IansPlatinum
Active member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2018
- Location
- Texas
Starting this thread primarily to organize my plans and goals, and document progress along the way.
I use this car mostly as a utility vehicle, like I would an enclosed (90s & early 2000s) Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma. It also gets used for any major travel outing or camping trip.
Therefore, my goals are primarily related to achieving durability, reliability, utility, gas mileage, & comfort.
Goals:
-maximize MPG while simultaneously maintaining utility and soft-road ability
-improve reliability and durability
-mild lift (1"-2" Front & Rear)
-improve traction
-add ancillary components to improve camping & travelling
-explore the US!
I have no desire to increase power or acceleration if it means a sacrifice in fuel economy (begin the boos and jeers of TB).
I acquired the vehicle July of 2018. I drove it around and instantly fell in love. I was hesitant to even try a 240 at first, because my first and only brick prior to this one was a 92 940T, which I didn't like very much (and soon after sold).
How it looked when I bought it... It had FWD wheels on that rubbed and were mounted with non-hub centric spacers in the rear (wobble wobble) and HOME MADE CUT DIAMOND PLATE spacers in the front... needless to say the highway wobble and vibration was real. I pulled the wheels after getting it to find that the rear OEM studs had been hammered out and replaced with longer ones that weren't a press fit into the hub... they just wobbled around loosely in the stud holes. Friction was the only thing allowing the lug to be tightened...
After putting the correct OE wheels back on (after sourcing good used rear hub studs and installing them)
And how it appears now, with powder coated wheels, some small spring spacers of front, overloads in rear, and goodyear tires.
Here's the work that's been done so far (pics to be uploaded soon):
Installed new Taxi control arms, superpro poly FCA bushings with zerks, and new ball joints (driver side is greasable moog unit, passenger side lemforder)
(checking for colinearity)
rear FCA bushing has 2 zerks, one that goes thru a hole on the bushing to the sleeve, another to fill the outer voids.
front FCA bushings have 1 zerk, required some clearance cutting on bushing.
IPD panhard rod drilled & tapped for zerks
New lemforder inner tie rods and moog greasable outer tie rods, new bellows
New Gates blue timing belt, tensioner, round tooth gear set, water pump, solid cam pin, new temp sender for ECU
New plugs, wires, dist, rotor. New coil (not installed, keep it in the trunk as a back up)
Refurbished injectors from GB reman (keep old injectors in trunk as spares)
Denso from Philski
Aluminum Yoshifab accessory bushings (beware, must add washers for late style PS pump- already pointed it out to yoshifab, they said they'd make me some proper length ones but then went silent... oh well, washers work too), new tensioner screws on all accessories, new Volvo brand drive belts
Intake manifold removed and power washed, then sand blasted on inside/outside
New carpet (aftermarket) - not a perfect color match but close enough
Adhesive anti-fungal closed cell foam added behind spare tire - idea from RWC's lumber wagon build. This wheel is now powdercoated silver with a new tire.
New driver's seat vinyl (swedish car parts)
5 New 195/75R14 Goodyear Wrangler AT tires, powdercoated OE 14" steelies
IPD front SS brake hoses (good thing I did!) & EBC redstuff pads, brembo rotors, typ200 brake flush
Helle supertones (want to repaint guards black... hate the red)
Bilstein touring shocks in rear, IPD overload springs
BAFTRs (adjustable torque rods assembled from greasable Johnny Joints & swedged tubes)
Radio replacement & relocation (took out crappy 2007 alpine radio, put in VDO unit)
Installed Gauges, VDO 360-028 pressure sender (M14x1.5, no adapter needed), vacuum tee
Inner window scrapers replaced
Front windows tinted with Suntek Ceramic tint, 25%, rears done under previous ownership, 10-15%
Changed instrument panel back face and gauge faces to older 80s style satin- the matte '92 gauge faces develop this weird residue and look like crap. The satin looks niiiiiice.... but my odometer is a little misaligned with the odo window now, cuts off the tops of the numbers and last decimal. Also installed Large Tach & small clock. Temp faker bypass
Custom over-axle exhaust. Mine would rattle on axle during high articulation.
