VOLVO TGB Expedition Camper
- Thread starter Outback
- Start date
Hello everyone, Great reading this thread, lots of info. I just picked up a 75 C-304 myself, however I have a bit of an odd problem and was hoping some of you could point me in the right direction - the steering wheel I have is non-functional, the previous owner was an artist who hacked apart the original steering wheel and custom made his own aluminum one specifically for him. He was also very, very short. I'm 6'1" and cannot raise my leg high enough to reach the brake with the current wheel, and cannot find a replacement original wheel or an adapter that would fit. Do any of you happen to know what type of adapter might work for this beast, or where there may be an original wheel for sale? I've tried everywhere I can think of with no results, and it's very annoying to have this sitting in front of my house for half a month now without being able to drive it. 
Thanks!
Thanks!
sojourner
Observer
He's finally done some updates after over a year, very cool
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sixbennetts
Adventurer
Well, might as well jump into this old thread too!
Getting ready to buy one of these trucks. Thinking about having Vince Sweeney import one.
Here's what we want to do with it, add a custom FlipPac to the roof!
(Quick mock-up my son made with MS Paint program).
With a large hole cut in the rear roof, we will have standing room in the back for stove, fridge, etc., AND a huge bed over the cab!
Getting ready to buy one of these trucks. Thinking about having Vince Sweeney import one.
Here's what we want to do with it, add a custom FlipPac to the roof!
(Quick mock-up my son made with MS Paint program).
With a large hole cut in the rear roof, we will have standing room in the back for stove, fridge, etc., AND a huge bed over the cab!
sixbennetts
Adventurer
Linus Tremaine's rig IS my inspiration for my idea! Coupled with the recent FlipPac/JK Habitat action on this new to me forum, and voila!
I think it'sthe best of both worlds for the Volvo's. As long as the hinge is placed roughly over the junction between cab and rear section, and front supports are fastened to the front bumper, you should be able to get almost a queen size bed, AND a small living area below.
I'm not sure the biggest FlipPac would even be big enough to take advantage of the huge roof, so I might have to buy the hindge/torsion assembly from them and have the glass work and tentwork done locally. That is if the torsion bar would even be wide enough!
Now if I can fit a wide screen, microwave, and a Barcalounger in the back, I'd live in the damn thing down by the river!
I think it'sthe best of both worlds for the Volvo's. As long as the hinge is placed roughly over the junction between cab and rear section, and front supports are fastened to the front bumper, you should be able to get almost a queen size bed, AND a small living area below.
I'm not sure the biggest FlipPac would even be big enough to take advantage of the huge roof, so I might have to buy the hindge/torsion assembly from them and have the glass work and tentwork done locally. That is if the torsion bar would even be wide enough!
Now if I can fit a wide screen, microwave, and a Barcalounger in the back, I'd live in the damn thing down by the river!
Hafwit
Adventurer
Personally, I prefer to tow a lightweight offroad trailer with a roof tent mounted on it. If I didn't have the set up already, I might have considered something similar to your plan. After the magazine article came out showing the C303 with the Maggiolina, I tried to get Linus to share more detailed pictures of his vehicle but couldn't get him to do so. There seem to be quite a few other modifications to that vehicle that would perhaps be of interest to the group. If you have influence, maybe you can persuade him to share.
Cheers,
Greg
Cheers,
Greg
sixbennetts
Adventurer
I tried to get more pics, but he doesn't have many. Too bad, too. You're right, that's a very nice rig. Seems well set-up, if not a little tail heavy.
Personally, trailers are out for me. I haul them for a living, and when I retire, the only thing I wanna be draggin' is my *****!
Personally, trailers are out for me. I haul them for a living, and when I retire, the only thing I wanna be draggin' is my *****!
RMP&O
Expedition Leader
Everything is possible, the only limitation is your bank account
as well as the level of your skill and the limitations with the platform. Only so many engines will fit in there.
If you haven't been on the Real 4x4 forum or seen Vince's 303 check it out....
http://www.real4x4forums.com/PinzgauerBBS/index.php?sid=f44d098254cd1c2ff60031f12b62c34a
http://www.real4x4.com/
Vince was the first guy to bring in the Volvo's and was one of the first to bring in the Pinzies. I have not been on that forum or active in the Volvo/Pinz community in a long time so do not know if Vince is still doing importation, ect.
The 303 is a very good platform to build up for overlanding. As long as you can work on it yourself, have a good parts source, are not in a hurry to get somewhere and don't need lot's of axle travel it is in my top 5 list of best truck the world has ever seen for overlanding.
Since there was some talk about engine swaps and such....
Obviously space will be the limiting factor. Not only for the area you have to work with in the engine compartment but also for things like oil pan clearance on the axle, room for exhaust and so forth. If you are taking on a swap in a C303 you shouldn't have to many issues dealing with the small things though like moving the axle for clearance or modifying the suspension to suit the other mods. I would take a long hard look at the Cummins/Isuzu diesels as well as at the smaller Toyota and Nissan diesels. Thing is you are going to want to stick with an engine that is easy to get parts for, has the power band and torque curve you want in this truck as well as tranny considerations. I myself would avoid a swap that involved mating the engine to the stock gear boxes. If it was me I would go for the Cummins/Isuzu or Toyota engine and then run a domestic tranny/t-case or toyota boxes. Correct me if I am wrong but the front axle is passenger offset and the rear is mostly centered? If that is the case a variety of Toyota or domestic gear boxes will work no problem. If suspension becomes a problem because of clearance issues and so forth, well these trucks are a ladder frame so not to big of a deal to customize the suspension to suit whatever else you are doing. The lockers are vacuum operated so very easy to adapt that over to be supplied by a new source/system. As far as engine and gear box mounts, if you are doing the motor swap you should not have an issues coming up with and fabbing those.
