West Coast Jimbo’s Amazon: 1966 220S Project

[James M]

No mention of the 750-1000 rated hitch ? (When new)

Weight ratings are just limits put on you by the man, don't let the world limit you.

This weekend the car spent the whole time on the lift, main objective was the drivers floor. To do it out came the brake and fuel lines, along with the driveshaft and transmission. Good time to replace all the Ujoints, center support bearing and reseal the transmission in my eyes.

Driveshaft went about as expected, as in I got the wrong bearing and somone previously used a different shaft then should be in the car. After getting no response to my thread I grabbed the 66 style center support bearing and tossed it back together.

Next up came resealing the trans as it's been the biggest leak since the B20 went it and I didn't have gallons of blowby. Top cover seemed to be the biggest issue but I got the whole seal kit as a "while you are in there" thing.

The only issue is I'm ADHD'd out of my mind and can't leave well enough alone. Two of the gears on the main shaft had teeth wear and the countershaft matched, so instead of the floor it became an impromptu transmission rebuild.

Trans is reassembled and looking great. Not installed yet (gotta finish the floors) but it hasn't leak on the seat since filling it with fluid. Another one of those "while I'm in there" things came up when mounting the top cover. I've had the 140 style short shifter assembly forever and the schoolbus cover had some wear, so in went the other cover and out went the transmission tunnel.

I'm very pleased with how it sits, while I don't have the tunnel panel to install yet what's one more hole in the floor for a week or two?

 

[Jack]

Will there be a message inside the frame rails ?
Keep up the good work Jimmy

 

[Matt]

god this is so cool

 

[James M]

I'm now three Friday all nighters in a row into this car and I'm really liking how it's coming along. Very slow going with the welding since I'm not very good at it, but the end result pleases me and it's a good learning experience.

Two weeks ago it was finish the floors and final install of the "rebuilt" transmission.

I didn't take any pictures of the floor welded in since I'm more of a grinder and paint welder, but it's plenty useable compared to the old floor.

This naturally took until 5am, when I went to bed. Noon the next day was meetup time for caravanning to Desert meet. Without so much as around the block testdrive the car went (once again) to Reno.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but when up there we went drag racing and I did a half dozen passes. The culmination of some work between runs got it down to 19 seconds at ~4000ft above sea level.

When at Rancho Volvo we raided some parts cars, after some grinder work I walked away with a 240 transmission tunnel. This last Friday I finished up that install, no more gaint hole in the middle of the floor.

Don't worry the panels where properly vandalized before install

Along with that came replacement timing gears. Since the B20 rebuild I've been getting metal in the oil and some less then ideal noises. Unfortunately the noise is still present but I definitely found the metals original home.

Oh and I finally replaced the busted taillight (thanks HiPA)

 

[Jack]

That number looks like my number

 

[James M]

That number looks like my number

And I'll post the rest of it if you keep talking shit


Last week was a busy one on the car but productive. It's getting to the point where I might almost trust it for a full size road trip.

First up was the rear bushings, the old rubber was likely older then I am. Trailing arm bushings where half gone and the torque rod bolts had been worn down. I went with poly and besides a little increase in bouncyness I'm pretty happy with the improvement.

I also finished the drivers floor work, rust coated-seam sealer-undercoating. I could have done a better job with the paint on seam sealer but overall I'm happy with the result.

As is clearly visible the passenger floor is the bigger issue, it definitely needs replaced. I was hoping to get around to it but I don't think I'll be able to any time soon.

After listening to the rear diff rumble for several thousand miles I decided to change the fluid. This quickly resulted in realizing the slop in the counter pins was causing the issue. While it may not be the right way to do it I wasn't able to get a hold of a 10 spline Dana 30 carrier on short notice. I only welded the counter pins, it's still an open dif and functions normally.

Final terrible noise was a grumble on decel. After getting it on the 4 post lift it was obvious to see the drive line angles where fucked. Trans output flange was about 1" above the center support bearing, then back up to the diff flange. I was able to correct it enough to drive smooth by sliding the motor mounts up in the subframe and lowering the back of the trans. No pictures but it just consisted of welding a plate to the trans mount bracket to move the mount up about an inch.

Oh and I stole my brother's roof rack while his car sits. It looks pretty good but I think I'll try to find a classic chrome/wood one down the line.

Now taking bets if this poor thing will make it all the way to 2023 round fender Mountain Meet. It's only a few thousand miles away

 

[propav8r]

Now taking bets if this poor thing will make it all the way to 2023 round fender Mountain Meet. It's only a few thousand miles away

I was wondering if you were bringing an Amazon or the 240. Rad.

