Amazon: 1964 Amazon 122S restoration project

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Juular

To finish off with the electrics:

I fitted a set of new halogen lamps.



I'm really pleased with those. The output is on a different planet.

Rear number plate light wiring was somewhat bodged previously as it was just wrapped round the bulb holder and duct taped.



Soldered and crimped.







This car came with a single window washer nozzle on the driver's side. The donor car had the later twin nozzle on the bonnet, so I drilled a hole and installed that.





The fuel level sender wasn't working. I traced this to the connection to the variable resistor on the left side. Fixed that with a small bit of solder.



Modified the fuse box to accept normal size fuses on the top slot, as getting / making stubby fuses is not ideal.



Reverse lights, high beam flash and overdrive were all non functional despite being properly wired. This turned out to be the old style relays all being shot.

These ones.



Replacing them with modern relays completely solved all of the problems.



Finally, after failing to get a number of generator and voltage regulator combinations actually working, I decided to fit an alternator. I could of course buy an off the shelf alternator and fitting kit but you all know by now how miserable I am.

A friend gave me a loan of a Lucas 35A alternator from an MGB. It was the wrong handedness but I vowed it was going to fit.

Made a cradle for it from angle iron.



I then lengthened the slotted tension bar by welding two together. The final mod was to create a tensioner system from bits of bracket, threaded bar, and welded nuts.



This all works nicely.

Charges well.

On those old Lucas alternators, you can swap their hand by removing the three through-bolts and rotating the drive-end bracket until they brackets line up for the opposite hand. You need to drill out the M8 threaded hole so the bottom bolt can pass through what was originally the adjuster bolt hole and use a nut and longer bolt for the new adjuster hole.
Would have saved you some grief making up the extended adjuster that way as well.

When i say "old Lucas alternators" i'm including everything with three through-bolts from the ACR series (probably the MGB alternator) all the way through to the A127 so you could up the output easily to 80-100A if you wanted.

[Juular]

That's a good tip about the alternator, I can now see what you mean. It wouldn't have helped in my case as the alternator was on loan and I didn't want to start dismantling it.

I did order a 50A acr replacement but since the bracket has been made now it's just a case of dropping it in.

They're so cheap and easily available that it made sense to use it.

[Juular]

Well that's about it.



First turn of the wheels under its own steam for a very long time.

https://youtu.be/Kj_mUvCWUGk?si=1fFvLTcJRcvHrlVM

Baby steps first, to the end of the street.



Then after some carb tweaking, to the first fillup.



Then on some longer runs.







Then off to a friend's place to meet some other RWD Volvos amongst others.





Initial thoughts. It drives really well. Surprised at how lively the engine is, it pulls better than I expected. It has bags of low down torque which is absolutely not what I expected from the D cam. It seems a great choice.

Everything seems to work well, no unwanted noise anywhere. I've had some problems with dirt in the fuel lines but I've overcome that with a coarse prefilter followed by a big injection filter from a Volvo T5. It will do until I line the tank.

Gearbox, overdrive and 4.1 diff combination seems a perfect match for me. Plenty of shift but surprisingly relaxed at 60-70 in OD.

Brakes and steering, despite being unassisted, are excellent in my view. I left the alignment as-is and it drives dead straight.

Need to spend more time tuning the AFR as it's not perfect yet.

Not a big fan of the seatbelt design, I am conflicted on whether to fit inertia reel belts.

It's surprisingly comfortable and feels like a nice solid tub, can really feel the quality that makes me love my 240.

Future plans. Drive it. Drive it some more. I plan to take it to FOTU next year as-is, and possibly a Volvo anniversary road trip to the Volvo museum with some friends in number models.

I don't know if I will paint it. I like the rat rod look, but I would also like to change the colour at some point, plus it would be good to stop the bodywork rusting further.

Have ditched original idea of fitting a brake servo, it's totally unnecessary.

Long term I will see how I feel about the economy of the B18. So far I like the character of the engine, the twin carbs sound fantastic. However I still also like the idea of fitting a diesel engine such as an XUD or an OM605 as I have access to WVO which changes everything.

If I can get circa 30mpg from the car I'd be happy to keep the B18 but I don't know if that's remotely feasible.

[Laird Scooby]

Not a diseasel please!

Definitely not one of those horrible PSA things for sure!

I'm fairly sure Sir Alan of Corby del Sol (aka "Othen" on here) gets somewhere near 30mpg out of his Amazon, he'll probably be along at some point in the near future to confirm the exact figure.

