Stage 10
Finally. after all this time, it's back. Here she is being delivered home, come along way from when she left, certainly took our time about it too.
Anyway, there's no rest for the wicked, she'll be off to Savvas very soon to get prepped for a blue slip so there'll be no problems come registration time. You can see the details of what happens at Savvas's in the performance section!
Stage 9
We're getting closer, I actually thought I'd have the car back by now but alas, there's always glitches. My last visit to the car was hopefully the last time I'd have to drive to see her. As I arrived she was getting the final buff job...
___ 
It really looked good, glistening in the sunlight, and even though the rims were a sore sight, just imagining another pair on her was enough, for the moment. I have decided to 'escalate' the priority of the rims and get them ASAP, I figure with some decent rims and tyres she'll pass the blueslip with no problems. Then at least I can drive it around and it'll look decent.
___ 
As you can see the inside is still in pretty ordinary shape, but all the dials work, the power windows and mirrors still work, even the boot opener still works, so I'm pretty pleased with all that. There's also a brand new windscreen on as you can see, we're just waiting on the touched up windscreen wipers to be put on.
___
All the mouldings are on now, so after a few final things I'll get the car towed back home, I'll get the rims and start work on the inside!
Stage 8
Woah! ... Things have changed big time since the last update, here we have the 242 GT almost complete, I can't believe but it's nearly done, below we have the Volvo 242 GT painted in all it's glory. I really love the blue, I'm sure it won't be to everyones taste but then what colour would have, with all the mouldings on, some nice rims, and a better tint job on the windows I think we'll be looking at a hot little GT number!
___ 
Cas has done a great job spraying the black parts blacker, the boot looks great, as do the mirrors and grill, the interior is passable, and I'll need to start seriously thinking about what I'm going to do it as I'm almost there. Yes the windows are not on, but will be very soon.
___ 
I think I'll want to get some clear indicator covers for the front lights, i'll need to change a bulb here and there, and sort out some custom plates!
___ 
I was really happy to hear the engine, cas jumped in and cranked it over, he wasn't sure if it would start straight away but we were both amazed at how quickly she turned over and that magic low roar came out, showing us she's well and truly alive, watch that moment right here!
___ 
Either next weekend or the weekend after I'll pick it up and bring her home, it'll then occupy a space in the garage with a car cover, at which point I'll be able to get everything I need done to get a blue slip and some rego happening. Rims here we come.....
Stage 7
Well we might not be closer to sorting out the wheels situation but we are ready for painting. The car is going to be done later this week so I thought I'd go over and take a quick look at it before she gets the lick of paint
___ 
Here you can see the car, all Hyfil'd up. The doors, bonnet, side panels, boot lid, bumpers and front skirt are all not attached and will be sprayed seperately. That way we'll get the paint into the door panels and what not easily. A different bonnet is being used as the old one was way too warped and the one from the spare parts car wasn't the greatest.
___ 
Even after the paint job Cas has his work cut out for him, there's quite a bit of work involved in putting the interiors back in, I don't want it back the way it was as I'll be changing it alot but it has to be presentable so that I'll be able to get a blue slip without too much trouble. In addition to the bonnet, new bumpers and a new front skirt is going on.
___ 
The paint colour we're using is the one used on the new Monaro's, it's a great blue, and I think will look really good on the car, especially because we have decided to add a couple of GT stripes to the car, after all it is a GT. I'm confident the colour with the stripes are going to make the car look great, and was the best thing I could think that would be different without being weird. The actual paint is a DuPont, so we know it sounds good!
___ 
Hopefully when it gets to the paint booth I'll be able to get up there to see a bit of the action and post it up here to be watched! Either way, the next time we do an update, the car will be painted! Almost there....
Stage 6
Yes, after all this time we're still at stage 3, sadly my neglect of the site also extended to a few other things, including the 242. However Cas has been working away and things are progressing, although bear in mind he's been on hoildays as well.
___ 
As you can see the roof is still on, which is good and its nice and primed, as is the door above. The car is very close to being ready for painting and as Cas was working his way through and finalising the body and stuff he kinda stumbled upon something unexpected...
___ 
As you can see, there is pretty serious rust on the floor, after ripping up some floor covering we've discovered that a good section of floor directly under the seat has rusted right through. It's pretty funny coz if this was left untreated I reckon one day I might have found myself sitting on the road in the car. I suppose if that happened I could go flintstones styles for a while. The next picture is showing some rust that we have seen before just haven't addressed yet.
___ 
So he'll fix up the floor pretty much like he did the floor of the boot in stage 3.4 below. Above you can see a section below the front windscreent that was rusted so badly Cas cut out the same section from the parts car and has welded that on. Finally the front guards are done and ready to be attached for painting.... now just have to pick a colour! Luckily Cas's good mate and neighbour is going to get me some samples sprayed on metal so I can get a better idea of what to choose. Hopefully we can look at a paint job within the next few months. And I still haven't sorted out the wheel dilemma >.<
Stage 5
The new roof is on! Despite the weather being probably the worst it's been since work on the car started Cas braved it and spent alot of hours first removing the roof from its old frame, then attaching it to the project car.
___ 
Above you can see the frame from the parts car, lucky we just didn't do the chop and change as this frame looks to be in pretty ordinary nick, with some rust developing and just generally looking crap, the roof frame on the project car is in great condition. Panel bond is what is used first to secure the roof to the frame, it's extremely strong stuff and after it seals in the welding will happen.
___ 
That black stuff is the panel bond, you can see the roof frame here on the project car looking alot better than the frame from the parts car. We put on the roof and Cas checked a few things, after it all checked out we pressed down pretty hard, gotta move fast as the panel bond will start to harden obviously making it difficult set.
