ab2_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>

I don't have a pic of the blue car with the motor back in as it is pretty boring.
If you're wondering why I would bother to swap a b21 for a b23, it's pretty simple really. The b23 is hands down the best redblock I've ever owned. It doesn't leak or burn a drop of oil, has served as a daily for several years, went on a 2000 mile road trip while being abused the whole time runs like a stabbed rat and never skips a beat. I have some parts on the shelf and plans for it later on:badboy:, but for now it runs great.
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10692920146/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3692/10692920146_6228a7550f_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
I started hooking up the motor. I also have a complete A/C system from a 92. I was deciding how to make some of the components mount and I got bored and ended up and needing a few parts, so I decided to swap the interiors.
It was a mix of dark and light brown. It didn't look too bad and definitely fit the age of the car better but I prefer black interiors. I also installed the later model seat belts in the rear. I will put some in the front along with the center console storage compartment, I just need to find a set first.


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/9185556718/" title="IMG_1868 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/9185556718_aae146ee21_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_1868"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10692865475/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2807/10692865475_f56ce9c237_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10692912656/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5545/10692912656_b64e6901c0_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10693099313/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/10693099313_40a27701c3_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10692896444/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2845/10692896444_f4f2f82f17_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10692907326/" title="Untitled by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2852/10692907326_1c0cd98f5e_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a>

Don't mind the big hole in the rear carpet. It is meant for a wagon. I plan on ordering new carpet. The front seats are late model converted to flip forward. I also have the trim for the lever, just been too lazy to snap it back in place. I need to grab a late model package tray too. I just drilled the holes in this one to fit the rear headrests. It's pretty crusty and was originally blue, and now has 4 big ass holes in it.
As soon as it stops raining, I'll pull the dash and swap the pedal boxes. I also need to install the late model airbox with the bigger evaporator AND I'll have a blower motor that works! I'll also clean up all the wiring and swap in the R sport gauges. At some point the headliner will come out and get redone.

That's all for now

Cheers!
 
What a stupid project. ;-)

This car is going to be fantastic when it is finished.

You're welcome and that's okay.
 
Two thumbs up!

" title="Senf & Phlox
 
It's funny to look back at these pictures and see how I was always trying to tuck myself in under the car during the downpour of rain we were working through!
 
dmcgee said:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/9185591894/" title="IMG_1993 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5481/9185591894_0392bb12a3_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_1993"></a>
Click to expand...

I knew this picture looked familiar, saw it on craigslist! Awesome that you decided to keep it, its looking really nice.
 
Alexridesabike said:
I knew this picture looked familiar, saw it on craigslist! Awesome that you decided to keep it, its looking really nice.
Click to expand...

Are you in the dallas area?

I'm glad I decided to keep it too. I didn't know until after I made the decision to do so that everybody would have been pissed at me for selling it. Even my mom was relieved..weird:lol:
 
dmcgee said:
Lips had to be cut slightly in order to fit the wider tires
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43312914@N06/10283880866/" title="IMG_2702 by decklan.mcgee, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5514/10283880866_42f93767fb_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="IMG_2702"></a>
Click to expand...

Is that the body saw Harbor Freight sells? How did it work on the lips? I tried cutting my strut towers with it and got nowhere fast.
 
It is the harbor freight one. Chris(above) did the first lip and got through it fairly quick. When I did the other side the blade was dull and it was the last one. It took forever.
 
dmcgee said:
Are you in the dallas area?

I'm glad I decided to keep it too. I didn't know until after I made the decision to do so that everybody would have been pissed at me for selling it. Even my mom was relieved..weird:lol:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm up in Allen. If I had the money I would have bought it in a second. Its awesome that you're keeping it going though.
 
dmcgee said:
It is the harbor freight one. Chris(above) did the first lip and got through it fairly quick. When I did the other side the blade was dull and it was the last one. It took forever.
Click to expand...

Maybe I can get some use out of mine afterall. The strut tower material was pretty thick and I don't think I covered 1/2" before the blade was shot. Still couldn't complain when it costs $16 :lol:
 
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