Wandered outside without a set agenda…
There was still a solid frost on the ground, so I decided to do something with the heat gun. …which was a removing the tar from the floor.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/40DRP5BBIA2S/744f3c5d-9024-48cf-8dc1-9a4c0162f497.jpeg)
Specifically, I tried the technique that worked well with the Mercedes, which is to heat the underside of the floor.
It worked well.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/0YMMCBCCIOT2/59abbc17-8aa3-431d-8b8f-8f5ca41c521e.jpeg)
All four sections of the floor took less than an hour. There’s a plug at the front of both front floors that’s a mess of body sealant, which sucked, but the rest of it was pretty easy.
Then clean the remainder off with thinners. Cold morning means that I didn’t gas myself with fumes either.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/1WAQ0D2N86ME/85831ef4-dd5e-4f98-b77b-30a78a85ddde.jpeg)
The “heavy duty” gloves don’t survive well. If you look closely, this was triple bagged…
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/H6CT2X7T20LX/b8f8e5f3-ff45-4beb-a7bc-689d16a9db4c.jpeg)
Onto the tar on the firewall. I assumed that it would be about the same as the floor stuff, only thinner.
It isn’t. It melts a lot easier, and I struggled with access and (particularly) modulating the heat, so this much smaller area took about an hour.
The big positive is that I discovered that I can simply heat the residual goo and wipe it off without thinners.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/U1DT70HTGTFW/5b72f76c-198c-4a3a-b322-6ba0761d5dad.jpeg)
Moar cleaning, and then some aerosol paint.
Like always, the photos are flattering, but it looks pretty good.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/UIZESQ04BSJP/f722d614-8f22-4537-85f0-1baa3acbc6fa.jpeg)
Because this car sat around, all the bare metal under the dash has surface rust - not noticeable on a road car, but pretty obvious when the interior was stripped out.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/5P5RAABJH79X/06f37a48-4b36-476d-8448-babb41ff471f.jpeg)
The surround for the steering column has a second flange to hold the carpet down, so I cut that out before painting it.
Forgot to take “before” photos, but here’s the “after”.
Note the spacers under the shifter assembly. They’re a length of threaded rod with a rod coupler screwed on, and then a lock nut on each end. Raises the shifter by almost 60mm.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/0B4SOBYA657R/5cb68e58-833a-4251-8f2e-68e669343460.jpeg)
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/E757J1Q8MOX1/b62ccff4-9890-4864-9a66-7bae0833797e.jpeg)
Yes, the yellow is a bit garish, but it’s a clean, bright colour and makes things easier to see under the dash.
Obligatory steering lock-ectomy.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/KUWVTX90IOVB/776c6670-c35d-4015-8b44-a76537e36ecb.jpeg)
Used up some old silver on the steering column. Looks awful (like the Tim Man), but better than rust.
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/uploads/XUFID41KKV39/53ab636f-1113-4425-803b-0777c39ac4fc.jpeg)
Edit: The tar I collected weighed a total of 4kg. It’s a lot of work for a 4kg saving, but it does make the interior look a lot better too.
Haven’t updated the costs in a while.
Two more tins of paint: $21.
Adhesive vinyl: $50 ($40 for the 102mm wide roll of yellow from ebay, $10 for the white and silver offcuts from the local sign writer).
8mm threaded rod: $8
1.5m of Exhaust pipe: $37
Still need to include the tin of clear and thinners.