Obsolete European

[Revere Cycles]

I've been a member here for about six years, maybe it is time that I post up my garage. I have posted my shed build here, titled "The New Swanky Workshop."

I bought my house in 2014, a colonial built in 1920 in Rochester, NY. My garage is 22' x 20', and original to the house. The previous owners put on a new roof and had a new slab poured just before they sold the place to me, so my two biggest concerns were already taken care of.

I work as a restoration stonemason, but older cars are my hobby. I currently own the following:

1966 Volvo 122S wagon
1969 Volvo 1800S
1976 Mercedes Benz 280 Sedan
and 1996 Volvo 960 wagon

I also have a 2001 GMC 3500 dump truck that's ugly and nothing but a nightmare to maintain. For the sake of this thread, let's pretend that it doesn't exist.

Anyway, I've owned Volvos for most of my adult life; they're comfortable, easy to work on, and extremely durable (but not always reliable). I had a 740 wagon for many years until I bought the 960 from the original owner in 2013. A year later, I found the 122S by chance in an IPD classified ad, and the Benz came around in 2015 after I had the highest bid on an eBay auction ($100). My 1800S is the most recent acquisition, a true survivor, California car stashed in Upstate NY in a dry location.

At first, I thought I would do some light wrenching, but as more and more mechanics expressed distain for my old cars, I started repairing them on my own. Unless I need tires mounted and balanced or a NYS inspection, all my vehicles are repaired here at my garage. It's interesting how these cars have transformed my garage, from what I thought would be simple storage to an actual busy workshop.

 

[930dreamer]

I love the Volvo wagons.

 

[Revere Cycles]

My first garage project came in the form of an overgrown section to the left of the garage. The previous owners used it as a debris field, but I thought it would be better served as a finished "garage patio" where I could park a project car in nicer weather, or use as a project space without having to cut grass or worry about standing in the mud. These bricks were salvaged from a client who wanted a new patio made from Pennsylvania bluestone.

 

[Revere Cycles]

So on to wrenching: the Mercedes was such a silly impulse buy, non-running with flat tires. I bought it as a joke more than anything, but once I figured out how the previous owner's son mangled the ignition system, the car fired right up and never quit running. I try to come up with excuses to sell it but I just can't find anything. Three years, 30k miles, two trips to Watkins Glen for opening weekend, driven year round. It's the most reliable car I own, not pretty, definitely rusty and not worth restoring, but as loyal as a rescued pet.

I treated it to some alloy wheels and leather seats from a 450 SEL. The leather was a perfect color match to the old MB tex. Here's a photo from me swapping over the seat rails and frames.

The 122S was a real great find. Purchased via European delivery, the original owner drove it in Sweden before it was shipped to the US. It only saw six years and 133k miles on US roads before it got hit in the rear quarter and put away in 1972. It's surprisingly rust free, but I've had a hard time finding a body specialist who wants to straighten and paint it for me. I showed the car to about a dozen folks who all flaked out on me for one reason or another. I did find a local Volvo guy who wants to do it, and I've seen his work, so we're coordinating the restoration now as he wraps up his current project.

When I got the 1800S, it had over 326k documented miles and was already on a replacement engine from an early Volvo 240. This car had a Volvo B20F with a shaved head, Weber downdraft carb, and custom exhaust when I bought it. The B20F threw a rod bearing after the oil cooler sprung a leak and I lost all my oil about three blocks from my house (unknown to me at the time). A friend surprised me with another B20F late one evening. It looked gross, but once I opened it up to take a peek inside, I discovered it was much more powerful than what the car came with. Shaved head, a hot cam, IPD/Isky high rev lifter kit, larger rods, larger pistons, and much more. I stripped the "new" motor down, cleaned it, replaced gaskets and seals, painted it, and put it back in with steel timing gears and a few other little odds and ends. While it was out, I rebuilt a pair of SU carbs and overhauled the original transmission. I was able to swap engines over the summer with the help of family and friends.

More engine swap photos are here:

 

[driftpin]

Old cars in the Snow/Rust Belt. Are they rusty? Fasteners frozen? What part of the city are you in?

Rochester in the 1960's was happening, Kodak had probably 40,000 employed, Xerox stock was splitting, Rochester Products/GM was doing a lot of work, Pfaudler made industrial equipment for Anheuser-Bush, Castle was the equipment you expected to see in your dentist's office, GE had a plant there, everybody knew the jingle, "good things to-eat come from Number 1 Mustard Street," (French's foods) and Ragu was a household name. The future seemed so-bright, you needed Bausch and Lomb sunglasses.

