Volvo P1800ES...kinda

NOHOME said:

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Might have to do a drive over to your summer shop in MI. Mrs NOHOME likes that part of the world.

make the date and address public and i'll be there!  this car is definitely one for which i'd drive across the state of MI to see my ugly mug in the reflection off that paint!

In reply to NOHOME :

Thanks for the link - I'll check them out.

Funny you mention FiTech.  Last week I get home from work and there are a pile of large boxes sitting on my porch. "Hmm... I didn't order anything..." and then saw "FiTech" on all of the labels, and then saw the address is for the guys next door.  Either the UPS guy got the addresses mixed up or he was being "good" and left them on my porch since it's covered (and my neighbor's is not).  The guys next door have a bunch of GM A-bodies and when I went over to tell them where the boxes are, he asked if they were gas tanks.  Looked like two of the boxes were. 

Part of me wishes they offered something that could work on inline-engine 4 and 6 cylinder cars, but at least for the Volvo B20, there is already a fairly easy option, if a bit expensive.

In reply to Ian F :

Part of me wishes they offered something that could work on inline-engine 4 and 6 cylinder cars, but at least for the Volvo B20, there is already a fairly easy option, if a bit expensive.

You mean like the 2 barrel version? Finding a few on MGBs already. No one says you have to mount them facing up either; theoretically you can use them upside down if it suited.

Pete

I swear, you're never going to actually drive this are you? LOL

Crackers said:

I swear, you're never going to actually drive this are you? LOL

I dunno, getting close. Unless I decide that it would be better off with an LSx and do a rewind. Engineers have this disease where, when they are close to getting a project done, they decide that there is a better way to do it, and then want to start all over from scratch.  

All kidding aside, building a car that the wife-unit is actually going to want to drive is a whole other game than building a hot-rod for myself. The plan is to have the car drivable for short jaunts on the road by mid may and at the local car show by June1.  Top of the list is to get the car safety checked, insured and tagged by the end of the month. Then I can take it out on the roads.

Pete 

In reply to NOHOME :

The big problem with that 2 barrel set-up is any sort of TBI on a B20 would be somewhat of a step backwards from the system that came with the car, which for a 50 year old EFI system, isn't bad.  It just needs a new control system.  A basic MegaSquirt setup wouldn't be terribly expensive as much of the components are already on the engine. The pricey version does this while making the car look like it still has the factory D-Jet. 

I drew the line at wanting to learn how to code a megasquirt to run the engine. The Fitech is like your iphone, you just assume it will work and it will, does not require that you learn why and how a cell phone works.

How well it works and for how long it works is still up for the seeing. A new  Holley 650 would have been half the cost, a quarter tof the hastle,  and probably worked out of the box just as well.

NOHOME said:

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Coming form you and the rides you have drove, that is high praise. Thank you.

 

Might have to do a drive over to your summer shop in MI. Mrs NOHOME likes that part of the world.

 

Pete

I'm all about hosting a get together/slumber party at my beach in the middle of nowhere. You need to get this driving. 

In reply to NOHOME :

That is the appeal of the StealthEMS system. It's essentially a plug & play replacement for D-Jet. It's not cheap, but part of what you're paying for is the tuning work put into making it easy to install. 

I have such a general hatred of carburetors that I'm not sure it would have been less hassle for me. 

Crackers said:

I swear, you're never going to actually drive this are you? LOL

Insurance coverage starts May 1st. Of this year.

So, it should be happening soon!

Inasmuch as I feel like it is time for yet another career change, Auto Upholstery is NOT going to be the plan!!!

Three hours of fun and I got the one seat-back buttoned up. The actual goal is simple but made difficult by the need to locate components using two hands and a lot of effort while simultaneously using hand tools to attach said components. Plan ahead...I seriously recommend the growing of an extra two arms if you have to do this.

Except for the wrinkles on the one bolster, I am not unhappy with the results and will probably resolve that with a bit of heat.

The challenge when doing this is locating the listing strips ( black strip) along the listing wire ( buried in the foam). This is working up inside of a cavity and requires two hands to pull the black strip down into place. THEN you need to get the hogring pliers in there and clip the two together.

The solution was to use twine and make a slip loop to pull the two together. This frees up one hand to do the hogring crimping. Two hands would be better, but one will do especially if they are bigger hands than mine!

You can see the metal hog rings clipping the cover to the seat frame. It is griping a buried wire in the seat foam. When done, simply trim the string and move to the next strip as per instructions. I imagine you could use tie-wraps to do the same thing as I do with the string. Maybe replace the hog rings with the tie wraps?

If doing this again, I would not have gone with the headrest speakers.

Pete

I've heard of and seen zip-ties used in lieu of hog-rings.

The OE Miata covers have a zippered top part (at least all of my Miata seats do). These don't have them?

