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R32rennsport's Amazon Thread

R32RennSport said:
Should surprise a few of the other guys out on club drives and rallies I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Ah, how well I remember hearing that description. :cool: Subtle and understated. It was several decades ago, a buddy redid a '64 Amazon in bright red, overbored the 4-banger, used pistons from a Chrysler 273. Short shifter from a P1800, lots of gearing, lots of other tweaks... but despite creating a rocketship, his initial credibility was never strong among the muscle car crowd, where displacement was the main way to command respect. Whenever someone would inevitably ask why he didn't hot-rod this cute little thing with a higher cylinder count, he'd smile and say,

"It'll surprise you!"

If you tried to engage him or taunt him, he'd just smile and say it again.
 
Toybox said:
Ah, how well I remember hearing that description. :cool: Subtle and understated. It was several decades ago, a buddy redid a '64 Amazon in bright red, overbored the 4-banger, used pistons from a Chrysler 273. Short shifter from a P1800, lots of gearing, lots of other tweaks... but despite creating a rocketship, his initial credibility was never strong among the muscle car crowd, where displacement was the main way to command respect. Whenever someone would inevitably ask why he didn't hot-rod this cute little thing with a higher cylinder count, he'd smile and say,

"It'll surprise you!"

If you tried to engage him or taunt him, he'd just smile and say it again.
Click to expand...

I always try to keep the "period" spirit of the car and well yes a higher cylinder count would make things interesting (Cobra 289 to complete a play on that theme I suppose) it has never interested me. I realize with the current cost of building my new 2.6 I could literally afford any conventional engine swap out there currently it will, as many have gone on to say of swapped cars, take the Amazon out of the Amazon. That's not what I'm here for. Even on the subject of converting to EFI I feel like I'm walking a thin line with my own merits.

Looking forward to surprising the nay sayers. ;)
 
R32RennSport said:
I always try to keep the "period" spirit of the car and well yes a higher cylinder count would make things interesting (Cobra 289 to complete a play on that theme I suppose) it has never interested me. I realize with the current cost of building my new 2.6 I could literally afford any conventional engine swap out there currently it will, as many have gone on to say of swapped cars, take the Amazon out of the Amazon. That's not what I'm here for. Even on the subject of converting to EFI I feel like I'm walking a thin line with my own merits.

Looking forward to surprising the nay sayers. ;)
Click to expand...
I personally love keeping with the soul of the car. Its why I am keeping KJet despite its complication in tuning. MS is the better/faster/easier solution, but takes away from the essence of what makes an early 80s turbo Volvo.
 
R32RennSport said:
I've put well over a thousand miles on it now in that time, [...] Weber carburetors do not like a 9,000 foot jolt in altitude
[...]
The more I drive it as a "normal" car though the more I find myself wanting to improve cabin comfort and braking performance.
Click to expand...

Agreed, you've done very well at keeping the soul of the Amazon, while catching up with some improvements that automakers have figured out in the past few decades. No one in their right mind would find fault with your adding improved seat belts or brakes. Adding EFI will make those 9k altitude excursions a whole lot more fun, as you've noted.

If you didn't add these comforts, could it still make the trip? Of course. But all the tweaks you're doing are what make it enjoyable. Then you end up with a car you want to drive... a conveyance that can go thousands of miles needing nearly no attention... a rolling artwork that offers dozens of photo opportunities for no particular reason...

which, for most of the car lovers I know, is really the whole point. And can be more than a little elusive. Good for you, for actually driving and enjoying.
 
Some planned changes to Phase 2. Now phase 2.1.

After the unexpected acquisition of an older 2.3 VPD stroker kit and a lovely cylinder head from Harry aka Turborg (head originally from Hiperformance) I've decided with some consideration to abandon the fancy 2.6 Tinus build as originally planned as a Swedish Relics assembled 2.3 should be plenty for my needs. I'm not looking to be the coolest kid on block with the biggest baddest hammer but rather have something that is reliable yet still powerful. With a 2.6 I was starting to have to consider all kinds of potential failure points, not that a potent 2.3 wont strain the current setup but with a 2.6 I definitely would find the weak points much faster. So that's the plan. As of this week the engine parts have arrived and are now in the hands of Swedish Relics.



That means I need to get it into gear so to speak on my end. The 240 big brake kit arrived from Nordicar the other week so I'll be working on that firstly. Once that is sorted I'll be working on converting the cooling system over to a closed system. Thirdly, I need to sort out an on going electrical issue as my car has eaten 6 alternators over the past few years, basic diagnostics haven't yielded any obvious issue though I have a hunch but it's infuriating at best.



A few other items on the agenda as well are I'm considering raising the car back up ever so slightly as well, I want the car to have decent ground clearance for true gravel stages. As the cut sport springs have settled it looks amazing but I'm starting to get fender clearance issues with mild steering angle under compression and general compliance isn't what I need it to be. With control arms removed I'll also be going back to rubber in the lower position as the the durability of the poly ones hasn't been great. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be buying a second set of slightly narrower knock off wheels with more competition oriented tires mounted, but it's low on the priority list.

