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Kevin's 1990 745ti DD

kevbot

illuminati confirmed
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Location
Mt. Dora
Up to date information (8.15.15):

1990 Volvo 745ti, AW71, Lh2.4, ~300k
- Squirter block
- 16t @ 18psi
- Shane's fuel chip
- Mike's EZK chip
- RSI stage II cam
- IPD cam gear @ +6?
- T5 blue injectors
- MSD Blaster 2 coil
- Yoshifab phenolic intake spacers
- 25x12x3 eBay intercooler
- Hard 2.5" intercooler piping
- HKS SSQV BOV
- 3" downpipe to 2.5" exhaust, Magnaflow straight-thru muffler, dual exit
- Ported 90+, ported angled hotside
- Cone filter/heat shield
- Taylor 8mm plug wires
- Greddy catch can
- Cut springs 2 front 2.5 rear
- Billy HD front and rears
- IPD 25/25 sways
- Ultra Racing upper strut brace
- Behr Exterior Home Depot paint roller special
- Home Depot rain gutter budget side skirts
- BBS 16x8 Style 5 wheels, et23 with 2 inch adapters, effective offset -27
- 205/45/16 Achilles tires
- 940 Denso alternator
- A/C delete
- V90 tails
- Euro Stripe kit recreated and made by myself
- GripRoyal steering wheel
- Black interior swap with red accents
- Various other goodies and what have you

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*Now to keep the rest of the posts unedited and in chronological order as they were done:

So, some of you may know of my 960. While it was a decent car, it had its list of problems (steering rack, struts, heater core, a/c, etc) and recently ran into some major problems with the trans. So I decided I?d at least look around for another car, see what I can find and then decide if I want to get something new or fix the 960. I searched through craigslist for 240s, 740s and 940s, but was also considering a smaller truck like an S10 or something similar. I didn?t really have any luck with that, but I did remember that a friend of mine and local TBer, Eric (eeaves42) had somewhat recently picked up a 745ti to go along with his 744ti.

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I gave him a call about it, and he told me he?d sell it to me if I was interested. I went to take a look at it, fell in love with it and ended up buying my second brick, but first official ?turbobrick? from him the following afternoon for the incredibly awesome price of $400. Here?s a pic of it after getting home with it:

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And here?s how it sits currently:

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Current engine bay pic:

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It?s a 1990 745ti, lh 2.4, automatic trans, odometer is broken but it has approximately 280k on the clock, give or take. Interior is red/black, the seats aren't perfect and it needs a headliner, but it's in decent shape. As of right now it?s pretty stock. MBC set at 12 psi, side pipe from the cat back, cone filter from the 960. Cut springs, 1.5 front, 2 back. So far in the few weeks I?ve had it I?ve replaced/fixed/done:

- Ball joints
- Brake pads
- Vacuum lines
- Oil change
- Spark plugs
- Boost gauge
- Swapped blue dash LEDs from the 960
- Roof racks from the 960
- Painted part of the hood and the wheels

Aside from new IC hoses, a new fuel filter, and a trans flush, it's more or less at a solid stage 0. Eric also told me it has a ?93 squirter block with a new head gasket and rear main seal, and the alternator and battery are both fairly new. A/c works and after a recharge it blows cold air but it's leaking from somewhere, probably just one of the hoses. It?s an awesome car and it?s in great mechanical shape, I can?t thank him enough for hooking me up with an awesome deal, for helping me fix things here and there, for not only keeping me on the road but keeping me on the road in another Volvo, and for letting me get my first taste of boost. Here?s one of me with both of my Volvos:

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Just recently peeled off the old purplish original tint and put some new tint on myself, 20% all the way around (better seen in the 'most recent' pic above). Surprisingly some of the windows peeled off easy:

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However, most of them were a nightmare, regardless of any chemicals I used on the adhesive. I have a background in vinyl work, so applying the tint wasn?t bad, but tucking it underneath the window gaskets was a pain. The job is doable, yes, and the finished product was satisfactory, but would I recommend it to someone else to try? Hell no.

