Center Console Reinstalled ...

... after 3 months of being out of the car and waiting for the heater to be restored! This chapter can now be closed ... for the moment.

Before:	After:

Center Console Completed

Finally managed to secure the appropriate automotive carpet to line the trays of the center console after looking high and low all over town! The first couple of days of the search were rather sobering, as the first 5 stores that I went to were out of business - courtesy of the recession. Classic Interiors in Fresno, specializes in restoring automotive interiors and tops, and they just happen to have material that closely resembled what I had in the Volvo. Rick "Stitch" Coleman, the proprietor, was gracious enough to part with a piece of remnant material for $5.

Restored Center Console:

Heater Box - Interior:

The restored center console is still not in the Volvo yet as I've decided to address the rather sad looking heater box while I have everything apart and easy access to it. As seen in these photos, some of the metal components have rust, and the internal vents have undoubtedly froze in place. Also, the blower motor is not working and the heater's radiator probably needs to be checked for leaks and possibly re-cored. After spending much of the day just "eyeballing" the contraption and formulating a gameplan, it seems that the heater box is a single unit with the top part assembled in the engine bay and the bottom extending through the firewall into the interior where all the hoses and controls are attached to it.

Heater Box - Interior:

Heater Box - Engine Bay:

Apparently, the heater unit is part number one of the Volvo 1800, hence everything else was built around it! In other words, it ain't gonna be a walk in the park and I'll need some serious tools for this job. In addition, removal of the heater box requires that the heater radiator be drained - I have no idea how this is done at the moment except for maybe start yanking at hoses? Anyways, I'll be psyching myself up for the project by researching that procedure during the week in addition to purchasing tools and some new seals and gaskets in anticipation that it might need new ones.

Restoring The Center Console

In addition to the missing carpet piece from the mid-section where the shifter is housed, the center console of the Volvo had stains of what smelled like WD-40 all along the sides, presumably from residue dripping after being applied (not by me) to the heater controls directly above it. Vigorous cleaning with Armor All vinyl cleaner and protectant only served to make the dark areas surrounding the stains even darker, thus highlighting the stains even further. So, once again I'm doing this the old-fashion way ... the old blood and guts routine. Doing this proper would entail removing the center console and respraying it black with vinyl paint, refurbishing the hardware for the lock box, and installing new carpeting material in the console's trays. I had to remove both seats in order to remove the center console from the vehicle, which revealed an unpainted section of the floor panel showing the original "British Racing Green" color of the Volvo as seen here in the photo below.

Volvo 1800E Center Console:

Center Console Removed:

Some new stainless steel screws and an hour with the rotary tool while waiting for paint to dry rendered the lock box hinge looking brand new.

Lock Box Hinge - Before:

Lock Box Hinge - After:

A couple of coats of black vinyl paint and the unsightly stains were all gone from the center console. The only piece of the puzzle that's still missing are the new carpet pieces which I have yet to source. I'll be driving all over town this week visiting auto upholstery and carpet stores to see if they can match the original dark brown carpet that I had in there and if they have any remnants they would sell to me, as I'm not interested in purchasing a 10 x 12 feet piece of carpet just to get at 12 square inches! If all goes well, the console should be back in the Volvo next weekend!

Before:	After: