Volvo 66 Combi - Lowered

[laks]

Well, I think it’s about time to introduce myself to ya’ll!
First thing, I’m from the Dutch Mountains, just like my ride.
I’ve been looking around this place for a while, excuse me for my bad English.

The story behind getting my hands on this car is pretty long, I’ll tell it in a nutshell. ;D
The previous owner went with his V66 Combi GLS in mint condition to Spain to live there, the green one was in bad condition and he decided to scrap it or sell it.
He advertised it on the internet, but nobody wanted to buy the car.
Except for me. He almost had it scrapped.
I also did wanted to scrap it, but I thought it would’ve been a nice side-project while my other car was waiting to be repaired at the bodyshop.
And so I started to bring it back on the road, but not as an original restored car.
Been there, done that… It was time to do something I had for years on mind.
Retro, oldskool, ratlook, you can fake it all, except for PATINA, this car is real patina.
Lowered the car in original style, sprayed the original aluminium-alloys in brown-metallic and started working on the ‘wood’.
The wood was painted by myself in stead of stickering.
I wanted that because it was something else, you know…

Next thing is a nice pin-striping and when it’s done the MOT is next.

That's it for the nutshell...

My final goal is going to a DAF/Volvo-meeting with all original cars and have mine valued for insurance-policy by someone who’s expecting an original ride. Haha.

Pictures of when I bought it:


Started Painting it:


Finished Painting:


Started Lowering:



New Rims:

First Test-drive:


Yes, will fix bumper…

And to compare lowered Volvo 66 to my Original DAF 66.


Pretty nice for an original-freak, isn’t it?

[longman]

I really like that , the woodgrain is epic .., no issues with your English dude .. glad to see someone can spell ;D

[Deleted]

Brilliant! Seriously impressed with the woodgrain and what you've done. I wonder if you can get some chunky chrome bumpers to fit this?

[scottyy]

this is soo nice =] big win from me mate

[motorjunkie]

That is cool as hell!

[conrad]

You've got mountains in NL? I always ahd the impression there was pretty much none. I was only there when i was a kid but i certainly didnt see anything other than flatness... well there gos my stereotype view of that country lol.

It's amd how you painted the sides of the car to look like wood. I've only seen that before on a truck, he painted the whole cab to look like wood

[Del]

Who was the group that made the record 'In The Dutch Mountains'? Something like The Nuts?

[stefan]

Had a brown 1.3 GL one of these last year that i put GLS wheels on, they are not easy to find in the uk

[bl1300]

Jun 19, 2011 22:21:43 GMT @volksangyl said:

Brilliant! Seriously impressed with the woodgrain and what you've done. I wonder if you can get some chunky chrome bumpers to fit this?

Theres a man with a van around here that advertises chroming of plastic bumpers. He has even chromed the bumpers and mirrors on his vauxhall vivaro.

If there is one company doing it I'm sure there must be others

[laks]

Well, I wasn't directly thinking of chroming my bumpers.
...Maybe just the roof, that'll look cool, whaha!
I'm not so into chrome on these kind of vehicles.
Chrome is more likely for the cars from the DAF-era and pre-'75, I think.

I've also been messing around with stickerbombing.
Maybe the cheap way, but I think it looks nice.
Just wondering how long it will last under the bonnet.



At the time I'm having troubles with the steering-lock (is that spelled right?) on this car, still looking for a solution to get tis baby running.
Will post up soon, because tomorrow I'll be trying to fix it.

Greetings!

[laks]

Oh, by the way...

...thanks for all the credits! ;-)

[mrj]

Jun 20, 2011 9:41:36 GMT Del said:

Who was the group that made the record 'In The Dutch Mountains'? Something like The Nuts?

the nits


well, a nice car, the wood grain looks very similar to the laminate floor i was putting in the house last week I love those DAFs/Volvos, yours is very nice ....

[33grinder]

Nice! Great job with the wood grain too.

Let me know if you need any used parts for her as I have a friend who has a barn full of DAF/V66 spares.

[laks]

Hello 33 Grinder; I would be interested into that barn full of DAF/V66 parts.
Could you give me a personal message with more info?

By the way, I did something about the suspension on the V66, it rides very well now.
More comfy.
Did a stickerbomb to the dash also, next thing is a pinstriping on the back of the trunk.

Pics will be posted up soon!

[mrzee]

looking awesome mate.

Can I ask how you lowered it? Did you cut the springs?

[laks]

@mrzee:
There are no springs like in spiral spring or coilspring?
These are torsion springs = very old, I guess...
Like shafts with cogs on it, just like a gear wheel.
You just unloosen it and put it back a few cogs.

I hope I spelled it right this time. If you have more questions, I can help you with a scan of an owner-ships manual if you'd like to?

Greetings.

[mrzee]

laks thanks for the advice, once she's running properly I'll give that a go. Cheers!

[laks]

Didn't make it for the MOT on time.
Damnit, had to go through it to make it to the first meeting.
Had to weld two rotten sides of the car.
The previous owner did make it through the MOT, because of his creative work with 'silicone kit'
when I pulled it off, there was nothing left but rust & holes!

So, started cutting the leftovers out.


And filled it up with patches of steel, not very well done, but better than that silicone stuff.
The 'jack-supports' (or how do you call it?) will not come back, I like it better without them.
Bytheway, the standard jack that comes originally with the car, won't fit underneath this lowered car anymore ;-) ... Luckily I'm member of the Triple A, haha!


Next thing is the whole other side (!) damn the previous owner for it's actions to get this car through the MOT...

[Deleted]

I bet you're happy you did those repairs properly.

[laks]

Yes, I'm totally happy with the repairs I did.
I had to do the other side also, because the previous owner truly f*cked up with the bodywork.
He made a real mess, probably he thought rubber-kit was just as strong as metal.
Had to put back alot of steel on the other side.
But got it right, and the MOT is passed.

I even had time left to paint the roof properly.


Here it is, next to my 99,9% original DAF 77: