Volvo 66 Restoration

[chris]

This is the car, pic taken 2013.
It was pulled out of storage and just a quick wash down with plain water.

It has been in storage for more than 10 years and it seems almost all of the mechanicals have suffered badly.
The body is good as you can see, with no visible serious rust anywhere.
The steel section of the bumper is showing surface rusting  

OK, that is the car.
The owner is a wheelchair user who started his driving in a similar vehicle in 1978.
He would like to have this vehicle restored so that he can use it for a daily run-about.
He is not physically capable of doing any of the work himself, so needs to find a reputable restoration company capable of doing it.

His first difficulty is that he (and the car) are in Ireland, but I am sure we could transport it to Wales/England if the right company is found .....  who would do the work for a price he can afford.

It might well be that this is just a 'pipe-dream' and would be better off selling it, but he has a renovation fixed in his skull ...  and he loves the Volvo 66 
In fact in 1979 he drove a red 66 as in the pic below, and his wife drove a yellow estate version ...  definitely a 'his & hers'  

If anyone can help point us in the right direction or recommend a restoration house for the job I would appreciate it.

Anyone care to take a guess at cost of such a project?

Thanks for reading  

[swissdave]

Hi Chris, I'm sorry that I can't help with your queries but that is a nice looking 66, good luck however you decide to proceed.

[chris]

Thanks for responding Dave, hopefully someone will be able to make a recommendation and maybe a 'guestimate' of cost - it might help decide if this is worth his while pursuing.

[andrew]

It's a little like the proverbial "how long is a piece of string" question! Without seeing the car it's extremenly difficult to even guess as to the work involved, but as a start I'd suggest you take the car for an M.O.T. (or the Irish equivalent) and this will give you some indication as to what state the car is in and what would be needed to get it roadworthy. For this you'll need to have the engine running & the brakes working, so if that's not the case there's a good deal of work ahead of you!

Next comes the question as to how far you want to go in restoring it; do you want it to look like it left the factory or just to be useable? Some owners get their cars roadworthy (i.e. street legal) and then use them on a regular basis. This allows them to enjoy the car, keeps it in regular use (cars hate standing unused!) and to shake out any other faults and problems, which can then be remedied as time and finances allow.

Some more pictures of the car's bodywrk and an indication as to whether it can be started & driven might be a good place to start.

[mtjm]

Where in Ireland is the car? I left the country about 10 years ago and only go back for the odd visit, but I do still have some classic-enthusiast contacts who might be able to recommend someone to do the work.

[volvograeme]

How lovely to have another V66 in the club! Looks fantastic, well done. As others have said, how long is a piece of string? As I have found, restoring one of these is not the same as restoring an MGB, for example, where all parts are available through a dozen suppliers, and there is half a chance of the car being worth the cost of the restoration at the end of it! As you are probably aware already, parts are virtually non-existent, very few, even specialist, restorers have the first idea of how the CVT system works and, quite wrongly in my humble option of course, a V66 will never, ever, be worth even half of the cost of a full nut and bolt restoration.

I guess - and others help out here - the acknowledged experts are Essex Daf's so be worth contacting them for a better appraisal, but you've got to get it from Ireland to Essex for that of course!

I really wish I could be more helpful, for now - not least as I get on with restoring my V66 - just all good luck. (Finally - jealous of the passenger door mirror, if only I had one of those!)
All good wishes,
Graeme

[dafdaffer]

I have a set of those id you wanted them? I did offer them to someone else last year but never had a reply

[volvograeme]

Mar 13, 2015 10:25:05 GMT dafdaffer said:

I have a set of those id you wanted them? I did offer them to someone else last year but never had a reply

I take it you mean the passenger door mirror? (or a matching set - even better I guess!) In which case - YES PLEASE!!

I'll send a message with further contact details.

Thank you

Graeme

[johnsaab]

That looks tidy enough.
Restoration is a can of worms. If you are restoring the car for sentimental reasons you will spend more than expected but at the end of it your car will take pride of place in your heart.
If you are restoring to re sell it works for some models but for the humble DAF (or in this case Volvo) it just doesn't add up...the final value of the car won't cover what you could pay in labour costs alone.
Renovation...thats the way to go...do whats needed rather than make it into a show car and for that there isn't a definitive answer.
I'm re-starting on our Volvo 66 this weekend and it's not as tidy as yours.
Still looking for the chrome strip that runs below the doors on this model...a decent bonnet wouldn't hurt either.

[mattsdafs]

That's a nice looking V66,body looks better than all of ours...

