Preparing For Dallara Body Kit

Hussein...

Its only 2750 square feet but I can send the other guys home to make room for ya!

Hey... don't forget to try those "paintless dent" guys first... I've seen them work miracles.

That's bigger than my house :D Thanks for the offer, though

The paintless guys I've dealt with can't do much if they can't get behind it. I'll live with it for now.
 
That's bigger than my house :D Thanks for the offer, though

The paintless guys I've dealt with can't do much if they can't get behind it. I'll live with it for now.

Yeah... its bigger than my last house too!

As Tony K said, that was what I was alluding to as well. BUTTTT... the paintless guys have a myriad of other tricks as well. Before you start messing with it, it might behoove you to ask for a few other opinions.

BTW, I have no horse in this race... just trying to make life a little easier on you.

Best regards....
 
Paint less dent co. will drill a small access hole and massage the dent out from underneath, then plug the hole with a small rubber plug.
You would be amazed how completely they can repair a dent like that, and probably in an hour or so start to finish
A buddy of mine has a car lot and they use these guys all the time. It is amazing to watch them work.
 
Hey Hussein. I totally agree with Tony and Michael. Talk to a REALLY GOOD dent removal guy. They have their ways for most any situation. A good friend of mine is one. My granddaughter got a decent sized dent in her trunk lid where there was no access from behind and we thought there was no hope. He was unfazed. We watched - in horror at first - him glue a stud-like thing to the dent and attach a device that looked like a slide hammer. Couple of yanks and the dent was gone. Then some chemical to release the glue. The result was perfect.

He made it look easy - but I know it was not....Like watching an artist at work.

The trick is to find a really good one. I've used a few. Some are much better than others. Ask around at the better car dealerships who they use. Surely you must know the local Volvo dealership well...ask them.

Good luck. Doug
 
Working on the top spring perches.
Fronts have been cut off flush, and will have the shown collar welded, it is an interference fit in the Volvo/Saab strut bearing, I cut a Koyo outer bearing race in half to use
rears have been cut down & have a sleeve that is an interference fit in the spring. Used a holesaw per rx1900's directions to remove the inner seat of the perch.

I'm going to cut off the outer spring seat lip previously utilized for the stock springs, it is unnecessary.

Forgot to add this revision - switched to stiffer springs at the same time. Posted here originally

Ordered a pair of the Ford mounts (KYB SM5607). I forgot the rear perch has the cone integrated. Fortunately, I had the parts I put together as an alternate top perch when I was making the coil overs, so these work just fine with my coilovers. I don't have a standard rear perch anymore to compare how these could work with stock suspension.

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Put in the 175/350 springs (for the K24) while I was at it.

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EDIT: Revised mount after input from Doug...

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to push strut as far into mount as possible

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Drilled 3/8" holes (tried 5/16" first, but that didn't allow enough deflection for when the mount conforms to the arc of the tower cap, I used the inner hole as the guide, then drilled the outer (fore/aft) two, using a cardboard template made from the focus mount. Bolted the doubler plate in place for drilling. Stud spacing is approx 83mm

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How happy are you with the end result?

With the rear strut mounts? Yes. The stock ones (even with strut plate doublers) are just too weak for the heavier springs and coilovers. With the K24, I would imagine the stock ones would fail in less than the few years I got out of them. I would prefer lighter (then the current 175/350) rear coils, these are too stiff for my taste, but required for the K24 torque.
 
Worked in the trunk & quarters. Finally got to dynamat the inner wheel arches & added some of the left over trunk carpet from my targa mod. Added a layer of batting to the backside of my deteriorating access cover panel. Grey carpet will be swapped out for black when that arrives. Looks better even with the mismatched colors :)

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Hey Hussein...

You have a lot of stuff going on back there... The pockets and rope tie-downs... what do you use them for?

The wiring and pin on the left? And lastly the "stepped" access cover? (DON'T you dare tell me these are Volvo items!)

Have you left "no stone unturned"?

HA!

Did ya ever get in touch with a paintless dent removal guy?
 
