1978 2200TC -'Malcolm'

GJM

Member
Hi all,

So I think it's about time I started a thread of my own after browsing through everybody else's inspiring projects.

Before we get to my new acquisition, a little bit about myself.
In the heart of Cheshire I've always been mad on classics, my first love being Hillman Imps and their badge engineered variants of which I've had several.

My last was this beauty:
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An early 1965 Imp Basic which I had the pleasure of making my own. The factory 875cc was replaced by a Talbot sourced 930cc with Imp Sport spec twin Strombergs, breathed on cylinder head and a Sport exhaust system which made it rather fun to drive.

It was lowered and fitted with minilites later on. A big go kart really. In 2015 it won Second Place at the Hillman Imp Club National Rally which I was ecstatic about.
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Here it is at my one time home at Little Moreton Hall National Trust property for a short while with my fiancee.
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Also had a year with an MGB GT. After driving Imps for several years I anticipated that the 'sports car' MG would be more sporting to drive than it actually was. Granted it was good fun and had the makings of a sports car but it always felt lethargic compared to the free revving, roller skate like Imp and this one handled a bit like a narrow boat. Rust around the rear wings meant I moved on. To France of all places I believe...
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Having met my now partner and becoming engaged I wanted something a little bigger, less noisy, smelly and riotous than the Imp. Something a bit more practical that we could bomb up to Scotland in for breaks etc, but still remaining resolutely retro at heart. Can't abide this modern stuff.

My family have always owned Volvos so a 240 was a natural choice. Always wanted one. Looked for ages to find a good top spec GLT but in the end this late SE turned up.

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Once again I put far to much time and probably to much money into getting it to look and go as well as can be. It was a late 1992 electronic ECU injection car and I spent many weekends practically rebuilding the whole injection system. I fiddled and fiddled getting it spot on, making sure it was fit to take to shows. Got everything working and shining like new.

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At Gawsworth Hall YoungTimers show.
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Tatton Park Volvo Owners club stand.

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Sadly after much time and effort spent getting it how I wanted it, a nice lady decided to pull out of me on a main road without any warning. Resulting in...

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So the hunt was on for another suitably practical classic to 'attempt' to use as my daily driver....

I realise I've not even got around to my P6 yet but I've run out of time for now.

Watch this space...
 
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Ouch! I dread to think what the "ladies" car was like! I've had a 265GLE and a 240GLT, both were great cars, wished I'd kept the 265.....

Mick
 
Her BMW mini was pretty bent! She pulled out in front of us and we T boned her. Attempted to serve but she pulled out only about 40 foot in front of us and the wheels locked up. Thank goodness for Volvo heavy duty engineering. Sadly the front chassis rails were pretty mangled and the bulkhead was warped so after a lot of soul searching and chatting up body shops to no avail it was decided it wouldn't be economical to repair.

So, the search was on for another practical classic that could be used daily, would provide relatively luxurious transport and propel us up and down the country.

I looked at Humber Scepters, Morris Oxfords, MG Magnettes other old Volvos, Triumph 2000s to name but a few. The P6 was always in the picture having looked into them a few years ago and I decided it would be worth keeping my eye out for one. The P6 being a more substantial classic, being able to keep up with modern traffic, having lots of retro'esque 'mod cons' and looking the biz. I also decided one would make an ace wedding car since the big day is approaching rapidly this August.

My new acquisition appeared on ebay with a substantial price tag but it wasn't that far away so off I went to view it. A 2 owner from new car with (supposedly) 80,000 miles on the clock. Was restored at some point in the late 1990s. Mechanically good and looked to have had previous welding done to it. I looked it over, had a prod under the carpets at the inner sill and under the rear seat bases. All seemed OK. The test drive was fine although the car kangaroo-ed around a bit but I put that down to lack of use. A bit untidy and needing a bit of TLC but a good running project car so to speak.

