• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Sander's 6.0 V12 745 project

Finished up the other side shock mount and put everything together. Next up, figuring out the handbrake setup. The S60R brake rotors have a bigger diameter drum part for the handbrake, so I'm modifying a pair of S60 brake shoes by welding in part of the multilink brake shoes. To not burn up the brake lining I had to weld a part, cool it again, weld, cool etc. Also keeping the brake lining wet. Worked great. It fits too, still need to make a spacer kind of thing that pushes them further outwards, as the S60R rotors have the drum part further out. Before I can finish that and a new brake shield, I need to design the adapters for the S60R calipers. I could finally lower it onto it's wheels again to check the ride height with the Eibach universal springs, it's pretty much spot on. Maybe 1cm higher than I'd like, but it still has a completely empty fuel tank, no drive shafts, exhaust system and 100A heavy ass battery in the back, so I'll leave it for now. No idea how much the springs will settle in either after driving it for a bit, if it settles at all. The springs I'm using are Eibach Conventional Rear springs, 1100.500.0450 (11" open lenght, 5" outer diameter like the stock springs and 450 lbs/in). Anyway, pictures:

QwdGDqh.jpg


0yF8EDz.jpg


e5FtYQR.jpg


hIycO7j.jpg


Pu4tk2n.jpg


Pn1NEpL.jpg


1LbJ5XT.jpg


echh449.jpg


XfbmLhG.jpg


Sc9WDR6.jpg


YdmfYF1.jpg


V7Xjfzt.jpg


rtWdM5S.jpg


c1XD0Yc.jpg


088DGKU.jpg


NSPkiEG.jpg


svtVBU7.jpg


hZOAgo9.jpg


Ol2Ugua.jpg



Ah! Nice to hear that the weight isn't that different. Good point about the easier modding. My aluminum welding isn't the greatest too :) I didn't realize the lower arm on the mk2 was steel. That does look quite heavy.

I am looking at using the aluminum 8.8 explorer diff, although the bolt in axles makes the BMW diff attractive. From my internet research I think the aluminum 8.8 diff is about 70lbs vs about 110 lbs for the BMW diff, which is a pretty sizable difference.

PS: Maybe I will go to the J/Y and do a weight breakdown on all the piece parts.

Should be interesting to see the weight difference between the 2 versions. I doubt it'll be much though. Both multilink versions will add some weight compared to the live axle, but unsprung weight is greatly reduced.
 
Finishing up the design for the rear brake adapters and finished the front now too so I can have it all laser cut in 1 go. The adapters mount on the inside on the face where the stock caliper mounts too. The rings are just for spacing to measure how thick the spacer needs to be that goes there. Front 350mm rotor on a 960II hub (will be using 960II wishbones and hubs with 850 coilovers in the front):

WYjV3Fs.jpg


CQaJA2l.jpg


4Ap28bS.jpg


1o5EHFh.jpg


aVRWpLe.jpg
 
Consider getting it cut out of a single thicker piece and machined down to suit in a step-wise fashion so it's stronger.

That'll be the next one, machined out of a single piece of aluminium. This one I'll be welding together, should be plenty strong though.
 
Nice progress, love the ingenuity with the rear drum pads.
It'll prolly come down a little more than just 1 cm with fluids, battery and some break in of the springs and shocks.
 
Clamped, preheated, and welded should be fine. Not sure I'd go to alloy with such little opportunity for meat and disparate expansion rates on something that suffers regular extreme hot/cold cycles, but your call :-)
 
Curious as to why you are going with the 960 wishbones+knuckles in the front? Lighter? The bolt on 850 coilovers are a little easier to source? I was thinking I would just retube and/or shorten the 740 struts to DIY a coilover. I'm not a big fan of the two piece control arms on the 740, but they do work as long as the bushing is kept in good shape.
 
Good to see you're plugging away at this still. I know seeing it finally sitting on the ground with that rear end is a good feeling.
 
