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Atom's Amazon Wagon Project Update Thread

Nice work, are you going to change the '80s BMW center console too?

Nope. That part is staying as is.

Where your you installing the airbags? :-P

Nice work though, as usual. I like the idea of using foam to form. Looks like it makes it much easier than stretched cloth between the ribs to form the corners.

On the struts probably

Fleece tends to always want to concave. Foam is good for convex shapes. I have stretched fleece OVER foam before, but I don?t think this shape lends itself to doing that.
 
Some powder coating and concept work.

Adding brass cap nuts to accent the cam cover bolts

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Ran a pipe tap down the PCV nipple to add a flare adapter to copper pipe. Waiting on a spring bender to show up before I route it.

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Single stage “chrome” powdercoat on the lower intake

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I thought they’d be a good look for that vintage airplane engine/flathead look.
 
Since Pick N Pull is have 40% off for members this weekend, I went back and grabbed the oil pan off of that 960. Man, Volvo really wanted to be sure it stayed attached. Sooo many bolts!

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I’m not entirely sure which pan configuration will work for me, or even if this pan will work on an RNC block, but I figured better safe than sorry.
 
Haven’t really done anything on my own car. Was traveling for work among having a foreign exchange student staying with us. Trying to get my brother his car back too. Got his head back from the machine shop. Had to check valve lash since it got all new valves and this car runs solid buckets. Volvo LOVES them some “special tools” so I just made my own cam clamp (also put handles on it to help with install) so I could hold the cam down and get feeler gauges in there.

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All looks within spec, so I’m going to start reassembly this weekend.
 
Can we walk through oil pan stuff together? Trying to look at the discrepancies from RN to RNC engines.

So, RNC oil path (as I understand it):

Pickup into pump:

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Out of pump into oil cooler:

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Cooler inlet and outlet:

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Then to oil filter on the side of the block:

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RN (in this case B6304):

Pickup into pump:

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Out of pump into filter:

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Out of filter into block:

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(Note that this port exists in the RNC block, but is blocked off by the pan):

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So, if I want to use the rear sump pan, do I just need to black off the oil filter in/out on the side of the block and just use the bottom mount filter?

Thoughts?
 
Might not be the most popular choice, but I?m thinking of using Alodine 1201 to ?color? the block/head and some other misc aluminum parts. Alodine is a conversion coating for aluminum that is used in the aircraft industry. It?s sort of like anodizing in that it converts the surface of the aluminum to resist corrosion. I want sort of a vintage aircraft look to the engine and I think a combo of alodine, gloss black, texture black and maybe some gold or copper accents will be a good look.

This is what alodine looks like. Usually parts are soaked in it, and I?d probably need to use a spray bottle and spray the main setup. I guess even if I don?t like the result, it?s a perfect surface to paint at that point.

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I've thought about going this route! Curious to see if you can pull it off. Alodine isn't very friendly to heat unless it's painted as I understand it. If exposed to air, most of them can't go above 120 degrees F without flaking. There's some that go up to 160, but I actually don't know how hot heads/blocks get on the outside...I'm sure you know all this though lol.
 
I've thought about going this route! Curious to see if you can pull it off. Alodine isn't very friendly to heat unless it's painted as I understand it. If exposed to air, most of them can't go above 120 degrees F without flaking. There's some that go up to 160, but I actually don't know how hot heads/blocks get on the outside...I'm sure you know all this though lol.

I didn?t know all of that. I thought the Alodine was a surface conversion material (meaning that it would change the surface molecularly), but either way it didn?t work well. I soaked some parts for work and it made painting easier, but on the engine it didn?t do much (I think the material needs to ?soak? more than just contact the aluminum) so I?ll just wind up painting the block/head to get a similar look.
 
Worked on my brother?s car today. The handles made it really easy to set the head in place. Also, a little trick my dad taught me was to use dental floss to hold the exhaust gasket in place, then get the studs started and pull the floss. Didn?t get quite as far as I wanted cause I seem to have forgotten to order head bolts. Powder coated some parts. I heart clean parts when putting an engine back together.

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It?s making me think maybe I should make extra of the handles. I can?t say if it?s easier than just grabbing the head, but it sure seemed like it.
 
