Johnno's Big Red Box '88 240GL

Big Red gets some work done at Stu Oldfield's workshop, Voltek.

Up on the hoist. Stu makes it look good underneath. He installed the new Skandix splash pan using the kit supplied by James, it fitted up nicely.

New rubber bushes in the middle and at the end links of front sway bar, new bump stop and bellows, and new front brake hoses. The front shock threads were flogged out from a previous fit-out so a new set of KYB front shocks were also fitted.

The new splash pan looks the part and sway bar bushes.

New front ball joints.

New rear brake hoses. The hoses supplied by IPD were male instead of female on the originals, so Stu was just going to reverse the fitting on the brake line side. The brake line was crumbly when he was flaring them out…..so a new rear brake line was also fitted. Should get many more years of use.

New brake hose to brake line bracket.

Shot of the the new lines this morning.

Overall, the front feels tighter and a lot more "European" in character. Firm and direct with none of the slight sloppiness before. Quite a lot more connected. Took it for a run with some badly patched and corrugated roads around Western Sydney Airport and was very pleased with Stu's work.

Last Sunday headed up the hill to Mountains Cars and Coffee at Katoomba.

I somehow found myself in amongst a group of 911s on a run up the M4. they turned off up Mulgoa Road.

At Katoomba, arrived right on time and got one of the last parking spots in the top car park.

Lovely stock series 1 RX-7

Jensen Interceptor had a Nitrous Oxide system fitted.

1200 Mazda ute interested me more than the Moffat RX-7.

Renault 12 wagon.

People began to leave, I took another look around and suddenly there was a grey 940 sedan with a very nice "patina" parked next to mine in the recently vacated spot. Late arrival of Aaron from the Lower Mountains with his wife and kids.

Another sleeper with a nice T04 turbo addition under the hood. Really nice to meet him and see some of his fabrication work at his workshop near Penrith. I didn't get a shot of his engine bay.

It was kinda cool being the two old Volvo guys…… not in the best condition and not making the photo galleries but still getting regular & reliable use. It's a great budget way to get you foot in the door to some of these events.

Easter time……

Time for lunch with grandchildren.

Time for a record Good Friday match and see my Rabbitohs get thumped by the Bulldogs.

And time to fix this awful sagging driver's seat. I squared this photo up and it definitely leaning ti the right when driving.

2 x seats courtesy of Michael Furner. 1 was good and will act as the donor, the other one will likely be stripped and tossed.

The kitchen table and lounge area would be a makeshift upholstery workshop.

Start by removing plastic trim covers, knobs & cutting of the wire clips holding upholstery tight to the frame. I managed not to damage the large "Lock washer, Rotary handle Seat adjustment".

Soon had the back rest done. Back foam looked very good and a heating pad was also in place

.

Cut the clips holding the cushion to the seat frame.

Disassembled the bottom wire frame grid matting from the main seat frame by removing several strong springs . I used an adjustable clamp to assist with the tension as the springs were a bit of work. The wire frame looks good.

Disassembled bits from the donor.

Nudie seat frame.

Next pull out the driver's seat from Big Red and bring it inside. The back rest is quite good so it will only be a bottom cushion & frame replacement.

Go through the same deal with this but with lots of extra foam dust.

Base cushion was stuffed and the grid matting was missing a wire and pretty mangled.

Comparison between the two cushions.

This was the first of many loads of foam dust in a small but powerful stick vacuum cleaner.

Throw the bottom upholstery in the washing machine on a gentle cycle once the tensioning wires hav

e been removed.

Respring the base while it dries…….the respringing took AGES. I was careful not to damage the grid matting and keep the tension constant. Gave the frame a good clean and greased a few sliding points.

Unlocked a cool feature I didn't know existed. Height Adjustment! Driver's seat was set to highest level so my 6'3" frame will be a little more comfortable with the extra couple of inches. One of the height adjustment levers is hidden under the back of the seat.

Upholstery had dried, frame was ready.

Throw on the plastic trim.

MUCH BETTER!

Threw it in Big Red and took it for a drive. It. Is. So. NICE!!! I could feel the "spring" of the base over bumps and the seating position was centred and not sliding to the right. To think I was thinking of fitting Alfa Romeo seats. It really wafts over the bumps now.

One of the more satisfying improvements to date.