Electric Volvo Amazon combi - restoration of the car part 2

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Purchasing classics there

The update about the restoration of the car part 1 concluded with the purchase of a donor airframe. He was surprisingly good in some places and very bad in others. All in all, a number of perfectly usable parts remained.

Donor sheet metal parts
Donor sheet metal parts

To further develop my skills and make meters, I started a restoration course. You can bring your own project with this course. Then the knife cuts on two sides. Learn new things and focus on the car for a week.

Arrived at Van Wel Oldtimer Restoration
Arrived at Van Wel Oldtimer Restoration

The idea is that you use tools that you also have at home and thus achieve the desired result. Occasionally using a good crimping device to make a bottom window edge makes it easy.

Eckold HF crimping machine
Eckold HF crimping machine

With the help of Jacco also the welded-in parts for the sliding roof got tighter. Now only a minimal amount of putty has to be added.

Tightened edge in the roof
Tightened edge in the roof

For more details and insights of the course, see the blog post on my own site 'Progress restoration combi and insights during course'.

Faster start with conversion to electrical

Despite the good courage after the course, the wish kept coming back to be able to start the actual conversion to electric faster. So I looked at two more combis that, based on the description of the advertisement, could be a ready-made starting point.

Original Dutch Volvo Amazon combi
Original Dutch Volvo Amazon combi

Both cars were beautiful, but not the 'boarding and driving off' quality I had hoped for. One car had spots that made me doubt what was under the paint and the other was hard and unloaded, but it had to be parted up to preserve it properly.

Actually, I wasn't really looking for another car, but I needed gear. That is why I agreed to continue working on my project with Jacco from the course for another 3 day and continue until that time.

Continue step by step

The advantage of restoring a car yourself is that you then know what you have. So just went step by step. Including a new radiator beam.

Radiator beam renewed and sprayed in zinc coat.
Radiator beam renewed and sprayed in zinc coat.

The car had a lot of old repairs where a picture had been put over a rust hole. All this had to be removed. At first glance, not much seems to be going on.

Poor old repair by a previous owner
Poor old repair by a previous owner

But when you take the lid off, you can see that it only made the problem bigger.

It just rusts further under the plate.
It just rusts further under the plate.

That is why, in my opinion, it is the best option to always grind away old rust and weld new parts into it and not on it. It works nice and easy and fast, especially with wheel rims and sills, move in and go. In the longer term, however, double record will again cause problems in my eyes, especially with upcoming resistance seams.

I ended up replacing that corner on both left and right.

A panel on the left is in it again
A panel on the left is in it again

To be able to replace the entire left inner screen, I have rebuilt the nose as a whole. So much has been done about this car in the past that 'how it works' was not a reliable starting point.

Nose Volvo Amazon combi
Nose Volvo Amazon combi

Then the last remnant of the old inner screen also removed.

Volvo Amazon

Then the replacement inner shield made to size and stitched into it and, to be sure, the hood, the front and the front shield once more to check the seam with the hood.

Check seam with bonnet when inserting new inner screen.
Check seam with bonnet when inserting new inner screen.

Then weld off. He is welded in, so no more overlapping plates.

Inside screen on the front right is inside.
Inside screen on the front right is inside.

Tank valve for the chargers

Every now and then there is also a trip to the actual conversion to electrical equipment throughout the entire restoration process. I am going to implement both standard slow loading and fast loading.

The socket for slow charging, also called type 2 charging where the charger is on board, is quite compact. This fits exactly at the location of the original fuel cap.

Type 2 AC charging connection at the location of the original fuel cap.
Type 2 AC charging connection at the location of the original fuel cap.

The fast-charge connection, however, is quite substantial. In my case this is a CHAdeMO connector.

Volvo Amazon

Initially I had the idea to make it mirrored in the other rear screen, also behind an original fuel cap, but that won't fit. In addition, it is more convenient at the front because the high voltage of the battery pack already comes together there. At the back I only have a main + and midpack.

So I once went to the local demolition in search of a metal tank valve that can be made suitable for placing in the right front screen. Eventually I was able to buy two pieces, one from a Saab 93 and one from a Volkswagen Golf 2.

Tank valve options for CHAdeMO connector: Saab 93 or VW Golf.
Tank valve options for CHAdeMO connector: Saab 93 or VW Golf.

Then the question arises: what will it be and where should it be on the front screen? Most obvious options were. The round above the decorative strip, comparable to how the Volvo V60 hybrid has this. Or the rectangular one under the decorative strip.

Volvo Amazon

In the end it became the rectangular one under the decorative strip. On the one hand because I like this the most, but also because it is easier to make. There is less space at the top and the flap should be adjusted to the curve of the screen.

More about that in the third episode of this Electric Volvo Amazon combi conversion series (tag # old volvo-electric) on AM Classic. Missed the previous one? Check the reports here on AMK van restoration part 1, my plan for one electric Volvo Amazon combi or the initial conversion steps.

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