Ex850R
I asked a trimmer thats known to be good and it was $300+ to do leather steering wheel. The stuff on a x70 wheel is vynl or made from the cheap shit they charge way too much for on lounge suits..Thats why i am going to an 850 wheel , good quality leather and thick rim.
AshDVS
ok, so I noticed tonight that the 'T' in my 'T5' badge is broken. I have a new, in packet 'T5-R' badge.
Would fitting this make me look as stupid as kids who put Chevrolet badges on Holdens??
Rob
probably, but do it anyway.
Ex850R
Keep it for the T-5R you will get one someday....
Can't believe how many you see on TB. Young kids with them , sometimes two in a family......Have only seen two!
AshDVS
Rear brake rotors arrived today. 240 shell is going tomorrow, so should have the V70 in and up in the air in the next couple of days.
Spac
Have you sussed out rebuilding the Ohlins?
Steve Cramer Products (the Ohlins importer) will be much less than useful for parts or info.
Most specialist suspension workshops will freak out and dribble nonsense about not being able to get parts.
I'd suggest doing them yourself or taking them to a motorbike suspension specialist. Somewhere like RaceTech in Sydney will be happy to supply you with new seal heads, based off dimensions alone (assuming you need seals, which you probably don't).
Finding the clips was a problem for Chris (V-speed). I'd try Murray Coote Automotive in Qld for them, if they're not something obvious.
AshDVS
I have a little.
There is a motorbike suspension guru in North Geelong whose details I should have tomorrow.
One of my speedway contacts run a shock and suspension business, I sent across an mms yesterday and he may take a look.
I've got the clips - I dont think I'd have bought them if they were not included. I checked them out a fair bit before I made the decision. Theres still a slight risk I may not be able to use them but I'm quite confident.
Spac
Cool. I should have known you'd be on top of it... :)
Despite what anyone might say, I'd be amazed if there are any significant dramas with rebuilding them, and nearly as amazed if they are not usable.
And it you don't/can't use them, I WANT THEM!! :)
AshDVS
The biggest issue with getting something like these serviced is that a lot of the places you might take them simply cant be bothered and would rather churn through the same stuff and invoice out multiples of X per service per day.
The key part for me was just double checking that I had all the parts.
I'd guess that they're end up costing 1.5x the price of a pair of new Koni Sports by the time they're ready to be used again. This is more than acceptable for coolness factor alone.
Ex850R
The very reason I pondered long and hard over the set Berry had on the shelf for years..... They came off a tuned C70 which had been hit on one wheel which broke lower part of damper so I wasn't keen. My genuine Volvo strut brace came off that car , the Öhlins remote reservoir's clamped to it , still has the marks on it!
AshDVS
f they'd bent a shaft or spilt the strut tube itself, or were missing anything I wouldn't have bothered.
Since the strut must be assembled with spring, seat, rubber perch, etc before regassing, I'll simply buy all new hardware and swap them in as a complete unit.
Suspension combination will be H&R springs with Ohlins up front and Bilstein B6 in the rear.
Ex850R
Nice , nice yellow bits and those remotes!!
So you can determine your own specs for the rebuild?
AshDVS
We should be able to, yes. It'd be nice to be able to pick my own spring rates too, but the car isn't getting coilovers so that isn't going to happen.
We have a communal set of Intercomp racing scales that I've had the 240 on a few times to help myself better theorise spring rate ideas.
The purpose of this little build is to demonstrate that these cars can be fantastic bang for your buck now and you can wind up with something very capable and that you can still enjoy on the road for not a huge amount of money.
Spac
It took a while for me to realise this, but it's now at the point where the older FWD Volvos offer FAR more bang for your buck than any of the RWDs.
The only RWDs that realistically go close are manual 740Ts, but (for cars in comparable condition), they're only marginally cheaper than the T5/T4s - and are (at least) as hard to find than manual FWDs...
I still love my RWD Volvos, but they are increasingly an emotional choice, rather than the logical one.
So I can fully relate to Ash's comments.
AshDVS
Bang for your buck is very good. handling-wise, they're 'ok' and with some work can be quite good.
For less than half the used price of an LS-LV focus XR5 you can have something that will measure up to it very well, be cheaper to insure and is fairly practical for both track days and sunday morning visits to Bunnings.
Tigabu
Wouldn't mind a V70R/850 T5 AWD and there's been plenty about at ridonkculous prices... C30 gets piques my interest too...
AshDVS
850 AWD is just a low pressure car, so not really a 'T5'. Essentially it's a V70XC before the V70XC came out. Quite unusual.
C30 or Focus XR5 will be the next project, but not really a bang-for-your-buck project just yet. Both very capable though.
Spac
There seems to be at least one decent sub-$10k manual turbo V50/S40 for sale per month. That always makes me sit up and pay attention - especially when they're T5s.
But then I remember how many cars I already own, and decide that I'd be happier with my cash sitting on the mortgage.
A_Volvo_Driver
I really love the 240's personally. A C30 would be my next choice :)
AshDVS
The 240 is my favourite ever Volvo - so typically and stereotypically a Volvo, excellent safety features for their time and were a formidable force in Group A racing for a couple of years despite looking awkward and being fast at the same time. Long production run made them cool without too many aesthetic changes over a nearly 20 year period.
My second favourite is an 850T5R. If I could come across a reasonable one that wasn't more than $10k, I'd buy it.
Next is C30/new S40 and V50.