Upholstery and interiors is a task I'd like to learn more about.   I dabbled a bit with some with my ex's Spitfire and a simple custom cover she made for a coworker.   Much like bodywork, I gather it's a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. 

In reply to Ian F :

Like all things, ease would come with practice, tools and technique. None of it is rocket surgery, but when the instruction says "Use hog rings to attache the lister strip to the lister wire" they fail to give credit for how awkward that might be since you need both hands and a lot of force to bring the parts into proximity.

The headrest speakers are buried in the headrest. This kit has no zipper and all; 36 hog rings would have to be removed to get at the speakers. Actually woke up in the middle of the night and went to ohm them out wondering if all the manipulation might have disturbed the wires! I was not getting back to sleep until I knew for sure. And then once you get them in, you are on the bottom of the learning curve about how all Miata headrest speakers are wired wrong at the factory and what to do about that! AND I have to deal with the fact that I dont have the security code for the factory head unit, ad no aftermarket head units fit in a NA Miata. ( or so I read)

Anyways, the rest should go faster now that I know what to do.

Pete

I had an aftermarket deck in my 91. Seemed to have decent room.

NOHOME said:

Crackers said:

I swear, you're never going to actually drive this are you? LOL

Insurance coverage starts May 1st. Of this year.

So, it should be happening soon!

I like how you felt it necessary to specify the year. 

Upholstery is one of those things I know just enough about to be dangerous. I had a friend that is many many times more patient than I am recover the seats in his 928 after a cat got locked in and sprayed all the leather. 

Even using the original seats as a template, they still fit poorly and had saggy bits around all the bolsters. 

I decided then, upholstery is not for me. 

In reply to Crackers :

Recovering a sports car seat is not exactly a "beginner" upholstery project.  My plan is to start with something a lot more simple. And probably do that project a few times until I get them right.

I get that. It's just not a skill I care to cultivate. The most I care to do is stretched door panels, and I'm going to attempt stretching leather or vinyl over a custom dash top in Uncle Ben.

But stretched stuff is silly easy, and requires no sewing. LOL

Ian F said:

In reply to Crackers :

Recovering a sports car seat is not exactly a "beginner" upholstery project.

NOW you tell me!

Actually with this kit really is something that a beginner can do as long as they are patient and don't frustrate easy. The supplier included everything you could possibly need to do the job along with illustrated step-by step instructions.

If you mean making seat covers from scratch with a hide...I did that with the MGB and the help of a friend who did upholstery as a business. That was difficult.

Pete

NOHOME said:

Ian F said:

In reply to Crackers :

Recovering a sports car seat is not exactly a "beginner" upholstery project.

If you mean making seat covers from scratch with a hide...I did that with the MGB and the help of a friend who did upholstery as a business. That was difficult.

 

Pete

Yes - from scratch. I would figure on making a few covers from cheaper materials before putting scissors to more expensive leather.

The go-to mount for an aftermarket head unit in an NA Miata is one made by DDMWorks. It fits pretty nicely and is available with cutouts for gauges, if that's what you're into. 

In reply to cmcgregor :

Sound requirements are not that hight other than they be there and of reasonable quality. I am not an audiophile, but like to have some road tunes playing in the background.

My brief dive into the Clearwater speakers as it pertains to putting them into an NA Miata headrest turned into a rabbit hole.....as an unplanned bonus  I have read that the dimensions of the factory head unit are not industry standard and unique to the NA Miata and that most aftermarket units "fall out" of the dash and or look wrong. The anti-theft code can be worked around, ( good I suspect) the headrest speakers from the factory are wired wrong in some cars but not always and there is some magic that  only a guy by the name of Jeff Anderson can perform with the head unit that turns the system into a musial masterpiece while at the same time fixing the damp-weather no-start issue.

Pete

Sounds like you (unsurprisingly) have a good plan!

The cheap mounts for aftermarket head units in NA Miatas are pretty bad - my point was just that if you do end up wanting one, the mount from DDMWorks actually fits and looks reasonably good. Here's mine - I got it minorly blemished for less than half of list price, which is how I ended up with the 3 gauge version (I bought some covers for now)  

In reply to cmcgregor :

http://www.ddmworks.com/Miata-Radio-Surrounds-by-DDMWorks_p_187.html

Stuck the link here  for the record. It does look reasonable and it does allow for a more modern infotainment system. Lets face it, the factory Miata head is a radio/CD/Cassette tape unit.

Once I get past the immediacy of getting this car on the road and letting the budget recover from the current hemorrhagic state, I am sure that a more current stereo will be on the list.

Pete

Oh, I see. Mine had an aftermarket surround with a cubbie under it.

I think I can do better with the next one, but I am not unhappy with the PS seat cushions. Going to try a few things with the wobbly seams on the bolsters.

Still need to join the twocushions,  but since I did not take them apart, I have to research that bit.