The vendor had only had the car 2 weeks. He had bought it from an auction house in Chester. It had been included as part of a house clearance. The seller said the old chap had died and the car and house hold items had been put into the sale. The owner was obviously a P6 Club member judging by the club magazines that came with the car's paperwork. Little history came with the car however, just a few receipts and the seller didn't know that much about it (including how to open the bonnet.)

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So after some thought I offered the seller substantially lower than his asking price. He thought about it for a few days before relenting and I went off to pick her up the next day.

The 50 mile trip home wasn't without issue. The passenger side wiper felt it couldn't serve under me and went on strike before both wipers decided they didn't like each other and they would have a fight half way around Chester ring road (passenger wiper arm off its splines). The speedo also only seemed to work when it wanted to and the gear lever was attempting to drown out the sound of the engine with its relentless rattling, oh and reluctance to select any gears . Other than this all was good.

On getting it home the wiper issue was soon rectified and new rubbers were fitted and I had a look over the rest of the car.

The roof is in need to repainting. It looks like somebody has thrown a damp rug or some such over the roof at some point and the paint has crazed and cracked and then surface rust as developed in these micro cracks. The boot lid paint has also splintered above the hinges, a common problem I hear.
The heater didn't seem to provide any... well.... heat.
The wiper delay is bust.
And I was worried that the clutch was on its way out, it seemed to need the b*lls revving off of it to get it to pull away in first.
The drivers floor was sopping wet.
The original, now rust coloured alternator was making a racket, worn bearings.
And of course the rattling, floppy gear lever.

Having spent some time on the forum I learned that there was a specialist in the form of Lake View Garage in Rushton Spenser not to far away. A phone call to the owner saw me bomb up the hills the next Saturday for the car to be gone over by somebody who actually knew what they were looking at. He was a huge help and spent a good hour or more going over the car. He proclaimed the clutch to be fine but the carbs to be totally out of balance resulting in several big flat spots and general poor running. That would also explain the fuel gauge visibly dropping as I drove.

In the next week or two I didn't have much time but did manage to do a few jobs. I fitted a new thermostat, an 82' one and back flushed the heater matrix which yielded some warm air into the cabin. Not much more but a small result. I then attempted to get to know my way around the heater box when it became apparent all was not well with various flaps not working. It soon became apparent why when all the linkages fell apart at my merest touch.

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Oops. The splines on the ends of the linkages at the control lever ends also all seemed pretty worn. With all of this and the fact the matrix was clearly past its best and I'm sure all the foam within the box will have crumbled away into nothing the decision was made to get a reconditioned box ordered.

I also fitted a new dizzy cap and leads and ordered a new alternator from MGDB.

I then investigated the swimming pool in the drivers footwell. Having pulled out the foot well carpet I discovered several new species of mushroom previously unknown to science. I poked and prodded around the wind screen and bottom of the heater box but couldn't find much amiss so a attacked the car with a hose. Low and behold the previous welded in repair panels running along the floor where it meets the inner sill were to blame. Water was literally seeping up through the floor.... great.

Alarmingly in just the last few weeks the oil pressure seems to have dropped dramatically as well. On the gauge the car only ever reads about 30/40 at most and possibly 20 at its lowest. The oil pressure light has also started flickering on at idle after a good, hot run. When the car is being started from cold or lukewarm there is also the tell tale grumblings of what I can only presume are the main and big end bearings. It seems like you can change the shells from under the car through the sump having seen the popular blog that shows instructions on how to do this.

I think this might be on the cards in the not to distant future but I might be looking for some help on undertaking this kind of work on the engine...

With this the car has gone back in to Lake View garage.

It is having the carbs balanced and set up properly.
The gearbox linkage bushes renewed.
And the inner sill investigated.

It seems to be in good company...

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Other plans to get the car ready for the wedding and eventual use as my daily driver...

Fit new alternator
Fit electronic ignition (any opinions gratefully received. Not sure what to go for an whether to fit a kit or whole dizzy)
Fit new carpet with lashings of sound deadening.
Have roof and boot lid resprayed.
Give whole car a damn good tidy up, the paint is as flat as a pancake.
Sort out the low oil pressure - main and big end shells?
Fit halogen conversion.
Fit electronic fan to free up some horses.
Clean up the seats, need some sort of re-blacking dye and possibly some more foam shoving in...

