Volvo Amazon 1965 (Volvo 13134)

[mattthemuppet2]

that is seriously cool! You're doing very much the same kind of work my friend does, lots of rust repair and panel replacement. That rear shelf in particular is a fantastic piece of work. Like him you'll get very very good at sheet metal welding by the time you're done You also figure out all the other tools that you need for sheet metal work - he's since picked up a box/ pan brake, a throatless shear, a shrinker/ stretcher and is currently borrowing my 12" slip roll (he's looking to buy a bigger one). A better welder is also on his list!

I think you said in your other thread that you were putting a 240 turbo engine in? Or something similar? I really like the idea of a restomod - I love the shape of older cars of all sorts, but I like my modern comforts (getting out of my own way, being able to go round corners, brakes working more than once, etc.). One day I'll probably pick up a project like this, still too many other projects to do first.

Btw, keep an eye out for a lathe, they come in real handy for projects like this

Oh, here's a shifter I made for his truck (since sold, but he kept the shifter)

 

[MrCrankyface]

Nogoingback: Thanks! Yeah, I'm definitely not the first to find myself in that situation.

mattthemuppet2: Thanks! I couldn't agree more about the restomod part.
I have during this my machines in all possible ways
Mill is CNC converted, bought 2 more lathes(one benchtop asian lathe and one huge one that's a bit of a project to get running)


It was at this point my new engine(B230FK) arrived from a just recently scrapped Volvo 940.
2.3 liter turbo I4, in stock configuration it has almost 2.5 times the power compared to previous motor.
I find the size comparison quite hilarious on it's own, definitely fills out the engine bay a lot more than the old B18.
The firewall is stopping me from pushing it as far back as I want it, in this position I won't have room for radiator and intercooler.


I also got the rear axle from the same car, a 1031.
Not only should it hold up to the increased horsepower but if they break, they break a lot safer than the old axle.
The old axle apparently has a tendency to send the half-shaft out with the wheel if it breaks...
It's a very narrow car so the new axle being almost 4" / 10cm wider should help that out a bit.



At this point I decided to tackle more rust, around the wheel areas.
And as usual, there was a lot of it.



Not much else to do than start building things up again. I would've needed to cut stuff up here anyway to work with my plans.


I try to just dot things together incase I've done something wrong, but I also tend to get carried away and fully weld things.
I've also added some bracing from the rear of the trunk up towards the front.


I wasn't fully sure of what I wanted to do with this area, not really caring about it looking stock, a lot of this was made up as I went along.


I wanted to have the axle in place in a way that was easy to adjust for measurements so I made some temporary mounts.
This let me everything in place fairly accurately, so I could mount the wheels to check fit.


This is where I hit a snag though, the wheels I bought have a hub hole that's too small for this axle and I can't fit the wheels in any of my machines to fix it.
So I made a tool to bore it out, a bit difficult to use but acceptable for a quick job.
The thick flange bolts to the wheel and the long rod with indexable cutter spins inside of it through the use of a powerdrill.
I used through-drilled wheel nuts to make sure it centered properly.


With a makeshift panhard I could make sure it sat perfectly straight and centered.


These rods in the trunk let's me fine adjust the height.

 

[MrCrankyface]

So with the axle in place I could make and use a template to get the same cuts on both sides.


As usual, finding tons of rust. But that's a later problem.


To extend the wells I needed to form some sheet, and I didn't want to just force it in, so on to make another tool.
I've realized I'll use almost any excuse to make an oddly specific tool.
I didn't have any tubing at home, nor cylinders of the right size, so I started making rings from solid plate(scraps).


I welded them together, addedsome bearings, rods and angle brackets.
Suddenly I got a roller.
Pictured is the first side i tried.
I eyeballed the 'extension' in place, marked it and cut along the line.
I would highly recommend you do not do this, almost impossible to get things straight.


On the other side I made a quick bracket mounted to the axle, and used this to draw a perfectly straight line around the well to cut after.
So much easier to get a good result.


I was running pretty low on motivation after bending the edges down and trying on a sidepiece(that I didn't keep) I lowered the car to the ground just to get a feel for it.
Definitely got my motivation up!


I also noticed I will need to cut up around the front wheels, barely any space to turn.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

nice project!!!!
you are doing great!!!!

 

[MrCrankyface]

Ulma Doctor: Thank you!

I finish welded and cleaned up the extension and started making a edge to go outside it.


Tacked in placesoI could start shaping the sorrounding area to meet it.
Again I was kinda shooting from my hip here. If I were to redo it, I would've planned out my cuts a lot better.
Many of my cuts where too wide and straight rather than pie shaped from the center of the axle.
I believe this caused a lot of the deformation I later had to clean up.
The second picture here really shows how much wider it's becoming.


An insane amount of welding and cooling later.


This is where hammer and dolly and spray paint came into play.
In the end I had to make more cuts just to relax the steel and be able to draw it out as far as I wanted.
It's still not 100% but it'll have to do for now.
After all this dirty work I took quite the break, working on other things for a while..


Not being one to give up, I eventually came back to see if I could fab up some engine mounts. Just a quick little video here to convey what I'm working with.

I put some screws in the lathe and made a sharp point on one end, this really helped with transfering the bolt locations.