It is kind of funny....

When I did the P1800 wagon Miata swap. I also did an engine swap and a chassis stretch.

Then I run into your thread...

I have been heralding you and your project as the smart way to do a chassis swap. "Leave the friggin donor chassis alone, even fully running if possible" and it should not be an ordeal.

Now you go and do an engine swap. ?\_(ツ)_/?
 
It is kind of funny....

When I did the P1800 wagon Miata swap. I also did an engine swap and a chassis stretch.

Then I run into your thread...

I have been heralding you and your project as the smart way to do a chassis swap. "Leave the friggin donor chassis alone, even fully running if possible" and it should not be an ordeal.

Now you go and do an engine swap. ?\_(ツ)_/?

Yeah, but I?m cruisin around in the car gathering parts in the mean time. Fabrication is happening without taking the car offline with my donor mock up front clip. I figure I can even get it fully running is the mock up clip, then the swap takes a weekend.
 
While I have no doubt about the quality of your execution, I do wonder what you expect as a gain? I can probably answer that myself if I go with "Cause Volvo in a Volvo?"

I am fully sold into the value of having a unique car that can be maintained well into the future without having to deal with the unique custom-one-off interfaces caused by hot rodding. You had this one pretty well nailed with the German underwear!

Anyways, carry on cause I know it will be cool and over-top when done.
 
While I have no doubt about the quality of your execution, I do wonder what you expect as a gain? I can probably answer that myself if I go with "Cause Volvo in a Volvo?"

I am fully sold into the value of having a unique car that can be maintained well into the future without having to deal with the unique custom-one-off interfaces caused by hot rodding. You had this one pretty well nailed with the German underwear!

Anyways, carry on cause I know it will be cool and over-top when done.

Well, here's the factors that go into my swap thoughts (maybe not in this EXACT order, but somethuing like this). Keeping in mind my goal, if I'm doing a swap at all, is north of 300 whp (even if just barely north):

1) COST

Cost includes a few things. Dollars and time. Where I live Volvo's are all over the place, so access to used parts is plentiful. I also have enough contacts in the Volvo dealers and aftermarket suppliers that I get good pricing on new parts too.

2) BOOST

I LOOOVE boost. I would boost the M20, but there is next to no room from the core support forward, therefore no real room for an intercooler. Dropping one cylinder from the inline will allow for intercooler room. Buying a used motor that was originally designed for a turbo makes all of this easier as well.

3) SOUND

The way a five cylinder sounds has a special place in my heart. Audi, Volkswagen or Volvo (Ford RS), they all make a sweet melody.

4) ACCESS

This engine dropped in my lap due to strange circumstances, but I'm going to run with it. (see #1)

5) FAMILIARITY

I've lived in the Volvo world for a while now. I am friends with more than one Volvo tech. There's a "village" of people to help me if I have questions.

6).....

7).....

22 1/4) Volvo in a Volvo

Yes, there will be a few things that will be custom built with the swap, but all the service items will still be off the shelf (oil filter, plugs, coils, timing stuff, belts, water pump,etc). That's why I can have a box of parts land here and get put straight to good use. I also can still use VIDA for assembly/service instructions. For the $450 I've invested to this point I could barely get a running M50, let alone an S52 and NOTHING like an S54. I did peek at M60 stuff, but there's so much involved with deleting brake booster etc, that it just didn't seem appealing to me. I liked the fact that you can get an upgrade turbo/injectors/tune for the S40 T5 and get 400 whp. I'm not saying this is the right swap for everyone. I'm not 100% sure it's the right swap for me, but I'm having fun for now. No one knows what the future holds. We'll take the journey together.
 
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Got bro’s car back together and back to him. After a few more issues getting sorted out.

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Haven’t really spent much time on my own stuff. Too many deliverables at work. The Alodine works great on parts that can be soaked, but just spraying it on the block didn’t result in the color I wanted, so I got creative and just came up with my own custom color. Got the oil pan cut, but not welded yet.

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I starting making the equipment to cut the bellhousing and the trans, but haven’t completed it yet, or cut anything. Still dialing in the last stuff. No pictures.
 
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