Hey Hussein...
You have a lot of stuff going on back there... The pockets and rope tie-downs... what do you use them for?
The wiring and pin on the left? And lastly the "stepped" access cover? (DON'T you dare tell me these are Volvo items!)
Have you left "no stone unturned"?
HA!
Did ya ever get in touch with a paintless dent removal guy?

Hey Tony
The pockets are Volvo tool bags, contain Volvo lug wrench and Spanners. Stuff on left is factory wiring + Volvo vacuum lines (purple) that go to the Volvo vacuum holding tank (white plastic "balls") tucked up in there. The tank is for the (vacuum controlled) Volvo heater control valve. The stepped cover is stock, it covers the step in the access plate that is the air duct for the (removed) inj. fan

Did I mention Volvo enough :D ?

I'd have to go to a body shop to make an appointment for a PDR guy, they don't do house calls. I'll get around to it.
 
Hey Tony
The pockets are Volvo tool bags, contain Volvo lug wrench and Spanners. Stuff on left is factory wiring + Volvo vacuum lines (purple) that go to the Volvo vacuum holding tank (white plastic "balls") tucked up in there. The tank is for the (vacuum controlled) Volvo heater control valve. The stepped cover is stock, it covers the step in the access plate that is the air duct for the (removed) inj. fan

Did I mention Volvo enough :D ?

I'd have to go to a body shop to make an appointment for a PDR guy, they don't do house calls. I'll get around to it.

I didn't happen to notice until you mentioned VOLVO...

Good on you about the PDR... hopefully it works out and he's reasonable. Around here though, a phone call and they come to you. You might try a few more, especially if he's not supporting a brick and mortar building and staff!
 
Next projet will probably be a merge of both of your projects: an AWD X19 with the C30/S40)V50 drivetrain.

Daniel - I seriously considered the Volvo drivetrain & EMS, since I’m comfortable with it, but the 5cyl is just too wide. Given the fabrication involved, the fact that Volvo parts typically cost way over that of Honda, and the time it would take to figure a custom subframe and axle solution, it’s a non-contender.
 
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Hello!
Went through this thread again, mostly looked at details how You attached kit, so sory, if I didn’t see answer, do You know:
•How much approximately Dallara kit weigh?
•How much weigh did You cut out?
•What is difference in total weigh of car befora and after Dallara?

I’m looking on Cascu kit (one in the picture). To keep it street legal I would have to make it “deattachable” and keep original body panels or cut them out in a way that should look like from factory.
At the moment am looking why I shouldn’t do it, weigh is only I could think of, don’t want to add much more than by adding filler to damaged body.
 
MK...

I've seen a few of these and I prefer the permanent installation.

Our Chris Obert (FiatPlus.com) has (had) a Dallara racer where all the panels were affixed with Dzus fasteners which allowed easy removal and access to everything. I believe even the doors were fastened this way. He even modified the trans for "lightness" by removing 4th gear specifically for Autocross racing!

In either case... attempting to maintain the original "factory" panels and appearance would be quite difficult and in effect defeat the primary purpose(s) of the kit altogether.

I contend those would be:

1. Appearance
2. M.O.T.
3. Maintaining "silhouette" for some race requirements.
4. Lightness.

Hope this helps with your decision.

OH! Where does one find this "Cascu" kit and how much? Thanks!
 
MK...

I've seen a few of these and I prefer the permanent installation.

Our Chris Obert (FiatPlus.com) has (had) a Dallara racer where all the panels were affixed with Dzus fasteners which allowed easy removal and access to everything. I believe even the doors were fastened this way. He even modified the trans for "lightness" by removing 4th gear specifically for Autocross racing!

In either case... attempting to maintain the original "factory" panels and appearance would be quite difficult and in effect defeat the primary purpose(s) of the kit altogether.

I contend those would be:

1. Appearance
2. M.O.T.
3. Maintaining "silhouette" for some race requirements.
4. Lightness.

Hope this helps with your decision.

OH! Where does one find this "Cascu" kit and how much? Thanks!
Thanks!
Here is link to Cascu kit.
http://www.cascu.co.uk/X19.htm
In my situation
1.MOT
2.Appearance/Lightness
 
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