So there we have it. Sorry there is not more pictures but work has been busy over the last few weeks so I've not had as much time playing with the car as I'd like.
 
I've just put 2 posts up in the relevant sections about:
Carpets (What suppliers, any mid range options as it's a daily car rather than show car)
and
Fitting minilites (Do I need different studs, 14" or 15", pros and cons?)

Any opinions gratefully received:)
 
You can get minilites in both 14 and 15" sizes. You can get all sorts of bolts to soit the original studs. Just google it. Size depends on the minilites. Good luck!
 
14" Minilites would be the same size as the standard wheel fitment, so they'd look "right". 15" would give you a far wider choice of tyres, and would look a touch "sportier", yet not totally "wrong"! I'd go for the 15" option, no doubt about it.
 
So I've come by 5x series 1 SD1 alloys from a super chap on eBay who delivered them to Cheshire from down south last Sunday.
A fetching shade of gold.
I've dropped them at a local body hop to be done in silver. I'll be looking for some suitable tyres to fit and I've ordered some nuts from WinsInt which I'm assured attach the SD1 alloys to the P6.

Also got a box of other goodies to fit over the next few days.
Pertronix Ignitor 2 electronic ignition kit and Flamethrower 2 12v coil.
Halogen headlamps
New alternator

I plan to bypass the ballast entirely and fit the 12v Flamethrower coil. It seems a simple job of unplugging the ballast from the back of the tacho and running a new 10amp cable from there to the new coil?
 

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So the car's time at Lake View Garage is drawing to a close. Lots of welding done to the drivers side of the car. Various repairs to the sill although thankfully didn't require a whole new item. Also found the rear inner arch to be crusty so that has been repaired, seems this was letting water pool within the sill.

Also got my S1 SD1 alloys reconditioned. Very pleased. Think I'll be fitting a set of 205/70/r14 unless anybody has any other views?

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The alloys look really good after refurbishing. Pleased to hear your welding work is nearing completion. Look forward to seeing the car rebuilt and rolling on those rims.
 
Also got my S1 SD1 alloys reconditioned. Very pleased. Think I'll be fitting a set of 205/70/r14 unless anybody has any other views?

Since this is a 4 cyl car, the correct replacement tyre size for the standard 165/80/14 is 185/70/14.
 
I'm finding it quite tricky to choose a tyre for the sd1 wheels. They're 14". Some people seem to say 205 70 14, some 195 or 185. I'd love more grip than standard, I'm using the car daily, but don't want to upset handling by going to wide or end up with a wonky speedo.
 
Less than 1% difference. A 6" rim and lower profile will sit the 185 tyre much better than the 185 full profile on a 5.5" rim on a standard V8.

Don't the wider tyres need a change of suspension arms on the 4 pot?
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Less than 1% difference. A 6" rim and lower profile will sit the 185 tyre much better than the 185 full profile on a 5.5" rim on a standard V8.

Don't the wider tyres need a change of suspension arms on the 4 pot?
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Yes, the rear top links are not straight on the V8 to accommodate the wider 185 tyre size.

Dave
 
I've seen a few examples of 4 pot cars using wider than 185s although I guess some of them could have swapped out top links. Anybody on here with any experience?
 
Got a few questions regarding interior trim; see thread in interior section :)

Dash board trim questions...

So, car is currently running OK having been a bit erratic when under load. Tom at LakeViewMotors re-balanced the carbs which has helped. However the idle seemed to get higher and higher last night... which may have also been connected to the fact that the car was getting louder and louder. Taking a look at the exhaust the front sections from the downpipe is blowing badly which is probably upsetting the idle. I've got the car booked into a local fabricator next Mon to have the exhaust welded then also a local body shop who will hopefully paint the roof and boot which are badly cracked and crazed.
 
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