I put the motor where I thought I wanted it and simply tacked the mounts together so I knew they were in the right positions before I started reinforcing things.


After spending way too much time making engine mounts and I getting the motor in place, I realized I wasn't happy with it. Live and learn.
So to make space for moving the motor further down and back, I turned my attention to the firewall and floor.
Carefully drilling out where it's been welded, removing a lot of tar etc. Trying to not cause more damage than neccessary.


Eventually there wasn't much floor or firewall remaining, and the frame is also pretty rotten ...
Sorry for the messy background.


So second time around placing the engine, I was a lot more careful.
Since I know I wanted to lower the engine I had it on the previously fabricated mounts(since the motor angle was correct-ish on those) and measured the distance between oil pan and suspension beam.
This gave me a pretty good idea of what I needed ot adjust.


I cut the marked area out and testfitted on the motor, still plenty of clearance to the crankshaft so I welded things back up.

 

[MrCrankyface]

I cut a small slot in this plank, in the exact center of the car.


And in the front I lathed a plastic bit to fit snuggly into the crankshaft pulley and lathed a point on the bolt that sticks out in front.
This was then aligned and pushed into the exact center of the plank.
All to insure the motor stayed in the perfect position as I worked around it.
With the motor in a lower position and angled down 2.5 degrees, it made for a lot more space inside the car, whilst still maintaining a good ground clearance.


The old mounts on the beam was quite far forward. To reduce the rotational torque between the motor and beam, I decided to move the mounts back on the beam.
I will reinforce underneath to spread the load later on.
This also made for much simpler mounts.
They're not finished but will work for now.


2-3 months passed by with nothing major getting done but eventually I had some cash over to order things.
Full rollcage, 12 meters of square tubing to replace the rotten pieces of the frame, polyurethane bushings and tubing for a new 3-link suspension and so on.


I've had an insane amount of use of the saw which I renovated here: Powered hacksaw and my ongoing CNC mill project: K&T 2HL
Here I'm cutting and squaring up the tubing for the suspension links.


It took a whole lot of hours but eventually I had pieces made for the 3 links.
The large 'tubes' were made from 80mm solid rounds so just roughing them down took quite a while.
The smaller bits are left and right hand threaded and will be welded into the tubes.


I have to say I'm quite proud of these pieces, probably among my best work so far.


The 3 links tacked together, laying on top of my lathe project(haven't really started on it yet due to lack of time).


Next up was making the mounts that would go on the axle, to hold the links.
Since there's strict requirements on material type and I didn't feel like ordering a full bar of the right size, I used some of the material that will go to the frame.
This however requires me to make two mirrored pieces and weld them together. Twice.
I made some spacers for welding, so I could clamp it tightly and reduce warping.


Welded, cleaned up and tacked to the axle.


Then we have the top mount.
To get a nice bend I found some scrap I could hammerform against after welding the two halves together.
I tacked this to the differential housing but did at a later time change my mind.

 

[7milesup]

In my squeaky most sarcastic voice "I have never done anything like this before". Ummmhuh. Well, maybe not, but it is turning out great!

On a serious note, you have a 3D printer which brings me to metal forming. There are numerous YT videos out there regarding 3D printed forming dies. Since I just bought a small 20 ton press, I am keeping this in mind for my Prusa printer.

 

[MrCrankyface]

7milesup: Thanks!
Yeah I've seen a few videos like that, downright impressive what 3D printed dies can do!
Been wanting to try for a while just haven't needed it yet.

So now we're pretty much up to today! Or march 2021 at least.
As I was testfitting, I wanted the wheels in the right space, so I made some wheel stands from scraps.
I ran out of Z height on my mill and had to do a weird setup.
But in the end this let's me hold the axle securely while I try things out.


My current problem is that I can't attach the front of the links to anything so I felt it was the right time to tackle the rotten frame.
First I reinforced the shell a bit with temporary tubes and lots of rust cleanup where I wanted to weld things.
After reinforcing I started cutting the frame bit by bit.


First new frame pieces tacked in and one reinforcement removed.


I started getting a bit paranoid and reinforced the frontend further so it can't flex anywhere.


This made me more comfortable so I could cut out the rest of the frame and start knitting it together again.
There till be external reinforcements on this aswell between the new and old parts.


Copying it over to the other side..


As I was going to add the front sidebraces, I noticed just how rotten the inside of the shell was. What a surprise.
Same procedure on both sides.



This finally let me tack those pieces in place and it's starting to look like a car again.


While cleaning up the rear axle and modifying the previously tacked lower link mounts, I messed up and cut too deep.
Thread about it here: I'm a dummy
Just a brief recap.
I will see can get it to seal as it is and have a magnet in it as 'Just for fun' suggests on page 4.


This brings us to literally today, wheels are now sitting slightly below ride height.
I can now start looking at making a bracket for the front link mount.
The small frame piece in front of it is not tacked in place yet, it will just be used to reinforce in front of the mount.
I need ot cut into the green sideways beam to create space for the link to move but after that it should be easy.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

nice milling machine!
i had one of similar design, but made in France by G. Dufour

 

[FOMOGO]

That's a ton of work you've put in, but you will definitely have the only one on the block. I've been down that road myself, and have several more projects lined up that will start once the shop is finished. Your doing a fantastic job, and thanks for letting us tag along. Cheers, Mike