I like to hear of people's successes with vintage Volvos, but the failures are perhaps more important for the lessons learned. Brett Kelley's struggle to make his Volvo 122's rear axle strong enough to cope with his highly modified engine and aggressive driving contains a wealth of information applicable to similarly-equipped P1800s. Check out his web page for details: Trayracer's Volvo Page. -Glenn.
June 29, 1997
Brett-
Enjoyed your tale of misfortune with theVolvo 122 "SS". Probably too late now, but I believe the early Type 30 rear axle was a bolt-in replacement for the Type 27. Also, I understand that Studebakers used an even stronger Type 44 that could be modified the way you have done your 27. The 44 had way cool finned brake drums. Oh well, maybe if you break the present installation.... -Glenn.
July 4, 1997
Glenn,
Actually it is not possible to install the ring and pinion gears from a Dana type 30 into a type 27 -- the ring gear is considerably larger in diameter and the pinion gear will not fit either. Unless you know something that the veterans of vintage Volvo racing don't know. I gave up my search for the hard-to-come-by Studebaker type 44 Dana rearend. The current setup will eventually break, as will the planet earth someday soon.
Brett
trayrace@best.com
July 4, 1997
Brett-
I was suggesting changing the entire rear axle, not the ring and pinion gears. According to my Volvo parts book for the early-to-mid-production P1800, a Type 30 rear axle with the early suspension fittings was used on the P1800 (and probably on the Volvo 122 as well). Chassis numbers are not listed for this configuration, but I assume it was a transition between the early Type 27 configured for sheet metal control rods and the later Type 30 configured for solid control rods.
To clarify, this would be an entire stock Type 30 rear axle that would fit the earliest 1800 and 122 models without modification. The only way to tell which axle is installed on a given car, without measuring the case or holding it up next to an axle of known type, would be to look for the identifying number on the axle casing. The Type 27 is marked with a "27" on the front of the left upper flange at the rear of the large center casing. The Type 30 is marked with a "30" on the top of the center casing about seven inches back from where the pinion shaft enters the casing. -Glenn.