Heads Up!

Yes, we've made some important steps. The cylinder head, provided and prepared by Christer Johansson, is now assembled on our cylinder block. 

 

Before we had the pleasure to install the head and experience a mile stone, I added five 0,8mm special grinded feeler gauges in the Volvo cylinder block slits that's located between the cylinders. These are added to make the open deck cylinder block design act more like close deck and give more stability to our 900hp engine.

 

I felt a certain relief when I could verify that the old Volvo 960 engine mounts had bosses on the S80 block. Thanks' Volvo for not taking those away!

 

Intake side: Head, block and bedplate (and 960 engine mounts) assembled.



 

Same piece of metal, but now from exhaust side.

To the left: Volvo N3 engine oil sump for Volvo 960 (for north-south installation)

To the right The S80 T6 oil sump (for east-west installation) 

 

The 960 engine disassembly was to start with a stress free event...

...but then we got more and more exited.

 

Yes, there are some obstacles. For example the oil filter connection. We need to fabricate a new tube connection and make some treads in the S80 T6 block. But we will manage, no problem...I think.. 

Meanwhile we're working with finalizing all welding's on our go cart. Much easier  without body, transmission, engine and cooling devices. Don't ask me why...but the kid in me would really like to drive the go cart....wouldn't that be fun

Explode view, Tear Down, Outburst of energy...

We've reached the point of sudden destruction. Calm down, it all according to plan.

 

We're in a whirlwind of change which is why we're humming the old mantra that says,

-Before it gets better it has to get worse..!

Like what? Like going to the dentist, having a planned surgery or walking in new shoes.



 The Amazon of Speed as we knew it. Right view.

You guessed it. Left view.



Feel the speed

Celebrities  visiting the Salt Slush workshop.  Göran Ambell, the eager man who (together with Sture Torngren) back in the last shivering years of the 70 ties, broke a wall of hard grey bureaucracy and gave back the colorful creativity to Swedish car guys. He started the Swedish hot rod magazine Wheels, which I read like a bible when I was a young teenager.

The Speed Amazon Scattered.

5 more minutes to go before...

..we hang the body high

Then the heart got to leave the soul.

It's an emergency!



The old Volvo 960 engine, from which we need certain parts (like the oil sump) needs to be taken apart. Therefore all men on deck! Why? Because it's fun and exiting. Everybody loves an engine tear down.

Meanwhile, in parallel,  Magnus old style altered dragster/gasser is taking shape.

Every grain of sand

There´s something magic with new fresh engine parts. They bear a promise, a function, a possibility, even a dream. They're virgin and waiting for the exiting future.

 

We all know that the devil is in the details, which is why I'm so happy to announce that all the nitty gritty stuff that will make our 900hp mechanical heart pound loud has arrived.

 

We care about all of it since everything counts in the end. A broken gasket won't help us to reach +200mph.

 

Gasket and fasteners on a teak table.

Water pump gasket close-up.



Wh

The indispensable Pick-Up truck! A Tribute!

The pick-up truck.

If you haven't had one, buy one. But first a word of advice; It will change your soul. You will raise up from the sofa and start a journey, a journey through creativity. There's an apparent risk that you will become a creative doer.

The risk of becoming a hoarder increases as well. If your inclined to hoarding consider another pair of wheels.

Before you buy your first pick-up truck there are only impossibilities, but as soon as you put your ass on the truck sofa the possibilities comes flowing.

A likely scenario: Let's say that your tempted to start up a new exiting project. Perhaps building a landspeed racer? 

And all of a sudden somebody offers you fractions of an old Volvo Amazon. If you have a pick-up: load the stuff and get going! Without a pick-up: Boooring...

 Not boring.

Maybe an old engine comes falling from the sky? The solution exist. 

With a pick-up truck you'll get more friends as well. Then often want to move things around

Why we have a blue C20 Chevy pick-up truck?  We were in US and suddenly Carina said;

 -I really like this pick-up truck!

- It's both cool and practical, could you take a picture with me and this old Ford?

I started fumble for the camera, while a strong feeling was building up inside of me. I love this woman, I must try to give here a decent truck, because she's worth it. 

The beginning. A fantastic moment.

A man gotta do what a man gotta do, so back home in Sweden I started furiously to hunt for a blue Chevy Pick-up truck and I found her one. And she was soo happy.

Final warning, even though a pick-up truck is working tool and nothing else, they might make you more playful as well. Keep you young at heart. Not good if your planning to slow down.



Playfulness. 





Today's theme: Seal-Off!

To seal, to fence off, create order in chaos and to the keep the right stuff on the right side, that was what this weekend was all about. 

We need a dust free space for our growing Speed Shop, which is why Anders with real Beaver Eager took the task to his heart. He's closing the loft and transferring into a clean room,or at least a rather clean room. Consequence: Hornbach is running out of OSB boards, Anders pick up truck soon needs a new set of tires.

Building walls to fence off dust

Raising faster than the Berlin wall



Meanwhile, Magnus and I are trying to understand which gaskets and seals we need to complete the engine build. It's a puzzle...Tomorrow I'll approach a Volvo spare part center with a long list full of gaskets and seals but without having a VIN or registration number, like in the good ol' days. Will this work? Future will tell.

Not one bourbon, one scotch and one beer, but one oil pump, one water pump and one thermostat housing.

Engines part on a surface of stainless steel.

The shopping list. Stained with coffee and oil. 

 

Santa want to say something as he's standing in front of Magnus Dragster to be. Don't disturb? Genius at work?

Magnus (yes, he has the ability to work with several projects at the same time) was working with his Old Style Altered/Competition Coupe Dragster. It's taking shape....

Car guy's vs. Normal people -Definition of junk

I remember a distant visit to my parents house back in the mid 90ties.  It was a regular, dull, but heartful visit. A kind visit which most of us have some kind of relation to.  

It was summer and I felt the urge to break loose, to feel the freedom that a roadtrip  offers.

The crowd eventually gathered and we drove calmly through nice winding roads and nobody was worried, we were all in harmony.

THEN! Whoa! All of a sudden! All senses awake! I spotted a busted old Peugeot 504 pick-up truck parked outside a shady car dealer in the middle of nowhere in the very south of Sweden. As I parked, my mother woke up and instantly got furious.

-Why the hell are we parking? she bursted out loud.

I didn't pay attention since I was focused on an old French farmer type of pick-up truck. While I was talking to the dealer, Carina soothed my mothers soul with small talk as she silently understood were the situation were heading.

Correct model. Stolen picture. No lion was included. Luckily.

 

I remember my mothers statement.

 

-Why is he test driving that piece of junk?

 

Carina and I had another view, because  we saw a different pair of wheels...we saw the grace of...a cool, free of rust, practical pick-up truck that fulfilled unexpressed dreams that now was coming true.

 

We felt like a pair of sunburned, Gauloises smelling, hard working French Wine farmers and we were to blind to see that the electrical system was shot, that the smell of the piled up dust and dirt was far too strong. Cause we were in dream mode.

 

My mother was on the other side wide awake. All she could seek was a piece of junk.

 

Carina and I was with Alice, in the Wonderland.

 

The aftermath is another story....

Guide Michelin! Or not...?

Tapio surprised us all the other day.

In search of a new culinary experiences he explored a new combination….. probably never tried before.

Mazarin, Salami and Gorgonzola cheese. 

Salami and Gorgonzola you're all familiar with.

Mazarin is an, rather sturdy, sweet thing, regarded as high end "fika".

Lets cut thing short and conclude;

We didn't try it. Instead we found other combinations that could make it to Guide Michelin.