LocostUSA.com

Feb 21, 2015

1055: Yup, it was some PO with the fiberglass trick.. the lower portion of each splash guard was rusted away, and was 'replaced' with fiberglass.. I'm just glad I took ownership and ripped it out in time, before it had a chance to trap water/crap up against the pristine outer body..

Botbasher: I need to get one of those shirts . I've known this particular friend since middle school, and I don't mind fixing his stuff.. It's when my wife volunteers her husband who 'knows a lot about cars,' that I find myself in a big time-suck.. Then again, I've been friends with my wife since 10th grade, and there's not much I won't do for her either..


Volvo Floor Fun-

Had a few hours to make progress on the Volvo passenger side floor.. I'm beginning to fill bits back in.. Fixed the seat track anchor nuts/ need to trim a few inches off of the rear of the seat tracks, as I've moved them rearward a bit and there's a slight floor interference/ welded some crush tubes into the stamped frame as this area will serve as a new transmission crossmember anchor point.. Next up, piecing new 18 gauge sheet metal back into the floor..

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

My shooting buddies are awesome and I'll happily help them out, but it's truly amazing how many more offers of food and even $$ you get when you work on their things and wear that shirt (not even on the same day!)!!! Never even say a word... just happens!

Get you one... Guilt is a fantastic tool when properly applied!

KS

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Check out Firearm Finishes & Coating for options to ceramic coat your Locost parts. Hundreds of stock or custom colors including Chrome and Clear Coating options now available! High Temp options for hot bits!! Plastics too!!

Never become a pessimist. A pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.-Robert A. Heinlein

Can you stop hanging out with my wife/ Mother in law?

_________________
Tucker

Go ahead, just try and have a plan

Mid March, 2016


I like to give myself deadlines, otherwise I never get anything done.. The big-picture goal on this build is to have it running by October 2016 to coincide with my oldest getting her driver's license.. As of late, I've just not done well at all making progress.. Life happens- had to fix a buddies quad, wanted to take the N600 out and play (ok, that's on me ), and about a month ago I got my seemingly annual case of the cold/flu/head full of snot/coughing up yuck yuck/hot/cold/hot/cold/can't sleep/begging the doctor for antibiotics/I'm obviously dying here sickness. I'm a teacher, and my kids bring me all of their cooties every year.. Since no one wants to hear about all of that grossness, let's just say I'm looking forward to getting my health back and finding my mojo again..

In the meantime, I go out to the projects and putter around when I have the energy... The pics below show how the turbo pipe is oriented all wrong to fit under the 1800's hood, so I replaced the Cobalt neck (first pic) with a Saturn Sky neck and cut it at the base and reclocked it to where it will point toward the firewall.. ultimately the turbo plumbing will need to take the long way around the engine compartment to get back up to the intercooler, which shouldn't be an issue as it will solve my hood clearance concerns.. it's a bit tight..



sick-o ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

More Volvo this and that..

Feeling yucky never stopped anyone from shopping online , so I've been doing a bit of that..

I rattle-can painted two of the Volvo rims grey/silver to see if I like it (trying to choose grey/white/ or black as final wheel color).. as soon as I get the 1800 back on the ground I'll get a wideshot to get a better idea of how she looks with both rims dressed and matching..


Got the 205/55/16 tires for the front.. also beginning to chip away at needed front end bits- This car was in desperate need of a front end rebuild.. Poly bushings and upper and lower ball joints so far.. Also sent the front X-member and upper and lower A-arms out for powder coating..


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

oooohhh I like the grey/chrome combo!

_________________
Tucker

I little side trip/update...

Re: Electric Power Steering, this is what I posted here just a few months ago (Dec 2015)...

There are plug and play EPS kits available (i.e. Ididit), but they're really $pendy.. Many ATVs/UTVs even have ESP now- it's a nice setup..

In researching this, I found a seller on Ebay out of Portugal that makes an adjustable EPS controller that will run stand alone.. he gets $65.00 for the controller, and you source an EPS column out of a 2002-2007 Saturn Vue / 2005-2007 Chevy Equinox / 2003-2006 Saturn Ion (the ones with a metal ECU case).. here's a link http://www.ebay.com/itm/Saturn-Vue-Ion- ... 88?vxp=mtr ..and when that link dies, google "Saturn Vue Ion Chevrolet Equinox – Electric power steering controller box – EPAS"

While getting EPS this way will not allow for speed sensitive steering (no vehicle speed sensor input), it seems the guys who have done it fiddle around until they dial in an assist level that they like and just leave it there.. You can go from one finger steering to no assist at all.. in the event of an electrical issue/failure, the steering just goes back to 'normal' (without assist).

No matter which front suspension I go with, I'll likely go with EPS as it gets the PS hardware up under the dash (where I have room), and out of the engine bay (where I don't).

______________________________________________


I only put this here because I've just become aware of a domestic distributor for the controller.. try www.epowersteering.com ... the guy's out of the San Diego area, and is a distributor for the ebay Bruno kit. I just got my controller from Bruno in Portugal, but if I'd known about this guy I could have had it about 3 weeks sooner (for just $5 more). I have no horse in this race, but I can say that this EPS mod seems to be catching on pretty quickly in the car-guy community..