Stay tuned!
 
R32RennSport said:
Some planned changes to Phase 2. Now phase 2.1.

After the unexpected acquisition of an older 2.3 VPD stroker kit and a lovely cylinder head from Harry aka Turborg (head originally from Hiperformance) I've decided with some consideration to abandon the fancy 2.6 Tinus build as originally planned as a Swedish Relics assembled 2.3 should be plenty for my needs. I'm not looking to be the coolest kid on block with the biggest baddest hammer but rather have something that is reliable yet still powerful. With a 2.6 I was starting to have to consider all kinds of potential failure points, not that a potent 2.3 wont strain the current setup but with a 2.6 I definitely would find the weak points much faster. So that's the plan. As of this week the engine parts have arrived and are now in the hands of Swedish Relics.



That means I need to get it into gear so to speak on my end. The 240 big brake kit arrived from Nordicar the other week so I'll be working on that firstly. Once that is sorted I'll be working on converting the cooling system over to a closed system. Thirdly, I need to sort out an on going electrical issue as my car has eaten 6 alternators over the past few years, basic diagnostics haven't yielded any obvious issue though I have a hunch but it's infuriating at best.



A few other items on the agenda as well are I'm considering raising the car back up ever so slightly as well, I want the car to have decent ground clearance for true gravel stages. As the cut sport springs have settled it looks amazing but I'm starting to get fender clearance issues with mild steering angle under compression and general compliance isn't what I need it to be. With control arms removed I'll also be going back to rubber in the lower position as the the durability of the poly ones hasn't been great. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be buying a second set of slightly narrower knock off wheels with more competition oriented tires mounted, but it's low on the priority list.

Stay tuned!
Click to expand...
When I heard about the new motor my first thought was my friend absolutely cooking his 2.5L Amazon's stock brakes on a rally.
 
spock345 said:
When I heard about the new motor my first thought was my friend absolutely cooking his 2.5L Amazon's stock brakes on a rally.
Click to expand...
I already absolutely cooked my brakes on my current stock setup with improved pads last year on a 9k to sea level decent. Along with the brake kit I'll be venting the wheel well via the nose panel behind the grills with some 3 or 4 inch openings. I've already modified the backing plates for better cooling as well.
 
A couple of updates.

First, good news from the machine shop! The block came back with flying colors and custom pistons have been ordered. Hopefully in a few more weeks the block work and balancing can take place but that was the first big hurdle in the engine portion of this project. So off to a great start!

Secondly, I acquired a new late style radiator and associated components so out with the old and some slight modifications to the core support to accept the new radiator.

Lastly, I removed the grills for access to the core support and inner nose area for the radiator work as well as adding the flanges for the 3" brake ducting. I haven't determined if there will be a practical way to run this to the backing plate which would be optimal efficiency or if it will just push air into the barrel of the wheels. The grills, while out got a fresh got of black enamel and are looking fresh again! I will also be adding sheet metal dividers in the nose to pressurize both brake ducts as well as preventing pressure bleed off to the radiator. I will also move the fog lights out slightly to prevent blocking air to these compartments.

The brakes should be going on soon, free time is fleeting though, my fear is the engine will be completed before I finish up the supporting mods as I've been working at a snails pace lately. Family/Dad life. I have decided to go with EBC Yellow pads as I wanted something with good initial bite and good heat resistance for when I'm flogging it.


 
Finished the passenger side up last night. You can see the steel plate I made, how it's bent 45 degrees to scoop more air into the brake ducts (since they are partially blocked by the fog lights) and how I utilized the core support hardware to mount it. Again, the idea here is to prevent air pressure bleed off in front of the radiator into the brake ducts by dividing the inner nose panel into three separate compartments and keeping pressure in front of the radiator. You can also see the air duct for the intake which is a developing project to feed cool ambient air to the carbs. I used a kitchen sink strainer as an insert into this to prevent larger debris from entering the engine compartment. Really liked how this turned out. Looking forward to getting the other side buttoned up and moving back onto the brake upgrade project. I'd like to drive the car a little before the new engine is finished so hopefully I can wrap all this stuff up!



 
FrankBooth said:
After seeing this BAT auction (https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-volvo-pv444-7/) this morning I came looking for your thread.
Might be the same- volvorelix/Swedish Relics?
Anyway, glad to see you're progressing at whatever speed! Also, looking forward to hearing your impressions of the new engine when you get it.
Click to expand...

Yes, I was Skraft83 on BaT. Always trying to help out when I can, Cameron has helped me out immensely in the past with information.

Swedish Relics/volvorelix is Cameron, he pokes around here from time to time. He is the one building my new engine and he is extremely knowledgeable. He also has a very nice Amazon as well with a 2.5 Tinus Tuning engine that he built in house.

