07x07 - Volvo P1800

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to Wheeler
Dealers, the show that

takes classic cars in
need of a helping hand

and gives them some TLC. I buy the motors.
And I sort the bodywork and do all the oily

jobs. And then we
sell them on for a profit.

Well that's the plan. Now this time I'm on
the hunt for one of my all time favourite

cars. Trust me, you
lot are gonna love this!

This is a Volvo. Honest,
it's a P1800. A rocket

ship of a design that
took the 60s by storm.

Fins at the back. A
classic coupe side profile.

And stylish front end
made this an international

success story. And for a while, changed the
image of the staid Swedish car maker. The

engine only pushed
out around 100bhp, but it

was good for a top speed
of 120mph. So desirable

was this two door four
seater that TV's Simon

Templar, otherwise
known as the Saint, made

it the star of his famous 60s detective
series. These days the style and rarity of

the P1800 ensures high prices. I should
know because I've had one in my very own

garage for a few years
and it's an appreciating

classic. For Wheel
Of Dealers money, just

five grand, I'd love to get a 60s version,
but I might have to settle for a later 70s

model. Wish me luck. Now as a P1800 owner
I'm always keeping an eye on what the cars

go for. And to be honest with you, over
the last few months it's been pretty barren

out there, especially with the money that
we've got. Now last night a car amazingly

popped into my inbox
and it's got the hair

on the back of my neck
standing on end. It's

white, it's five grand, but the advert is
completely nondescriptive. It just says

good car but not a show winner. So it's
time to make a call. The owner says the

ad has just gone online but already
he's had a few calls. He says it's a sound

original 60s car, but there's only one way
to find out for sure. No, I'll come round

right now. Cheers then. Wow, this could
be the one. The guy is prepared for me to

go and see it immediately. So there's
no time to waste, I'm gonna pounce on it.

Now the seller for the Volvo has told
me that he's had quite a bit of interest in

the car and he's got a lady who's
interested in coming to see it if I

don't want to buy it. Now on one hand
he's let me know the situation which is

good, but on the other hand he's
definitely sending me a clear message

and putting himself in a strong
position and guess what, he knows it.

Wow, what a car. Look at this. Where's
the owner? Now this must be him here. You

Graham? I am Graham.
Hello mate, how are you?

Pleased to meet you. Mike,
yeah, pleased to meet you.

too. The Volvo P800, I'm so excited.
Yeah. Now how long have you had it?

About six years. Any problems? Nope.
Good, looks like you must have had it

garaged over those six years. Yeah, that's
right. Because the body works in just

lovely condition, isn't it? It is. Really
nice. Yeah. Now look at that interior. Wow.

It's gorgeous, that little red vinyl seats.
They're in really good Nick, aren't they?

They are, they're excellent, yes.
Just needs a bit of a tidy up really. Yeah.

Bit of a clean. That's true.
And look at that dashboard. Yeah, it's

glorious. It is glorious. We've sort of
lost that in modern cars, haven't we?

Does it all work? Not quite, the rev
counter and the speedo are in working order.

So the fuel Gauge doesn't
work. That's probably

something Edd could
fix. Let's have a look.

under the bonnet while we're here. Yeah.
Pull the lever down. Now underneath here

should be, oh, which it is, a very nice
looking engine. Lovely. God, that's all

original, isn't it? Yes. I like that. Look
at the legs, they're nice and straight,

so no signs of previous
accident damage.

Little bit of rust coming
through, but you'd

expect that, wouldn't you? Yeah, she is


is the engine all right? Yeah, it's very
good. No troubles with it at all, is it?

Run unleaded or unleaded? Unleaded by
putting the fuel additive. Okay, so that's

the job that can be done. And anything
else have you done to it mechanically?

We've overhauled the braking system.
So it's got a completely new braking

system? Yeah. So it's got good brakes?
It does. Well, that's really good news.

I really like it. Now, a big bugbear
with these cars, and trust me, I know

because I own one, is I had to
replace the floor in my car. I hope you

don't mind, but I want to have a good dig
round underneath and make sure there's no

rock coming through. Yep. Cool. Right.
Actually, it's all right underneath here.

Nice solid floor. No signs of any rust
on the floor pan, which is much better

than how my one come. The crossmember
looks a bit rotten. We might have to do

something with that. But other
than that, it's all all right. It's good.

Driving-wise, is it all okay? Yeah,
absolutely. Because that's the next thing

I need to do. I just need to get it
out on the road and take it for a spin.

Of course. You don't
mind? No. All right, well,

I'll get it out. I'm
looking forward to this.

I'll only be, what, 15
minutes? Yep. And hopefully,

I'll be the man to buy
it when I come back.

