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DET17's "Project cheap thrills" - '92 944T

Hey Alex,

I bought 2 sets.....one full, and another one pieced together from local sales / eBay.

I think I have an average of $400 in each set, plus $50 for USA shipping. There are several sets FS on eBay right now, here is a set which is "on sale" :rofl:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151086743393?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I saw a fully restored set on eBay for $1200. I guess the BBS name brings big money. I thought you had some 18" wheels on yours?
 
No no, I have 17" Titan on mine...for now maybe?!?

Thanks for the link, but they're not shipped to my country... And here, the price for a set of Propus is just crazy!
 
Heater Core Hell.....there and back again.

Wow, it's been a long time since an update on the DD. Life, the Wife, a SAAB convertible, and building my auto hobby workshop have gotten in the way of further refinements of the 940 (now disguised as an S90).

I knew some time ago that the heater core had failed on the beast....had the dreaded white fogged windows that just wouldn't clear even on defrost, missing coolant, and that sick sweet smell. To boot, the cabin of the car always had another rather "funky smell" that I couldn't ID.....suspected it was from the PO's chain smoking wife stuck in the headliner. I made it thru the winter of 2012-13 without heat in the car, and then drove it right thru the summer & fall of 13. When winter 2013-14 arrived in Georgia, it came hard and cold...... I decided this repair could wait no longer. Once I got the first couple rooms in my basement car shop relamped and insulated, I decided it was time for the dreaded heater core replacement. I'd previously bought an all metal heater core, so that was on hand.

How bad is it? The BB experts say the 7/9 replacement puts the 2 series heater job to shame....plan on 20+ hours if it is your first one. I knew there was no avoiding this....the 9 is destined to be my DD for many many years to come, in all seasons. In we go.

FWIW, anyone who takes on this task, print the Brickboard 7/9 Maint. Pages writeup on how to R&R the heater core. Their explanation is excellent, and will guide you past the pitfalls.

I removed both seats.....for the reason of easier access to the heater, and another motive. You can do the job seats in situ, but I don't recommend it unless you like pain and contortion. You need all the room you can get. I'm not detailing the whole process, but you will get the overall scope from these pics:

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Coolant leakage is evident:

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Getting closer to the beast:

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After many hours & pictures, we arrive at the bugger:

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Now the replacement heater core gets a JB weld reinforcement; OE is brazed here:

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Heater core cavity cleaned out with new seals to force air across the core:

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While in, I decided to use Gary's heater core valve upgrade, using the NAPA 4 way valve. I'll link the thread from maintenance to detail the whole deal. In short, the NAPA valve always allows head coolant to flow back to the waterpump suction pipe.....the OE valve used on the 7/9 is a 2 way, and closes under certain "cabin climate control" conditions. Here is the valve installed:

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Finally, the new heater core (matrix) installed and pressure tested. Unbelievably, the damn thing leaked!

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I've learned the hardway to TEST new parts before you button it all up. Perhaps the wrestling of the in/out pipes of the core thru the firewall caused the input side to break at the solder joint.....or it came out of the box bad. Doesn't matter, it must be fixed before I button this up! I soldered the joint to restore the seal:

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I won't bother showing the rebuild and restoration of the interior....just suffice to say I had 20+ hours in the job. Of course a repeat would go much better with the discovery now done.....but I sure hope to never have to do this task again. Heat has been restored to the beast, and the completed car smells much better inside after all the old coolant soaked pads & carpet have been removed. Much better.
 
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960 Interior upgrade

I've been searching for a clean hood for my 92 for a long, long time. Many a trip to the Atlanta area Pull-a-parts, but never any hood found worth buying. For the record, looking for paint code 189-23, Polar White. Eventually I'll find one, I'm sure.

During one of these scouting trips, I was searching the local P-n-P for that mythical hood, and had decided to check 960s as well to watch for painted mirrors & moon roofs, etc. I walked up to a 92 960 Wagon, and upon looking inside my jaw dropped....a creampuff interior! I had stumbled on a car that had been on the yard only a couple days....the condition of the seats, trim, carpet just floored me. One look at the odometer told the tale....only 71K miles on a 21 year old car :wtf: What I found was a 960 wagon which had been killed by what something like a tree which had fallen across the wagon roof over the rear tires. The roof was buckled so badly, I'm sure that is why they totaled the car.....but from the rear doors forward the car was almost perfect.

P-n-P karma had finally smiled on me! The front seats were the exact color of my camel leather interior, but MUCH better condition. I was also surprised to find the pass. side seat was power and fully adjustable! Well the wifey would appreciate that for sure, so I knew I would have to pull the wiring harness as well to give the shotgun seat full power.

Here is a comparison of my old seats (rear) to the 960 creampuff seats:

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Score!