___ 
Vice grips are used all over the roof to make sure its not going to move till it gets a chance to really harden. After a few hours its ready to be welded, once that's done, the roof is finished! Well the outside part anyway.
Stage 4
Well we didn't get to put the roof on this week, but at least we're back on and focusing on the Volvo, he's finished all the work needed on Hassam's car now. This update wasn't going to happen, then was just gonna be a small one but I have the usual, coz well... meh
___ 
As you can see the roof is back, it's been sandblasted and today all that happened to it was drilling through the amazingly high number of weld points, here's some drilling action. So the roof will be attached as described below, together with the weld we'll be using 'Panel Bond' which is a newish product that VW uses on its new cars.
___ 
As you can see there's alot of work to do for the interior, the dash will need to be done pretty much immediately after the exterior. It won't look all that bad when its put back together and cleaned though.
___ 
As soon as the roof is done other stuff like replacing the door hinges and doors plus the options in the doors will be moved across, I can't wait for the front guards to come back, it'll look alot more whole when they're back on, as mentioned they are done already they are just not on.
___ 
Here are a couple of 12" kicker subs that will go somewhere in the boot, hopefully in the back under the shelf, problem with that is there might not be enough room as there'll be two 7x10's mounted on the parcel shelf so yeah, who knows.... yet. The rims will be the first to go after the paint job is done, I think I might be changing to larger discs and better calipers too.
Stage 3
Right here we are in August, and well the roof has come off the parts car, and its currently being prepped at Cas's mates place. You can also see the main car below is ready to have the new roof go on. The parts car doesn't look too bad without a roof eh?
___ 
Cas is going the long but quality route with the roof replacement. Apparently alot of 'backyard' jobs are just chop and change roofs where you weld the roof back on at the supporting beams around the car. Obviously that's a quick way and would compromise the structural integrity of the car.
___ 
He's going to be attaching the roof at the four corners, one of which is pictured above. Hopefully this will be done next week, but Hassam's car might need some work on it, if so it'll be delayed till the week after. Once the roof is done that'll be the last major part done before paint time!
___ 
Cas has also redone the boot and put in a new sound proofing mat, looks really good and completely transformed from a few months ago. The car's side trim is coming off, I opted to take it off to keep the car 'cleaner'. Cas is a little worried about it though as it's really going to test out his painting skills as having the trim there helps 'break' up the appearance and would hide any abnormality in the paint bettter. Below you can see the holes for the side trim being welded up, again no putty botch job here, proper sealing!
___ 
At this stage we're slightly ahead of target, Cas is estimating the car will be done, paint and all by end of October, so I better start saving for rims! The parts car will leave us very soon, he's going to keep the engine and gear box, I'm just going to keep the rear lights, the front lights and giill, I'll probably just ebay them as my 242 has a different set.
Stage 2
Well this second car we bought is already starting to show its worth, here you can see the whole back section cut off and the boot lid removed, they've been attached already and you can see Cas's welding half way through.
___ 
Here's the old beaver panel, as you can see its pretty much just rust through, can't believe we just found this after taking off the bumper. Here's Cas explaining how he's attached the new beaver and backend.
___ 
See Cas Welding!! The inside of the car is more or less completely stripped and we're replacing alot of little parts from the other car, I took off the centre console mould and will probably use this one in my car, even the switches and some bulbs were salvaged.
___ 
While I was messing around inside, Cas was still at work marking out all the weld points on the roof, although it was Hassam that did the drilling, so yes, the much talked about roof swap will happen soon enough!
___ 
There are still a few spots around the car that have some major rust that will need to be cut out and repaired, here you can see one in front of the drivers door that would normally be hidden by the front guard. Here's a little walk around the car!
Stage 1
Here we are in July, the car is coming along, with work only being done on it on the weekends progress is slow but its happening. We had to buy another 242 from ebay, it was just cheaper with all the parts thay we need.
___ 
There it is pictured above, we'll take the roof, bonnet, boot, doors and hinges, and beaver panel, i'll also strip the interior for any other goodies like the console switches, the handbrake housing and anything else I can think of. Swapping the doors isn't going to be that easy as the power mirrors and power windows have to be moved across as well.
___ 
As you can see the cutting out of rust and welding on new plates is well under way, here's a lil vid of Cas explaining what's happened on one patch of rust. We started stripping the whole inside of the car, here's a lil movie of the action but Hassam seemed a little camera shy!
___ 
The roof hasn't come off yet but will in the next week of so, here you can see the section at which Cas will make the cut. There's also numerous sections around the car that need some good ol panel beating which you can see taking place.
___ 
Here's some sanding action happening, and here's a vid!. You reckon I can get 19"s on that? We'll find out soon enough!
Stage Three
Okay... alot of time has passed and a few things have changed, the good news is the restoration work has started! Cas has generously decided to take on the job of the body work, the 242 lives at his place and from this point forward we'll just document what happens as the weeks go by.
___ 
The whole front section has been taken apart as you can see, we'll have to get a replacement bonnet as it's in pretty bad shape but all the electrics and lights seem fine luckily. In the other pic you can see the last time the car was registered was 2002 lol.
___ 
Here's a small section from inside the boot displaying the extent of the rust. The front guards have been repaired and are going to be primed soon, notice Savvas's P1800 in the background hehe.
___ 
The front and back bumpers have also been removed, unfortunately when the rear bumper was removed it revealed alot of rust, alot of cutting going to happen here and Cas will basically make another boot floor!
___ 
Another shot of the boot, you can see the way the rust has just eaten through, can't believe I left it out for so many years >.< We're estimating it will take about 6 months from this point to get it ready for painting, anyway let's see what happens in the next couple of weeks...