This weekend (Feb 11th) I took it to the Volvos @ Sebring meet, which was a blast. Got a bunch of good pics, met a bunch of local Volvo nuts and even got to drive 2 laps around the track behind the pace car.

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I've only had it for a month or so, but I've already got some plans for it. I just recently pulled a 15g from an 855 in the Orlando U Pull n Pay:

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So the first thing on the to-do list before putting the 15g on is to replace the old soft original intercooler hoses, along with the other stage 0 tasks. Then one weekend I?ll remove the 13c, port the exhaust manifold a bit, install the 15g, possibly some better injectors, and then turn the boost up some more. During the trans fluid flush, while I?ve got the pan dropped I?ll look into the accumulator mod as well. Once I have those things done I?ll probably stick with that setup until I graduate in May and I?ll have more time to work and make money. Future plans after graduation include: more aggressive cam, bigger intercooler and hard piping, wideband, bigger downpipe and exhaust, new struts/shocks/springs, IPD sways/strut brace, new tires, possibly a manual swap, and possibly a different turbo depending on how much I like the 15g. I?m shooting for a final product somewhere around 250-300hp; something quick and fun to drive but not too crazy or over the top because it?s still my DD.

As far as the 960 goes, I'm hoping to sell it as a whole, so let me know if you're interested and I'll give you the rundown on it. If there's no interest in it then I'll probably swap some parts over to the 745 and then part out the rest as much as I can.

So that's everything so far! Hope you all enjoy the thread, and I'll keep it updated as everything progresses.
 
Last edited:
Recent update time. School has been kicking my butt lately, especially since I'm graduating in just a couple months, but I've still managed to find some time on the weekends to get some things done:

- Replaced the original leaky radiator with a $35 junkyard radiator
- Installed some Saab side markers
- Installed a stock amp from the junkyard and got the radio working (gosh I've missed driving with music)

Replaced the weak intercooler hoses as well. Replaced the 90 degree bend at the throttle body with a stock replacement from FCP, and replaced the hose from the turbo to the intercooler with hard pipe. I snagged the stock Volvo hard pipe from a 940 turbo at the junkyard, cut off about 4 inches of it and used a 2"-2.5" 90 degree bend from a turbo Jetta to attach it to the turbo. Came out pretty decent for a $6 investment:

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Then I installed a rear sway from a junkyard 740 turbo diesel since mine didn't have one:

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And I also have a box of IPD/FCP parts waiting to go on one weekend:

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- Upper radiator hose
- Lower radiator hose
- Reservoir to radiator hose
- Racing timing belt
- Tensioner & seals

Also seen in that pic is the TD04 rebuild kit, which was my most recent project. The 15g I pulled from the junkyard had a bit of in-out shaft play, enough to make me think it would leak/smoke as soon as i installed it. So I bought a rebuild kit from ebay for $45 and took care of it over a weekend.

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This is the kit I used:

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A few pics of the process:

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I forgot to mark the wheels upon disassembling it, so I had to take them to a shop to get them balanced. For $20 I got them balanced and got the turbine wheel sandblasted and the shaft polished. Here's a before/after comparison. Before pic isn't the best, but you get the idea:

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Reassembled it with some loctite, put it back in the housing and clocked it for rwd. All that's left before putting it on is a bracket for the wastegate and to remove the two studs from the turbine housing flange.

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Also went to the drag strip this past Friday.

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Right lane is me.

Got 3 runs in, best of the night was 15.916. First time ever at a drag strip, so I didn't really launch at all and my reaction times were horrible. However, it's a good benchmark for the 13c at 13psi before I put the 15g on.

So that's everything up till now, stay tuned for another post within the next couple weeks when I get this new snail and all these other parts on!
 
Nice ride! But you should look into a manual swap for the 960 instead of giving it the AZ 242 treatment...

(offer to sell the car whole for cheap, but nobody is interested, and the car instead gets parted & crushed)
 
Nice ride! But you should look into a manual swap for the 960 instead of giving it the AZ 242 treatment...

(offer to sell the car whole for cheap, but nobody is interested, and the car instead gets parted & crushed)

I may look into replacing the trans instead of just selling it, but it won't be until after I graduate and I have more time, so we'll see.

