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New Project! 1968 Volvo P1800 "Bullwinkle"

I really didn't want anyone to post a picture of my car done! Dang it!

That thing is pretty low. They raised the wheel wells like I did and also lowered the front. I hope the transition of the front end on my car is a little smoother than that but overall a pretty cool car. Thanks for posting Mark!
 
There has been minor progress on the car in the past week. They are finish whiny up the rear balance. The mods made from the last update were to increase the size of the verticals ridges, recessed the center section and extended the balance back to be flush with the gas tank. They are finishing up on the exhaust ports now. The exhaust will be the same oval shape as the tail lights and the opening will be 1/4" larger on all sides. It will involve creating a lip in the balance for additional depth and visual appeal.

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I should hear back from Ron Sutton Race Technologies regarding the suspension analysis anytime. Overall, the suspension appears to be good but improvements can be made. The rear suspension on the original car simply won't allow me to provide enough traction. My plan is to eliminate the upper bars and add a torque arm. This will force me to remove some of the bracing from the bottom of the car (glad I put a cage in it already). I will have to fabricate new supports and likely change some items with the e-brake. I won't start that project until after I get the car back from the body shop. The car should have better acceleration, handling and braking. A win win win.

The front will have a couple changes. The changes will require me to trim a little here and there from the original structure of the car to ensure I am getting the most out of it. I haven't seen the final analysis but it sounds like I will move the lower coilover mount out about an inch, changling the height of the lower control arm mounting point as well as adding longer upper control arms. The last one will require the trimming. We are also evaluating using Wilwood spindles for better KPI and using custom steering arms.

When it is said and done the car should be able to hang with the best of them on a race course and at the car show. I can see why Swedish Ops designed the suspension they way they did. To take it to the level I did you would never be able to go back to a stock setup again. It would require a massive amount of body modifications that almost everyone would not be willing to do. I want this car to be the best it can be and don't plan on compromising on much to get there.


Darreld
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Darreld
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The exhaust holes have been made into the valance and the drop down panels are in. I also added a tow hook that is removable. It tied into a boxed in frame rail. Once removed a filler panel/bolt will go in to cover the hole.

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The license plate is about to go in. It will be flush on the bottom and recessed on the top. The corners will be rounded and a trim piece will go from both sides and on the top. The trim will be removable and 1/4" thick and chrome plated. Basically the same as the trim around the tail lights. The sheetmetal on the outside is to keep the panel from warping while cutting and welding the license plate
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Next up on the rear will be fitting the rear bumpers.


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I wish I had skills like that. I am fine with making structural parts like firewalls or driveshaft tunnels but my sheetmetal skills end there. I have to give credit to Kevin and Nick at Roger's Autobody in Vancouver, WA for the mad skills. The only thing made about me is my depleting checkbook.


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The rear bumper is coming along. It started out on a 1963 Corvette but has gone through massive modifications to work on the Volvo. Still has a bunch of work to go but it is starting to take shape. When this is done it is back to work on the nose of the car.3a7d1df0f3ce408b6c2441f895a1c9b8.jpg
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I just received the suspension results back so I wanted to give an update. As I have mentioned in the past I had Ron Sutton of Ron Sutton Race Technologies perform the analysis. There is some good and some bad. I will start with the rear. The rear suspension is very close to what the original car had other than coilovers. Link locations are very close to the original car but neither is good for planting power to the ground. I am planning on making some pretty serious changes back there. I am going to remove the upper links and add a Torque Arm. This will improve traction, handling and braking on the car. I won't go over the details of specifics but it will make a bid difference on the track. For the street or occasional auto-X it is fine.

The front suspension has some challenges as well. The upper control arms are a little shorter than optimum. This causes a couple issues. The roll center is not as good as I want and the Ackerman leaves some to be desired. According to Ron the front suspension works for a street car, auto-X setup and daily usage but isn't optimal for track use. Basically fine for the average guy that want to enjoy his car and not want to modify the entire front clip in the process. Much of the problems are a result of the narrow track width of our cars and the fact that the kit is designed to be a "bolt in" piece requiring minimal modifications.

As it is the front is functional but not for my intended purpose of the car I am building. I want a car that has good road manners but will also dominate on the track. I will be the limited factor to the performance of my car. I know that most people won't care to have the ultimate in handling on an 1800 but I am the type of guy that if I don't do what I feel is best from the start I will regret it and eventually redo it at a much larger cost. I have hired Ron to design a front suspension that will have no compromises. Every component on it will be the highest quality and designed for optimization.

The front brakes will still use 14" Wilwood brakes and a splines sway bar but everything else will change. I will have to have a front clip made and it will be welded to the chassis instead of using a bolt in crossmember. It will require a massive amount of surgery but I can honestly say that in the end I will have the best handling 1800 around. The front tire width will be increased to 315 tires so that I am running the same size on all 4 corners. I will keep the exiting 275 front tires for daily driving but have another set of matching front wheels/tires for track days. When is is all done the car should be able to take corners at over 1g. Here is a picture of the same basic design but is for a Cuda project and is running a 335 front tire. As you can see a radical redesign and will require the car to have serious modifications.
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With all that said I will be selling my existing suspension to someone who wants to cruise around and have some fun on the auto-x. If you are interested let me know.

One interesting thing that Ron told me was regarding OEM's and what they put out. I think everyone would agree that a Viper is a pretty awesome performance car but the rear suspension leaves much to be desired. The geometry of the rear suspension is far worse than the front suspension I have now. When the analysis was brought back to Dodge so that they could fix the suspension for a track car Dodge told them there was no budget for it. So they ended up putting 1400 lb springs and a 1100 lb rear sway bar to make the car handle! Basically if the geometry is way off make it stiff as hell so it can't move. LOL!
 
Here is a picture of the front as the body shop begins the modifications. The 1970 Camaro split bumpers should look pretty sleek. The lower valance is starting to take place. The curve on the valance is almost exactly to that of the Volvo sheet metal. It should make for a smooth transition.
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I am starting to get some parts in for the redo of the suspension. The UPS brought me the Torque Arm rear suspension components today. It mounts to the pinion of my 9" Ford housing and tabs are welded to the bottom to set the pinion angle. I will have to fab up a front mount when I get the car back from the body shop. Here are a couple pictures. It has a soling billet mount on both ends. Pretty stout unit!
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The front valance is coming along nicely. There is a little bit of work to do on the outer edges to transition into the fenders. The boxy parts is to provide a shelf where the bumpers will be. It will be hidden by the bumpers.
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We still have to find a place to mount the tranny and oil cooler but we will likely wait to do that until the new suspension clip is in.





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