Here is my on-going project, a 1974 Volvo 145 that I picked up from a paddock just outside of Armidale as a project car to restore. ![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/assets/files/2023-10-04/1696394454-322887-img-5472.jpg)
Lovingly dubbed Esther, as a joke made in a discord chat. An admin of the discord made a joke that the 145 looks like an Esther, too which I sent a photo of the A pillar rust and got this reply ![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/assets/files/2023-10-05/1696492196-977011-img-5497.jpg)
It’s been sitting for ~28 years and there is a LOT of work to do.
Inspecting the rust, it appears relatively light for a car that’s sat in the weather for 30 odd years (but then again, my daily driver is a Nissan)
The worst of the rust is on the windscreen shroud and wheel well. The most concerning rust is in the passenger pillar. Here is some photos; ![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/assets/files/2023-10-04/1696394677-865004-img-5480.jpg)
![](https://cdn.ozvolvo.org/assets/files/2023-10-04/1696394689-64163-img-5486.jpg)
If anyone has a spare shell and/or would be willing to send me a part of a pillar and shroud please reach out to me.
Apart from the body rust in the usual spots and the photos above, another problem is the ignition lock.
The steering lock seems to be stuck, and the key won’t turn. I’ve tried WD-40, Graphite and Loctite Freeze and Release to no avail. So I had a key cut by New England Locksmiths! …and, no luck. New England Locksmiths was then able to cut me a key from the lock which works brilliantly. Now I have two sets of keys including a key for the ignition and a seperate key for the doors, which look great on my OzVolvo keychain.
I’ve since put in a second hand starter motor, distributor and radiator from Andrew Croft, and we now have just about everything.
Some of the wiring harness was damaged during its time siting, and as a solution we had a old washing machine sitting in the yard with a variety of different gauge wires I could salvage to repair where mice have been.
I’ve also taken off the bonnet to make getting to the engine bay a little bit easier.
Since “repairing” the wiring harness and replacing a good chunk of the ignition system we now have everything but fuel. The next step, to replace the fuel pump and get her driving.
I’ll try to update this thread with the build relatively frequently.