Diligence is a key factor

   For those of you that were at Solvang for the VCOA/VSA West Coast Meet last weekend, and even more for those of you that were not, mostly because you said or thought that since you didn't have a car to show, why go? Well, this article will show all you need to know to finish the car and go to the big show.

   The key word to learn today is diligence. Do you have it? I talked with a young editor just the other day that has not driven his/her car for YEARS, but every so often asks me a question about a different aspect of restoration. This lets me know that he/she has diligence, and is diligently moving toward the lofty goal of: 'Actually driving a Vintage Volvo!' (Again! - in his/her case)

   The photo's included with this article take me back to my youth, well, maybe not that far back, but it sure feels like most of the time. These were taken over 10 years ago. The car was a 1965 Volvo 122 sedan. It was 1 day away from Ecology Wrecking Yard when I happened across this jewel, and when I was finished it won 2 consecutive 1st place finishes and was sold for enough to make a good portion of a down payment on a house. Yes 10 years ago, the real estate market was in arrears.

This car had 3 things going for it:
1. It was rust free. A good thing to find.
2. The interior was near perfect, drivers seat excepted, of course.
3. It was straight. All panels were clean.
4. It was dirt cheap to buy. Did I say 3?

   The first thing I did was to get it running and drove it home. Home at the time was Mt. Palomar! Yes - it made the hill on just 3 cylinders. It also had a worn out steering box, but that mechanical stuff is a walk in the park with an old Volvo, the design is just so straight forward and the troubleshooting is so logical. After the simple stuff came the engine. I pulled the original engine and had it bored to accept the stock sized B-20 forged Mahle pistons, 'D' cam and re-jetted the stock SU carbs. Wow, talk about a sleeper that will turn your granni-sled into a virtual drag racing machine. The engine was balanced and fresh everything also installed.

   I had the body professionally painted at Chuey's Autobody off of Home Avenue in San Diego. Beforehand, I ripped out the tattered headliner and gave the owner and the foreman specific instructions to drift out the small roof dents from the inside; i.e., no puncture-wound dent pullers allowed even in the same room as a vintage Volvo. We're not talking Subaru's here. As you can tell by this first picture, the engine compartment was not detailed when I rebuilt the engine. Bad idea. To do that job after the fact is, as shown, a royal pain. I have the full compliment of spraying equipment from Iwata micro-airbrushes to Binks pro-squirters, so doing the spray was not a problem, after all the prep is done, of course. 

   In order to win a concours, you have to respray every surface that is originally sprayed. This includes the inner trunk lid, trunk compartment, inner-hood, firewall, to the end. It is significant to know just how long it takes to do this level of restoration. I was doing cosmetics 3 months prior to the meet, that working until 1-3 a.m. every weeknight and all weekends. Volvo Jim would come by and tease me: "You are still working on that, whatever is taking you so long?" Yada yada, he had never done one by himself when he said that, different story today!

   I was still putting parts back on the car in the parking lot, at the concours. Mine was flat out the last car judged that day. 

   The next area of incredible attention to detail is the interior. Remove every piece of that metal trim from inside the car. Sand and paint with actual acrylic enamel with catalyzed hardener, not with a Pep Boys puff can, even if they tell you the color will match! All the metal now exposed by the removed interior trim and the removed headliner must be sanded smooth, washed with lacquer thinner and painted. Diligence, did I mention that?

   Usually, under the key switch, near the radio opening, and around the ashtray will be little dents and certainly bad scratches. These must be sanded, filled, sanded, primed, sanded and painted. Smooth is the goal here, as anyone that sits in your car will have his or her eyes drawn to the dashboard. 
 

   In this same breath, I have shown a before and after on an instrument panel restoration. This next picture is a 'before' shot, well, actually a 'during' shot, as the paint has already been removed from the brass speedo bezel. It has been flicked off bit-by-bit with an Exacto knife. While you have it disassembled be sure to clean both sides of the clear acrylic panel. 
 

   The 'after' shot shows the finished instrument cluster bezel. The brass id first painted with the cadmium/galvanized paint to give a good surface for the finish, which is wrinkle paint in the dark gray hue. It doesn't wrinkle until almost dry, about 8-12 hours, so be patient, be diligent. After dry you may re-glue it with silicone sealant, fixing with Penley Mills clothespins from West Paris, Maine. Be sure to leave undisturbed for the full 24 hours.

   Reverse previous disassembly steps, and you are ready to go to the 'Big Show.'

   Diligence.