The Silver Bullet

RIP

2007-06-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

On the 9th day of the 6th month in the year of our lord 2006, The Silver Bullet was officially retired from use.

Yes ladies and gentlemen The Silver Bullet, the car that brought me home from the hospital, received my license in, and took to college, was taken to the scrap yard yesterday as payment for a few parts for another 240 that the family has acquired.

I never even got to say good bye...

Stupid other car...

328,600+

2007-01-05T17:31:00.000-05:00

Well I've been doing a lot of work on The Chiseled Brick since I got back from Michigan, so for the past two weeks my primary mode of transportation has been the ol' Silver Bullet and I must say it's been a joy.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T22:16:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Brakes

2006-10-18T00:45:00.000-04:00

Well The Silver Bullet got a brand new master cylinder because the old one decided it didn't feel like working anymore. I don't have a whole lot of details on this one. Sorry folks.

Close call

2006-09-20T18:41:00.000-04:00

I went home about two weeks ago to hear that the beloved Silver Bullet may be going to a better place, here is it's story.

One morning my dad went out and tried to turn the car on. As is customary the car turned on; however, the starter didn't disengage. This wasn't the only issue. Sparks and smoke started coming up from the transmission tunnel, obviously not a good sign. I didn't have enough time to look at it while I was home, but a few days ago I got a call saying that all was right with the world. Turns out that the switch which allows the car to start while in neutral or park only had some chrome shavings fall in it and short it out. The switch was removed, cleaned, and reinstalled and as stated above all is right with the world.

A few issues found and solved

2006-08-28T19:01:00.000-04:00

Well... We thought it was the end. The steering was getting screwy, the brake failure light was on more than off, the brake power assist was intermittent at best, and the car's body certainly didn't see new found hope.

Have no fear!

First Steering...
Turns out the pulley on the steering pump was loose and not the belt wasn't really tensioned very well. This was taken care of by fabricating a tensioner. A few days later the system was 100% again.

Second breaks...
I had figured that all of the break problems stemmed from a leak in the vacuum system, while is part of it, it wasn't the final nail in the coffin. Upon inspecting the underhood and depressing the brake pedal multiple times my Dad (the current driver) noticed that the main vacuum line running from the intake manifold to the brake master cylinder was collapsed. A few dollars later the breaks are better, but not 100%. There are still some leaks which cause intermittent problems.

319,000 and doing fine

2006-06-01T22:54:00.000-04:00

Last week The Silver Bullet once again became my primary car because The Chiseled Brick had a few problems. I won't go into them in detail, but I will say that The Silver Bullet is doing great as always. The only problems I came across that aren't rust related are the following:

The radio doesn't work
A major vacuum leak causes the breaks to be a bit weak at times. While sitting at stop lights the break failure light will come on.

We've been hit!

2006-01-29T21:45:00.000-05:00

Well deer #2 took a swing at the silver bullet this past week, and as is customary the car continues to run just fine. The deer ran into the side of the car and struck the driver's side front wheel well. The only damage sustained was the Volvo badge fell off. I don't have any pictures because I'm two hours away from my beloved car.

Onwards, but not upwards

2006-01-08T00:13:00.000-05:00

Since I really don't use this car too much I have created another blog to discuss The Chiseled Brick, which is what I have named my new car.

In other news I drove the bullet the other day and had a blast, this car is wonderful, too bad I don't have it at school with me and she's rusting away.

She's still chugging along

2005-08-24T23:08:00.000-04:00

The Silver Bullet is still on the road. As a matter of fact the guys at the service station are very surprised mainly because of the rust damage. She now has over 306,000 miles on it.

For all the good news the clock is still ticking. It's up for inspection in the next month, which is a real gamble at this point because of the rust.

I no longer drive the car full time. Over the summer I worked for GM out in Warren, MI. Since MI isn't exactly right around the corner (10 hours away) my parents in their infinite wisdom decided I should get a "new" car.

My new car is a 1994 Volvo 850 wagon or for the true Volvo nuts an 855. She had about 180-183K on it when i got it. Now that the summer is over it has just over 188,000 miles. The car has cleaned up nicely, but it is no 240.

Done

2005-03-31T12:46:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I have finished. Not what I started, but I've finished. As we know I wanted to restore my car, well ladies and gents that just isn't possible for me. If you look at the pictures below you will notice that the body has taken a real beating, and to replace that amount of sheet metal would take more time than I have now, and for a long time. Cost was also a factor. I'm currently attending college which as everyone knows costs a lot, it doesn't make sense to put the required money in.

So now what happens to The Silver Bullet. Well I'll keep driving it and perform basic maintenance on it until she dies or I get a new car. If I get a new car The Silver Bullet will be returned to my Dad who will drive it back and forth to work until she dies. I will then take out parts and make a memorial. Also if you’re interested in parts I could probably help you out.

