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MoCounselor's Project Thorisdottir (Annie, For Short)

MoCounselor

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2015
Location
Midwest, USA
Okay folks, I've decided to start a new build/project thread for my 242 as opposed to endlessly tacking it on to the 142/Project Viking Resurrection thread.

Here's the background for those of you who didn't follow that one:

I purchased a '71 142e back in February with plans to do a resto mod on it. As I dug further and further into it, more and more rust was found to the point that I finally decided to cut my losses, part it out, and find a new base. (Need 142 parts? go here: http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=320849)

I ended up picking up this 242 to replace it, which, if I'm honest, is what I wanted to start with and what drew me to the idea of a 2-door Volvo project in the first place.

Here are the specs on the car:
1983 242 dl
274k
originally a california car, and lived there up until at least 2003 (known by the title I got with the car, which is a Cali title issued in 2003)
White on tan
no sunroof, no power windows/locks, basically a stripper/base model car
m46
As little rust as possible for a 33 y/o Volvo that didn't live in the desert. (Literally, surface rust on the butt cheeks, 1 spot of surface under the passenger rear quarter window, and 1 spot of surface on the inner part of the driver's rear wheelwell)

The interior is/was a horribly sun-dried, faded tan. Dash had multiple cracks, door panels were really sad, arm rests looked like they were molting, etc, etc. But, it was complete.

The car had been sitting at my local indie Volvo mechanic's shop under his car port/on a concrete pad for the past 1.5-2 years. He took it in on a trade with a boat-load of spare parts for various 2-series cars in exchange for a non-running pv544 with rust.

Picked up the car for $600. Another $270 netted me a clean late-model black dash, quite a few various black interior parts, a pair of '75 chrome mirrors, and a set of Regil wheels from a 740glt with decent tread Michelin's.

After spending a bit of time working on the car I got it up and running. I'm still tracking down a vacuum issue, as the pedal is soft even after bleeding the brakes and installing new pads. It also idles really wonky if the iacv is hooked up, and it's running super-rich. Good news though: running a compression test with the motor fully warmed up netted 180 across the board. Not bad for 274k!

Immediate Plans:
-convert the car over to black interior
-clean the heck out of it, including bringing the paint back to life
-install the seats I picked up out of a 2003 Mercedes CLK with custom controls for the seats
-full stage zero
-get the vacuum issue sorted out, and get it on the road.
-Put a decent, usable stereo in it (my background is car audio, so I want something that sounds clean, can get loud enough to cruise on the highway with the windows down, etc)

Long term plans:
-throwing Ben's full catalog of suspension parts on it
-some sort of 17" wheels with sticky tires
-Edison's brake kit (most likely, although the Cayenne kit is VERY interesting too)

Even longer-term plans:
-something to make more power. (This is a wild-card for me right now. It could end up as a 5 cylinder swap, a ls swap, converting the b23 to dual weber sidedrafts, or even something really left-field like a flat-six swap. Only time will tell...)

Pics coming in the next few posts.
 
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The car when I first saw it. It had been sitting in that same spot since at least Fall of 2014.
26876280201_ccc5a7c036_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4630 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
26338869554_6f56410655_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4632 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
And the parts start being amassed/rehab begins:

"new" taillight to replace the old one that was missing the reverse lens (Thanks kjetsonaplane!)
26339024974_e9f6061a49_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4746 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

The god-awful cracked, faded tan dash that was in the car:
26671169600_fc7559b9f2_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4819 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

Another pic of the sad-ass dash:
26944716585_be183c5f91_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4820 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

Out it goes (this was earlier this evening):
26944712925_a2010d8c9d_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4828 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

That is a LOT of spaghetti:
26944713905_702ce50da2_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4827 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

And the replacement:
26671165580_195984a80f_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4829 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

MUCH better:
26910956246_3bec0cee1b_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4830 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

Another pic through the windshield:
26671164230_fdf55eefd0_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4831 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
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Pic of the car when I brought it home, last Saturday. Note the Regil wheels without the pie-plate center caps. The car was a CHAMPION on the way home! It made it through the 25 mile drive, running rich, but didn't die on me once. It actually rides out pretty smoothly at 55mph too:
26806141691_7c8280abcf_c.jpg
[/url]first pic at home by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]

Debating on which corner lamps I want to run. With the quad squares, I think the clear look better. But, the car will be getting a flathood/single round set up asap:
26340038933_73d316ee33_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4801 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
26340037313_080cf125cb_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4802 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
26340035913_6f4e23f1aa_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4803 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
Other things that have been done but I don't have pics of:

Troublshooting the idle, rich running condition, etc:
-Determined that the o2 sensor seems to be functioning okay. The car is running really rich (o2 pegs at .9 volts on idle and stays there unless you induce a big vacuum leak, which then causes it to drop/lean out)
-IACV goes into freak out mode when plugged in, causing the car to lope horribly and eventually die
-brakes have been bled and new pads installed front/rear.

Also, the annoyance of learning that the ugly aftermarket side trim is RIVETED on to the car. So, that will require a bit of body work to remove it. grrr....
 
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Thanks man! I'm itching to get it on the road, so I'm hoping that this weekend will be productive in troubleshooting the idle and drivabililty issues!
 
So jealous of that dashboard! (and that tail light LOL)
It's coming along great. Keep it up!


