DVS V70T5 #2: THE SEQUEL - 1997 V70T5

AshDVS · 2020-12-22T05:45:40+00:00

The backstory -I've been chasing another P80 850/S70/V70 for a few months now and, with thanks to @iceton1975, I've managed to buy a 1997 V70T5 fro...

AshDVS

We're in the zone of the '5%' left to do now, so I've been getting through some more on it this week after hours.

Last night, it was trivial stuff - replace a foglight globe, tidy up the brake booster and it's manky flaking paint. I also re-routed the reservoir lines for the struts, it was worth the royal PITA as they just look cooler forward of the brace.

Tonight I washed and degreased the underbody, engine and trans and washed the engine bay.

I've got the RWC booked in for 30/1/2023 and the outstanding things are - Reset service light, wheel alignment, diagnose intermittent ABS/TRACS light (likely sensor on LF hub - will start there), fit the drivers side lower dash panel and give it a wash.

There's a few post RWC and reg items, but they can wait and they're not too important.

AshDVS

Who doesn't love a clean engine bay!

Could do with another once-over, but it's coming along.

GreenGL

Apologies if its off topic or been covered already in this thread, but did the DO88 intercooler make much of a difference to performance?

AshDVS

It did/does, particularly when ambient temp is very high, this is mostly due to increased core volume, but a little due to increase in pipework dia and more direct routing.

That said, fitment is not great, quality of the intercooler is good (but not great) and routing of pipework is 'ok' at best. It is definitely not intended to be used with the stock airbox, which is a bit silly, as the stock airbox (particularly in Australian, high ambient temps) is far more efficient than a pod with a shroud or similar.

To fit it, you're absolutely going to need a die grinder (or a dremel style tool), a jigsaw or recipro-saw is handy, as is a heat gun and a vocabulary full of swear words (mostly used when questioning the how it can be sold as a 'drop in' product). Even if you're not persistent with the stock airbox, it simply does not clear the upper radiator shrould plastic without cutting.

That aside, doing a PWR intercooler and having pipework made up is going to be more expensive - I just think I'd have been happier with the outcome.

AshDVS

The list is shorter. :)

I've reset the service light, fitted the drivers side lower dash panel. I think I've resolved the ABS/TRACS light intermittent issue - LF ABS sensor connector didnt quite feel all the way home so, disconnected LF and RF and cleaned connectors, tidied up the wiring sheath and reconnected. Need to do a little bit of driving to confirm.

WIth that done, it needs a bloody good clean and a wheel alignment. Wheel alignment might wait til post RWC.

AshDVS

I ended up spending part of the Australia Day long weekend tinkering with the V70 in preparation for its RWC inspection and Club Permit checkover yesterday.

While I had an unregistered vehicle permit, I got pulled over on saturday on the way to pop it up on the hoist and also again yesterday on my way Berrys in Mitcham to get the RWC and Club Permit check. All good though, the police were chatty and friendly, checked that everything was legit and sent me on my way.

Berrys were great - always good to chat with @iceton1975, Graeme, Wade, etc and they were really helpful with the Club Permit side of things and had everything I needed ready to go.

I figured that since I was in Melbourne anyway, I'd drop in on my folks on the way back to Geelong and head to the Vicroads office in Geelong and get the Club permit and plates sort.

Not a bad plan but it set me up for a pretty good driving tour and racking up some more kms on the V70 (not a bad thing).

I got to Vicroads in Geelong only to be told "We're understaffed and cannot process this for you today, you'll need to come back tomorrow". My 'tomorrow' was already fairly booked so wasnt going to happen. The ever helpful advice was that I could go back to a Melbourne or suburban branch. Cheers.

So, I figured I'd head to Colac. Colac is halfway-ish between Geelong and Warrnambool and the coffee stop on the way to the speedway (Which was a journey I'd just done on saturday).

Got to Colac and they were awesome and sorted me out in 10mins, processed everything, gave me my logbook and some plates and sent me on my way.

All in all, just under 400kms for the day. The car is good, AC could do with regassing, but otherwise very happy.