Do you know what? I
think I've got the best

job in the world. I get
to drive cars like this

wonderful Volvo P1800.
What an absolute creep.

She looks just perfect
sitting on the road,

and she holds it just as well. Do you
know, I know these Volvos back to front,

and this one is just a sweet,
honest little car, and it's 42 years old.

Now, I've been
peddling this little Volvo

around for a bit, and
I've actually got to know

some of this car's
little faults, and it has

got a couple, because
the engine just seems

to be running a little
bit rich, but I think

the carburetors need
sourcing that. It's a

little bit lumpy. Plus,
there's this overwhelming

smell of petrol inside,
and you do expect

that with an old car, but this one feels
like somebody's spilled a can of petrol in

the rear seats. So, it is a problem,
but I'm sure it's a problem we can fix.

It can all end up, you
know, being a bit of a

gamble buying one of
these, but this is such

a rare car, it's a gamble that I'm willing
to take. The thing is, I don't want Graham

to know that he's asked five grand,
and it's worth every penny of that, but you

know what I'm like? I'm a Wheeler-dealer,
and I think I'm going to go back with

my size 10s on and bid him for an half
grand. But if he doesn't take it, I think

even for five grand, I've
found a bit of a bargain.

Well, Graham, it's lovely, isn't it? Very
nice. It's got a blowing exhaust. Brakes

are good, it drives
well, it does everything

you said it would do,
really. You advertise

it for how much? Five grand? That's right.
Yeah, it's probably worth £5,000 to the

right person, but that's not me at the
moment. Oh. I was going to give you four

and a half grand for
it cash, drive it away,

what do you say?
Oh, that's not the right

money for her. Sorry, I've got some other
people who were interested. How about four

seven fifty? Come on, Graham. So I'd like
to stick out for that money. For the five

grand? Yeah. Hold out your hand. Five
grand, it's mine. Fantastic. I've got myself

a Volvo. £5,000 has bought me a lot
of classic, but these cars are notoriously

complex inside and out, and I just hope I
haven't missed any problems lurking beneath

the lovely lines of our gorgeous P1800.
I bought a glamorous Volvo P1800, and it

took just five grand to secure me this
slice of coal. Believe me, it's a bargain.

This car is a cr*cker,
and I'll tell you what

makes this car stand
out is its originality,

and that's what we need to preserve,
because originality is what sells these

and earns the big bucks. We can flip
this car around, and I reckon on a good

day we could probably get £7,000 for it.
Now you may not know this, but the

record for the amount of miles travelled
in a car is owned by a guy in New York,

and he's done 2.2 million miles, and guess
what car it was in? Yeah, it was one of

these, a Volvo P1800. Now, thankfully,
the workshop isn't that far away, so I

should be able to make it back
okay, but there is that horrible smell of

petrol wafting through the cabin.
I just hope I'm not in for another,

standing on the side of the motorway,
waiting for the rescue services.

That is a classy motor, well done, that
man. How about that? I am so pleased.

Lovely. It's gorgeous, isn't it, a Volvo
PH100, one of my all-time favourites.

The lines are so gorgeous,
aren't they, they're

amazing. Amazing
shape of this wing, look at

this little C pillar.
And look at the fin at

the back. The fin at the
back, they don't make

cars like this anymore, do they? They
do, it's a real shame, but these are great,

great motors, but of course they also
have a really bad reputation for rust.

For £5,000, you'd expect
to find a car that's rotten as a

pear, but this car is as solid as a
rock, and just look at the paintwork,

it's ready to go. Well, at £5,000
then it means that something else is

seriously wrong, isn't
it? Well, we get onto

the bits that are
wrong in just a minute.

First of all, let's look at the positives,
look inside. Look at that interior.

That is nice, that is lovely. I thought
you'd like that, it's gorgeous, isn't it?

And the dashboard's gorgeous,
yeah, it's really, really lovely.

I love the contrast between the white paint
on the outside and that lovely red kinky

interior. Very good, isn't it?
But there is a bit of a smell of fuel.

Yeah, it does stink of fuel, I got
a headache driving this car back.

The fumes just seem to waft in the cabin.
Also, the fuel Gauge doesn't work,

so maybe you can have a look at that. And
the car is running ever so slightly lumpy.

And there's also a little bloke coming
from the exhaust, but that's easy,

the pipe's just slid out, needs
sliding back in. Pop the bonnet.

Now, remember, Ed, the car is 42
years old, so you're not going to see.

any computerised gizmo-ometry under here.
It is just an old engine, ready?

And it does kind of look it, to be fair,
doesn't it? It's not looking super shiny.

It does look like a 42-year-old engine,
but it sounds all right, it goes okay.