 

[James M]

I was wondering if you were bringing an Amazon or the 240. Rad.

0% chance I'd try to drive the 242 that far. Besides being currently broken and obviously not an option it's also far too "racecar" to be comfortable on a road trip.

Plus it's the year of the Amazon, so I gotta take mine

 

[stick70]

Oh shit, god speed my man

 

[Toybox]

This naturally took until 5am, when I went to bed. Noon the next day was meetup time for caravanning to Desert meet. Without so much as around the block testdrive the car went (once again) to Reno.

Is there any other way?

Now taking bets if this poor thing will make it all the way to 2023 round fender Mountain Meet. It's only a few thousand miles away

Part of me wants to say, "Doooo eeeeeeeet!" The rest of me doesn't want to be held responsible. But it seems you've addressed the most heinous issues... entire drivetrain, gauges, tires, suspension... Looking good!

You mentioned brakes/pads/shoes, but how about hoses? Especially if you're still running the single pot master cylinder.

I've driven some fairly questionable chariots, but yours is coming along nicely. The alignment of the cam gear might make me a bit nervous, since you observe the new gear is still noisy... at the very least, install a magnetic drain plug. Maybe even a handful of really strong magnets on the oil filter.

 

[James M]

No responsibility will be put on anyone but myself, unless you come and loosen some bolts along the way.

I've got a set of braided steel brake hoses, rear is already installed but the fronts haven't gone on yet.

It seems as if the cam gear was not the cause of the noise, although the surface of the gears where definitely not doing so good. I did indeed install a magnetic drain plug this last oil change, although I'm hoping to see it pretty clean this next time. What do you mean by alignment?

 

[hiperfauto]

If the cam gear is getting chewed up, a magnet isn't going to do squat. That gear is made by Cloyes and it's aluminum.

Volvo/SWAG gears are steel.

 

[James M]

If the cam gear is getting chewed up, a magnet isn't going to do squat. That gear is made by Cloyes and it's aluminum.

Volvo/SWAG gears are steel.

I am aware, that's why I'm hoping the magnet comes up clean (and that the metal shavings I have seen are just the aluminum coming off the gear).
I have instead installed a new set with fiber cam gear.

 

[dl242gt]

I figured you would install a steel gear because you need more SWAG.

 

[Toybox]

What do you mean by alignment?

It was my guess as to why a gear would be getting chewed up in the first place. Similar to the reason a fan belt would get chewed if the pulleys aren't aligned well.

 

[JohnMc]

I don't think it's possible to get the cam gear misaligned. It's sort of a press/interference fit onto the slightly tapered cam snout, but it seats against the spacer.

One thing that will chew up a cam gear is the little brass sprayer fitting. If it's missing, if its clogged, if it's not aimed generally at the gears.

 

[James M]

I was gonna say I thought of the gears as a set and forget item, not really any adjustment to be had. I did indeed inspect the spacer ring and thrust flange before the initial install and found no obvious issues
I checked the position and flow of the oil sprayer when I opened it up last, in case you where wondering it will make a huge mess if you run it without the cover. I had it pointed at the (cam I believe) gear leading into the meshing surface between them, as far as I'm aware that's the best oiling you are likely to get.

 

[Jack]

possession is 90% ownership
lightning storm

 

[James M]

Thanks for the reminder this thread exists.

This absolutely beautiful car survived a 7200 mile cross country road trip to Mountain Meet 2023. Did it break several times, yes, but did it deliver me home, absolutely.

possession is 90% ownership
lightning storm

It's been a great daily driver all year until it was ruthlessly stolen from me by some fucking junkman. Not to mention he complains about some slight noises that it may or may not make on decel "constantly".

Overreactions from finicky drivers aside it's a fantastic car that might need a few things fixed.

 

[DaWhole9]

By ~4am I had finished completely rebuilding the front suspension, installing powdercoated (almost) everything and slapping in the ClassicSwede lowering springs (yes they finally arrived)
View attachment 22624
The car now sits how I wanted it, and just in time for a weekend trip to Tahoe. The breakin peroid finished up just before the mountain so it was WOT most of the way up. It's an absolute blast to look at, and now drive!

Maybe I missed it but which spring did you go with from Classic Swede ? At first I was going to go with the 100mm kit with the dampers, but now I am leaning towards the 60. Car looks awesome!!