Thankyou Graeme for the kind words,however we are not that good...yet

John,can help with the parts you need,side strips will need looking for but we have about 8 bonnets in stock

[dafdaffer]

i used to have an estate in that colour...looks very tidy

[chris]

Thanks for the replies guys and apologies for my late return to this thread.

The brakes are all locked up ... cylinders seized I gather.
The engine was turned over a couple of years back in a vain attempt to get something done. That might have done more harm then good!
The drive train probably needs to be stripped out and rebuilt.

Essentially just about all moving parts needs attention.

The 'wish' would be to restore the car to a usable daily run-about, and not concourse level.
It would need to be done to a level that would make it unlikely to break down, as it would be used by a wheelchair user.

mtjm ....... the car is located in the West of Ireland, near Shannon airport. If you know of anybody in the area who could even make an assessment of the viability of getting it back on the road, that would help a lot.

volvograeme ...... thanks for the suggestion of Essex Daf, we will look into that. It is possible to transport the car to England if it is deemed worthwhile getting it back on the road.

Are there any other recommendations Like Essex Daf? It would be preferable to have an alternative or two if possible.

There would be no intention of selling the car if restored, but it would need to be reliable (in so far as that is attainable). If not then I guess it will be have to be sold as is

Thanks again for taking the time to reply ..... if ye think of anything else that might be useful please post as neither the owner nor I have any experience with this process.

regards.

PS am having trouble posting .....  hope this goes through .... 
EDIT  I seem to have lost half that post ....  will check if any info is omitted

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Crikey - a lot there - good luck!

With regards to where to get advice, especially of a technical variety in connection with the Variomatic and indeed all the mechanicals, best person is Steve Bidwell, founder of the club. He can also advise re spares etc. Although he is DAF through and through, he sorted the correct parts for the Volvo 66 I acquired that is now owned by Graeme - and he advised the garage that did the work on it.

He tends not to use the website so best thing is to email him directly. ( dafownersclub(at)bolsover.co.uk )

[mtjm]

Hi chris: that's a good part of the country. I'm from Limerick myself, so not very far away. I've asked around for places that could do the work. Most of the people I knew who worked on classic cars have retired. I did get a recommendation for Lyon's Garage in Miltown Malbay, who do a lot of classic work and aren't a huge distance away. They've a website and a Facebook page that shows some of their work: lyonsgarages.com/ and lyonsgarages.com/

There's also a classic Porsche specialist in Killaloe, who do work on other cars also. I've been told their work is amazing, but the prices could be a bit on the high side as you might expect from a Porsche specialist: www.classiccarworkshop.ie

If the car can be brought to the UK, I would happily recommend Get Smart in Bristol. They did a great job of recommissioning my 66, which had been off the road for 10 years and also restored my classic Mini for me. All for a very reasonable price. They're a small family business (father and teenage son). The father runs a fleet of Rover P6's and the son is restoring a Triumph Spitfire. I've also seen them work on old Austin's, an MK1 escort and a bunch of other classics. They have a website with a portfolio here: www.classiccarsbristol.co.uk/, in fact our Mini is shown on this page: www.classiccarsbristol.co.uk/repair-and-restoration/mini/

Mark

[chris]

Hi Mark,
               thanks for the info .....  you're missing the St. Pats day parade in Limerick today  

He has tried Lyons' and Killaloe and several others ...  one in Wexford I believe ....  none have any experience with the transmission end of things unfortunately, which is where the greater part of the restoration is.

I will pass on that Bristol suggestion .....  if they have experience of the CVT of that era that might work out ....  depending on costs of course. 
I don't expect it to be cheap, and probably couldn't even be estimated until work has begun ....

Did that Bristol garage do work on your Volvo transmission or only the body?

EDIT:  Nice looking job on the mini!  

Thanks again .......  and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all  

[mtjm]

Hey chris,

The Vario does scare off a lot of people. Paul at Get Smart in Bristol was happy to work on mine, once I loaned him with a workshop manual. The garage he uses for MOTs in Bristol also has a mechanic with some experience of them I believe. For my 66 they did mostly mechanical work, replacing almost all the brake components, exhaust, changing the Vario belts, servicing and tuning the engine. They also did some welding, which was mostly structural. They seemed happy with both the mechanical and body work. There's some more info on the work they did in this thread: dafcars.proboards.com/thread/2472/marks-multicoloured-1975-daf-66

The work they did on the Daf was quite good value. I sourced and supplied the parts (which came from people on this forum, the owner's club parts supply, and also from Daf Hobby in the Netherlands), so the only cost was their labour, which was very reasonable. I'll PM you with some idea of what it cost (and also the Mini as it was a much more in-depth job), once I manage to find some of the receipts.

