Yep that's right, I'm a FNG from Fort Bragg.
Background. I come from the import side of the house, but I've been converted - mostly. My first build was a turbo'd 2003 Honda Civic (gasp, I know, but everyone has to start somewhere) that I took as far as I could, had too many horsepower side effects and decided to let it see the business end of my sawzall. At least I did all of the fabrication and everything else on it myself, no checkbook mechanicking here.
I don't expect you to like it, but it was my baby at the time so here are some pics. My mother-in-law did the paint job on the valve cover.
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Enough of that. I took the motor too far and after rebuilding the head a total of 3 times and the motor twice within a year - this was a daily-driven street car, so that's no fun - I parted it out and cut it up.
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It was time to move on to something a little more fun. Once the Honda was being melted down and most of my partout was complete I found this little gem on the Raleigh craigslist. I couldn't pass it up.
1966 Volvo Amazon is mostly stock form. I've named the car "Lucille" after my grandmother who passed away shortly after I acquired it.
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My wife and daughter like this car a lot more than they did the Honda. But the stock pushrod 4-cylinder and 4-speed solenoid activated overdrive. No thanks. This baby needs an SBC.
So I start amassing parts. Edelbrock manual 600, plastic mock block, Chevy T5, Ford 8.8" 4-link rearend, Mustang II front end, so on and so forth. The car is/was a unibody so I am fabricating a new frame out of 2x4 rectangle tubing and am making a structural floor out 1" square tubing so the chassis is as rigid as I can get it. Momma wants this to be a comfortable car when it's all said and done, and I want to be able to take it to both the drag strip (no particular class, just RWYB) and maybe the road course, so it's going to take a bit to make it do both reasonably well.
Stock motor next to the SBC (at the machine shop for a bore job now).
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Front end tacked in, motor mounts welded up and the mock block semi-assembled to check hood and inner fender clearance.
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Frame fabrication and fitment. Still a long way to go but getting there.
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I've still got quite a ways to go on the car, but it's come a long way. I went with this platform because I did not want a "me too" kind of car. I don't see very many classic Volvos out there with an SBC under the hood - there are a few, don't get me wrong, but not many - and I'm really enjoying this build. 15x10s in the rear and 15x8s up front should give it a nice stance and all the factory chrome moulding business is coming off, I want to suicide the rear doors and make this little Amazon as mean as possible. All of the work that does not require a machinist will be done right here in my little garage.
Well, like it or not, there she is. I'm off to setup a journal for the build. I've got quite a bit of stuff to put into it....
Background. I come from the import side of the house, but I've been converted - mostly. My first build was a turbo'd 2003 Honda Civic (gasp, I know, but everyone has to start somewhere) that I took as far as I could, had too many horsepower side effects and decided to let it see the business end of my sawzall. At least I did all of the fabrication and everything else on it myself, no checkbook mechanicking here.
I don't expect you to like it, but it was my baby at the time so here are some pics. My mother-in-law did the paint job on the valve cover.
Enough of that. I took the motor too far and after rebuilding the head a total of 3 times and the motor twice within a year - this was a daily-driven street car, so that's no fun - I parted it out and cut it up.
It was time to move on to something a little more fun. Once the Honda was being melted down and most of my partout was complete I found this little gem on the Raleigh craigslist. I couldn't pass it up.
1966 Volvo Amazon is mostly stock form. I've named the car "Lucille" after my grandmother who passed away shortly after I acquired it.
My wife and daughter like this car a lot more than they did the Honda. But the stock pushrod 4-cylinder and 4-speed solenoid activated overdrive. No thanks. This baby needs an SBC.
So I start amassing parts. Edelbrock manual 600, plastic mock block, Chevy T5, Ford 8.8" 4-link rearend, Mustang II front end, so on and so forth. The car is/was a unibody so I am fabricating a new frame out of 2x4 rectangle tubing and am making a structural floor out 1" square tubing so the chassis is as rigid as I can get it. Momma wants this to be a comfortable car when it's all said and done, and I want to be able to take it to both the drag strip (no particular class, just RWYB) and maybe the road course, so it's going to take a bit to make it do both reasonably well.
Stock motor next to the SBC (at the machine shop for a bore job now).
Front end tacked in, motor mounts welded up and the mock block semi-assembled to check hood and inner fender clearance.
Frame fabrication and fitment. Still a long way to go but getting there.
I've still got quite a ways to go on the car, but it's come a long way. I went with this platform because I did not want a "me too" kind of car. I don't see very many classic Volvos out there with an SBC under the hood - there are a few, don't get me wrong, but not many - and I'm really enjoying this build. 15x10s in the rear and 15x8s up front should give it a nice stance and all the factory chrome moulding business is coming off, I want to suicide the rear doors and make this little Amazon as mean as possible. All of the work that does not require a machinist will be done right here in my little garage.
Well, like it or not, there she is. I'm off to setup a journal for the build. I've got quite a bit of stuff to put into it....