I haven't posted on these EPS bits in my build yet as I'm not very far down that road, but over the last 18 months several have done this mod with much satisfaction and success- and it's cheap! (I'm into mine for about $180.00 with my own labor/mods).. Here's a pic from a few pages ago.. (this assembly gets much smaller once the unneeded bits are stripped off)


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

Spring Break 2016

Feeling better every day, and getting a bit more done on the cars..

The steering on the Volvo needs a bit of finessing to work with the LNF lump in the engine bay.. What was once a straight shot from the steering box to the wheel now has to take a jag to clear the intake manifold.. I needed to hack off part of the OEM lower shaft (that comes out of the box), and I'll need to use 3 u-joints for the new routing.. 2 of the u-joints will come from the EPS that this car is getting, so I'll really end up needing about 16 inches of 3/4" DD shaft and one new u-joint to link all of this together..

The seals on the OEM box were shot, so I replaced them.. I was prepared to do the brass bushings too, but it turns out the originals are in great shape (see what I did there )..

Also, the upper EPS shaft needed a rework so that I can bolt on the OEM Volvo steering wheel.. I love the look of the stock wheel and I wanted to be sure and retain it, although with power steering I plan to shrink it down a few inches..


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

Spring Break 2016

Doing little things here and there as I can.. I need to make flares for the Honda soon, so I'm not wanting to start a multi-day/week can of worms in this car just yet.. besides, I still have to get back to the floors/rockers on this car

The front end bits came back from powdercoating.. I probably should have done them in black, but a little random color under the hood never hurt anybody.. Had to reclock one of the water lines on the oil cooler... Also had to very slightly clearance the upper edge of the passenger frame rail to clear the turbo and turbo linkage..

Last shot is really for me- just wanted a wideshot as things progress-- this car will be undergoing a lot of changes in the next 6 months, and I sometimes forget to step back and get the big picture..


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

The Front End Accident

Sometimes you just get lucky..

I always assumed the stock 1800 clip would have to be replaced.. The tape measure said it wouldn't work, but once I started to snug the LNF down over the Volvo's OEM bits, I became more and more optimistic about it.. While the engine is certainly not a bolt in affair, the GM lump will in fact work with the 1800's front clip after all

Add to that, the wheels and tires I bought thinking I'd make fit with a custom Miata or Mustang II front clip, fit perfectly on the stock Volvo front end-- who knew?! When I say perfectly, I mean no room for error.. with these 'large' 205 tires, there was just one place they could live, and the Volvo geometry acts like it was made to do it..

At this point I'm not questioning it.. I'm just going to keep quiet and act like I meant to do it all along


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

Turbo routing..

Had to reclock the turbo pipe to point the right way, and more importantly, clear the hood (red line shows it's now on level with the rest of the motor)..

--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

Dynamat- does it work?

Spent a fair amount of time chipping and scraping the OEM crusty, dusty, cardboardy 50 year old sound-deadener out- not a pleasant job at all..

Opinions vary on the cost vs benefit of using sound deadener like Dynamat.. to be sure, the stuff is expensive, and if it matters to your build, it's pretty heavy too. After having used it in my BEC, I stand firmly in the camp of this stuff works I'm not one to drop up to 300.00 (or more ) per car just for sound deadener, but the difference it makes is so worth it to me.. I suspect the other dedicated sound deadeners out there work too (fat mat/ lizard skin/ etc), so you can likely use whatever you prefer and be happy with the results.. It is a bit of work to install correctly though, and it takes some time to do it right (I'm an advocate of 100% coverage, but many think that's overkill).. I'm really looking forward to it making this old GT that much more pleasant on longer trips.. (and having the stereo sound that much better )


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

What Color Steel Wheels to Run?

From the beginning I've wanted steel wheels on this car... not flashy or showy, just some nice shoes to compliment this killer body

I'm struggling with what color to powder coat them.. I've pretty much eliminated black.. I just don't like it for this build- makes it look too aggressive.. I'm also pretty sure I don't want body color, as this red is so rich that any more just seems like too much..

So I'm down to grey(silver) or cream... I don't know why, but I keep coming back to the cream as my favorite.. I think part of it is because I plan to change the interior to white (I've never had a car with white (cream) interior, but if any car could pull it off I think it's this one).. So with that in mind, I just keep thinking the cream rims with chrome accents would look right, without overpowering the car.. Dunno.. surely I'm overthinking it..


--ccrunner

_________________
Dean

1972 Honda N600 Restomod "ccrunner's N600 VFR800 repower"

1963 Volvo P1800 Restomod
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16309

1959 Berkeley SE492 Restomod...
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=19397

"ccrunner's 1960 MGA coupe Restomod" found on MGExp.com

I like the Gray better. It makes the car look more grounded if that is possible. If it were me, maybe one shade darker Gray. No offence to your cream white choice. I don't think matching the wheel color to the interior color really complement/reinforce each other visually. But it is your car and your choice. Do what makes you happy. Wheel color is easily and relatively cheap to change if you ever grow tired of it.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

The white pulls my eyes away from the body while the grey doesn't seem interesting. Not much help but that's my $0.02

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My car viewtopic.php?f=37&t=16434
1930s Style Sports Car viewtopic.php?f=36&t=16888