Curious as to why you are going with the 960 wishbones+knuckles in the front? Lighter? The bolt on 850 coilovers are a little easier to source? I was thinking I would just retube and/or shorten the 740 struts to DIY a coilover. I'm not a big fan of the two piece control arms on the 740, but they do work as long as the bushing is kept in good shape.

For several reasons:

I changed the wheel offset in the back by using mk2 irs hubs, so I can fit high ET wheels for any modern Volvo without using spacers and use the S60R rear brakes. I want to be able to get rid of the spacers in the front too. The difference in offset with the 740 and 960II doesn't come from the hubs, but from the wishbones. They push the wheels further out.

The 960 wishbones are much beafier than the 2 piece 740 ones, which won't hurt with the massive brakes I'm using. Also on the 960II hubs, the flange with the wheel bolts holding the wheel is much thicker I've noticed. They use this huge lower chassis brace too which connects the rear mounting points of the wishbones together. All in all it seems like a much more sturdy setup, if you replace the bushings once worn out of course. Also, having the hub separate from the strut adds the posibility of adjusting the camber without needing camber adjustment plates.

Somewhere along the line once it's driving and the engine swap is registered, I plan on registering the car in Germany where I live. In the Netherlands (where the car is still registered), anything goes modification wise (more or less), but in Germany they are much more strict and aftermarket parts need to have an approval to be used. I plan to use as many stock Volvo parts as I can that where available for this chassis to avoid that a bit. For the 740 there are no coil overs which are bolt on and approved here, but for the 850 there are. It should be possible to get that registered. The same applies to wheels, I need at least 18" wheels due to the size of the brake discs, but again there is nothing available with low offset etc. But for modern Volvos you can buy tons of wheels with the right papers.
 
Last edited:
Good to see you're plugging away at this still. I know seeing it finally sitting on the ground with that rear end is a good feeling.

Thanks! It definitely is. I can't wait to drive it and see how the IRS affects handling compared to the live axle.
 
For several reasons:

I changed the wheel offset in the back by using mk2 irs hubs, so I can fit high ET wheels for any modern Volvo without using spacers and use the S60R rear brakes. I want to be able to get rid of the spacers in the front too. The difference in offset with the 740 and 960II doesn't come from the hubs, but from the wishbones. They push the wheels further out.

The 960 wishbones are much beafier than the 2 piece 740 ones, which won't hurt with the massive brakes I'm using. Also on the 960II hubs, the flange with the wheel bolts holding the wheel is much thicker I've noticed. They use this huge lower chassis brace too which connects the rear mounting points of the wishbones together. All in all it seems like a much more sturdy setup, if you replace the bushings once worn out of course. Also, having the hub separate from the strut adds the posibility of adjusting the camber without needing camber adjustment plates.

Somewhere along the line once it's driving and the engine swap is registered, I plan on registering the car in Germany where I live. In the Netherlands (where the car is still registered), anything goes modification wise (more or less), but in Germany they are much more strict and aftermarket parts need to have an approval to be used. I plan to use as many stock Volvo parts as I can that where available for this chassis to avoid that a bit. For the 740 there are no coil overs which are bolt on and approved here, but for the 850 there are. It should be possible to get that registered. The same applies to wheels, I need at least 18" wheels due to the size of the brake discs, but again there is nothing available with low offset etc. But for modern Volvos you can buy tons of wheels with the right papers.

I am also using high offset wheels, so I do like not having the spacers. Is it trivial to weld in the new rear control arm mount on the 740? Would love to see more pics of the 960 components. I am not as familiar with them as I am the 740 stuff.

Although there is "bolt in" coilovers available it seems like shock/strut options might be more flexible with the standard tube on the 740?
 
For several reasons:
Also, having the hub separate from the strut adds the posibility of adjusting the camber without needing camber adjustment plates.

I have to disagree with that statement. The 960 knuckle combined with the 940/740 style ball joint/control arm setup will actually give you positive camber. A local guy here has done it and he needed to max out his camber plates negative to get the wheel to a stock location.
 
