An update is overdue, but I have been busy working on the car.
Rear suspensionI fitted poly bushes to the lower training arms and the rear axle. The latter was a new and scary experience for me... a job that involved deliberately setting the car on fire. The old axle bushes needed burning out to remove the rubber but leave the metal outer intact for re-use with poly bushes. No photos because I was far too busy stopping other parts of the car catching fire!
Rear seatsTo match my Alfa front seats, I decided to do some learning and make the rears fit in the 240. I am pleased with the result, but this took many many hours of work and I would only recommend doing the same if you have plenty of time available.
I chose to mount the new rear seat slightly higher and further back than the original, to improve leg room. I am 6'5" and I can now sit in the rear seat, with the front seat adjusted to my driving position. That wasn't even close to being possible with the original 240 seats fitted.
Backrest240 seat dismantled. The latch sections were later cut out and used on the Alfa seats
240 seat back trim removed, to be used later to trim the back of the Alfa seats
Alfa seat backs dismantled and cut down enough to fit between the 240 wheelarches. Luckily, it is only the flat backrest panel which needs to be cut, the tubular frame which gives the seat its strength is narrow enough to fit in the 240 without cutting
test fitting Volvo latch onto Alfa seat. This also shows the new release mechanism I made using parts from a tailgate lock, to replace the original 240 cable release.
seat back frame painted after the Volvo latches were welded on. To give sufficient strength, the latch sections are welded to the tubular frame of the seat as well as the flat back panel.
New captive threaded mountings for the Alfa brackets welded to the floor of the 240
making strong welded spacers to enable the Volvo headrests to be fitted to the Alfa seats. (It's not done yet, but I will also make these for the front seats)
The original Volvo rear cover/load floor was re-used, but with a cut in the centre to align with the split-folding seats
Seat baseseat bases trimmed down to fit the Volvo, then de-rusted and primed
painted
installing the subframe which supports the back of the seat bases. This fits onto adjustable threaded mounting brackets which are welded to the floorpan. Each of the large domed washers locates into the hole in the middle of the seat base (see previous photo)
making a post for the central pivot of the Alfa seat bases. This was welded to the floor of the 240 along with a strengthening plate
the carpet fits over the top of the subframe. The lower Volvo seat brackets are re-used, modified to accept the Alfa seat hinges. Seat belts refitted using the original mountings
UpholsteryTrimming the cushions to fit the 240 wheelarch. (The same process was also used on the backrest cushions)
marking the seat cover against the cut-down cushion, ready for cutting and sewing
Sewing the cover into the new shape using a new tool, the awl. This was my first attempt at sewing leather, and it's very difficult and it took several attempts on each of the four cushions to get a passable result. With practice, I improved, but it is hard to get equal tension on the two pieces whilst sewing them together, and any difference in tension creates wrinkles on one piece or the other.
The seats fittedThere are many adjustments and improvements still needed, but the seats are now fitted and working.
The 60/40 rear seat can be folded as one or separately of course. There are three fold-down options:
Firstly, for long items, the backrest can fold onto the cushion with no need to remove the headrest
Secondly, the with the headrest removed, the seat base can be folded as well, to give a flatter load floor and more depth, and thirdly the seat base can be easily removed, for maximum loading length
The first rear seat passenger, my nephew, commented on comfortable it was, before he knew I had fitted custom seats
I am now starting on the door card conversion, using Volvo 140 vinyl trims which match the Alfa seats well.
When all the re-engineering is done, the seats and door cards will all be removed and resprayed with Gliptone leather paint.
In "other news", I have some used IPD 25/22 anti-roll bars on the way from the states, and I have some 17 inch Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres, so the Polaris wheels might make an appearance soon
Cheers
John
