Blog for Davies’ Concept 780 Restauration project
Concept 780 at SEMA (Rolling Mar-Apr 2022)
Rolling Magazine Mar-Apr 2022 by Davies Owens
The Rescued and Restored ASC-Modified 1990 Volvo 780 Turbo Heads to SEMA
The 2021 Speciality Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show is upon us, and like many other exhibitors, the Rebuilding Generations team volunteers and their associates has been working hard to put the finishing touches on their contribution to the display: the pearl-white Volvo 780 Turbo originally modified by ASC for Volvo Cars North America at six-figure cost and exhibited at [...]
Road to SEMA- New and Improved Elements on the Concept 780
It was 32 years ago that our Concept 780 first rolled out the door of Bertone in Turin, Italy. After crossing the Atlantic, Volvo sent the car by truck to Detroit where ASC (American Sunroof Corp) was known for designing and building one-off show cars. It took more than six months working with Volvo [...]
Road to SEMA- Concept 780 Three Years Plus of Work
There is nothing like a goal to motivate behavior. SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) is one of the industry’s largest gathering of aftermarket and manufacturers in the world. More than 50,000 people representing more than a 1,000 unique auto and truck builds are presented at the event. To prepare for something of this magnitude [...]
Cleaning and Restoring No Longer Made Parts – Concept 780 Restoration
31 years after the last 780 rolled off the assembly line and parts production stopped for all of the unique interior and exterior parts on the 780. While Volvo made every effort to project what would be needed by way of replacement parts for a few decades, they certainly didn't stockpile enough for keeping [...]
Vacuum Bellows – Fixing before they break… 780 Concept Restoration
Own a 780 for any time, and you will find that the climate control system often fails to send air where you want it. You are driving down the road on a hot day with the cold air blowing out the dash vents. You step on the gas to pass a car, and the [...]
Restoring 30 Year Old Body Panels – Concept 780 Project
One of the more challenging aspects of this restoration is the fabrication of the missing and damaged body panels. When we rescued the 780 from the impound yard in 2016, the body kit panel on the driver’s door was completely missing, and the passenger door panel was intact but warped. So a key question [...]
Radical 780 Roof Removal – Concept 780 Project
The concept 780s most significant need (other than the recreation of the broken and missing fiberglass body panels) is a way to repair the rust surrounding the front and rear windows. As we discovered, this rust, which is only in this area, is most likely from the team at ASC cutting out the factory glass [...]