If it was me and I bought one, first thing I would do is make sure it is all sealed up and rust proofed. Then I would get all the mechanicals in order. Then I would kit it out for overlanding/offroading. After that I would do a few small mods like upgrade the CVs and do disk brakes all around. After that I would use it for awhile. If I decided I wanted a different motor I would look long and hard at the ones I mentioned and it would all come down to what is going to fit.
I also see a little talk about suspension in the thread...
It should be no problem at all to have Alcan or Deaver or a few other places make you leaf springs, in particular ones that will use an easy to find bushings. Or for that matter I can not see why it would be all that hard to fit a linked coil spring suspension under it, even with coilovers. One of the problems with a Pinzie and modifying, actually the problem, is you don't have a ladder frame and solid axles to work with. The Volvo this is not the case.
One thing is for sure...I would love to see a C303 or TGB with a diesel swap and different gear boxes. Not to mention one with some suspension mods. So if anyone does it or has pictures post them up!
sixbennetts
Adventurer
Wow, some GREAT advice above. Generally sums up all the research I have done so far.
Vince, I believe, is still importing on a limited basis, so let's no start bugging the he11 outa him! He IS the man for talking Volvo C30*.
Lets all remember, too, that the Jeep CJ 5's and 7's had the wonderful 258 inline six cyl for years, and worked great, albeit with a much lower torque curve. The Volvo has to run at higher rpm's to run similar, but if you drive it, stock, within it's perameters, I'm thinking the Volvo C303 will out perform many of todays trucks.
Has anybody ever measured a Jeep inline 6 cyl and automatic for a Volvo? I know autos are generally much longer than standards, but wasn't the Jeep auto really short?
Vince, I believe, is still importing on a limited basis, so let's no start bugging the he11 outa him! He IS the man for talking Volvo C30*.
Lets all remember, too, that the Jeep CJ 5's and 7's had the wonderful 258 inline six cyl for years, and worked great, albeit with a much lower torque curve. The Volvo has to run at higher rpm's to run similar, but if you drive it, stock, within it's perameters, I'm thinking the Volvo C303 will out perform many of todays trucks.
Has anybody ever measured a Jeep inline 6 cyl and automatic for a Volvo? I know autos are generally much longer than standards, but wasn't the Jeep auto really short?
I think the 242ci (the 4.0 liter) is shorter slightly than the old 4.2 (258ci), plus it has a much more common parts availability and it's fuel injected already.
However I'm almost positive the 4.0/aw4 transmission combo is much too long to fit into the volvo. I'll have to measure it to let you know how much longer, though. (I've got a C304 and a Cherokee with the 4.0 liter, so I can check the measurements on both).
If it'd fit it'd be a great matchup, but personally I'd still prefer a diesel. Sadly the Inline 5 cylender diesels that went into the jeeps simply isn't to be found in the US.
Hafwit
Adventurer
Since I have a C303 and am looking to make it my expo vehicle, I have been watching this forum. My vehicle was acquired as a purportedly low mileage vehicle that turned out to have probably flipped the odo at least once. The engine started to show problems soon after I got the vehicle, and not knowing the extent of the "issues" I needed to get help from my friend who is a master Pinzgauer/Haflinger mechanic, but who knew little about the Volvo. Through trial and error, we found several issues that needed correction--first it was the brakes and a huge vacuum leak, then the carbs, then I found a guy that made a throttle body injector system that would work on this application, then lengthy testing that ultimately discovered worn cam/pushrods/etc.....after a complete engine rebuild we are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and the vehicle is looking impressive now that it is injected. Had I known all the issues up front, I may have done a swap then, but now I'll have to see how things go with the stock (albeit TBI-now) engine.
Cheers,
Greg
Cheers,
Greg
mad_as_hec
New member
I would be interested to know the individual lengths of the components if possible (Engine/trans/TC)? I have a Toyota Dyna truck with the 14B-T (4cyl 3.7 turbo diesel) and a dual overdrive (10 speed H50S) transmission. Averall length of the package is about spot on 5' long (1.5 metres) before considering a T-case. Torque is fantastic between 1200-3000rpm and it redlines at 4000 although I don't feel comfortable taking it past 3500.
It has the same 6:1 diff ratio as the Volvo but is on 31.5" (7.50R16)tyres. At 110 km/h (70mph) it is doing a shade under 3000rpm. with 35" tyres it would be more like 2700rpm. PERFECT!! If it is not too long. BTW, it will sit on 110km/h all day long and wind out to 125, pushing 7000kg (15400lb) with more frontal area than the volvo. Manages 430(city)-500km(highway) (270-310miles) every 80 litre tank of diesel.
Driveline lengths for the Volvo would be appreciated.
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