As I just said I'm going to get a new car. I'm looking for another Volvo 200, 700, 800, or 900 series or a Subaru. I would prefer a wagon, but I'll look at sedans as well. If you have a car that meets these requirements send me an e-mail at info2x@yahoo.com

Thanks

2005-03-31T12:38:00.000-05:00

Floor mats in place

2005-03-31T12:34:00.000-05:00

Front is patched up

2005-03-31T12:33:00.001-05:00

Rear is patched up

2005-03-31T12:33:00.000-05:00

Front

2005-03-31T12:29:00.000-05:00

Front is patched

2005-03-31T12:28:00.000-05:00

Close up of the front holes

2005-03-31T12:27:00.000-05:00

Well after removing some rust I realized that there was no metal in the area

2005-03-31T12:25:00.000-05:00

This full restoration doesn't seem worth it anymore...

2005-03-31T12:24:00.000-05:00

That really can't be good

2005-03-31T12:23:00.001-05:00

Passenger side is clean

2005-03-31T12:23:00.000-05:00

Holes are even by where my feet are, not good.

2005-03-31T12:22:00.000-05:00

On a brighter note the back is near perfect!

2005-03-31T12:21:00.000-05:00

The back is in bad shape...

2005-03-31T12:20:00.000-05:00

What that panel is going too?!?!?!

2005-03-31T12:19:00.000-05:00

These wires kept me busy

2005-03-31T12:18:00.000-05:00

Removing the carpet wasn't a good idea

Donate

2005-03-08T17:41:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed I have added a donation button underneath my profile. All donations received will be put towards my car.

I'll take this time to thank all those who are going to donate, it means a lot.

This coming weekend is going to be big! I'll be leaving NY and heading back down to NJ for spring break. I plan on leaving here at about 4PM and getting home by about 7PM. After a short dinner I will start to take my car apart to see how bad the damage is. I'll also be measuring so I can fabricate a new floor panel. I'll be buying a new welder, which is going to be expensive (this is why donations are appreciated). As usual I'll take plenty of pictures.

Preliminary analysis

2005-02-24T21:47:00.000-05:00

Volvo analysis thus far.

Must replace -Driver side rear floor panel
Cost: Minimal

Minimum replacement

Driver side rocker panels (Inner/Mid/Outer)
Driver side rail -Driver side rear floor panel
Passenger side rocker panel (outer)

Cost: About $350

Optimum replacement
-Driver side rocker panels (Inner/Mid/Outer)
-Driver side rail
-Driver side rear floor panel
-Passenger side rocker panel (Inner/Mid/Outer) -Rear passenger door

Cost: 350+

I haven't taken out carpeting yet, so this preliminary analysis is from the pictures ONLY. I probably won't get a chance to remove the carpeting until spring break, or just before.

From what we saw with that panel I think the replacement, either a genuine floor panel or just a piece of bent steel, should be welded in. Every extra hole that is put into the car and doesn't need to be there simply gives water another place to hide and corrode the car much faster.

I also discovered why 85 was the worst year for Volvo bodies. Apparently the Swedes in there eco friendly ways switched from the standard rust proofing to a water soluble more eco friendly rust proofing solution while keeping a standard steel frame. In 86 Volvo employed galvanized steel in their frames. This however isn't as bad as it seems. If you take a look at the pictures of the underside of the car you will notice there is some sort of coating that doesn't look like metal. That is the rust proofing! Apparently there was more to the system than just the water soluble compound. This would explain why as of now the worst parts aren't the floor panels, but the rocker panels. I have heard that you can still buy this rust proofing material because when it does come off it should be replaced. This is a very promising idea.

Very worried

2005-02-21T12:19:00.000-05:00

Well I got underneath the car this weekend. As the title of this post hints, I'm very worried. I knew there was rust, but this is bad. I have the one floor panel about to fall off, which presents a major safety concern. I won't be having anyone sit behind me while driving anymore. When I get back to school and have some time I'm going to look at the situation from the interior. I'll also look at the other floor panels. I really don't think I'll continue with this project if all of the floor panels are rusted out. I will patch that panel out of concern for safety considering that the driver's seat is just in front of that section and I don't feel like falling through the floor. The major rust seems to be in a few key areas:

Both rocker panels
Floor pans
Leading edge of doors
Wheel wells.

This is not a complete list, but merely what I saw over the weekend. As previously mentioned I'll take apart the interior of the car and see how bad that is. I really hope it isn't as bad as the rest of the car.

2005-02-21T12:18:00.000-05:00

My spare tire is just beyond that rust

2005-02-21T12:17:00.001-05:00

Still more holes...