Then Saul Alinsky and the Alliance for Progress showed-up, and threatened a methane sit-in at the Rochester Philharmonic, while demanding Kodak provide jobs for inner-city blacks; the summer of riots ignited in Rochester and other cities; and dissention over Vietnam separated people.

I just spent my first extended visit there in 50 years, this summer, and was happy to see some bright spots in the economy. The Farmer's Market was pretty-busy, a friend's younger brother has a metalworking shop next-to it (John Grieco's) and it was interesting to spend some time along the river. I also visited the Genesee Restaurant and small-batch brewery, and read how they (Genesee Brewing) brought down the Erie Canal several wood vats they installed in the renovated brewery, considered "too-large" for roadway transport.

Unless you have a storage yard somewhere, it sounds like you have more-than you have space for. Are you selling anything? I had a '89 240 DL I bought from the original owner (less-than 60K miles), and kept for many years, but I ended up spending more and more $ on fixing it. I was afraid to take any trips in it because of its potential for failure. Getting it back-home from a thousand miles away might cost more-than it was worth, broken.

Cool that you have Simon Templar's car, though.

I forget which, there was an article in either R&T or Car and Driver, about the guy who has a large Lancia parts collection, and he commented that he got a lot of business from Rochester, because Lancia was a car that engineers bought, because of their design, and there were a lot of engineers in Rochester due-to the industry there.

 

[Revere Cycles]

Anyway, so here's my shop as it currently sits. Lately, my local pick and pull had a bunch of great Volvo and Mercedes donors, so I picked up four sets of wheels on the cheap, one set even had brand new rubber on them! I'm trying to figure out what to do with all these wheels because I don't want to sell them just yet, but I also don't need them right away... Currently looking into loft ideas, but I need to reframe the ceiling to do it.

The Harbor Freight 56" box was a new addition that replaced my old Snap On KRA-300 and Utica/Bonney roller cabinet. I really wanted a US made box, but for the price and features, it couldn't be beat. I really am pleased with this new box, and I can really see a big difference in my productivity and organization.

 

[Revere Cycles]

Old cars in the Snow/Rust Belt. Are they rusty? Fasteners frozen? What part of the city are you in?

Unless you have a storage yard somewhere, it sounds like you have more-than you have space for. Are you selling anything? I had a '89 240 DL I bought from the original owner (less-than 60K miles), and kept for many years, but I ended up spending more and more $ on fixing it. I was afraid to take any trips in it because of its potential for failure. Getting it back-home from a thousand miles away might cost more-than it was worth, broken.

Cool that you have Simon Templar's car, though.

I live near the Seneca Park Zoo, the entrance to the park is at the end of my street. The 1800S goes into dry storage for winter, the Benz stays outside, and the 960 goes in the garage with the 122. With the 122 going out for paint and body work soon, I will have one of the bays available for winter parking again, either for the Benz or my girlfriend's car, but she prefers to park outside since I have a long driveway and it takes a bit to clear during heavy snow. As essential hospital personnel, it is much faster for her to park at the end, clear the last 10', and drive to work, instead of clearing 150' of driveway.

The car from Florida is the worst, which is the Benz, it needs floors badly. The 960 was galvanized at the factory and is very clean inside and out. I've serviced just about every inch of that car and if there was a terribly rusty part to be found, it would be the Reese trailer hitch that I never use anyway. The 122 is extremely clean underneath and even the most rust prone areas are 100% solid, just surface rust, with dealer installed undercoat still oily and protecting the entire lot. The 1800S is a true California car, the only rusty areas are two small holes from when the guy who painted it in 1985 plugged up the weep holes and water collected. All the bolts come off easy.

None of my Volvos are that needy that the repair expense prevented me from driving them long distances. I put 25k on the 960 the first year I owned it, it just needed a timing belt, that was it. The 960 blew a head gasket after a "reputable" shop installed the wrong heater valve and it burst when driving on a busy road from being overtightened. I had planned to do a head gasket job myself when I found the junk yard motor with documentation in the glovebox from it being a factory replacement. Other than that, it's fine to drive anywhere. The 1800S had sat for several years and needs typical 50 year old car stuff, but I managed to put 5k miles on it in the last six months. One day, I drove 500 miles round trip without any issues other than a loose bolt on the throttle linkage. New OE parts are still affordable through VP Autoparts.

 

[NTCRS]

Volvo is always interesting, following