A couple of pics from the trek -

And finally with club permit plates on -

I'll pause a bit for a little while now on it and then start picking through the remaining to-do list.

AshDVS

Here's the travel map -

GeorgeVolvo

Fantastic Ash - great to see it on the road & it looks awesome ?

AshDVS

GeorgeVolvo
Fantastic Ash - great to see it on the road & it looks awesome ?

Thanks George, how's yours coming along?

Ex850R
Excellent!
I see you can get slimline plates for club now!

Sure can, but you cannot get one slimline and one standard plate without it being a 'special order' or a 'replacement plate set' which means you're waiting for them and they're super expensive (compared to the normal plate issue fee).

See -

https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/number-plates/club-permit-plate

I opted for standard sized plates, only because they fill out the plate area on the tailgate better than a slimline one would. The front always looks better with a slimline plate though.

Ex850R

Excellent!

I see you can get slimline plates for club now!

GeorgeVolvo

AshDVS
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/215099#Comment_215099
Thanks George, how's yours coming along?
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/215100#Comment_215100
Sure can, but you cannot get one slimline and one standard plate without it being a 'special order' or a 'replacement plate set' which means you're waiting for them and they're super expensive (compared to the normal plate issue fee).
See -
https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/registration/number-plates/club-permit-plate
I opted for standard sized plates, only because they fill out the plate area on the tailgate better than a slimline ones would. The front always looks better with a slimline plate though.

Hey mate, I ended up selling it. Got it to a decent standard & it drove well but I think I want one that’s from a better base. The dash was really creaky (typical, I know) but I’d love one that hasn’t been killed by the Aussie sun. My coupe creaks too which sucks although no problem

with the 850R.

Maybe when you sell yours ? hehe.

timbo

@AshDVS the wagon looks great, excellent work

AshDVS

timbo
@AshDVS the wagon looks great, excellent work

Thanks @timbo , very much appreciated.

GeorgeVolvo
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/215103#Comment_215103
Hey mate, I ended up selling it. Got it to a decent standard & it drove well but I think I want one that’s from a better base. The dash was really creaky (typical, I know) but I’d love one that hasn’t been killed by the Aussie sun. My coupe creaks too which sucks although no problem
with the 850R.
Maybe when you sell yours ? hehe.

Ah gotcha. They're getting hard to come by now and the one I have is not perfect by any means. I'm still unhappy with the paintwork on the roof, as I'd mentioned already and that'll likely get re-done. I'd like to find some better exterior trim pieces and need to retrim or replace the front seats.

The dash I have is decent and has minimal creaks and groans, eventually, they'll come along though I guess.

GeorgeVolvo

AshDVS
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/215104#Comment_215104
Thanks @timbo , very much appreciated.
https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/215106#Comment_215106
Ah gotcha. They're getting hard to come by now and the one I have is not perfect by any means. I'm still unhappy with the paintwork on the roof, as I'd mentioned already and that'll likely get re-done. I'd like to find some better exterior trim pieces and need to retrim or replace the front seats.
The dash I have is decent and has minimal creaks and groans, eventually, they'll come along though I guess.

It’s sounding, & more importantly looking, pretty great from what I can see!

Well done on all of your hard work mate & keeping another one on the road ?

AshDVS

Thanks @GeorgeVolvo , very much appreciated.

GreenGL

Nice to see some plates back on the car!

Might see it on the road or at a show sometime

AshDVS

We did our first logbooked trip in the V70 (now on a Vic club permit) over the weekend, out to the Queenscliff Hot Rod show.

While the V70 was definitely uninteresting to the demographic there, it was still good to get out and enjoy driving it after such a long time (over two years) off the road whilst working on it.

AshDVS

And, for reference, here's the starting point, back in December 2020 -

Ex850R

Good fun! It is a novelty to have a car for special times out on a trip.

Feels special.

Love the car you have built Ash, congratulations!

AshDVS

Absolutely - and thank you! - the intent is to just use it more, take some time out (and work less), get out to more 'Cars and coffee' events, etc.

The outstanding list is fairly short which is good and I'll get onto it again shortly (just got to get the current customer-driven workload down a bit).

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