The (More Fun) Daily Driver Build

[quillc]

I commute a lot. 67 mi each way every day. Being in the Seattle area, we have this puddle in the way of everything. I'm only 23 miles from work as the crow flies - all of the rest is driving around the puddle. That and the local planners can't seem to build a road that travels straight for more than 1/2 mile. I've been a bit of a motor head for a long time and only have started playing with Volvos in the past couple of years, and kind of in a round about way. I was commuting in an 03 PT Cruiser, until that was totaled by a MSFT HR manager checking her email on her phone while on the offramp. Hit me doing about 40. The resulting battle royal about value in a two year old (paid off) car soured me on new(er) cars. I decided to simply buy an older car and keep fixing it. My wife had a 70 144 (with a rally grille!) that valiantly gave its life protecting her during a rollover on the highway doing 70. Since she walked away without a scratch, she had a positive impression about older Volvos. After a little research it appeared that the 240 was the one to get. That was 2 1/2 years ago. My wife now drives a 91 245 & I commute in an 83 244. I've done a few things along the way to make the 91 more reliable and the 83 both more reliable and more fun. 23/21 sways, cut springs on the front, an A cam, Virgos, a sparco seat and other things have made it actually able to turn corners well and cruise at 70. It gets on the highway ok, but I still get outrun by the average Toyota Corolla (when they actually step on it - which is of course rare). This combined with the fact that I have always been more of a coupe fan, leads me to The (More Fun) Daily Driver Build.

Meet the willing recipient: 1983 242 DL. Mostly straight. Purchased for $50. Had a B230, but no trans. The *ahem* person that owned it tried to wade a 'stream' with it and ended up hydrolocking the original B23. I ended up getting the original missing parts for another $50 from the person that they had been abandoned with.

Meet the unwilling donor: 1984 760 GLE. B23FT. Obviously not straight. Purchased for $100. Yes, CL is my friend. Shockingly it runs REALLY well and has 89K miles (verified with a Carfax!). Guy hydroplaned and whaked the Jersey barrier with the front AND the rear at 60+.

Plans are as follows:
Transplant the B23FT with an M46 into the 242.
IPD 28/25 sways (on hand - thanks Cameron!)
Bilstien HDs
AEM UEGO wideband (on hand)
AEM boost controller/gauge (on hand)
IPD OL rear springs (from my 244)
Sparco seat (from my 244)
flathood (from my 244)
Fix everything that is broken. It MUST be reliable.
Drive the piss out of it.

Eventually, I'll put a cam and other fun items in it. First step is to obviously get it on the road.

BTW, everything that I'm not using is up for sale on the 760. This is mostly the interior and some of the other bits. PM me with any interest. I'll also be posting in the 'for sale' forum as I scrape saleable bits off of it. The remaining hulk will be scrapped.

[quillc]

Just realized that I posted to the main showroom forum. Moderator, please move thread to the Projects & Restorations subforum. Thanks!

[amerbritcan]

sounds like a fun build. was a great read, i can't wait for updates.

[corivus]

I wish it wasn't blocked from work would be interesting to see.

@home edit: ooo can't wait to see how it turns out

[YLD244]

looks like fun mate.
cant wait to see the updates!

[Karl Buchka]

Sweet. Good luck!

[Turbosteen]

Looks like a fun build

PM'ed about strut bearings

[doucheNozzle]

This will get interesting!

[quillc]

Thanks all. My goal is to have it on the road in the spring. With a full time job & three little kids, finding time can be challenging....

[colgate41]

Hey man...any chance thoes wheels off the 744 are for sale?

[quillc]

Sorry, keeping those as they are kind of neat.

Originally Posted by colgate41

Hey man...any chance thoes wheels off the 744 are for sale?

[volvogeek]

Originally Posted by quillc

Sorry, keeping those as they are kind of neat.

Yes they are, they're very Sirius. Looking good, can't wait to see more progress.

[quillc]

Originally Posted by volvogeek

Yes they are, they're very Sirius. Looking good, can't wait to see more progress.

[John242Ti]

Originally Posted by volvogeek

Yes they are, they're very Sirius. Looking good, can't wait to see more progress.

Although, since the 760's an '84, they're not-so-Sirius, and more spanish word for "No go" (Nova). ;-P Yes, common T-bricker knowledge will go against what I just said, but, the Volvo parts books agree with me.

-J

[quillc]

Nova, good to know. Thanks.

Did a little demo tonight.

Has a nice little aux trans cooler. Should work great on the wifes 245. It appears that I'll have to replace the line all the way back to the trans though.


Other notes from tonight.
The radiator didn't survive the accident. it bounced off of the fan so its trashed. The intercooler survived however. Had a niceish belly pan that will be up for sale. Decent fan shroud as well.

Finally, got my extra flywheel back from the shop. I love the look of freshly milled steel.

[YLD244]

thats a vacuum pump that the early turbos had

[VQ]

Originally Posted by YLD244

thats a vacuum pump that the ACC equipped cars had

Fixed.


Good luck!

[quillc]

Originally Posted by YLD244

thats a vacuum pump that the early turbos had

So then the question begs: is it really necessary? Will I have enough vacuum to run my brakes without it?

Minor update:
got the car up on stands & got the driveline out. Anyone need a 700 driveline in decent shape? Its usually such a PITA to disconnect the self locking bolts at either end of the drive shaft. This time around I have a 3/8 impact. Makes it a breeze! I highly recommend it.

With any luck, I'll get the engine/trans out this weekend.

[YLD244]

Yeah the brakes will be fine.
It's more for the heater and climate controls.

[John242Ti]

Yup, it's only an early 760 thing, for the HVAC system. My family owned an '87 744Ti, and the brakes were just fine, even with the same B23FT under the hood (yes, swapped out the B230FT for a B23FT, even converted the car to have the 240 belt configuration and driver side coil).

-J

[quillc]

Ok. Good to know that I can yard it out.
One thing comes to mind though.
What about using it to evacuate the engine case rather than the standard PCV-flametrap setup? I was going to just run a breather can (and get rid of all the extra stuff), but if I can actually evacuate the engine case that would be even better. Does it run all of the time or just on a vacuum signal?

[YLD244]

im not sure if they are designed to run constantly, and if it will live with oil and water vapour being passed through it.

[quillc]

Been a while, so a quick update.

Demo on the 760 continues. Got the front struts out. Work has been pounding on me lately so I have had a whopping couple of hours over the last two weeks to work on it. I need to hurry up as my current DD is disintegrating around me. I had to rip the door panel off yesterday as the outer handle failed AND the inner mechanism lost a clip - resulting in a stuck closed door.

Found a 5 bar oil pressure gauge on CL for a whopping $10. Its unbelievebly NOS. Just missing the sender. It even has the installation instructions! I'll scan them and post if anyone wants them.

The guy even gave me two studded snow tires and a rear cargo tray for a wagon for free! said that he was 'cleaning out all his old Volvo stuff and I looked like someone who could appreciate it'

[quillc]

Got the engine out and on the stand. Very complete and needs a good washdown.
Thought it might be interesting to post a pic of the 'crumple zone' after a front end collision with a solid barrier. kinda cool.
pass side frame rail
drivers side frame rail
overhead view

[YLD244]

cool pics of the crumple zone.
the 740 was the safest car on the road when it was released.