TUNING VOLVO AMAZON 1967

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Review of a tuned 1967 Volvo Amazon with a BMW motor for circuit racing.

Philip Malmi took over the tuning of the 1967 Volvo Amazon. But this time Philip decided to move away from the generally accepted canons of tuning and follow his own course. For Philip, this job was a kind of challenge, as he set himself the goal of completing the tuning before the birth of his daughter.

Although he had a sea of possibilities, he set about creating a real monster, the one he always wanted.

Nine months passed very quickly, and Philip managed to build his tuned Super Amazon. One quick glance at the grille and two massive oil coolers of the Volvo Amazon and it's clear there's something out of the ordinary under the hood. The car turned into a powerful four-wheel drive Frankenstein among cars. It doesn't matter from what angle you look at this Amazon, you can see from all sides that very serious work has been done.

For example, if you look from behind, you will notice that under the weightless trunk lid, made of fiber optic, there is a radiator. Fenders are also fiber optic, they significantly reduce the weight of the car, matte black and extend the front by 14 cm, and the rear by 16 cm, giving the Volvo Amazon 1967 some brutality.

Philip redesigned the entire chassis of the car. He took it from the Skyline GT-R and it's a great idea to unleash the full potential of 4WD multiplied by engine power. Of course, there is a bit of a weird feeling on the track: it's unusual to hear a much deeper sound than the familiar RB26 inline-six.

German power, Japanese pull

The need to add power dictated its own conditions - the engine had to be large enough in size. You also had to think about its reliability. The BMW M60 4.0L V8 option seemed to be one of the most acceptable, but had to install a BNR32 Skyline GT-R and it was not easy. To accomplish this task, Philip cut out the oil pan designed for RB26, otherwise the new engine did not fit. It already protrudes above the hood line by as much as 25 cm, forming a step.

Between the engine and the firewall, a Garrett GT42RR turbocharger had to be fitted to a bespoke exhaust manifold. The turbocharger has enough performance to power a '67 Volvo Amazon engine. In order not to overload the gearbox and other sensitive components of the system, a MaxxECU engine control computer was installed.

In addition, there is no intercooler here - the compressor pumps air directly into the throttle bodies on the 180-degree intake manifold from BMW. Air injection is limited to 0.75 bar for normal driving and 1.2 bar for maximum acceleration. Philip says extreme heat is not a problem. With the above pressure parameters, the remaining characteristics of the engine are 450 HP / 540 Nm and 620 HP / 750 Nm, respectively. Speed control is handled by a stock BNR32 5-speed gearbox. Philip Malmi not only redesigned the transmission, he also swapped the front and rear subframes and crossbars and rods. Plus he installed a set of adjustable HSD Monopro shocks. Due to the lack of space in the engine compartment, the front radiator "moved" into the luggage compartment and stood there at a slight incline.

When driving at high speed, the flow of oncoming air is sufficient to circulate around the heat exchanger, but Philip added a fan just in case. A fuel tank is located in front of the radiator, from where two Bosch Motorsport 044 pumps supply fuel to the engine through eight Bosch 1200cc / min injectors. The ATTESA E-TS pumps and the Skyline GT-R control unit were rearranged from the donor machine without any changes. They are also located in the trunk area. They are easy to reach when inspection and maintenance is required.

After all the little secrets under the hood of this Volvo Amazon were revealed, the attitude towards the car changed dramatically. Philip made the documents for the car, and the first real opportunity to try it in practice was the Gatebil festival.

Safety first

Along with the redesigned rear and front compartments, the Volvo Amazon also received a completely new underbody, which is connected to a roll cage to give the 50-year-old car the lack of structural rigidity.

Photo of a sports salon Super Volvo Amazon

The interior of this Volvo is very minimalistic and functional. The exterior and interior design is designed in black and white. Due to the location of the engine and transmission, the shift lever was difficult to get to the position Philip wanted. The problem was solved after installing an additional beam-bridge.

To design the dashboard, sheet metal bent at an angle was used, and in order to prevent glare on the windshield, the surface of the panel was covered with a textile overlay before installation. On the panel there is a row of switches with unique style Swedish labels.

Of modern devices, you can only see the Samsung GALAXY Note II, on which the MaxxECU mobile application is installed. The smartphone connects to the engine management system via Bluetooth and displays a variety of parameters that can be adjusted on its screen. It is legal to use this app on Swedish roads.

The interior is complemented by Black Sparco Sprint sports seats and seat belts that keep the driver and passenger tightly in place. Behind the seats, you can see the rear section of the roll cage.

For such pumped-up cars taking part in races, heightened safety measures are not an empty word. Philip did everything in his power to ensure that his Super Amazon came into play by all the rules. Mission accomplished, the old 1967 Volvo Amazon has a new lease on life!

Well, what about the birth of a daughter? The tuning of the car was completed almost simultaneously with its birth, and the baby's first visit to the famous Gatebil speed festival took place when she was three weeks old.