Damn Brad! Back at it again with the Volvo

[Swed Steed]

Hello again everyone! It's been a while since I've been active on here or even owned a Volvo. Doesn't mean I haven't been browsing the forum seeing whats still going on in the Volvo world. I'll give everyone a refresher on my original thread I posted.

*WARNING* This is a bit of a junkyard build at the moment!

This time around I recently purchased a 98 S70 GLT with around 146 on the odometer for $250 on Craigslist. The car was in pretty good condition and the interior was rip free (besides one of the door panels). The car just needed a head gasket.

I knew it just needed a head gasket but I decided it was a good idea to try and get a engine from the junkyard and keep the original as a project engine. The engine I found sounded like a good deal. Old couple owned with 98k on it so work on taking the engine out.

 

 

 

While swapping the engine I wanted to get a few upgrades while I was at it. Ordered some of the normal stuff like a timing belt, water pump, new plugs, ipd wires, distributor cap, rotor, and so on. Went to the junkyard and grabbed a set of NA cams, NA intake manifold, NA throttle body, 960 throttle plate, and Blue injectors. I even found a poly upper engine mount while I was there. I also had a few parts leftover from the last build like my EuroSport intake, IPD orange CBV spring, and a few other things.

The engine went in and started up. No check engine lights either which was a plus. I did have a horribly loud pulley when I started it so I sprayed it with some WD40 and let it sit for a couple days. Started the car a few days later and discovered the pulley noise was gone but another noise was still there. A slight rod knock was being hidden by the loud pulley. Guess getting a junkyard engine wasn't a good idea. Out goes this engine and the original is going but in along with all the parts I put in. This is where I'm at the moment with the car.

Decided to break the head on the original engine while I was removing the cams. Smart me, huh? So why not swap heads now. I LOOOOOOOOVE making more work for myself.... -__- 

The head is going to the machine shop tomorrow to get machined and cleaned.

 

Edited July 11, 2016 by Swed Steed

[TryingBe]

Sorry to hear about that junkyard engine. Hope it has a warranty.

[Swed Steed]

Unfortunately it's past 30 days. I bought it in May. I was a bit lax on working on the car.  I'm still debating on what to do with it.

[Swed Steed]

Progress is a little slow. Work has been taking a lot of time from me. Also needing a torque angle wrench to finish the head doesn't help.

Been building thelse bad Larry's at work.

 

Cylinder head back from the machine shop.

My plans for the car right now is to get it running good and straighten out the cosmetics first. Getting the car on coilovers and a nice set of wheels is top priority. I'm in contact with you guys who made me original widened steelies and we're going to be making another set. This time around I'm doing 17in steelies. Width is up for debate still. Most likely going to go with 17x8.5 (17x9 is the other option) in the front and 17x10 in the rear again. This weekend will bring more engine work.

[Swed Steed]

There has been a lot that's happened since I've last posted in this so here we go. The big update is the car is running and driving as of right now, but it's been a process. 

I got the head from my junk motor back from the machine shop and started putting everything back together. Eventually got everything hooked and ready to go. I go to start the car and come to find out that head was also junk. So I went out and picked up another head from the junkyard, and hoped that it was good. Found a set of 17in spare tires while I was there.

I moved to Maryland so I brought the car down on a uhaul trailer with all my crap and had to finish the car down here. Luckily I was able to use my work and work on the car inside. Brought the head I found to a local machine in Maryland and had them check it out. Got the head back and got everything back together and she ran beautifully.

I had a few problems at first with the coolant system (still kinda do) and then the battery kept dying and leaving my stranded. The battery ended up being some loose grounds and power wires. I may of rushed it a little bit when I put everything back together. 

Here's a few photos from H2o.

This December I hit a deer doing 30mph heading to the airport for my brothers wedding. Insurance totaled the car so I bought it back and started to fixed her up. 

Ended up buying some jewel headlights for cheap, a xc grille, and a new hood. Also bought of coilovers from ebay. Yes I bought the cheap brand but they've been pretty good so far.

Also picked up a side project. It's a 81 Datsun 720 pickup. Runs and drives just a little rough around the edges. Plans are still up in the air.

This past weekend I drove home for a quick visit to Mass and ended up cracking my oil pan driving through New York. I didn't know I cracked it until the next morning when the car died on the highway. It was only a intercooler pipe that popped off. A neighbor of mine let me borrow a jack and I swapped it out the oil pan with one from the junkyard.

 

 

[andyb5]

Damn man you've had some shit luck with this car. 

Any idea what you hit to crack the pan like that? The subframe is lower than the pan so that usually protects it pretty well...

[Swed Steed]

It was a patch job on the highway. Apparently New York likes to leave them raised instead of making them flat. It was rutted from the tires and still raises in the middle. I'm just glad it didn't put a hole in the pan

[Swed Steed]

Can anyone with coilovers chime in? Did you have to cut any coils off the back? I'm maxed out in the rear and even cut down the bump stop. It gives the car a bulldog stance and I want to even it out.