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Atom's Amazon Wagon Project Update Thread

I changed departments at work so I've been crazy busy there and the kids have eaten up a bunch of time so there hasn't been a ton of progress. I'm trying to get some stuff buttoned up so I can get to sealing the car up for winter. Painted the back half of the interior sheet metal in black and prepped to spray bedliner in the convertible tub. Turning my attention to the seats since those'll come in short order. Broke out my trusty machine "Betsy"

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and started messing with stitch patterns. I need more practice before my top stitch lines will be straight, but it's never gonna be a Riddler winner, so I'm not too concerned. I tried single top stitch, double top stitch: one side and straight double top stitch (French stitch)

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The problem I'll run into is patterning. My cloth rear seat is so destroyed that there's literally cloth just missing.
 
I really like the last two patterns, whatever they're called. Lines look straight enough to me.

Side question: do you have any interest in that roof rack ? We never finished the transaction and I'm getting ready to sell it to buy a heavy duty one that will handle 50-70 lbs of bikes gracefully.
 
I really like the last two patterns, whatever they're called. Lines look straight enough to me.

Side question: do you have any interest in that roof rack ? We never finished the transaction and I'm getting ready to sell it to buy a heavy duty one that will handle 50-70 lbs of bikes gracefully.

I'm fairly broke these days. I need to hold off. Sorry.
 
Looking good! I like that. Bottom one, but it definitely depends on the placement. Around the edges I like 2nd from the bottom, and through the center sections I like the bottom.
 
Is suede centers on seats even still considered cool? Or is that all played out now. I kind of want to break up all vinyl everywhere
 
I know it's been a while. I've been crazy busy at work. Only real thing I've got done is making a grommet for the fuel filler. Seems like a silly thing (and it's ugly as all get out), but it's something. The weather is changing and I need to focus on getting the car sealed up.

Pic previous to finishing the rear floor.

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Masking tape template.

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Multiple layer cutouts.

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:Missing pics of cardboard, masking tape and aluminum tube to replicate filler tube:

Fill the bottom grommet area with platinum silicone, then add thixotropic agent to the remainder and brush over the space filler until about 1/4" thick.

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Separate the base mold, peel off the rest and trim the end

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Slide it over the filler neck and locate the split in the base over the opening.

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Like I said, boring and ugly, but something
 
Boring? Not really look at it from my point of view, I get to look up..... thixotropic. :cool:
Was looking at this rear 3rd of a Amazon roof, yesterday by my shed thinking I am overdo for a metal run. Wonder if Adam has an update? And here you are. :)
 
For clarification, the base stack up is as follows. It creates a solid ring with a 3/16" thick "flange" on both sides of the metal where the hole is cut out like a regular grommet would be.

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Boring? Not really look at it from my point of view, I get to look up..... thixotropic. :cool:
Was looking at this rear 3rd of a Amazon roof, yesterday by my shed thinking I am overdo for a metal run. Wonder if Adam has an update? And here you are. :)

Fancy word for silicone thickener. Let's it stay on vertical surfaces.

I transferred to the government side of things at work and have been traveling a bunch for work. Just got back from Washington DC. Going to try and get the windows back in soon. Maybe this weekend. I put the two sections of hatch back on with new seals.
 
Where did you get the threaded sleeves?are there different diameter options ?
Awesome fab skills buddy!!

Those are actually $45 eBay coilover sleeves with QA1 springs. Depending on budget there are a TON of coilover sleeves in different diameters out there (they're mostly centered around 2" I.D.). Coleman Racing, Speedway Motors, JEGS and Summit all have coilover sleeves.
 
Atom: It was a pleasure to drive up to IPD a few years ago to meet you and your wife and see this wagon in its earlier form. So glad the Headquarters project is seeing movement again!
(Eric from Visalia, CA)
 
Anyone else wondering if evolvo67 is having a craving for eating his hat now that he has seen the progress? :)

Probably not. Some people just are not fans of chassis-swap projects because they feel that it violates some kind of brand-purity rule.
 
Probably not. Some people just are not fans of chassis-swap projects because they feel that it violates some kind of brand-purity rule.
I'm in this group. I can admire and respect Adam's work, but it's just not my cup of tea. As long as he likes it, that's all that really matters.
 
I think car builds are like politics or religion. If you go into a conversation trying to change someone's mind you're going to wind up disappointed. I don't base my builds on whether or not I'm going to make someone eat their words or change their mind. I typically set some criteria in the beginning, have a weighted scale for different priorities and wing it the rest of the way.

I've personally never fallen into the "brand purity" trap. I think, besides a concourse restoration, all builds for all brands wind up swapping non OEM parts. With Volvos there kind of is a lot of that. Different turbos, different suspension, different wheels, T5 trans, LS swap, etc, etc. When do you set the line of demarcation that is "too far"? I've just taken the next step. I will say that I did research all the Volvo chassis' I could get my hands on before I went the route I did, but a few of my criteria were 1)aftermarket support 2)ease of swap (I don't have a garage, driveway work needs to be simple in "Nonis" terms) 3) IRS. There were others, but those all factored into my decision to go E30.

To each their own. We are all in the car game together. We are all spinning on the same planet. It is what it is. I'm looking forward to getting it finished up, enjoying it, using it to strike up conversations and I will let other people drive it so they can get another level of appreciation for it.
 
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