Volvo 745 Pickup + 4.8l V8 conversion

mixed a more blueish-green for the wells

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painted the D caps - numerous imperfections, however I'm done with this area, no more patience to continue refining at this time

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still have to paint the gate rail

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added "740_SE" and "INTERCOOLER" to the gate. The "SE" comes from a later 940 model, there was no 740 version, (EDIT - I forgot, there was a 91 740 SE, came with a full body color aero kit) - so it works for me.

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Painted the gate rail. Need to do some cleanup on the C post-bed rail transition, then move on to some mechanical work (driveshaft carrier, ujoints, etc) before we drive to Ithaca in a couple of weeks. Got it aligned today, toe was off & negative caster on the right side - car pulled slightly to the right.

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Volvo (Classic Parts, Sweden) still carries the tailgate inner panels, just not in the camel variety - so I ordered the beige they still have, no way to find a good used one at over 20 years old at best. 1391695

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still have a collection of panel clips for 700/900's, just not all the correct color - 2 beige - 2 burgundy

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the cab really isn't loud, but it's quieter with all the panels in

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SE: This one is a very rare Special Edition...

Thank you.

I worked on the driveshaft today - took a little while to get it set up safely for working underneath

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dead carrier - driveshaft halves are marked to indicate proper phasing

soaked the carrier plate in muriatic acid for a couple hours, got rid of the surface rust.

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there are slingers on either side that are not available - so I cut the old cage off to prevent them being damaged

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bearing off

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the bearing I had was a Scantech-packaged bearing, marked 90062RSR - which is a FAG bearing #. This was a cheap KO, the bearing sounded like it had 100K on it out the box. I ordered the correct Volvo 183265 / FAG 90062RSR bearing from the one real auto parts store, but what they received was a the wrong OD. Anyway, they ordered the correct number but it won't be here until Monday. I searched through my parts stash, and found that the bearing for the 850/x70/P1/P2 right axle carrier is the same OD, ID but 3mm wider (45,75x19 vs. 45,75x16). I figured I'd try it, it seemed as though the slinger would still have a shoulder to seat on

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used a worn AWD bevel gear spline coupler to press the bearing & cage onto the DS

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just enough shoulder for the slinger (not shown)

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car feels great now, very smooth. The driveshaft was flapping in the breeze
 
Worked on the wood for the bed side rails. I cut down old 5/4" x 4" for the slats. That was the original case molding for my 1890's house - so OLD wood

These ended up at 1/2" thick by the time I was done shaving the crusty outer layers. I may want closer to 3/4", so I'll have to cut down the other 4 - 5' remnants I have

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Tonneau 12oz canvas cover is being sewn by a friend - in exchange I will give her son's new (to him) 2012 Mazda3 turbo a good looking over.

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Playing around with the bed side rails. They will be epoxied once I'm done futzing with them. These are just for when I need to transport materials. Not to be left in place.

Positioned the side rails on the posts for drilling. Set the lower rail an inch of the bed rail, then the upper rail 1.25" above that.

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drilled two sets of 3/8" holes through each rail and post location for coach bolts

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the problem is that with them set like this, the upper one sticks out relative to the cab - I don't like it

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I think I may have to stagger the rails like this

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Undecided on this. Looks funky this way also. Probably have to leave them the original format. Any thoughts?

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Worked on the tonneau cover today, after doing the r/f wheel bearing on it, and a strut bearing on a friends V50, destroyed by one of our many large potholes (thought I had a pic of that, but I forgot). Added a 3rd layer of epoxy to the bed rail slats & posts - the first two layers were reduced with acetone to promote absorption into the old wood.

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drilled (1/8") & riveted the stainless 3/8" snap studs

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8" apart, 7 down each side, 8 across the gate

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hadn't resolved the corners when I had a friend do the hemming

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so, I just sewed it over. A little ungainly, but it works.

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took pics from a range of angles, I think it looks OK

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The forward edge & center will have ribs to help minimize sag

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Worked on the ribs for the tonneau.

1/4" rod. A little over 5' length each.

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middle rod has to be shortened & flattened to allow cover to pull down to snap

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put another coat of epoxy on the slats

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shaved the bottom corner of the gate to eliminate the corner scrape

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Installed the T-bolts on the posts this morning. Had to futz with the bores, I didn't have them all properly perpendicular to the post

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Then it took 2 hours to sand the 4 slats to get the epoxy level & remove most of the drips

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120, 240,1K,2K,3K, 5K, 7K wet&dry paper

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urethane layer to get the gloss back

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Cut down the headliner & recovered with heavy fabric

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Just need a sunroof motor cover

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Added the 200K medallion I've had stashed for the past 30 years

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Discovered a new issue with the tonneau once I drove on the highway. Seems that the vendor does not size the fabrics they sell for marine/auto use.

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I hot washed it, and dried on high temp to shrink it. Used the Home & Careers washer & drier.

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Fitted the wood today. Problematic, as I made the posts a pretty snug fit, so once it's all bolted together, not so easy to pull out as an assembly. Also I didn't clearly mark the slat locations, so I had to spend extra time figuring out which one went where. I will need to shave the lower halves where they pass thru the stake holders to make it easier to insert/remove. Happy with the overall look though.

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Put the pickup to good use today, I had to cut wood at school to make the frames for my AP end-of-year student paintings

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The paintings are on stretched canvas 36x20, the 'frame' is nailed directly the canvas stretcher bars. They get to paint whatever they want for the final piece, as long as they can explain their rationale for the work to me - some examples

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Playing around with the bed side rails. They will be epoxied once I'm done futzing with them. These are just for when I need to transport materials. Not to be left in place.

Positioned the side rails on the posts for drilling. Set the lower rail an inch of the bed rail, then the upper rail 1.25" above that.

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drilled two sets of 3/8" holes through each rail and post location for coach bolts

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the problem is that with them set like this, the upper one sticks out relative to the cab - I don't like it

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I think I may have to stagger the rails like this

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Undecided on this. Looks funky this way also. Probably have to leave them the original format. Any thoughts?

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How about making complex columns? Steam and bend wood the thickness of the rails to match the c pillar shape. Attach the rails to the 2 x 4 studs that fit into the existing bed sockets. ..you have gone this far.... Can you make me a stock 740 wagon with a 5 speed and turbo?
 
How about making complex columns? Steam and bend wood the thickness of the rails to match the c pillar shape. Attach the rails to the 2 x 4 studs that fit into the existing bed sockets. ..you have gone this far.... Can you make me a stock 740 wagon with a 5 speed and turbo?

Nah, I'm over the bed rails. They will work for what I need them for - time to move on :)

I can bring a stock 740 Turbo wagon up to usable status for you, assuming you can send me the wagon.... :cool:
 
Put the pickup to good use today, I had to cut wood at school to make the frames for my AP end-of-year student paintings

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The paintings are on stretched canvas 36x20, the 'frame' is nailed directly the canvas stretcher bars. They get to paint whatever they want for the final piece, as long as they can explain their rationale for the work to me - some examples

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Some nice work there.
 
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