OK, I will give it another shot... My build thread got deleted because it was an "Un-American car (mild custom of a 1962 Volvo PV544 - Looks like a shrunken 1946 Ford if you squint). I tried to build a "traditional custom" (I'm not fond of the show Kar show era Kustoms). 53 Buick head light bezels Molded fender skirts Custom grill De-chromed Nerf bars (a bit of a mixed era - common to hot rods) NOTE: Much of this work was performed by Smooth Engineering in Phoenix, AZ Spun aluminum wheel disks (3 screw) I did get my panties wadded-up when my build thread got deleted - The European build threads seemed to survive... I felt better when it won the Koolest Kruiser award at Lead Ain't Dead 2020. It was driven there, including some stretches of old RT-66 and Old RT-666 (The "Devil's Highway" in AZ - a great driver's road in the mountains). The road trip thread did survive. Spring of 2022, we burned out 2 exhaust valves on a road trip to San Diego (Almost made it home -arrived at 3 AM on the back of a AAA rollback truck...). Long hours at 75 MPH (4,000 RPM) finally took it's toll. I'm now 79 years old, lots of "life-had-other-plans" occurred (I am extremely grateful that I was able to handle the challenges...). Fast forward to last week. I am finally back to working on the Volvo. The engine is 0.2 Liters bigger. The transmission is now a 5 speed overdrive manual (European Ford T9). Note: Rounded corner on passenger - My small attempt at body work Driver door is a "work in progress". Also the drive train reassembly is a "work in progress". Today's project is concrete repairs... Russ
Always dug the early Volvos. They seemed the most normal, well built and fun of the post war Euro offerings. The UK stuck to mostly stolid stuff except the MGs, the French did wacky stuff with the 2CV and then the 4CV although the Simca and Peugeot were fairly normal. The axis seemed to go for rear engine (Fiat and VW). Yes, most places had infrastructure, economy and raw material issues, to say the least. And this viewpoint was colored by what showed up and stuck around over here, not the domestic feelings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cars_introduced_in_1947 Volvo kind of kept the economical but solid and sporty up through the 60s and early 70s.
The Jalopy Journal