Anyway, new update time. Here's what I did over the past couple weekends:

- Installed 15g
- New drain pipe gasket and crush washers
- New exhaust manifold gaskets
- Timing belt
- Tensioner
- Alternator belt
- Upper, lower, and expansion tank radiator hoses
- Cleaned PCV box & flame trap
- New air filter & heat shield

Just about everything got done in the same weekend, however the 15g was making a whining noise, so I decided to remove it to disassemble it again and inspect it, and then put it back on the following weekend. Here was the biggest pain of the whole job the first time around:

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The stud on the right came out easy with the help of copious amounts of WD40, but the other one snapped off as you can see, and was a real chore to drill out.

In the midst of the job:

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New exhaust manifold gaskets, WD40 and oil everywhere, and everything else going back together:

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All done and reassembled:

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Bling bling belt

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(probably the cleanest it will ever be)

Car is running great, no problems so far. Still gradually adjusting the MBC and the wastegate, trying to get it to sit right at 15psi with minimal spiking. This coming Saturday is an Orlando Volvo Meet, so I'll be sure to get a few updated pics with everything all cleaned. Next up on the list:

- Trans flush and accumulator mod
- Power steering flush
- Valve cover gasket
 
is your belt getting dirty? lol

Yes lol but not as bad as yours :p

What did you make your heat shield out of for the cone filter?

I just used an aluminum 18" x 24" sign you see on the side of the road everywhere. It's the same one I used in my 960, here's the post from my 960 thread:

Then today I decided to do something to my intake. For a year or so I've been using a cone filter on the end of the MAF, so today I made a heat shield for it. First, I bought a cheap 45 degree intake bend to put the filter in a more accessible area instead of right under the radiator hose:

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Then, I took a piece of cardboard and made a template and traced it on a scrap aluminum sign from my dad's screenprinting shop, and cut it out along with a hole for the 45 bend to fit through:

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Then I gave it a quick coat of black paint (barely had enough left in the can so it's kinda streaky):

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And finally, I put some of the rubber car door strip (the stuff that protects the edge of the door from smacking into things) along the top edge of the shield. I was going to use some sort of rubber hose, but this was on clearance at Advance Auto for 5 cents, so I figured I'd give it a try and it works perfect. Seals up against the hood great. I put some along the bottom edge of the hole as well so it wouldn't scratch the 45 bend too much, and then fit it in the engine bay:

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It fit great, and I ziptied one edge of it to the inside of the quarterpanel so it wouldn't move around at all. Total cost was only $10 for the 45 degree bend, and $0.05 for the door stripping. The rest I already had.
 
So u are graduating? What kind of degree are you getting? I like the way you are able to indulge in your hobby and build your project car without letting it compromise your progress in school.
 
Thanks :) In just a couple weeks I'll be graduating with my B.S. in Psychology, but I've also taken several classes on American Sign Language, which is what I believe I'm going to end up doing. And yeah, it gets pretty hectic trying to juggle schoolwork, two jobs, and a girlfriend, while still finding time to relax and work on my car (as much of an oxymoron as that is) along with my other hobbies. I'll be taking a semester off from school after I graduate, which I'm looking forward to because I'll have so much more time on my hands.
 
Time for another update. I got some wheels! And several other things too. But first some pics of the sexiness:

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Voxx MG 17x8s wrapped with Triangle 235/45/17s. Picked em up locally (thanks DWhite!) and I love em. Had to remove the splash guards from the front and roll the front fenders a bit, cause they were rubbing pretty bad. I did cut another half coil up front before I got them, and I'm thinking I may do the same for the rear so it sits a little more even. Also trying to decide if I want to paint the centers a different color or keep them how they are.

