Another Old Volvo in Arizona

[John in Prescott]

Hi All,

I have been following Russ McLean’s adventures with his 544 with interest. I Have one also but haven’t been doing much work on it lately.

Some history of the car. I was driving around the neighborhood on my Triumph Bonneville and spotted the 544 Volvo in a driveway. Now, Prescott is a place that has many hot rods and custom cars. Most of them are pro shop built and very nice. There are a number of hot rod builders in the area. I have wanted an old car to work on since I moved here a few years ago but also wanted to do my own work. The Volvo was just what I was looking for.

I was so excited to see the vehicle I bought it for the asking price; I’m not much of a haggler. I regretted my hasty decision to purchase the vehicle as I started to look things over. Some discoveries: the clutch linkage was worn out so I had to manufacture some replacement parts just to get the vehicle to move. It had a later 2 liter engine with a Weber carb but seemed awfully slow. Again, a linkage problem. As is common with most old fastback Volvos, the trunk seal leaked and the rear of the trunk area and under the spare tire well were rusted out and Bondo repaired. You can see what the dash looked like. A few other problems, but the body was basically sound and the drivetrain was in good condition.

The final straw was when the headliner came down while I was driving the car. I put a scrub brush on the end of a broomstick and pushed it up against the headliner to be able to see out the rear view mirror. I got disgusted and sort of ignored the car while I worked on a friend’s vehicles.

My wife has been bugging me to get the headliner fixed for a while. I finally got it installed last week. Since the shop had to take out the rear window anyway I thought it was a good time to update the interior, put in a new dash, etc. Plans for the future include frenched lights, custom bumpers, lowering, the usual mild custom stuff.

I’ll be posting my efforts on the interior restoration and updates on the forum.

Here is what it looks like now. The dash is really ugly without the dash pad. I intend to replace the non working instruments with some round dials, and also the steering wheel. I am going to use a GPS speedometer and add a tach. The new instruments are shown also.

What do you think?

John in Prescott

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[Russ McLean]

I like the new dash – have a couple of comments and a suggestion for hiding the raw aluminum.

I did not have much luck with a GPS speedometer in 2016.

In-progress photo of a JEGS digital dash #41623 with bezel #41700.  The speedometer read out random numbers below 20 MPH (Believed to be a low sample rate problem).  The oil pressure readings were non-linear below 30 PSI and did not register any number below 8 PSI (verified on an analog oil pressure gauge).

The finished dash area. There are 4 aluminum panels used in this picture.  3 are wrapped in brown vinyl fabric (3M spray upholstery glue works).  The 4th panel (with the parking brake buzzer) is painted flat black.

First speedometer fix was to label a 15 MPH School Zone speed limit on the tachometer (in 2nd gear).  Next fix was to eliminate the GPS and use the signal to the cruise control module (2 magnets on the drive shaft).  Some improvement, eventually 4 magnets on the drive shaft worked better (increased the sampling rate).

Russ

1962 Volvo PV544 mild custom. A 55 year old dream come true - with much help from Smooth Engineering in Phoenix, AZ (Many thanks to Ed Smoot).
Still trying to navigate this site.

I am the frequently deleted TrailerTrashToo on the HAMB, a little nervous if I am "on-topic" here.

[John in Prescott]

Wow, that is quite a collection of knobs, displays, switches, etc. Cruise control, air conditioning, etc. See you have an A/F gauge. Does that mean you are going to go to fuel injection?

 

I see in your posts where you said you put on a dual master cylinder with the under floor linkage. Have any details about that? They make an adapter for a dual master cylinder for old jeeps, think they use the same original master cylinder. But how do you fill it up? do you have do go under the car to put more fluid in?

 

John in Prescott

 

 

[Russ McLean]

The A/F ratio gauge is a result of my poor carburetor tuning skills.  It also is a helpful diagnostic tool in my long running battle with vapor lock.

The remote full canisters are attached to the steering column tube.

I used a Wilwood combination remote tandem master cylinder.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wil-260-7563

This appears to have a service life of about 6 years.  It developed a leak and got replaced.

This assembly bolted to the stock PV544 master cylinder holes (not visible in this picture – see next picture).  The stock PV544 brace strap bolts into the hole in the tab (lower left).

This was 2015, so the memory is slightly hazzy…  I started with some 3 inch channel iron.  Established the stock Volvo mounting holes on the channel iron.  Fabricated an end plate.  Then marked the areas to be plasma cut away.  Then took it to a friend for cutting and welding.  The brake cylinder actuator rod was located within 1/8 inch in X, Y and Z (see disclaimer).

DISCLAIMER:  Mechanical measurements taken by a retired electrical engineer with Harbor Freight tools.

Russ

1962 Volvo PV544 mild custom. A 55 year old dream come true - with much help from Smooth Engineering in Phoenix, AZ (Many thanks to Ed Smoot).
Still trying to navigate this site.

I am the frequently deleted TrailerTrashToo on the HAMB, a little nervous if I am "on-topic" here.

[John in Prescott]

That is very helpful.  I notice that the later VW Bugs have a similar master cylinder with the remote reservoir fills. That may be a cheaper way to go, if I get around to the brakes.

John in Prescott

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