Nice and straight on the legs, no
sign of any rot or rust, it's all good.

A little bit of oil here and there. What's
it actually running on, is it unleaded?

It's running unleaded, we have to
put a fuel additive in it in a moment.

Yes, it'd be kind of nice
to convert it, wouldn't it?

It would help sell it, that's for sure.
So yeah, if we can do that conversion.

All right, so take the head
off, sort out the valve seats.

Get it running a bit nicer.

But that still isn't a huge problem,
so clearly there is a bigger one.

There is a bigger problem.
If you turn it off,

I'll sort of broach the
subject gently with you.

If you have a good look round underneath
the front, notice the cross member?

That is looking pretty
bad, isn't it? And

it's actually quite oily
under here as well.

Yeah, and the problem
I've got with that head

is anyone who goes
and buys a car like this

is going to do exactly what me and you
have just done, get their hands underneath

and have a look
underneath. So we need to

make sure that our car
is spotless underneath,

so we need to do that cross member,
the outside's nice and smart anyway,

get it running on unleaded, and
we'll have a great car on our hands.

It will be an honour to have it
in the workshop, so let's get it in.

This is a lovely old
Volvo, but even driving

at that short distance
into the workshop,

I was very aware of the rough
running that Mike was talking about.

The engine seems to be
popping and spitting, and

the throttle response
isn't that great either.

So to diagnose this problem,
the first thing I'm going to do is do a

compression test on that
lovely little four-cylinder engine.

A compression test is
something you can do at home.

It will help you diagnose whether
your engine has valve damage,

excessive carbon build-up
or piston ring problems.

It's the first stop to testing how fit
the inside of your engine really is.

Now I've removed all
four spark plugs from the

cylinder head, and the
idea now of course is

to put in the pressure
Gauge into each of

the cylinders in turn,
but by taking all the

plugs out, when you turn the engine
over, it's going to spin over a lot faster,

and you're going to get
a more accurate reading.

There's an ideal compression
reading for each cylinder.

It's different for every
car, and your owner's

manual will tell you
what's right for yours.

Okay, that should be enough there.

Now I'm expecting a compression of
between maybe 170 to 200 for this car,

and that looks like I guess about 185,
which is actually I'm more than happy with.

So one down, three to go.

Now I think we may have found a
culprit for our rough running already.

It's a bit odd that
it's just one cylinder,

but essentially number
one is showing 100 psi

of compression, whereas the
other three are showing 185.

So clearly there's
something wrong with that.

Now there's a number of things it could be,

but I think the most likely thing
is there's some valve damage.

This engine was designed
to run on only leaded fuel.

Now it hasn't really been
available for the last 10 years or so,

and although you can get additives, if it
hasn't been used on a couple of occasions,

the valves run a bit
hotter, they get a bit more

pounding, and eventually
they can get damaged,

and I think that is what's
happened to our engine.

Taking off the cylinder
head is a heap of work.

First that means draining
the cooling system.

The top tip, because the cylinder
head is at the top of the engine,

I only need to drain the
water down below that level.

The inlet manifold
needs to be disconnected.

The twin carburetor assembly removed.

The top hose slips off, and
then it's off with the rocker cover.

And out with the socket set, as the rocker
shaft itself becomes accessible at last.

Well, the rocker shaft is now away safely.

The next thing I need to do is
get rid of these little push rods.

A little top tip here, make myself
a little diagram of the engine.

You can see at the
front there, what I'm just

going to do is pull out each of these rods,
push them through some pre-made holes,

and that way they'll be kept in the right
order, and be kept safe at the same time.

Why am I doing this?

Well, engines work to tiny tolerances.

Each rod will have worn differently
over the lifetime of the block.

Fit them back in the wrong order, and
these parts will need to be run in again.

Eventually the cylinder head
itself is ready to be unbolted,

and with a little brute force, it
comes away ready for inspection.

Remember, I'm looking for
evidence of valve damage.

I think what I need to do is a little test.

I'm suspecting that number one is at fault.

What I need to do is just
put the spark plugs back in,

fill each chamber up with fuel,
and then just let it stand for a while.

If the fuel leaks out, then we know for
sure there's problems with the valve seat.

It would seem I was on the right track.

The three cylinders that
had good compression,

there's no fuel that's actually run down
the back of the valves, which is great.

But while I did have my
doubts about number one,

you can see the fuel has actually
leaked past the seal of the valves,

which means there is something
wrong probably with the valve seat there.

Now, I can't just get the one repaired.

I need to do the whole head, and
it's not something I can do myself.

What's going to happen
is I'll send it away,

and they're going to replace the
kind of dodgy valve seats, if you like,

with hardened valve seats, and that means
this car will then run on unleaded fuel.