[chris]

Thanks for the further information Mark ....  much appreciated.

I also wish to thank swissdave for the referral to someone based in Ireland who might be able to assist.

We really appreciate the help provided here ....  so a big thank you to you all.

regards.

[chris]

Hi guys, time to post an update on the situation here.
I had some time to spare so I dug into the Volvo having never seen one before.
Hopefully it will turn out better than it was!

First had a look at the engine. It turned but the starter soon failed to operate.
That is being replaced next week - part ordered.

Carburettor ... totally jammed (butterfly it seems) so took it off and the water line was also blocked.
That has been sent away in the hope of a refurb being possible.
We will know next week.

Not much else could be done with that so moved on to the brakes.

Freed up one front wheel but seals need replacing and I assume the same applies to the other.

Rear cylinders appear OK .... wheels freed ... but am not sure as the master cylinder has failed.
We only found one replacement for the master cylinder - dafhobby - and thought it a bit pricey but I suppose there is no alternative.
Hopefully that will be ordered next week along with some other parts.

While at the rear brakes there was a noticeable lag in the second wheel moving if the driver side was moved by hand.
This might account for the 'clunk' at take-off when last it was driven. A clutch shim adjustment was thought to be the problem back then.

So I dropped the half shafts and on examination the pass side universal joint was full of dirt and muck mixed with a little grease. The uni joint could not operate properly/fully.
All four boots/bellows were perished and they disintegrated when the shaft was handled.
Presently the half shafts and universal joints are in a bath trying to soak off the dirt etc.
Even so on that pass side wheel end there is a little play with the part that goes onto the splines.
Probably wear due to the muck preventing the joint from operating properly.
It is small but noticeable.
The intention is to clean them up, regrease, add new bellows and try it out.
We failed to find any mention of replacements in our searches.
Are the 343 half shaft and universal joints exactly the same? Also the Daf 66?
If so it might spread the net a bit if replacement is needed.

A lot of the time last week was taken with looking, learning and figuring out what does what and how!
Interesting week.


Next week the plan is to work on the engine, but that of course depends on the carb and starter being available.
Also I must finish cleaning up the half shafts and uni joints in preparation for refitting.

We will probalby order parts from dafhobby, unless someone reading this has other suggestions ... you can PM me if you wish.

The initial parts list looks like
master cylinder,
front brake seals,
half shaft bellows (x4)
and maybe
rear cylinders.

Are there other parts we should buy at the same time? If they will be needed it might save carriage.

With those in hand for the following week we should have a very good idea what the real situation is.
With some good fortune we might even have it driving around the yard.
At least we will be able to check for obvious malfunction of the CVT (which I hope not to have to touch).

It all took a lot longer than it would have if I was familiar with things.
Everything was strange to me. I did have the benefit of a Haynes manual when I got stuck!

One last item to mention ... the exhaust.
The joints seem to be rusted together.
It is probably full of dirt and rust too.
I don't know how much can be saved, but it seems replacement might be costly.


There you have it. First week's report.
I would appreciate feedback on the above ... no doubt I have gone wrong and/or missed some things which need attention.
Oh yes I replaced the oil in the drive (2 locations) while I was under there.

All pointers/links/whatever welcome.

Thanks.

[chris]

Update:-

Carburettor
 bad:    The refurb company commented "utterly bolloxed" when they inspected the carb 

 good:   They scoured their old stock stores and found every part needed to build a new carb from scratch.
             Using only the part that couples to the engine from the old carb, they built a 'brand new Solex' carburettor.
            Yeah!!!!!! 

bad:    It cost way too much ...  but had it done anyway.


Half Shaft
bad:  the universal joint at the rear pass. wheel is completely worn and useless. The splines on the half shaft itself are also worn.
No simple answer to this except a replacement half shaft and at least one good universal joint.

good:  none  


Starter Motor
bad:  the replacement part was not a direct replacement. No good. The guys said they will try to refurb the existing one, but are not confident of the outcome.
good: I believe we have located a couple of alternative possibilities if the above fails.


Brake Master Cylinder
bad: The replacements available from Dafhobby were not suitable ...  thankfully Danny spotted the problem before the parts were sent. He had only replacements for left-hand drive (which we might have over come with some pipework), but also the bore size was smaller on the unit in stock.
We have not yet located a suitable replacement.
good:  none  


If anyone can guide us in the right direction with any of the above it would be appreciated.  

For instance, as a Volvo 343 CVT is more likely to be located in a scrap yard than a Daf/Volvo 66, I wondered if the 343 half shaft would drop into the 66?  Is it the same length? Same diameter? Same universal joint? We have been trying to get definitive info but so far failed.