I have to disagree with that statement. The 960 knuckle combined with the 940/740 style ball joint/control arm setup will actually give you positive camber. A local guy here has done it and he needed to max out his camber plates negative to get the wheel to a stock location.

I won't be using the 740/940 ball joint and control arms, I'm swapping those too for the 960 one. I'll have to remove the rear mounting point and weld on the mounting point for the 960 arms and the 960 lower chassis brace. The reason that combination gives positive camber is that the 960 control arms are much longer than the 740/940 ones. The distance from the wheel hub flange to the ball joint is actually smaller on the 960 hub than the 740 one, so it lowers the ET value required even further. The high offset from the 960II comes from the much longer control arms.
As for camber adjustment, I meant that it can be made adjustable with the 2 bolts that clamp the strut to the hub.
 
So in Germany, as long as you use OEM parts, you're pretty much good to go? Even if there's a bunch of fabrication work involved such as this? Or is that why you're trying to make everything look factory, to avoid and maybe fool the inspector??

Overall this build is bonkers in the most awesome way. I love it.
 
I've tried the method you mentioned for the camber and it's ok while static but for actual turning it doesn't really help because you're adding camber in a spot it wasn't meant to be added. I think you'll find out how off it makes the geometry when you try it out.
 
I am also using high offset wheels, so I do like not having the spacers. Is it trivial to weld in the new rear control arm mount on the 740? Would love to see more pics of the 960 components. I am not as familiar with them as I am the 740 stuff.

Although there is "bolt in" coilovers available it seems like shock/strut options might be more flexible with the standard tube on the 740?

These are the brackets that hold the rear mount of the control arm. The left one is still available from Volvo new (costs like $20 or something), the cone part you'll have to weld on too, it comes separately and is also still available for next to nothing. The right hand side is not available anymore new, so I had to cut it out of a car in the junkyard. Not pictured is the really big lower chassis brace that connects to these points. You'll need that too as it has a cone on it too which makes this >< with the other one on the bracket. That's the center part of the rear arm mount.

Welding it in is pretty trivial, just weld it around the edge and you're fine. The front subframe with the steering rack is the same, just get the reinforcement brackets for it too which the 960 has. The steering rack end links are different though. Also the sway bar is different. On the 960 it attaches to the strut with ball links like on most modern cars.

orDqzus.jpg


uj2h29U.jpg


So in Germany, as long as you use OEM parts, you're pretty much good to go? Even if there's a bunch of fabrication work involved such as this? Or is that why you're trying to make everything look factory, to avoid and maybe fool the inspector??

Overall this build is bonkers in the most awesome way. I love it.

Thanks! A lot is still possible, it just needs documentation. It is technically possible to make your own coil overs and get them approved, it's just a mayor hassle and will depend on the willingness of the inspector to help you. The fabrication work is a bit of a grey area, some things are allowed and some things not etc. The factory look I'm going for is just because I like it when it looks like it's supposed to be like this :-).
 
Hmm... I'm always thinking about weight. Those control arms look heavy! They look like steel versions of bmw control arms...

Steering rack tie rods are longer then I assume?
 
Thanks! A lot is still possible, it just needs documentation. It is technically possible to make your own coil overs and get them approved, it's just a mayor hassle and will depend on the willingness of the inspector to help you. The fabrication work is a bit of a grey area, some things are allowed and some things not etc. The factory look I'm going for is just because I like it when it looks like it's supposed to be like this :-).

Oh, that's not too bad, then! That's pretty cool. I actually think that's a pretty smart system to keep some of the cars I see on the road here in the US, off the road, some of my cars included :rofl:

But I can respect that. I've always respected the amount of work it takes to make something look like it came from the factory that way, but it's not the life for me. Your swaps on this car look incredibly clean. I can't wait to see what's next, as I've been eagerly lurking on this thread for months haha.
 
Should be a blast to hear and see once it's finished. Will you go all out with the exhausts and have angry neighbours?
 
Back
Top