If you're hoping to reduce running costs, what about an LPG conversion? An R90E vapouriser and a pair of mixer plates between the carbs and manifold and whatever mixture control you want to go for from there (some have simple tuning, other have electronic but that needs a universal Lambda sensor added to the exhaust manifold/downpipes) plus a boot mounted tank and you're pretty much there. Yes, there are other bits and pieces but that's the basic idea.

[Burdekin]

I like the quirkiness of the static belts but inertia are much easier to live with.

[Othen]

What a wonderful project this has been, well done.

It has ended up being almost the same specification as GAM: B18D with twin SU carburettors, M40/41 gearbox with type D overdrive but retaining the 4.1:1 rear axle, no servo brakes or PAS, alternator, halogen lamps, original seat belts. I find there is nothing wrong with any of that - so I'd suggest leaving it all is it is.

Regarding fuel consumption: GAM will do 30 MPG on a run, and generally 25 MPG on short journeys around town, but it seems to have improved a little since I changed the rear part of the exhaust pipe (that is rather anecdotal at the moment as I have not used a tank of Morrison's very cheapest petrol yet to measure it). I think that is okay for the way I use GAM (I drive it most days, mostly in and around town).

I'd very much agree with the overdrive and 4.1:1 rear axle being a good solution, and wonder why Mr Volvo never offered it (I suppose petrol was relatively cheap back in the 60s so fuel consumption didn't matter much). In the summer I use the original wheels (like yours) with 165/80 section tyres which raise the gearing to about 7% above standard (so the speedometer reads slow - we have discussed this previously). This time of year I use some later (cheap and plentiful) wheels with 175/60 section winter tyres, these make the speedometer spot on and the motorcar quite spritely, but I lose the advantage of more relaxed cruising - although I don't really use GAM for longer journeys during the cold months.

I'm not sure I like the idea of a diesel conversion much, although I like diesels generally (and have one in my Skoda Superb - which is excellent). I'd say that having got it running okay with period parts then it would be a good idea to keep it that way. You might also have issues getting the gearing right as most diesels run slower. I'm not sure what WVO is - I'm guessing it is used cooking oil from the Chinese takeaway at the end of your road? If that is right then I suppose it might be an advantage leaving an aromatic trail of egg foo young and special fried rice in your wake, but I don't think it would be worthwhile unless you plan to use the Amazon a great deal.

I like the quirky 1960s seatbelts (and none in the back). I would not have thought they would be very safe in case of an accident, but one might argue the same is true of the lack of crumple zones, ABS, airbags... USW. I'd say leave them as they are (as I have done in GAM); I don't think it would be very difficult to fit some inertia-reel ones but that would lose a little of the Amazon's charm.

I agree about the lack of a braking servo and PAS not being an issue. One soon learns to press the brake pedal really hard and avoid tight spots in Morrison's parking lot.

I'm not sure about the painting idea: I think the motorcar looks fine as it is but I take your point about protecting it from corrosion. It would be easy to get carried away and spend thousands on a nice paint job, but then it would look much better than the interior so you would have to fix that... where would you stop? Maybe get some similar coloured smooth Hamerite spray for any bits prone to rust?

To conclude (because it is 06:30 and so Bobwalkin time): well done for saving a lovely old motorcar at small cost (but with a great deal of your time and not inconsiderable skill). I like it the way it is (very like GAM).

Alan

[Juular]

I've never been sold on the idea of LPG unless I bought the car with it already fitted. Even fitting it myself it would take a very long time to get the costs back, plus filling stations seem to be sharply on the decline.

I'm not a massive fan of petrol engines in general (notable exception being the T5 in my C70) but the B18 does seem to be a particularly good engine. I find carbs a constant faff however.

I can understand the appeal of keeping things original, but with a balance against usability. I never keep cars for the weekend, regardless of age. I treat every one as a daily driver.

I doubt I will swap out the engine for quite a while as I'm really enjoying it. However longer term I'd like to be able to put the miles on it and I don't want the enjoyment to be spoiled by having one eye on the fuel gauge all the time.

I really like the Peugeot engine, I consider it to be one of the best engines ever made. Strong, light, ultra reliable, frugal, great output for its age and size. It was a game changer when it was released and it changed the way diesel engines were perceived. I have huge appreciation for the way they "just work", I have lost count of the amount of high mileage XUD powered cars I've dragged out of hedges after 8 years that just started right up even with a tank of cold chip fat. Huge respect.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Juular

I've never been sold on the idea of LPG unless I bought the car with it already fitted. Even fitting it myself it would take a very long time to get the costs back, plus filling stations seem to be sharply on the decline.

I'm not a massive fan of petrol engines in general (notable exception being the T5 in my C70) but the B18 does seem to be a particularly good engine. I find carbs a constant faff however.

