 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We attempt to respond to every E-mail we receive. If you do not get results within five days or so, send your message again -- something went astray!$276.00 trunk lightI would not trade my '94 850 Turbo for any car, I love it. BUT -- those damn latches leave something to be desired. My glove box has stuck shut two times; both times I had to replace the latch hardware. I just had a problem diagnosed after three years of replacing batteries (3 batteries in 3 years). Apparently, when I closed my trunk, the trunk light stayed on causing my battery to drain. This brings up the old question about the refrigerator light now, doesn't it? Anyway, Volvo wanted $276.00 to replace the latch. I told them to unscrew the bulb and give me my car.Rob Purifoy Garland, TX BlownVolvo@aol.com Wise choice, Rob. B18/B20 stroker cranksNow that I don't have to contend with California smog laws, what is the most displacement I can get from boring a B18 block or a B20 block? How much displacement can I get using a stroker crank plus boring? Has anyone had any real life experience with this combination, ie: big bore and stroker crank?
There is a company in North Hollywood, California, called TRS USA that sells stroker cranks for Volvo B18 and B20 in 86/88/90/92/94/96 mm. They also sell a host of other racing parts including pistons, rods etc. Have you ever heard of them? Has any of your readers ever heard of them? I got their address from a Volvo "gearhead" in Sweden. Stroker cranks are
also available in Sweden. If you combined the 96mm crank with the largest pistons available for a B20, what would be the total displacement? Would this combination be feasible -- does it work in the "real world"? Short answer: I have no idea, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's done aproject along these lines. Anyone out there? Ah, there is... I E-mailed Topy Hynynen, who runs TRS, and have asked about those strokers too. The 89mm strokers are made by simply offset grinding the original crank. This means you will also need other con rods (he sells them for $500 a set). He does not give any sort of hardening treatment to the crank after grinding and that frightens me a bit. This crank will not require any modification to the block to give it enough room. Here you will get 2395cc. When you go for the 90+mm strokers, you will have to remove some material of the block so the crank will fit. The stroke increase here is made by welding on material to a stock crank and then offset grinding. With the 96mm crank and 92.5mm pistons you will get about 2600cc. I have never seen these cranks so I can't really judge the quality. Topi has worked on Volvos for many years and has had great results with tuning B20 engines, so I guess he knows what's possible or not. His E-mail address is topi@pacbell.net.
Regards, "Volvo Forever"What a hoot!!! I'm referencing the article on "Volvo Forever" by Aviv Peres. This has to be a "must watch." Have you seen it? This guy cracks me up ... his line about editing out footage of nice cars "because the owners weren't all that interesting".....The pictures sum up my thoughts when following an old Volvo or interacting with a newly gained Volvo buddy. Yes, lovers of other marques can be as nutty as us Volvo fans, but we are truly a different breed. Most people don't "get it," but when hooked on Volvo, only a Volvo will do. (Or at least some Volvo "reading material.")
Thanks. Yes, we've seen it, and it's hilarious as well as illustrative of the "Volvo spirit," which seems to be the same everywhere. Volvo Akbar! Weird kid set? She had many names -- the brown beast, the mammoth, etc... But essentially, she was "The Volvo." I didn't do much to her, just tinted the windows, nicened the rims, lowered a tad, etc... I can attribute many adventures to this Volvo -- this is the car I was raised in, and then it was given to me when I was 17. I had my own fun; now she's retired, but I still take her out every now and then, cruising along at her top speed of 47mph. In her heyday, she was the envy of the weird-kid set at my high school.Justin Goldwater Bakersfield, CA jg1138@ucla.edu Worldwide Volvo meet 2000Hi all. I am a Volvo Lover and Vice-President of the Philadelphia Chapter of Volvo Club of America. I was asked by a dear friend weeks ago to post this for them. They are trying to put together a worldwide Volvo Meet in Europe in 2000. They don’t have E-mail access themselves right now, but I can pass along any info or questions. Their Snail-mail addresses follow this letter."Dear Volvo Friends, "We would like to introduce ourselves: Sergio Riberiro Augusto from Brazil and Hans Ghijs from Belgium. We had in our mind to organize together a Worldwide Volvo Meeting in the year 2000 among all of the worldwide Volvo clubs. we are both very active in our local Volvo clubs and have set up many successful meets with members of Volvo clubs in our surrounding countries. "So last July, Sergio and I went to Portugal, where we had the opportunity to get an appointment with the Manager of Volvo Mr. Arnaldo Frias, who also is member from the 'Clube Portugues Volvo Veteranos' who was so kind as to show us some of the attractions that would be sure to interest anyone interested in the trip. He also made some suggestions on hotels. We have visited the hotel and the local attractions. In our opinion, it is a great site for this worldwide Volvo meet. "So Portugal is one of the best possibilities for this event; in addition, we could consider Belgium, because they can both be reached by car or by plane easily for most members. "The idea of this event is to try to bring all Volvo enthusiasts in contact Worldwide. We have made so many great Volvo friends over the years and write to many people in many different countries, so we are open to suggestions of any kind. Please contact us so we can organize; we wanted this event to be a plus for every Volvo Club and its members. "Soon, so we can start some planning.
"Our best Regards,
Hans Ghijs, Swedish Car Club Belgium
Sergio Ribeiro Augusto, Volvo Auto Clube-Brazil
I have been slow to post this and they have sent more news of the meet. They have sent letters to 80 clubs so far. Many of the clubs are very interested. I will post additional info as I get it. Thanks... Greetings from South AfricaHi Phil,I have just been to your website, and it is really VERY neat, so thanks for all the effort (I am a long way from your sponsors, but if the opportunity arises I will make use of them). I particularly appreciated the article on rebuilding B18/B20. I have a '63 122S B18 four-door that is coming up for refurbishment in Jan/Feb 98. Planning to do the whole thing if the "minister of finance and home affairs" will approve my application :-)
Thanks again for a great resource, PS: The Volvo naming thing sucks! Yes, it does. Thanks for the nice words, and good luck with your project -- be sure to let us know if we can help out from way over here. Hello from OzJust a quick hello from downunder and to offer (once again) congratulations on the latest issue.I will try and encourage some contributions from the 1800/120 club here in Oz if that would be of interest to you -- we have a guy, Ian Biers, who is president of the club actually. Wonderful guy and he did a nut 'n' bolt on a genuine Amazon -- I'm talking the B16. Would you be interested in a story and some pics from him for a future edition?
Let me know and I will try and organise it. Once again thanks for a
great mag and best wishes for the holidays. Richard, thanks -- and I think you already know the answer to your question! Job opportunity at RPRPhil,I'm looking for a parts person to help with counter sales. If you know of anyone in my area [Albany, California -- close to Berkeley] who might be interested please keep us in mind. I would appreciate it if you could put this in the mail column.
Thanks, Driving airplanes / flying automobilesYour article on common sense and safety ["Volvo Pilot" in the previous issue] is excellent. Not only does it bring to mind the simple things that are often neglected, it has brought back many memories of my pilot training 7 years ago (Switzer 232-A). I'm sure you've heard it but here's a quote my first instructor relayed to me nearly a decade ago:"Learn from mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make them all yourself." Anyway, I'm printing off your article and it will be installed into my 1800S as a preflight check.
Cheers, |