Thanks for reading,

Chris.

[chris]

Latest update ....


Starter Motor

Refurbished and back in hand. Problem solved, hopefully.  


Half Shaft

A replacement has been located and hopefully will be to hand within a week or so.  :-D
(The 343 half shaft is longer but the universal joints are the same I am told)


Brake Master Cylinder

We decided to open this ourselves to try to determine if it just needs the seals replaced or if the bore is scored and needs machining or complete replacement. On the to-do list for this weekend.

A replacement would be the preferred option, so still looking.

If anyone has a suggestion ....

[chris]

Just a quick update .....

The car drive out of the shed under its own steam last week.

It did not go far as it had no brakes, other than the handbrake  

The master brake cylinder is what is holding up a 'proper' test.

We got a quote for re-lining which equates to approx €300 all told.

That will have to wait for finances to sort themselves out ...

... else there is a possibility of a replacement on the horizon ...

will have to wait and see.

[mtjm]

Excellent news that it is moving under it's own power.

For a replacement master cylinder, have you tried Danny at Dafhobby? He lists this one, but I don't know if it would suit the Volvo (rather than Daf) 66: dafhobby.nl/daf_produkt.php?idnr=144&title=Master%20Cylinder%20DAF66%20ate%20with%20servo

Not likely to be much cheaper than re-lining when you include shipping though.

[mtjm]

Also, how about some photos?

[chris]

Posted by mtjmJun 11, 2015 at 8:21pm
Excellent news that it is moving under it's own power.

For a replacement master cylinder, have you tried Danny at Dafhobby? He lists this one, but I don't know if it would suit the Volvo (rather than Daf) 66: dafhobby.nl/daf_produkt.php?idnr=144&title=Master%20Cylinder%20DAF66%20ate%20with%20servo

Not likely to be much cheaper than re-lining when you include shipping though.

Thanks for that.

Yes we have been in touch with Danny and bought some parts from him.
Had actually ordered a replacement cylinder, but Danny spotted it was for a LHD 66 which is different to the RHD part.

Still hopeful for a replacement.

[chris]

Posted by mtjm
Jun 11, 2015 at 8:23pm
Also, how about some photos?

Hi Mark,

I have problems trying to post for some reason

Not a lot to photograph ....... it has been fairly standard stuff so far, from a mechanical point of view.

Rear half shaft and CV joints with boots and seals from Danny
Wheel bearings from local motor factors
Clutch cable broke so replaced with a bicycle brake cable from local cycle shop. 
New carb fitted and fired up first time, once we had some fuel getting to it
Replaced all the oils .... engine, diff etc etc
There might still be some difficulties with the engine ... won't know until it has been run for a while to get any crud out.
Brakes were freed out, seals replaced etc and hopefully will work properly when master cylinder is replaced
The refurbished starter is back and working well ...... we need a new battery as the existing one is not holding charge for long.
After fitting the replacement 'clutch' cable and allowing it to sit in place for a few days so it took the shape of the pully wheel, I set it up according to the Haynes manual.

Then started it up and VERY carefully drove out of the shed .... expecting at any minute something to go wrong and the car to shoot off at high speed  
As it turned out it drove off impeccably - an extremely smooth take off, if sounding a little too 'revvy' for my liking.
So it seems the transmission is functioning correctly at 'take-off' at least.


Nothing much else to be done until the master cylinder is replaced ..... and all we can do is hope the secondary cylinder on the brake servo is functioning correctly, else we will have further trouble.

So given the work done to date, there is not much to show in pics 
I might get a chance to take a pic of the grunged CV joint to show h0w bad it was, if that is of interest.

For the moment we are taking a break until the master cylinder can be sorted.

I would love to be in a position to post a short video of this car on the road 

Chris.

[chris]

New Carb fitted





Work to be done

Doors ....  where they meet the cills





and similar with the boot lid




Windows, as expected




The rest of the rust that is visible is mostly surface only, and in spots on the bodywork, so not too bad.

 

[chris]

The brake master cylinder was refurbished and fitted and brakes bled.
Unfortunately the brakes are not quite right as yet ......  possibly a problem with the brake servo - but it needs investigation.

The engine has been started and run for a short period.
It blows out lots of blue smoke, but this is possibly due to the previous addition of spirits to free up the engine.

We drove it for about a mile and found the transmission definitely is in need of tender loving care.
It was not changing as expected ....  although while on blocks we saw it change.

So still a few things to be sorted out, as well as attention needed to the bodywork.

The project is definitely delayed, but there is hope that some progress will be made over the Winter.