I can understand the appeal of keeping things original, but with a balance against usability. I never keep cars for the weekend, regardless of age. I treat every one as a daily driver.

I doubt I will swap out the engine for quite a while as I'm really enjoying it. However longer term I'd like to be able to put the miles on it and I don't want the enjoyment to be spoiled by having one eye on the fuel gauge all the time.

I really like the Peugeot engine, I consider it to be one of the best engines ever made. Strong, light, ultra reliable, frugal, great output for its age and size. It was a game changer when it was released and it changed the way diesel engines were perceived. I have huge appreciation for the way they "just work", I have lost count of the amount of high mileage XUD powered cars I've dragged out of hedges after 8 years that just started right up even with a tank of cold chip fat. Huge respect.

Most XUD engines were designed fro transverse use and many n/asp versions have crumbling cylinder heads at scarily low mileage if they've been used well. I worked in a Pug main dealers for a while and saw several (1 a month usually) come through with heads that had disintegrated. Oddly the turbo heads were treated to prevent this but it was less needed on the turbo so a case of bolting the stable door etc.
If you really want to go down the diseasel route, i'd look at something a little more modern for a RWD set-up and get the matching gearbox. If you could find one, a Rover SD1 2400SD engine and box, Jeep/Range Rover engine and box (very similar to the SD1 engine but 2.5 instead of 2.4), some smaller BMW/Merc models with RWD or even the box from an 1800 Manta and the 1.6/1.7 Opel diesel (there is an LPT version running ~4psi that is surprisingly good on performance and economy and should still run WVO as it's the old Bosch pump, not a common rail thing) from a Mk2/3 Cavalier or similar, turn the engine round (easy because it's the same block as the 1800 Manta) and cobble it all together. Only about 60bhp so won't win any races but won't look wildly out of place under the Amazon bonnet.

[Bigbunt]

Originally Posted by Juular

I've never been sold on the idea of LPG unless I bought the car with it already fitted. Even fitting it myself it would take a very long time to get the costs back, plus filling stations seem to be sharply on the decline.

I'm not a massive fan of petrol engines in general (notable exception being the T5 in my C70) but the B18 does seem to be a particularly good engine. I find carbs a constant faff however.

I can understand the appeal of keeping things original, but with a balance against usability. I never keep cars for the weekend, regardless of age. I treat every one as a daily driver.

I doubt I will swap out the engine for quite a while as I'm really enjoying it. However longer term I'd like to be able to put the miles on it and I don't want the enjoyment to be spoiled by having one eye on the fuel gauge all the time.

I really like the Peugeot engine, I consider it to be one of the best engines ever made. Strong, light, ultra reliable, frugal, great output for its age and size. It was a game changer when it was released and it changed the way diesel engines were perceived. I have huge appreciation for the way they "just work", I have lost count of the amount of high mileage XUD powered cars I've dragged out of hedges after 8 years that just started right up even with a tank of cold chip fat. Huge respect.

I have to say I love my B18 D with SUs! My first car (since lost to a massive tree falling on it) had the very popular Weber conversion and it was fine. The intake sounded great and it was very familiar, being your basic carb with an accelerator pump and all. But I would always look at a box stock B18 (in the States) with the dual SUs with a bit of envy.
When I got my second Amazon, it was quite stock including the carbs and I had to spend last winter diving deep into them including rebuilding, and I have to say they’ve been just great! They’ve caused no problems in the approximately 3k miles I put on them this season and I generally garage the car with the hood (bonnet!) up just to look at my beautiful engine!
I too have a P1 V50 with the T5 which I also enjoy a lot, and part of the enjoyment comes from the contrast in the two automotive personalities…

Anyway, just an opinion. Love keeping these cars on the road in any form!

Cheers from the USA !

[Juular]

The car continues to drive really nicely. I have however encountered a problem with the overdrive.

Since getting the car on the road OD has worked fine at all speeds and engaged nice and positively. However it stopped working last week. I noticed that the solder joint on the solenoid had broken off, so I simply removed the solenoid, redid the joint with a new wire, and refitted it.

Then the problem started. Engine off, the solenoid still activates in 4th, you can hear the clunk. However it's now not working at higher speeds. Around the streets it works as normal, but on a motorway at 60-70 it simply does nothing.

I found that with no pressure on the throttle pedal it will activate at 70, but as soon as I touch the accelerator it jumps out of OD.

Oil has recently been checked and a small dribble comes out of the fill hole on a level surface.

Electrically everything is fine, I've tested continuity of every connection and as I say it works reliably at lower speeds.

Have I disturbed something by removing the solenoid?