Also, my drivers side carpet was pretty well trashed, to be expected in a 22 year old car that had a hard life. The creampuff 960 had fabulous carpets. Here you see the 960s vs. the originals:

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We know the 960 and 940 share a lot of parts & sheet metal. The 960 carpet is plush, with extra padding & foam. it is probably a 90% drop in to a 940, but the last 10% you have to "cut and fit" yourself ;-). In short, on either side of the center tunnel, the carpet must be trimmed to clear the 940 center tunnel side panels. Measure twice, and cut once! I used chalk to mark the trim lines:

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Last piece of 960 bling...the door pockets & carpet inserts! No point leaving it there to end up in a landfill.

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The pass. side power seat took some Engineering....the seat harness from the 960 would not snap into the 940 main harness. However, I took both the 940 and 960 seat harnesses apart and rebuilt with the 960 pass. side power wiring integrated. All that was need was a couple solder connections and some tiny watch maker screw drivers to take apart those factory electrical plugs.....but when the smoke cleared, the correct harness was constructed. The wifey will enjoy her heated & powered seat when she rides along. I know, I probably added 50 pounds to the car.....but this DD is a highway cruiser, not a drag car or autoXer. And all of us married guys know....when Mama ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy! :rofl:
 
Nice find on that interior and some real effort being put into the car to get it sorted. Great job. I bet it's real nice opening your door and seeing that minty fresh interior.
 
Nice find on that interior and some real effort being put into the car to get it sorted. Great job. I bet it's real nice opening your door and seeing that minty fresh interior.

Thank you sir. It is a joy to get into your DD, have heat/cool on demand, not have that "funk of 40,000 years" stench. The drivers seat is sweet ....Gma must have been a little woman.

Sure hope I can find a hood that shines like yours in that sig. picture...:drool:
 
... "funk of 40,000 years" stench.

Sure hope I can find a hood that shines like yours in that sig. picture...:drool:

Lol, nice Thriller reference. Thanks for the compliment.

So did that honda touchup paint match pretty well? My perfos have some nicks that need touched up and I was just thinking about getting some touch up paint. I love the Propuseseses, one of my favorite Volvo wheels. I think the spoke/face design is pretty much perfect. I don't think it's possible, but I'd love to rebarrel a set to RWD offests with some baller lips.
 
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It matches well enough...at 10 feet, nothing visible, but up close with the wheels washed, you can see it. I've got enough $$$ in the Propus 17x7.5 sets (I've got an entire spare set, that I will sell), that I won't refinish them. They look sweet, the right size for my Nitto Neo Gens, but the one drawback for sure is the inertia you must overcome. I do my "test driving" on a nearby almost empty industrial drive. When I first got the car running and dialed my Hallman MBC up to 16 PSI, the car felt faster.....running 16" Hydras. With no other change than the 17" Propus and the bigger/wider rubber, you could feel the loss in acceleration. If and when I take this car to the drags, I'll likely bolt on one of my old Hydra sets for the gain in acceleration.
 
Teaser - the M90H1 is coming.....

That's right.

The gearbox has been purchased, as has the LUK (Sachs) TDI clutch. Missing a couple pieces for the hydro clutch conversion, which I need to get on order.

Oh yes, I've got a LH2.4 speedo compatible 1041 axle assy. with OEM LSD (Thanks Billy780) from a creampuff '91 7 series M47 car. Combined gear ratios calculate out nicely for a DD.

Add to that Nathan's old 7/9 Kaplhenke subframe with solid heim joints. I do believe we will be able to put down whatever power the B230 squirter can make. :nod: Lots to do...just waiting for the HIGH HUMIDITY to set in so I can escape into the basement workshop :oogle:
 
Pretty exciting. There is a remote chance that I'll have some questions about the m90 swap. Slowly but surely you're building this thing up nicely.
 
Bumping my own thread ;-)

A lot going on in my life; just lost my Dad last Saturday (76 yrs. old). I always wanted to give old Dad a ride in the 940, just to show him what a turbo did to a 4 cylinder engine, but sadly it never happened. Carpe Diem friends, you never know......

Next installment on the DD will likely be the complete install of the Buchka-spark Wasted Spark system. I made a custom coil mount, repurposing a Range Rover mount of the same Bosch Motorsport coil that Karl recommends. After that, likely a new turbo, a Turbonetics T3/T04 hybrid along with a 3 inch DP and high flow cat.

The M90 kit is complete, but slumbering for now :zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz::zzz:

The old girl serves me well, to and from work everyday. That 16 PSI still puts a grin on my face. However I'm up to my arse with an EFI / Megasquirt II conversion to my 1970 Chevelle Malibu......hence the lack of progress in the last 10 months.
 
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