Volvo Rescue Team: 1967 122 - Shelby

Timeline (look further down the page for YouTube videos)

June 24, 2015

Follow along the memorable road journey from New Mexico to Oregon with David, Tabitha and Aurora their Pup! 4000 miles in an old Volvo comes with it's set of challenges, coming Summer 2015

June 24, 2015

Shelby's back from the sand blasters and we evaluate where to go from here. Lots of panels need replacing, and some can be repaired. All in all, around $1,200 just in metal from Volvo OEM suppliers.

March 23, 2015

In this episode, Shelby gets picked up to get sandblasted and we take one last look at our rust damage. Say goodbye!

February 25, 2015

Shelby is finally getting up on the rotisserie! We pull the front and rear axles, everything left in the car and label/separate everything for blasting. Don't forget parts are for sale from both cars, so be quick with your inquiries before someone beats you to it!

January 16, 2015

Happy new year! Here is another long update on our restoration of a 1967 Volvo 122s Amazon wagon.Here we cover the removal of the rest of the interior, doors, windshield, dashboard and wiring. Next time we will have disassembled the suspension and have the car up on the rotisserie. If you need any parts for a B18 or wagon, let us know in the comments section.

December 30, 2014

We visit the orphanage one more time to rescue some more 122s then go home and start taking Shelby 2.0 apart. Thankfully there isn't a lot of rust and body damage is minimal. This should be another fun one year restoration, so keep watching!

December 2, 2014

We finally did it! Shelby 2.0 is officially underway, and ready for restoring! Everything remains the same, we just saved ourselves a lot of repair headaches down the road. With winter break approaching quickly, expect to see a lot of progress by the end of this year.

November 5, 2014

When we finished removing the interior on our 1967 Volvo Amazon Estate/Wagon, we were not pleasantly surprised to discover just how much rust there was. Looks like Shelby 2.0 is underway! I cannot say that we are surprised, as we had feared there would be this much rust damage.

October 13, 2014

Tis the busiest time of the year! My birthday and Soren's wedding all in the same week, then it's the holiday season! But we're determined to get work done every week on Shelby.

September 5, 2014

We visit an old salvage yard with Duett, PV 444, 544, p1800, 1800es, 122s and 220 models as we gather more parts and make more connections in our quest for restoration! And a look at our custom-made DIY car rotisserie.

August 18, 2014

In this episode we pull out our Mercedes-Benz turbo diesel engine from the junkyard and cut up another 122 for parts. Stay tuned as we get further into our restoration in the weeks to come.

July 31, 2014

We begin teardown of our rusty wagon and get ready for the long haul as our restoration picks up speed. Make sure to follow us on Instagram @The_Volvo_Rescue for more frequent snaps of our work.

July 22, 2014

We are pleased to announce that ipd has partnered again with former $25,000 Build Off winner David Bello and his Volvo Rescue Team. We worked with David and his team during  ipd's 50 year anniversary celebration to get his 1967 122, lovingly named Arthur, back on the road again after years of sinking in the sands of New Mexico. This time David has ambitions of rescueing the 1967 122 wagon pictured above that they have dubbed Shelby. They have some grand plans around this build and we're excited to see the progress David and his team make through the end of 2015 when they hope the work will be complete. The following is taken directly from Davids original build proposal.

Here is a list of our current goals for the project:

• A unique, turbo-diesel cruiser wagon; comfortable, efficient and ready for the long haul--road trips deep into sight-seeing America--using the world-famous Mercedes Benz OM617 inline 5, 3.0L mechanical turbo diesel engine mated to a W56 Toyota 5 speed manual transmission. As far as we know, this will be the only TD-swapped Amazon (maybe even Vintage Volvo) in the world.
• We would purchase a wrecked Mercedes or just get our engine from the many TDs at the junkyards here. Soren has a driving 300SD we use for reference while planning the swap.
• Our exterior would be much like our  Build Off car with a few unique touches of its own: repainted Volvo “Cosmic White”, from the XC60 T6 R-Design with a custom front and rear air dam bumpers, 17 inch wheels, custom luggage rack, no tint.
• Completely restored interior, digital display gauges, Volvo Atacama or Beechwood upholstery, lowered with rebuilt suspension and brakes, compact pro-touring A/C Kit.
• Under the hood the 3.0 would take up a lot of space, so brake and clutch master cylinders would be relocated inside the firewall using Wilwood remote master cylinders/reservoirs.
• Once completed, we would have a $15,000 classic that would make its official debut at the 2015 Garage Sale alongside our Build Off 122. We plan to have it make the trek under its own power, which would be a great statement of our build quality and craftsmanship.

As with his last build, David will have regular video updates on the build progress that include detailed how-to instructionals on applicable parts. We are excited about this partnership and look forward to seeing Shelby get back on the road again.