nimbus

1966 Volvo 122s Amazon is sold.

Clear title in-hand, June registration.

Below - before

Below - after

I bought this little Volvo for $1500 from a local person who imported it from Canada some years ago. It has new brakes, suspension springs and shocks and clutch.

This little car has an upgraded B20F engine with a mild cam. It gets along pretty good. I rebuilt the alternator and put a new battery in it.

Sitting next to it's younger sister, the XC-70

Below - February 1, 2008. I decide to fix some minor dents and dings, so off come the bumpers and other bits and it's sander time!

I banged out the trunk lid and some dents along the fender area, bondo'd them in and sanded them down.

The hood is very straight, no dings, minor dings around the front fenders needed sanding and minor filling. Lots of scratches and minor ding rash.

The front clip had some rusty spots and lots of dents filled with old Bondo, so I removed it and worked it on the bench.

Now I'm working my way around the car, sanding out scratches, filling in the little dings here and there. Next comes the black basecoat followed by a clearcoat.

Still sanding on March 17, 2008.

I decide to paint it silver/grey, so the front and rear glass and door windows all come out.

I ordered all new seals from IPD in Portland, as well as a new air dam to replace the rusty front bumper.

New headliner on the way

Dash comes out to get painted.

Everything sanded down again through 600, nice and smooth and ready for primer.

Tomorrow, I'll shoot on the urethane primer.

Urethane surfacing primer

The air dam arrived via UPS from IPD - fast service!

Gotta do some more Bondo and primer on the interior parts (dash, trim, etc.) then color tomorrow. Clear coat as well - maybe.

Dam faired in now - final shot of primer. Interior parts sanded down and primered, almost ready for the pearl silver color coat - just gotta fix up the engine compartment to get it ready for color. I have a gallon of the pearl silver, I expect to use it all on the door jambs, engine bay, trunk, interior pieces, and of course the outside body of the car.

I might have got a little crazy here.

The grey/silver/blue/gold pearlescent metallic that sister Katwoman recommended. She sure knows he colors! Looks great!

Next, I shoot on a gallon of clear coat.

Going back together - I ordered $1800 worth of seals, bits and interior stuff today.

Probably take a couple of weeks to finish sanding, polishing and putting the shiny bits back on.

Above - I re-install the dash and steering wheel. Below - engine bay is painted, need to replace hoses, paint the radiator and other bits. Overhaul the carbs.

Above and below - I wet-sanded the entire car with 1000 and finish with 1500. Now I have to go to Florida for two weeks for work. While I'm gone, all the new parts will have arrived from Vintage and IPD.

April 12, back from Florida and I continue to wet sand the Amazon, starting with 800, going up to 1500.

Then I polish with the Milwaukee grinder, using a yellow foam pad and 3M compound, below - the left side of the photo shows the hood polished, right side sanded.

Below - long day of sanding and polishing, makes a hell of a mess.

Below - all polishing done, except the front clip, I'll do that when my back recovers!

Above and below - new interior panels, upholstery and seals from Volvo. Original parts, just like new in the original colors.

The long box has the new windshield, seat upholstery, new kick panels and headliner.

April 14, I spend most of the day assembling one door. It's a long process!

Old dog hanging out. Bumper and rear bits installed. New trunk seal and gas filler seal.

Window and wing window and new seals and window runners installed.

New door panel installed.

Below - new Volvo mirrors installed.

New windshield from Volvo.

Above - dash goes back in.

Above - new steering column joint.

Above - old seat covers coming off.

The seat webbing was dead and stiff, time for new ones.

Left new cushion, right the old one.

Above - new webbing installed.

Passenger seat done, below I work on the driver's side seat.

The previous owner had installed this piece of plywood to replace the dead rubber webbing. I wondered why the seat felt so hard!

Above - I removed the back glass and side trim, haven't ordered new trim to replace them yet.

New radiator and heater hoses from IPD. New battery and cable.

K&N air filters removed for cleaning.

Above - alternator has a new internal regulator.

Hella driving lights are wired to illuminate when the brights are switched on.

The doors aren't perfect, I didn't quite get all the wavy dents out, but better than they were. There's a spot in the paint about 6" long just aft of the headlight where the pearlescent went weird. The paint is shiny, but it doesn't look right in that spot for some reason.

The rear bumper needs to be re-chromed or replaced.

Rear seat cover needs to be replaced. Home Depot outdoor carpet front and back.

All new door panels and kick panels. All new door seals.

Everything works, including the brand new cigar lighter. I even tuned the horns.

New front seat belts, the old ones wouldn't retract, the new ones work great.

One tear in the rear seat cover.

Aft upholstery panel is new. Headliner needs tidying up and tightening here and there. New aft deck carpet from Volvo.

New spare tire. Jack and tire iron, jumper cables. The wire for the speakers is hanging down, needs a tie-wrap. New trunk seal.

New filler cap seal. New light lens housings and halogen bulbs (from IPD) in stop and turn lights, very bright.

Some photos of underneath the body, lots of nice undercoating, nothing rusted through.