2005-02-21T12:17:00.000-05:00

More holes

2005-02-21T12:16:00.000-05:00

Passenger door is rusting

2005-02-21T12:12:00.000-05:00

Yup that's what it is. The floor pan is shot.

2005-02-21T12:11:00.000-05:00

That looks like a floor pan!

2005-02-21T12:09:00.001-05:00

Another shot of the rocker panel. What that hanging down?

2005-02-21T12:09:00.000-05:00

This is what is left of my the driver side rocker panel.

This weekend

2005-02-17T17:29:00.000-05:00

Alright people this is the weekend that will either make or brake the project. I’m going to put the Silver Bullet up on the ramps this weekend and crawl around underneath to see how badly she has rusted. I’ll make the call as to whether it is too far gone or not. Now if I make the call to go ahead with the project that does not mean that the project will continue. I still need approval from the owners of the car (my parents). I’ll put plenty of pictures up when I’m finished with my examination.

New tach installed!

2005-02-07T18:06:00.000-05:00

Well ladies and gents the first project is complete. I have posted several pictures below detailing the progress. Overall the installation went without a hitch. I did forget to hook the speedometer up, but that works now. I also swapped the face plates on the tachs because the faceplate for the original tach which had a broken needle was perfect, whereas the other one had a faded red line that didn’t look right. If you look at the pictures you will understand. I had no troubles with the hookup at all. This will be the last internal upgrade the car will get for awhile. From now on I will be concentrating on body work.

2005-02-07T18:04:00.000-05:00

From here we can see the new tach as well as the new clock to replace the one that was removed for the tach.

2005-02-07T18:02:00.000-05:00

There we go. Notice how the redline area is actually redish.

2005-02-07T18:01:00.000-05:00

New tach installed, but the color on the new plate doesn't seem as good as the first one. Time to rip it all back out.

2005-02-07T18:00:00.000-05:00

Behind the dash. Notice the red and white wire in the center. That is what will hook up to the new tach. No need for me to run wires.

2005-02-07T17:58:00.000-05:00

Out she comes

2005-02-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

Instrument cluster ready to be removed

2005-02-07T13:41:00.001-05:00

Two more panels gone

2005-02-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

One panel removed

2005-02-07T13:39:00.000-05:00

The old clock that is going to be removed

2005-01-29T23:27:00.000-05:00

Current instrument cluster

First project

2005-01-29T13:16:00.000-05:00

Well I finally know what the first project is going to be. Now this isn't really part of restoring The Silver Bullet, but rather just adding a feature that should have been installed a long time ago. I bought a tachometer over EBay this morning which I'll install over Presidents Weekend. Nowadays tachometers or tachs as they are called are in most if not all cars, but when this car was purchased it was an option and since my car has an automatic transmission my dad didn't have the tach installed. My car currently has a rather large clock in place of the tachometer. This clock will be removed and the tach installed. A smaller clock will be installed to the right of gauge cluster in an auxiliary spot underneath the oil pressure gauge.

Research

2005-01-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Over the past few days I've been posting various questions on a number of forums about how to go about this project. I've also inquired about my welding concerns. The idea of passing large amounts of current through my car has me a tad worried. When I go home I'll look at the shop manuals in regards to welding and other body work. You may have noticed the Google Ads on the right side of your screen. The proceeds from those ads will go to this project. In other news The Silver Bullet will not be towed off campus anytime soon because it has a brand new parking permit that is good till the end of February. This best part about this permit is that it was free! The lore of The Silver Bullet must be at work or maybe the parking lady is just nice.

A few things

2005-01-23T10:41:00.000-05:00

I realized this morning that I should make a few things clear:

Major construction will not begin until after I finish this semester May 13, 2005.
The above date only applies if I'm around this summer, and have all the equipment required. There is a possibility that I may not be around at all.
My current time will be spent investigating my car for areas that need work as well as how to fix them.
My car is not on campus so finding all the problem areas will take some time.

This is all that I can think of at this point. I'll be posting some pictures at some point.

A small intro

2005-01-23T01:24:00.000-05:00

My name is Eric. When my mom was pregnant with me her current car died. When looking for a new car my unborn self was a big influence. It is because of me that my parents ended up buying a brand new 1985 Volvo 240DL Station Wagon. It has been almost 19 years since I entered the world. The car now mine and has over 300,000 miles on it! I have lived my life in that car. It has served me and my family well over the years, unfortunately this story has a dark side. 1985 was one of the worst years for Volvo bodies. My car although in excellent condition mechanically is rusting. It is however, not to far gone. It's bad I'll admit, but the structural integrity is still there. This car has a ton of sentimental value to myself as well as family and friends. This is why this summer I will undertake my greatest project to date. I intend to bring my car now known as "The Silver Bullet" back to its original glory and then some.

This ladies and gentlemen is the story of The Silver Bullet…