Drill out that trim and get some of these tiny white hole plugs from your local hardware store, until you get around to filling and painting:
mbpf-series_2.jpg

My parts car had them all across the back where the PO removed the trim, and it didn't look too bad. Not my favorite, but it's better than a black hole on a white panel:
IMG_4969.jpg


In fact, I think I have a bag of them that were in the glovbox of that car. I'll try and remember to check my parts stash if you're interested. you can just have them.
 
That would be AWESOME man!! Thanks!

So jealous of that dashboard! (and that tail light LOL)
It's coming along great. Keep it up!


Drill out that trim and get some of these tiny white hole plugs from your local hardware store, until you get around to filling and painting:
mbpf-series_2.jpg

My parts car had them all across the back where the PO removed the trim, and it didn't look too bad. Not my favorite, but it's better than a black hole on a white panel:
IMG_4969.jpg


In fact, I think I have a bag of them that were in the glovbox of that car. I'll try and remember to check my parts stash if you're interested. you can just have them.
 
That would be AWESOME man!! Thanks!

No problem! I'll try and search tonight.
After spending a bit of time working on the car I got it up and running. I'm still tracking down a vacuum issue, as the pedal is soft even after bleeding the brakes and installing new pads.

It certainly sounds like you have a vacuum leak, or a bit of air in the lines, maybe at the distribution block. Did you try bleeding the system there as well? But be sure and also check if the firewall is flexing at the master cylinder. I've had an annoyingly spongy pedal from that before. I've heard it's a common issue, and I've even seen a brake pedal firewall brace that goes up to the strut tower brace.
 
No problem! I'll try and search tonight.


It certainly sounds like you have a vacuum leak, or a bit of air in the lines, maybe at the distribution block. Did you try bleeding the system there as well? But be sure and also check if the firewall is flexing at the master cylinder. I've had an annoyingly spongy pedal from that before. I've heard it's a common issue, and I've even seen a brake pedal firewall brace that goes up to the strut tower brace.

I didn't bleed the distro block, but I think the leak was there prior to bleeding, as the idle has always been funky. Hopefully, some time with a vacuum gauge this weekend will help me track down what exactly is leaking.
 
Where did you find the dash?

It was actually in the trunk of the car when we went to clean it out after I'd made a deal on it. Evidently, the prior owner was planning on converting to black interior as well, as there were a lot of black interior bits and pieces, which I snagged, in the trunk and in the back seat in boxes. :D

-BEn
 
Update for this weekend: got the idle set much better. The car is still a bit wonky, but it no longer hunts for idle like it did, or surges to the point of sounding like a big lope from a large cam.

Also, discovered that my brake booster appears to be DOA. It will only hold 5 inches of vacuum, and only for about 2 minutes before it starts dropping. So, that is next on the list to replace.

Finally, I took a couple of minutes to just see how much life is left in the old single-stage paint. Let's just say I was pleasantly surprised! First pic is the paint as it sits right now. Second is after about 10 minutes with a clay bar, machine polishing it with my orbital and meguiar's #83, then hand waxing with NXT tech wax. I can't wait to get the whole car cleaned up!!!

26946055562_c8c461a37a_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4853 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
26946055142_7fa9fc3933_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4854 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
Oh, and I also test-fit the passenger Mercedes seat into the car. It's just sitting on the factory slider and rail in this pic. I need to get some steel flat stock and weld up adapters to make the stock sliders work with those seats asap. My stock driver's seat, as you can see, is in pretty sad shape, so getting those in will make the car much nicer to drive!

27007123896_eb24a4c2aa_c.jpg
[/url]IMG_4852 by moguitarman76, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
The plan is to get some steel flat stock. On the stock Volvo sliders, if you unbolt them from the seats, there is a top plate that mounts onto either side of the rail with 2 nuts. The Mercedes seat is about 1.5" wider overall. It has 2 threaded holes on the sides towards the back where the stock rail side-mounted to it, and one smaller threaded hole towards the front where the front seat-bottom height adjustment mounted to it.

The plan is to use flat bar stock to make a piece that will sit where the stock top plates go. If I use 1.5" wide flat stock, I should be able to space the bolt holes where they will just about be the right width to clear either side of the seat bases. Then, butt weld another piece on either side of the top plate that will be at about a 90 degree perpendicular to the top late. Cut those to be the right height to line up with the Mercedes rear and front bolt holes, drill the appropriate sized holes, then get bolts, washers, and a small spacer to keep the new side mount plates from bending in, and viola: side mounts to put the Mercedes seats on the Volvo sliders.

(That's the plan anyways, we will see how it works out...lol)

-Ben
 
Sounds like a good plan, Thats essentially what I did on Buttercup but I used these: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Universal-Seat-Mount-Plates,7104.html



The plan is to get some steel flat stock. On the stock Volvo sliders, if you unbolt them from the seats, there is a top plate that mounts onto either side of the rail with 2 nuts. The Mercedes seat is about 1.5" wider overall. It has 2 threaded holes on the sides towards the back where the stock rail side-mounted to it, and one smaller threaded hole towards the front where the front seat-bottom height adjustment mounted to it.

The plan is to use flat bar stock to make a piece that will sit where the stock top plates go. If I use 1.5" wide flat stock, I should be able to space the bolt holes where they will just about be the right width to clear either side of the seat bases. Then, butt weld another piece on either side of the top plate that will be at about a 90 degree perpendicular to the top late. Cut those to be the right height to line up with the Mercedes rear and front bolt holes, drill the appropriate sized holes, then get bolts, washers, and a small spacer to keep the new side mount plates from bending in, and viola: side mounts to put the Mercedes seats on the Volvo sliders.

(That's the plan anyways, we will see how it works out...lol)

-Ben
 
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