Side-facing tailpipe (hopefully cuts down on hatch dirt a little...)
Installed rear muffler (car came with it removed & straight piped, highway drone SUCKED)
Headrest inserts (will reupholster in blue eventually but black is pretty inconspicuous for now)
Relocated O2 sensor and added bung for wideband
Updated computer to 9XX series ECU
Mann air filter, replaced airbox (old one had crack AFTER filter), PCV system, vacuum lines
Silicone radiator hoses & coolant flush
12L ATF flush - volvo dex III fluid
New volvo motor mounts (old ones weren't that bad... oh well)
New OD relay & fuel relay
New fuel pumps (both) and filter, good thing too... in-tank pump had a ripped sock, didn't work, and wasn't even plugged in.
AC recharged with redtek 12a (hydrocarbon), high pressure switch bypassed (to enable constant pusher fan use while snowflake switch is on)
Acoustic foam on exposed sheet steel to reduce cabin noise
Optima yellow top - for when I install cabin evac fan
And work to be done in the near future:
install Ben's spherical TABs
rear pads & rotors (currently warped)
Hatch hinge re-alignment (maybe replacement too...) & wire harness replacement
preemptively replace CPS, keep old one in trunk
have rear axle rebuilt & install Trutrac LSD, driveshaft U joints
Install rear lift springs & vanagon shocks
Ben's extended coilovers & strut mounts
redesign trailing arms & spring perch
install STS hd center support bearing
New battery cables
Install inverter
install cabin evac fan setup
sand down rust near hood hinges and below battery tray, respray with color matched white
replace rattly knock off front muffler with either straight pipe or glasspack or other
roof racks / roof basket
LH 3.1 conversion
T-cam & reshim, rear cam plug & retainer
taxi ball joint plate
spare gas tank sealed & repainted
I use this car mostly as a utility vehicle, like I would an enclosed (90s & early 2000s) Ford Ranger or Toyota Tacoma. It also gets used for any major travel outing or camping trip.
Therefore, my goals are primarily related to achieving durability, reliability, utility, gas mileage, & comfort.
Goals:
-maximize MPG while simultaneously maintaining utility and soft-road ability
-improve reliability and durability
-mild lift (1"-2" Front & Rear)
-improve traction
-add ancillary components to improve camping & travelling
-explore the US!
I have no desire to increase power or acceleration if it means a sacrifice in fuel economy (begin the boos and jeers of TB).
I acquired the vehicle July of 2018. I drove it around and instantly fell in love. I was hesitant to even try a 240 at first, because my first and only brick prior to this one was a 92 940T, which I didn't like very much (and soon after sold).
How it looked when I bought it... It had FWD wheels on that rubbed and were mounted with non-hub centric spacers in the rear (wobble wobble) and HOME MADE CUT DIAMOND PLATE spacers in the front... needless to say the highway wobble and vibration was real. I pulled the wheels after getting it to find that the rear OEM studs had been hammered out and replaced with longer ones that weren't a press fit into the hub... they just wobbled around loosely in the stud holes. Friction was the only thing allowing the lug to be tightened...
After putting the correct OE wheels back on (after sourcing good used rear hub studs and installing them)
And how it appears now, with powder coated wheels, some small spring spacers of front, overloads in rear, and goodyear tires.
Here's the work that's been done so far (pics to be uploaded soon):
Installed new Taxi control arms, superpro poly FCA bushings with zerks, and new ball joints (driver side is greasable moog unit, passenger side lemforder)
(checking for colinearity)
rear FCA bushing has 2 zerks, one that goes thru a hole on the bushing to the sleeve, another to fill the outer voids.
front FCA bushings have 1 zerk, required some clearance cutting on bushing.
