Floating a brick on air - Volvo 244 GL

[Yezzz]

So I've decided to start a build topic here because my topic on the Dutch regional board is as neglected as this project was.
However, this year I should be making some actual solid progress, so here goes nothing:

Introducing my 81' Volvo 244 GL.




This Volvo was my first car and even though I always had big plans, I never really lived up to them.

That's why after 4+ years not much more than coilovers and a nice steering wheel have been added to the car.

This year however, the parts I collected over the past few years have been piling up and this winter was the time for them to all be added. All with the plan to make it to Worthersee this year.

Due to my laziness (not gonna lie about that one) and delaying the placing of my 2-post lift, that deadline would've been impossible by now, but then again, we have cancelled the Worthersee trip for this year due to the possible travel restrictions this year.
So with the deadline gone, I hope this thread will serve as some kind of motivation (lol).

So what's the plan:
Currently I have a car that needs attention and a big parts pile containing:

- Airlift 3P Management
- Airlift tank with Viair 485C
- OCD Bags for BC coilovers
- SS-6 Bags with custom rear mounts
- Kaplhenke Quick Roll Correction kit
- AW71 4 speed auto with mods
- WIP retromod audio setup
- Rebuild BBS RF 17x8 and 17x9.5





Testing the rear airbag mounts


Also, sitting nicely in a shed, is a Volvo 940 turbo that will kindly give up the engine to replace my worn out K-Jet possessed engine.

My plan is to fit all, or at least most of this stuff in the upcoming months. The engine and transmission swap should be reasonably straight forward, and a part of the air suspension is already fabricated. Hopefully giving me a drivable package in the beginning of the summer. At which point my plan is to get as much driving done so I can build some trust for the drive to Austria next year.

I will try my best to document as much as possible and keep this thread a bit up to date.

For now, here's a little preview:

[hinrichs]

This is going to be good, cant wait to see future progress on it.

[SebastienPeek]

Hell yeah! Can't wait to see this move forward!

[EasySpeed*Inc]

Very cool dude!

[Gentleman]

Really cool! Looking forward to the eindresultaat!

[Yezzz]

Initially, I wanted to make one post describing the complete audio setup that I have planned. However, I’m looking for some tips or advice. So here I am, asking for some advice.

Around christmas last year, I found these Philips speaker cases on the UK Ebay. I bought them for 15 pounds or something.
Luckly, they came in before any Brexit bs really gave problems.

I have basically no info on them at all, the seller listed them as Philips Vintage Car Speaker Case or something like that. But my guess is that they’re late 80’s, early 90’s. They aren’t in perfect condition. But its an old car anyway, so I can live with that.
The reason I wanted such cases is mainly because they look really cool, but more importantly, I can have some speakers in the back of my car without cutting up my parcel shelf. (I believe that's what it's called in english?).









The issue with these cases is that they are really shallow. I found some 41mm high speakers and they still protrude about 10mm from the bottom. So I need a spacer to have them a bit higher.








My plan is to cut some MDF and use the screw holes from the cases to attach them. Then on the bottom of the MDF I will stick some velcro that will hold on to the fabric of the car.

My issue is, how do I make the MDF look more plastic. I’d like them to look like they belong underneath the cases.

Anyone got any experience with making wood look like plastic?

[SebastienPeek]

Anyone got any experience with making wood look like plastic?

These cases look great, I can imagine they'll easily look at home on the parcel shelf (yes, that's what it is in English)!

As for making wood look like plastic, the easiest is sealing the wood and then using a high gloss paint

[Yezzz]

Monday finally came the day that the Volvo was allowed on the road again. (Due to some weird road tax rule for older cars, the car had to be off the road for December, January and February to be excluded for most of the taxes.)

It didn't go exactly like I imagined. Radiator started hissing out coolant, the front tires have been completely chewed up after a few thousand kilometers ( hefty bump steer issue that will be fixed once I tackle the airride) and the engine really didn't like the winter sleep since september.

So with that disappointing drive behind me, I guess the positive is that all the upcoming changes will only improve the car.


In the meantime, I grabbed some MDF and a jigsaw and started making a spacer for the speaker cases.
Conclusion: I’m way better off with metal and 3d printers.

So I placed the case on the document scanner, used it as a template and checked my drawing with my 3d printer.
After making sure my dimensions were correct, I ordered them in laser cut MDF. Cant beat CNC precision.

Gotta say, laser cutting a few parts like this is hella expensive and makes me really want my own laser cutter. But the result is nice so I’m happy.

Anyway: Here are a few pictures:

[SebastienPeek]

Those spacers came out really good! I gotta get on this 3D printing trend...

[Yezzz]

This weekend I finally found the courage to break open the transmission to prepare it for some boost. Forgot to take pictures of the process, but basicly it involves a getto shift-kit by inserting some round bar in the "smooth shift accumulators". This stops the pistons from moving much during shifting.



While I was add it, I cleaned the pan, replaced the kick-down cable and replaced the filter.



I also cleaned up some parts and painted them. They were galvanized but some rust was coming trough.



So now the transmission is done internally, Im ready to take out the old one, place the tailpiece of the old one on this one and shove it in the car.

After that, its time for some good ol' suspension work

[Yezzz]

So last month I pulled the engine from the donor.



Last week the engine ran again in its new home.



Not gonna lie, there are still allot of odds and ends to fix/repair/resolve, but the swap is a succes. Its very rewarding to have an engine that doesnt die on you at traficlights, starts when its supposed to and most importantly, does great turbo noises.

Currently its still tied in to the original exhaust system so I didnt bother filming it (sorry!). After its inspected by the Department of Road Transport, I will build an custom exhaust.

Next up is the suspension that needs allot of work still, so were back in the workshop once again.

[Yezzz]

A week ago, a good friend of mine had organized a small event. Since the covid rules still forbid big events in the netherlands, we kept it small scale but it was nice.
This event motivated me to get some tires for the RF's. With info on lowered 240 being sparse, I took a gamble on the tires and went with 235/45 on 17x9.5 and 205/50 on 17x8.





Honestly, I love how it looked. Nice meaty tires compliment the 5 spoke design a lot. The issue however, is that it didnt fit at all being not even that low. On the airride it would be impossible.
Still wanting to attent the event (a day out with friends is always a good thing), I slapped on some OEM 16inch wheels with some hubcaps and rolled with it.







I couldnt say I was really happy with how it looked, obviously. But had a great time and it was a good test for the engine and transmission swap.
Afterwards I wanted to know if the 17x9.5 setup in the rear would work at all, especialy when the airride would be installed. So I sourced an 195/40 on facebook marketplace, had a friend of mine slap it on the wheel and then it was time for another test fit.
To make sure it would work in the longrun I also installed the rear air setup (still work in progress, tacked but not welded) and I have to say, I'm pleased with the result






I do think I still have another inch that I can get lower with the air setup. Still need to tweak some stuff. Main goal right now is getting everything on the engine part legal so I can actually can start completing the air system.

[SanderZ]

Dus hier verstop je je updates.

[Yezzz]

With the inspection to get the engine legal still some time away, I had some time to kill. So I had a set of 205/40s put on a 4 wheels and butchered the BC coils to get another inch from the rear. Right in time for a little meet/photoshoot in an empty parking garage.











The inspection is next week, so next weekend I'll raise the car again, put on some stock looking wheels and make it look nice and original. After that I can finaly start putting in the airride.

[Pauluzz]

Nice build!

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I know the guy in the white Suzuki on the right haha... why wasn't I there? Would've fit in perfectly