Your odyssey sounds like a situation I was in 24 years ago. I'm sure many other restoration veterans will also have similar stories to tell, but here's my personal experience. My initial advice is to look more closely for chassis rust damage, as I'll explain below. If the '64 came from a northern climate, where salt is used in the winter, then use these cars for parts and look for a more solid southern car.

I bought a 1965 544 Sport that looked gorgeous from the outside - new fenders, welt, and a running B18D. I had idealized my first '64 544 that I bought in 1969 and drove, rallied and enjoyed, in ways I care not to describe here!

As I got into the project, rust had destroyed the entire brake system, including the front drums that rusted through, if you can believe that? The worst damage, and something you have to check carefully, is the sub-frame areas, particularly the attachment for the rear coil springs, the front cross member and the sub-frame that the floor attaches to. To my total dismay, the car had a list to the right rear and that's when I discovered the top of the coil spring was almost floating free. I had to weld a piece of angle iron to some good metal to somewhat fix this heart sinking situation.

Even in 1980, this project became a "money pit" and I wondered what I had gotten myself into. The problem is that if you've sunk much time and effort, it's hard to just walk away and chock it up as a life experience. The entire brake system had to be replaced, which in 1980 wasn't that expensive, since the Wagner-Lockheed brake cylinders were still available for less that $10 each! Fortunately a local salvage yard had some 544's, so I was able to get those now hard to find parts, relatively cheap. My 544 had a dash fire and the wiring needed to be replaced, along with the front windshield. Again, parts where still easy to find.

I finally got the 544 safety inspected, but soon after, the front coil spring dropped through the bottom "A" arm. Back to the salvage yard. Compared to the 145-S that I was now driving, I wondered why I had subjected myself to so much torture? I sold the 544 to a young kid, who wrapped the 544 around a hydro pole a week after buying the car (he wasn't hurt), but the car was declared a right-off.

Of course in 1980 we didn't have the Internet or the restoration networks, so I'm sure many have had similar hidden stories of a restoration gone bad. As if I hadn't learned my lesson, shortly after I did a 1967 1800-S that had a rotten floor and extensive Lucas (Prince of Darkness) electrical faults. With these 2 bad experiences, I essentially hung up my restoration hat until about 3 years ago. Now that I have the time to properly pre-inspect a car and do it right from the beginning. So, once again, find a solid, rust free Volvo to start your quest and it will be your holy grail.

BTW, recently I did take an arc welding course which did give me the knowledge and skills to tackle most welding jobs. Like many things in life, it's much more complex than you might think. I don't want to sound too discouraging, but finding the right car can save you much grief and expense in the long run. I'm currently working on a Swedish PV444 that came from a northern climate and there's still rust to contend with. Just yesterday a had to remove a shock that had a rusted-through upper body and top attachment washer. With that I wish you good luck and a picture of the 544 that I almost destroyed my desire to restore another old Volvo - well almost!
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Cam a.k.a. CVOLVO.COM