IPD panhard rod drilled & tapped for zerks
New lemforder inner tie rods and moog greasable outer tie rods, new bellows
New Gates blue timing belt, tensioner, round tooth gear set, water pump, solid cam pin, new temp sender for ECU
New plugs, wires, dist, rotor. New coil (not installed, keep it in the trunk as a back up)
Refurbished injectors from GB reman (keep old injectors in trunk as spares)
Denso from Philski
Aluminum Yoshifab accessory bushings (beware, must add washers for late style PS pump- already pointed it out to yoshifab, they said they'd make me some proper length ones but then went silent... oh well, washers work too), new tensioner screws on all accessories, new Volvo brand drive belts
Intake manifold removed and power washed, then sand blasted on inside/outside
New carpet (aftermarket) - not a perfect color match but close enough
Adhesive anti-fungal closed cell foam added behind spare tire - idea from RWC's lumber wagon build. This wheel is now powdercoated silver with a new tire.
New driver's seat vinyl (swedish car parts)
5 New 195/75R14 Goodyear Wrangler AT tires, powdercoated OE 14" steelies
IPD front SS brake hoses (good thing I did!) & EBC redstuff pads, brembo rotors, typ200 brake flush
Helle supertones (want to repaint guards black... hate the red)
Bilstein touring shocks in rear, IPD overload springs
BAFTRs (adjustable torque rods assembled from greasable Johnny Joints & swedged tubes)
Radio replacement & relocation (took out crappy 2007 alpine radio, put in VDO unit)
Installed Gauges, VDO 360-028 pressure sender (M14x1.5, no adapter needed), vacuum tee
Inner window scrapers replaced
Front windows tinted with Suntek Ceramic tint, 25%, rears done under previous ownership, 10-15%
Changed instrument panel back face and gauge faces to older 80s style satin- the matte '92 gauge faces develop this weird residue and look like crap. The satin looks niiiiiice.... but my odometer is a little misaligned with the odo window now, cuts off the tops of the numbers and last decimal. Also installed Large Tach & small clock. Temp faker bypass
Custom over-axle exhaust. Mine would rattle on axle during high articulation.
Side-facing tailpipe (hopefully cuts down on hatch dirt a little...)
Installed rear muffler (car came with it removed & straight piped, highway drone SUCKED)
Headrest inserts (will reupholster in blue eventually but black is pretty inconspicuous for now)
Relocated O2 sensor and added bung for wideband
Updated computer to 9XX series ECU
Mann air filter, replaced airbox (old one had crack AFTER filter), PCV system, vacuum lines
Silicone radiator hoses & coolant flush
12L ATF flush - volvo dex III fluid
New volvo motor mounts (old ones weren't that bad... oh well)
New OD relay & fuel relay
New fuel pumps (both) and filter, good thing too... in-tank pump had a ripped sock, didn't work, and wasn't even plugged in.
AC recharged with redtek 12a (hydrocarbon), high pressure switch bypassed (to enable constant pusher fan use while snowflake switch is on)
Acoustic foam on exposed sheet steel to reduce cabin noise
Optima yellow top - for when I install cabin evac fan
And work to be done in the near future:
install Ben's spherical TABs
rear pads & rotors (currently warped)
Hatch hinge re-alignment (maybe replacement too...) & wire harness replacement
preemptively replace CPS, keep old one in trunk
have rear axle rebuilt & install Trutrac LSD, driveshaft U joints
Install rear lift springs & vanagon shocks
Ben's extended coilovers & strut mounts
redesign trailing arms & spring perch
install STS hd center support bearing
New battery cables
Install inverter
install cabin evac fan setup
sand down rust near hood hinges and below battery tray, respray with color matched white
replace rattly knock off front muffler with either straight pipe or glasspack or other
roof racks / roof basket
LH 3.1 conversion
T-cam & reshim, rear cam plug & retainer
taxi ball joint plate
spare gas tank sealed & repainted
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