I am very much looking forward to the new power plant along with the other supporting upgrades. Don't get me wrong the car was good before but I'm looking forward to it being great!
 
No real updates other than I completed the installation of the later style closed system radiator...what a pain in the butt. Ultimately ended up trimming a bit off the 5 blade OEM plastic fan blades to make everything happy. The problem being the upper radiator outlet sits nearly three quarters of an inch lower center to center than the original style. That combined with HD engine mounts and the 5 blade fan blades being about a half inch longer than an original 4 blade metal fan made for clearance concerns. Not quite making contact at the upper hose but I'm not going to call an eighth of an inch safe, now I have solid three quarter of an inch.



The new pistons showed up last week and Cam informs me things are moving right along on the engine front. It's so sad that we never get to see the engine jewelry after an engine is assembled. Can't wait to rip around in the car, it's been months since I drove it last. Maybe, just maybe I'll go to Davis for the first time next year since owning this car.

 
R32RennSport said:
It's so sad that we never get to see the engine jewelry after an engine is assembled.
Click to expand...

That's what the photo album is for... or make little posters attached to the windows at a car show, for bragging rights.

Occasionally some folks poke a hole in the block but I've never considered whether it's to admire the jewelry. :-P
 
So I finally carved out a little time over the Thanksgiving holiday to put the 240 brake conversion from Nordicar on the front of the Amazon. It's a decent piece of kit and basically OEM+. Besides a fairly terrible experience with the shipping/packaging which they took care of right away it was a good experience, had the kit in hand in less than a business week from the Netherlands.

On to the installation. Pretty straight forward, this is just like doing a stock brake job/wheel bearings. A few snags though. The new hub rubs ever so slightly against the dust shield so I had to use a feeler to move it away from the hub. The disk did not slip onto the hub easily like a normal 240 job, the inner hub diameter was off by .5mm and had to be clearanced with a file and flapper disk and then it slipped on beautifully. The dust/grease caps provided also don't press fit in and fall right off so I had to use my exhaust expander tool to open them up to make them press fit as normal. Typically aftermarket issues that I honestly come to expect at this point.

At this point I thought I was good, until after going back and forth left to right for referencing something was nagging at me. Sure enough, got out the measuring devices and low and behold this kit increase track width 14mm per side. Now normally for those running stock rims or even slightly wider 5.5 KPZ or Minilites wouldn't have an issue. My tolerances are extremely tight though on my Cobra center pin conversion, so much so that I've already exhausted all possible avenues of adjustment for fitment. Another .5 inch per side is just not going to happen unless I run ridiculous amounts of camber. So... here I am in a conundrum. The answer I know already is ultimately having to retire the Cobra wheel set and go with a different spec center pin wheel ($$$$) or go back to a tradition lug nut wheel, likely my tried and true American Racing TTOs, which is most likely. Unfortunately, those are backordered everywhere until late February as my luck would have it.

Stay tuned.

You can see the difference in track just by the distance from backing plate to back face of disc. 240 disc mounts front of hub whereas 120 series mount behind the hub.



 
R32RennSport said:
So I finally carved out a little time over the Thanksgiving holiday to put the 240 brake conversion from Nordicar on the front of the Amazon. It's a decent piece of kit and basically OEM+. Besides a fairly terrible experience with the shipping/packaging which they took care of right away it was a good experience, had the kit in hand in less than a business week from the Netherlands.

On to the installation. Pretty straight forward, this is just like doing a stock brake job/wheel bearings. A few snags though. The new hub rubs ever so slightly against the dust shield so I had to use a feeler to move it away from the hub. The disk did not slip onto the hub easily like a normal 240 job, the inner hub diameter was off by .5mm and had to be clearanced with a file and flapper disk and then it slipped on beautifully. The dust/grease caps provided also don't press fit in and fall right off so I had to use my exhaust expander tool to open them up to make them press fit as normal. Typically aftermarket issues that I honestly come to expect at this point.

At this point I thought I was good, until after going back and forth left to right for referencing something was nagging at me. Sure enough, got out the measuring devices and low and behold this kit increase track width 14mm per side. Now normally for those running stock rims or even slightly wider 5.5 KPZ or Minilites wouldn't have an issue. My tolerances are extremely tight though on my Cobra center pin conversion, so much so that I've already exhausted all possible avenues of adjustment for fitment. Another .5 inch per side is just not going to happen unless I run ridiculous amounts of camber. So... here I am in a conundrum. The answer I know already is ultimately having to retire the Cobra wheel set and go with a different spec center pin wheel ($$$$) or go back to a tradition lug nut wheel, likely my tried and true American Racing TTOs, which is most likely. Unfortunately, those are backordered everywhere until late February as my luck would have it.

Stay tuned.

You can see the difference in track just by the distance from backing plate to back face of disc. 240 disc mounts front of hub whereas 120 series mount behind the hub.



Click to expand...
thanks R32
 
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