Now, it's going to take about a week,

but I have got plenty to be
getting on with on our P1800.

Mike was having a bit of a wind,
because on the way back to the workshop,

he didn't know how much fuel he had
because the fuel Gauge doesn't work.

Now, I can see straight away there's
something wrong with the pointer.

It's not actually attached, it seems,
to the little spindle in the middle.

In fact, while I touch
it, I guess that static

electricity is actually
moving it around,

but clearly it's not
where it's supposed to be.

So I need to get it out of the dashboard,

and to do that, I think I'm going
to have to get around the back.

So here we go.

Now, I'm pretty sure that this Gauge
isn't going to be working properly,

because that needle is
flopping around all over

the place, and it is
slightly corroded as well.

So, having discarded that, I
have to get Mike to get another one.

The problem I have now is I don't know
for sure whether the sender works or not.

These wires are connected to the sender,

the clever device which
sends the fuel Gauge a

message about the
amount of petrol in the tank.

If I just get a multimeter on here,

I want to set it so that if I connect
the two together and get a short,

I get a little beep.

So I know this tank is not
likely to be completely full up.

Equally, it's not likely
to be completely empty,

so I should get some kind of
resistance somewhere in the middle.

And I've got no short, but
equally, I've got no reaction

at all, which means I've
got like an open circuit,

which suggests that there is actually
something wrong with the sender as well.

So now what I need to do
is take that out of the tank,

and then I'll proper
check with that as well.

Nowadays, fuel tanks are tucked
away in safety zones within a car.

Ours is under the boot floor carpet.

Now that is not good.

You can see all this moisture
around the fuel tank here,

but I don't even have to get too
close to know that that is definitely fuel.

That's probably what's giving it
a horrible smell inside the cab.

The fuel tank is made up of
two welded steel pressings,

and after four decades, a
bit of rot is set into the join.

It's enough to allow petrol
out, and it's a real liability.

Back to the sender.

I'm just going to undo this.

So here is our fuel sender.

Okay, what I'm going to do
now is connect up my multimeter,

and measure the resistance.

See if there's any change whatsoever.

So the earth's on the
body, just moving the float up

and down, and I should get
some change of resistance.

It does seem to be dead as a dodo.

So unfortunately, not only
do we need a new Gauge,

we're also going to need a new sender.

And of course, by the looks of it,
we might even need a new tank.

Now I've had him indoors,
or him in the workshop,

on to me about the fuel
system of our little Volvo.

He says it needs replacing.

We need a tank, a sender
unit, and a fuel Gauge.

So I have a little ring around,

and I've found a firm
that specializes in P1800

parts, and I'm on my
way to go and see it.

Hello there. Are you Simon?

I'm Simon, yeah.

This looks alright, doesn't it?

It's a proper little at this
cave of Volvo car parts.

I'm going to give you a bit of a headache,
because I need some bits for my P1800E.

It's all to do with the fuel system.

I need a fuel Gauge.

Right.

You want me there?

Yeah.

Won't be able to do new, I'm afraid, but
we'll have a good second-hand Gauge.

Now, I'm amazed you just went
to the shelf and got a fuel Gauge,

because surely that's going
to be a rare item, isn't it?

You can't get the new now.

Well, I'll definitely need one,
because the needle's falling off of mine.

Ah, right.

Well, that one's good and working.

Yeah, good and working.

Fantastic. Alright, that's awesome.

I also need a fuel tank,

and I also need the sender unit.

Right, yep.

Well, you're in luck with the tanks,
because they're now reproduced,

so you've got proper
Volvo stamped in the tank.

I need the sender unit
that goes inside the tank.

Would you have one of those?

Yep, we should have those new as well.

Now, the sender unit.

Look at that.

So this would be the same as the
sender unit that was in the car in 1968.

And it even comes, I think,
with a gasket in the box.

Oh, gasket in the box as well.

I like it all.

How much is it?

The fill Gauge would normally
come out at 35 pounds.

That's reasonable,
isn't it, for a little Gauge?

Not too bad for that.

And then the tank sender unit,
they come out at 50 pounds.



And then the tank's a bit
more expensive at 275 pounds.

But guaranteed, never told us.

Guaranteed, rust.

So that's 360 pounds?

That's right, yep.

I think that's job done. I'll have it.

Lovely.

Super.

Thanks a lot, Mike.

So far, the work on our
Volvo is ticking along nicely,

but the costs are mounting up, and I'm
going to have to keep a real eye on the cash

if we hope for a decent
profit on this P1800.

This is Wheeler Dealers,

where we're hard at work on one
of my favorite classic sports cars,

the voluptuous Volvo P1800.