But before that, several other things occurred. I had my 22nd birthday in April and my car got a temporary new look:

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Day after that was an Orlando Meet, which was a lot of fun, got to meet and hang out with a bunch of local guys:

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Then after that, I graduated from UCF! That same day (cinco de mayo) was a FL VCOA meet at Trimble Park in Mt. Dora. Made it there right after the graduation ceremony, and it was an awesome meet:

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Other than that, list of recent upgrades/fixes/maintenance over the past month include:

- Bilstein HD front struts (thanks ryanfay!)
- Gabriel ultra rear shocks
- 100amp 940 alternator
- Polished valve cover and intercooler pipes
- New distributor seals and valve cover gasket
- Painted brake calipers

The front struts sure were fun to get on. Got the drivers side original assembly disassembled no problem, including the factory red loctite'd gland nut, but the passenger side gland nut was an ultra pain. Wrenching it wasn't working, nor was a hammer and a screwdriver, and nor was heating it up and then trying to remove it with any tools. However Eric and I finally removed it by welding an automatic transmission flex plate spacer onto it and then a go-kart axle onto the spacer. This gave us plenty of solid leverage and it finally came out. Pics of said gland nut remover:

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So, got it removed and got the billys in, but the next morning this happened:

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After getting a new set of strut mounts from the junkyard, I found out that the strut washers were sitting lower than they should be on the billys, which is why they tore through the mounts. Replaced them with the jy mounts and some new washers, and they're fantastic.

Also as mentioned, I used some high strength paint remover on the valve cover and the intercooler pipes, then sanded and polished them a bit and threw em back on, along with the 940 alternator:

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Since then, only upgrade has been the wheels. I found a set of billy HD rear shocks locally, so I may return the gabriels and pick those up. Also, I got the MBC and wastegate dialed in much better and hits a solid 15psi. The car now spins the tires in first gear when it hits full boost, and will spin them halfway through second as well :oogle:
 
Went to the drag strip again recently. Can't get a pic of the slip at the moment but my best time was 15.29 at 88mph with a still embarrassing .4 r/t. I was having boost/fuel issues too. During that run the boost crept past 15 and hit fuel cut, and then wouldn't rise past 12-13 ish. Not sure what exactly is causing it to do that but I'm guessing it may be the weak 15g waste gate spring that I've read about.
 
Work has been keeping me incredibly busy lately but I did manage to find some time to get some stuff done. Replaced my old spark plug wires with a set of OEM Volvo wires. Then a week or so I picked up a set of Billy HD rear shocks, coincidentally from Ryan again, and they're awesome. Apologies on the iphone/instagram pics, it's all I've had on me recently.

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Cat approved.

Also replaced the front brake rotors. Old ones were dangerously thin and the new ones gave a noticeable difference.

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Shiny goodness.

This past weekend I tackled the annoying and persistent oil leaks. I wasn't sure exactly where in particular it was coming from but after about a week of driving I'd have to top off the oil a half a quart or so, and the tailgate would have oil splattered all over it. This guy ended up being the main culprit:

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I had to remove the turbo to get to it, and while it was out I was able to check for unusual wear and/or shaft play. It looked and felt great, which made me feel more confident about my rebuild.
So I replaced both of the big o-rings on this adapter bracket, along with a fresh new turbo drain seal which was also leaking, and another new valve cover gasket (previous one was leaking at the back of the block by the dizzy).

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The same day I also replaced the bushings on the transmission shift linkage. The original ones were pretty much gone, just a bit of goop left, which resulted in a sloppy and noisy gear selector. $2 and about a 10 minute job later, and it now feels practically brand new. The new bushings made a WORLD of difference. I thought it would be a much more complicated fix, but I'd recommend it to anyone with similar linkage.

After an hour drive to Orlando and back, I didn't lose any oil and the tailgate was nice and clean with no oil splatters. Now I just hope the new seals hold and last long. Other than that the car is just dandy. Even with the new tires it still spins em in first.

Next items on the list include a new master cylinder to fix the sometimes sinking brake pedal, an adjustable panhard bar to make the car sit level, and eventually some stiffer springs/sways. Also considering a set of 25mm wheel adapters, depending on if they'll fit or not. Need to do some measuring first. Gold wheels have also been on my mind:

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Not sure how I feel about them though. But for now, just a couple up to date pics:

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I've been looking at those wheels, they look good. Maybe I missed it but do you know what offset they are? They appear to be for FWD cars and you used spacers.
 
I was hoping you were gonna say they were FWD offset. They look good but I'm really wanting something with a little more dish.
 
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