Work is currently at a standstill. On sunday I managed to get a tiny bit of hot metal from the grinder stuck to my eye Learning the difference between directly and indirectly vented goggles the hard way. A+E on Monday, think its off now but eye bloody sore and got to go back tomorrow for check up. Also started worrying if I'm using the correct welding goggles. Think I may have been using too low a shade/class, maybe too much UV getting through. (not being going for hours on end, more time grinding, cutting and messing about than welding ). Anyone else done much welding? Don't think I've actually got arc-eye yet so want to avoid that at all costs.

Speaking as one who is quite an authority on the subject of eyes, as I am registered blind, the best advice that I can give you is to talk to your optition and listen to what he has to say. Take advice from the health and safety exec as they will guide to the appropriate goggles. It is definately not worth just buying a mask and hoping that it is upto the job, as if its not, you will only know when its to late to solve the problem.

Ian.

Just noticed this thread! Hang on to that 3dr 1.7 that's the drifters' favourite 300 so I guess it'll be one of the rarest models in future

Hell Driver wrote:Been busy getting a caravan today, 1989/90 model, just right for the car Any one got any good caravan mods?

Ride levelling rear suspension and a tow bar
http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... =37&t=3844
This place has a whole stash of Monroe LA463 Ride Leveller shocks for the 300, but the price makes your eyes water
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0385316007

Tom

Hell Driver wrote:On sunday I managed to get a tiny bit of hot metal from the grinder stuck to my eye Learning the difference between directly and indirectly vented goggles the hard way.

Christ, sorry to hear this. I'm pretty damn paranoid about it with a grinder, yet I've often got involved on a lathe without proper eye protection. Good luck with the recovery

Ouch, I missed that earlier. Hope you get better quickly!

Tom

Thanks guys Good news from the Dr., no obvious damage with the UV, (but will still use a better set of goggles for welding!) As for the metal in the eye, also goodish news, it's gone but left a stain called a rust ring. He said I really should have it removed by scraping it off with a needle Chickened out today but may go back cos he said it could cause infection to get in
Please be careful with grinders people, I've always, always used goggles and been careful. After doing some research on the web and seeing a very nasty photo of what a grinder can do if the disk explodes or fractures, I'll never use one again without some kind of full face guard (and indirectly vented goggles to stop the bits bouncing back in)

Goof on you chap and a lesson well learned, which we should all take not of.

Ian.

There are some old pictures on this forum of Hugh (5lab) using an angle grinder to turn his V300 into a convertible for his Africa trip. Without goggles

Tom

He must have been very lucky! It depends what angle your using it as and how hard you press on I suppose. If you can grind so all the sparks fly away from your body and face, into an open area you might be lucky, but when doing confined, awkward areas and grinding through thick lumps of weld there's lots of sparks and bits bouncing around off the sills and the ground. Certainly would risk it without goggles.

Hugh has the ability to be a complete spanner at times

A fair few of us did mention it too him at the time.

I started work on the car again a week or so ago (eye much better now ) Decided to start on the front as I'm bored with the sills now, just got a bit more to do underneath and by the tank. I've tried to source a new front valance, no luck there, as expected NLA at Volvo, and no cars to cut one off at the breakers. Last resort was to try a local body parts supplier. No front valance but can get sills, front wings, door skins, rear valance and bonnet! A company makes them in Hexam apparently.
Front valance in very bad way, bottom edge turned to frilly paper held together by paint and stonechip

Loads of soil inside the bottom edge and a leaking radiator making nice compost

10 minutes with the cutting disk and all the rubbish is gone and the cars now a bit lighter!
While I'm sorting the front out I'm going to put in some fog lights. There are no holes for them on the outside unlike the 360's, but the inner valance has ready cut holes Which is where all the mud and crap has come from (and while messing about on the field opposite a few years ago ) So a few more sparks and some more holes appear!


I've welded up the gap now, (no photos yet). Not as the original, too hard to recreate the exact shape, but a smoother rounded bottom I could recreate the same edge with another strip of metal. Intereseting to see that the inner wings are as to fit the original Mark 1 wings. Mark 2 and 3 wings come down lower as does the front valance. At the moment, from the front the car looks like a hybrid Mark 1 and 3

Its a mk 1.23.
goodle hadrian parts for all your needs dude. That'll be the Hexham connect.

After a couple of months doing other things (including filling the garden with yet more old volvos!) I finally got back to work on this one at the weekend. The radiator was leaking so much I had to abandon the front valance work to drain the coolant, so I've got distracted and started on other things! Took the rad off and while I'd got that off I thought I'd might as well do the timing belt while I've got good access. Then of course I get distracted again and start cleaning and painting bits and bobs i hadn't really intended too At the moment I've not got a replacement rad. Nomashedswede is supposed to have posted one to me but I have yet to take delivery
The timing belt kit was relatively easy to get, my local parts shop had one in within an hour of ordering. I was able to check the part numbers against various posts on V3M which was reassuring. There appears to be 2 types, one for the earlier and one for the later 1.7's. Mines the later 125 tooth belt. Also got a new fan belt, air and oil filters while I was there. I was told that they only had 4 oil filters in stock which wouldn't be replaced and they would have to order in the air filter. The timing belt was common enough cos of all the renaults with the same engines still out there. The days of getting even simple filters 'off the shelf' may be numbered!? so I bought 2 oil and 2 air filters.
Where do you guys get these simple parts from? e.bay, mail order or in person at parts shops? And where do you get the best prices?

I paid:

Timing belt kit (belt, tensioner & pulley) £99 (seen one a bit cheaper at £68+del on ebay, was quoted £166 eleswhere)
Air filter £7 (just seen them £4.50 delivered on e.bid )
Oil filter £5 (£7.99 on ebay)

Anyway, back the engine. Dismantling went ok, just a seized hose clip and rounded timing belt cover bolt to slow me down. I've cut screw driver slots in the bolts now so that next time, when the rad is in, I can get them with a stubby screw driver. I would have struggled this time if the rad had been in the way.



Looking at the service history, the timing belt has covered 52,000 miles and is 11 years old I last drove the car on the road 6 years ago. Even so I must have been lucky cos the recommended interval is 4 years or 48,000 miles! The car has now done 131,000 miles.

The timing belt area had quite a bit of oil and crud in it but the belt was oil free. The pulleys were stiff to turn compared to the new ones.

Everything is cleaned up ready and to re-assemble, any tips on what to watch out for as this is the first one I've done? (I've already locked the engine in No1 T.D.C. and marked the cam sprocket etc.).

Good Reading there dude. Looks like you've got a fair bit done.
Glad the eyes doing better too man.

Good progress, always good to see a 300 getting some TLC! Always thought it was a bit odd that the 340's had a different valance outer skin, why not just plug them like 360's without fogs!