I was bowled over by
the driving experience.

This car is a cr*cker.

But Ed still had plenty to keep
his hands dirty in the workshop.

Bad valve damage meant the whole cylinder
head had to be sent off to be reworked.

Then Ed discovered the
fuel Gauge was kaput.

The center unit had given up the ghost,

and the tank was full of holes.

No wonder the interior stank of petrol.

And there's more work ahead for Mr. China.

Much more.

Now, I was a bit concerned about
the rust on the underside of our P1800.

And to be honest, when
I first looked underneath

myself, it did look
a little bit dodgy.

But on closer inspection,

this is quite a chunky bit of metal here.

This cross member
was obviously built to last.

And actually, the rust that you
can see is really just surface rust,

where the paint has been scraped
away by speed bumps and whatever.

And clearly, that's what this
big dent is all about as well.

There's nothing really wrong as
far as an MOT failure is concerned.

But what is a problem, of course, is when
a buyer comes to have a look at this car,

they're going to see this and
be a bit worried about that ding.

So what I can do is try and
straighten that bit of damage there.

Then I rub back some of that rust
and then give it a nice bit of paint.

This might look a bit drastic, but
actually, it's a quick and easy fix.

My oxyacetylene torch heats the
mild steel up to around 600 degrees.

Then a pair of grips is all I
need to give this panel a tweak.

I'm not going for perfection.

That would be too hard to achieve.

I just want it to look
a little bit straighter.

And to make it look that bit better,

I'm also blowing it over
with some standard black

stone chip paint from a


Cheap, cheerful and effective.

I think you'll agree that's
looking a lot smarter.

But while I'm here,
while it's up on the ramp,

I'm just going to check for any
more areas of rust or damage.

Well, this side seems
pretty good, actually,

except perhaps the shock
absorber, which is a bit rusty,

but it's not leaking, so
it's not an MOT failure.

Well, this side seems good.

Again, the shock
absorber is a little bit rusty.

Oh, wow.

Now, that is pretty serious.

The spring is actually broken.

It's kind of sheared in, too.

It does sometimes happen,
so I'm going to have to fix it.

That wasn't in the plan.

The suspension spring
has snapped clean through.

As well as being a real danger on the road,

with the potential to
affect the car's handling,

it's now going to cost me
time and money to replace.

To get this broken spring off,

I need to disconnect quite
a bit of the suspension.

I need to undo this drop
link here for the anti-roll bar.

I need to undo the ball joint at the
bottom here on the end of the A-arm here.

And also, I need to disconnect the bolt

that holds the shock
absorber to this bottom arm.

Not too tricky, but
loads of things to undo.

This is the sort of work
you can do at home.

Swapping a shock absorber yourself will
save you around 50 pounds a side in labor.

I'm using my transmission
Jack to release the tension

on the suspension, so I can
safely undo all of the bolts.

I need the disc brake
assembly out of the way,

so a bungee cord lifts it up and
gives me access to the cracked spring.

Oh, there we go.

The spring is out.

You can see it's actually
broken clean in two.

Doesn't happen that
often, but when it does,

it means we need a new spring.

Now, I'm wrestling with the shock absorber,

because I thought I might as well change

that rusty old bit of metal
while I'm doing the Springs.

The thing is, I can't get
the nut undone on the top,

because it's been there for so long.

So I think I'm just going to cut it off.

My angle grinder makes short work of the
rusted nut, and the shock absorber is free.

The new shock absorber is an easy fit.

Just locate it, pop on the rubber spacer,

and then lock it into place with a nut.

The spring is a little more fiddly.

Once again, I'm using my Jack,

so I can release the
tension on the assembly

and connect up all
the right nuts and bolts.

With the near side done,

I'm moving over to swap the offside too.

It is a really good idea
to replace the Springs

and shocks on both
sides at the same time.

It gives you peace of mind and means
the handling is a bit more predictable.

All in, the parts were 100 pounds.

Replacing the Springs
and the shock absorbers

was certainly not a job I
was expecting to have to do,

but now it's done, at least the
car will sail through an MOT.

And of course, with it all looking nice
and shiny, it should be easier to sail,

and it's even going to
handle a little bit better as well.

Job done.

Ed, how are you doing? You all right?

I'm very good, very good.

Oh, the old Volvo, look at it.

It looks just the same, doesn't it?

You always say this.

I've been working underneath the car,

and the first thing I had to
do was fix a broken spring.

We've now got a pair of brand new Springs

and brand new shock absorbers.

Oh, that's a bit unexpected.

Well, it is, but it's an old
car, that's what happens.

Classic car, big bills.

What else you done?

Remember we had that problem with
that kind of dodgy front cross member.

I've actually ground back the rust.

It wasn't as bad as we first thought,
so I've just given it a lick of paint.

Right, so if somebody
comes around to buy the car

and they lay down underneath
with their trusty torch,

clean bill of health.

Exactly.

So have you sorted out
our problematic engine?

Pop the bonnet.

Hey, off it's missing.

Exactly, remember it
was running a bit lumpy.

Yep.

But it was down on
compression on one cylinder.

That was down to a damaged valve seat.

So what I've done is sent
the head off to get it sorted

and they're going to do an
unleaded conversion at the same time.

So when it comes back,

not only is it going to be running right,
it will run happily on unleaded fuel.

Exactly, it's a pretty good bonus.

And talking of fuel,

I noticed you brought me another
fuel Gauge and a sender presumably.

I said I'll get you those
parts and there they are.

Thank you.

Well, they were both failed,
but also if you pop this way,

if you look around the back here,

now remember that funny smell
that was going from inside the cab?

Yeah.

It was caused by a leaking fuel tank,

so hopefully you've got a
replacement to put in that hole.

And when I bought the
sender unit and a fuel Gauge,

I got you a fuel tank, don't panic.

You're a good lad, okay.

So you're going to bolt it straight in?

Yes.

Right, great Ed.

So we're getting there,

but I'm just a little bit worried that we
could be spending too much money.

I know we're going to sell
this car for a good profit,

I want to maximize the
profit, so let's stop spending.

Okay.

Mike's got me the parts to sort out.

my fuel tank and fuel Gauge problems,
so I just need to get them on the car.

Fuel tank first.

Because this is a genuine
Volvo part made under license,

it does just fit straight in.

Simple fix, I love it.

This is our brand new fuel Gauge sender.

You can see it's got a float on an
arm that goes into a little magic box

with a little wire terminal
coming out the top there.

This float obviously sits
on the level of your fuel,

so as your fuel goes up
and down, so does the float.

Now if I show you on the old device, you
can see inside this magic box, if you like,

there's a coil of wire,
that's resistance wire.

You can see there's a little kind of paddle
on there, which is connected to the arm.

So as your fuel level goes up and down, this
little arm moves backwards and forwards,

and ultimately changes
the resistance in this coil.

And of course, that wire goes all
the way to the dashboard at the front.

You've got your fuel Gauge there,

and the fuel Gauge converts
that resistance into a voltage,

which drives this little
pointer to the right level.

So it's actually quite a simple
device, but actually vitally important.

Fitting the sender is
just locating a gasket,

dropping the sender unit in,

screwing it into place,

and then connecting
it up to the wiring loop.

Well, of course, when
I put the fuel tank in,

it was empty, so it's about
time I put some fuel in.

And once I got the fuel Gauge in the
dashboard, I can tell you exactly how much.

This job won't be complete until
I've fitted our replacement fuel Gauge.

It's nice and simple, just have to
connect up the wires on the back,

and of course attach it to the
dashboard with these two screws.

This is a beautiful looking car.

It's got a lovely stylish dashboard.

The body lines are lovely and curvaceous,

but none of that would be any consolation
when you're stuck staring at it for hours

on the hard shoulder
because you've run out of fuel.

Obviously, a working
fuel Gauge is essential.

Now I'm pretty sure that my fixes
have worked, but let's just check it.

Turn on the ignition, and there we go.

Straight away, the little
needle jumps into life,

telling me we've got just
under a quarter of tank of fuel.

So I've got to fill up, but at least
we know the fuel Gauge works.

Our cylinder head is back
from the machine shop.

Now we did have a problem before with one
of the cylinders being down on compression,

and it turns out that was
because of a damaged valve seat.

What I've got them to
do is actually replace

all of the valve seats
with hardened ones,

which now means, of
course, our problem is solved,

but also our engine is going to run on
unleaded fuel, which is a real big bonus.

Now, unfortunately, you can't see
any of their magical workmanship

because it's all hidden
under these nice clean

valves, but rest assured
it is top quality work.

Now, I can't really put this
head onto the engine until

I've done a bit of prep
work, so that's my next job.

First, the old head gasket is removed,

together with the O-rings, which form the
seal through to the water pump housing.

A little grease helps the new
O-rings to fit and seal well,

and then the new head gasket goes on.

Essential if you've done
any cylinder head work,

as you need a really
good seal on the block.

Well, the new head gasket is in position.

The head is in place.

I've now nipped up all of the head bolts.

What I need to do now is torque them down

to make sure that the head is actually
attached to the block at the right pressure,

and of course, as always, what I'm going to
do is start in the middle and work my way

in a kind of spiral action to the
outside to make sure that that pressure,

holding it all down, is even, and of
course, it doesn't matter quite so much

on a cast iron head as
opposed to an aluminium head,

but still, it makes sense to just
do it with best practice in mind.

Remember those push rods
I so carefully stored in order?

Well, they're next to go in.

Before I can go any further,
I've got to adjust the tappet.

This means setting the clearances between
the rocker and the top of the valve.

I'm using a feeler Gauge for this,

a small shim of metal
of an exact thickness.

I'm taking the clearance measurements
from a Volvo workshop manual.

If I don't set the gap properly,

then the engine runs rough,
and I will damage the new valves.

So this is an important job to get right,

and I'm checking and checking again.

The old rocker cover was a bit past
it, so I bought a nice black one online,

and it does give the
engine bay a smarter look.

All this reassembly work
actually took two hours,

but if it's your first try
at something like this,

I'd budget for double or
treble that amount of time.

Everything's bolted back
onto the engine of our P1800,

so now what I need to do is
actually top up the coolant system.

Coolant first.

Water second.

Then we're ready to run.

Okay, the reworked head is in position,

and this will be the first turn of the key

on a new era of
unleaded fuel for our Volvo.

So here goes.

Now when I turn it over,

there's gonna be a flood of
unleaded fuel into those carburetors,

and doesn't it sound,

well, actually it sounds really rubbish.

That sounds really lumpy,

and it's not supposed to sound like this.

Essentially, I've just spent hundreds
of pounds sorting out the head,

and yet still, it sounds
really, really nasty.

I'm gutted.

I need to find an answer to this
rough running engine and fast.

Join me the other side of the brake to
find out whether I have any bright ideas

on how to turn this
sinner of a car into a Saint.

Welcome back to Wheeler Dealers.

We've nearly completed the
restoration of our beautiful Volvo P1800.

Ed's been working his hands to
the bone on this little sports coupé,

but it should all be worth it because
a big profit looks on the cards.

The P1800 should sell for
seven or maybe eight grand.

One of the most important jobs Ed tackled

was to have the valves
in the cylinder head

replaced and converted
to run-on unleaded.

The big turn-on should
have been a cause for

celebration, but it ended
up being a damp squib.

And doesn't it sound,

well, actually it sounds really rubbish.

Oh dear, our Volvo looks
great but sounds awful,

but Ed's never been defeated yet.

Our engine really should be running sweetly,
so this is a properly annoying problem,

but I do think I may
have found the culprit.

I've changed the spark
plugs, I've changed the points,

I've checked the ignition timing,

I've checked again the valve timing,

I've also checked for air leaks
and stuff in the induction system,

and it does seem, I think really,

there's something wrong
with these carburetors.

So I've got myself a rebuild
kit, I'm going to take them apart,

I'll give them a good clean,

and hope, fingers crossed,

that's going to solve our problem.

Stripping down and rebuilding the
carbs involves a lot of fiddly work.

You can tackle this at
home, but my advice is

to take a lot of digital
photos as a memory aid.

If you think about how
a carburetor actually

works, when you put
your foot on the throttle,

you open this butterfly valve
down here, that means air rushes

into the engine, but that
rushing of air actually forces.

this little piston away from
this side of the carburetor.

So of course the more air you're
getting, the further away this is.

Now the action that's going on
there is that actually this little needle.

is sliding in and out of
this fuel delivery tube.

So what happens is as you accelerate,

this piston kind of pulls
away from this here,

and then all that fuel that's coming
here actually flows into the engine,

and of course, the further away
it goes, the more fuel you get.

So what I'm going to do is replace

all of those little parts
that I can from my little kit,

and then hopefully that should
solve that problem if it was a problem.

The kit of gaskets, pins,
and other oddities cost


quite a complex job to do,

but the results should transform
our rough running engine.

But with that side done, I now
have to do the other carburetor.

Our car runs with twin carburetors,

but some later P1800s had
modern fuel injection systems.

You can retrofit these to earlier cars,

but to make the best money for our car,

we've decided to keep
everything as original as possible.

I'm a little bit nervous,

especially after all of that work,

but I'm now going to turn
the engine over once more

and hope that she's going
to run sweet and smooth.

What a relief, and what
a great engine sound.

That really is the sound
of the swinging 60s.

This is a real film star of a car.

The Saint, Simon Templar,

would be happy to be beyond
the wheel of this 60s classic.

Ed has played a blinder.

The hunt for a decent car was hard,

but eventually I was
in the right place at the

right time to land this
original five grand car.

Valve damage meant the cylinder
head needed specialist care,

and we opted to have the whole head converted
to run on 21st century unleaded petrol.

The underside of the car
needed a little remedial

work, but was soon
looking smick and span.

Less so, the front coil, which
had snapped clean through.

Ed replaced the front suspension
parts, and now she rides easy on the road.

The whole fuel system had seen better days,

so the Gauge, center unit,
and petrol tank were all replaced,

and now that high octane smell
in the cabin is a thing of the past.

And that should have been that, but the
old carburettors were in poor condition,

and Ed needed to give
them a complete rebuild

before the engine
would finally run sweetly.

So, what's the damage on our vintage Volvo?

Well, we bought a bargain,

and then kept quite a good
hold on the purse strings.

The fuel system rebuild
cost the most in parts,

and the cylinder head
work cost a few quid too.

Amazingly, the total bill for our
P1800 came to just under £5,800,

and if I can't make a big profit on that,

then I'm going to Chuck it all in
and go back to the paper round.

Ed, how you doing?

All right, mate.

Wow, look at that Volvo.

Now, this was a great car when I
bought it, and it's still a great car.

If that's your way of
saying nothing's changed,

you need to stop your
teasing immediately.

The car you dropped off
needed a fair amount of tinkering.

This car needs no work at all.

It's completely sorted.

No, I am teasing, Ed.

I can see you've done some
brilliant work with the old Volvo,

and just look at it.

It's going to be a pleasure
to sell on this P1800.

I mean, it's just got
everything going for it, isn't it?

It's really going to make
somebody very happy.

Well, before it makes somebody very happy,

it's got to make me and
you happy one last time,

because me, you, and the
car, we should hit the road.

Is that a thing above your head?

What?

That thing.

It's a circling, shiny thing.

Hover it above your head.

OK, I get it.

A halo, like the Satan.

That guy with the detective who was driving
around in the 60s in one of these, yeah?

If the halo fits.

Well, I have to say, now with all the
jobs done, I do feel a little bit saintly,

because, of course, now I've
dealt with all the P1800 sins.

It truly is on the path to righteousness.

Even riding shotgun in this
car is a pleasurable experience,

because this car's got
a decent turn of speed,

it's got really good road manners,

and it's a thoroughly usable classic.

And it sort of transports
you back to a different age.

It's a real pleasurable place to be.

I totally agree.

It's got a real vibe to it.

It is definitely a class act.

I can really feel all the
work I've done on this car.

I mean, the throttle
response, first of all...

Sounds all right.

It sounds fantastic, and
the engine runs really sweet.

So, obviously, that work I did
on the carburetors is all lovely.

And also, it's really nice to be in
the cab, now it doesn't smell of petrol.

Oh, yeah, it smells lovely
in here now, doesn't it?

And you're right, Ed, I've had
no chance of selling this car on

when it was stinking like
a petrol station fork hole.

Oh, exactly.

And talking of selling on, what
are we going to try and get for it?

Well, you know me, I like to think big,

and I think the bodywork
on this car was its biggest

asset, but now you've
done all the oily bits,

I think we've got ourselves
a really decent motor,

and I think we've made
it a much better car.

Now, definitely, because obviously,
of the car, often, of this age,

there's always something that lets it down,

but this car is top draw
in every department.

Well, top draw, mate.

I reckon we should ask top draw money.

Why don't we go for eight and a half grand?

If we can get that, I'll be well chuffed.

Me too.

Watch and learn, son.

Watch and learn.

Our Volvo has attracted
a lot of attention at eight

and a half grand, and
this fellow behind me, Jim,

he was really keen to come and see it.

He's been a fan of the
P1800 since he was a child,

but let's see if he's got the cash
to turn that dream into a reality.

Right then, fella, what do you think of it?

Oh, I think it's a beautiful car.

I think you've done a really great job.

I've been looking for quite some time,

and I've seen quite a few
that are in very poor condition,

but this one has to be the best I've seen.

So it's clear you like the
car, but do you like the price?

I advertised it for eight and a half grand.

Well, it's a lovely car.

It's also my 50th birthday this year,

and if I was to go for it, it
would be quite a birthday treat.

How about giving me a
little bit of a present as well,

and going for eight 250?

What a lovely thing to do.

Go and treat yourself to a
car on your 50th birthday.

Well, happy birthday to you.

Thank you.

But I'm not going to be that generous.

What about eight 350?

Come on.

Well, I think I deserve it.

Thank you very much.

Top work.

You got yourself a cracking motor.

Big smiles all round then as our
wonderful Volvo finds a happy home,

and we bank a very
healthy profit of £2,555.

Well, there you go.

Dreams really do come true.

Jim drives away in a car he always promised
himself, and we turn a decent profit.

If you want to see more Dream
Machines being brought back from the brink,

then join us again soon
on Wheel Of Dealers.

Ta-la.