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Totally boring old station wagon project

AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!!1!!!!!
The stock engine is sufficient for many different setups.
The stock transmission is sufficient for many different setups.
The stock rear axle is sufficient for many different setups.
The stock radio is sufficient for many different setups.
The stock suspension is sufficient for many different setups.

But that's not why we're here is it?
No. No, it's not why we're here.



Ok, not really:-P

Yes, coolness factor.
But also: stopping power, fade resistance, and ability to modulate at or near traction limits.
Also also: dual master cylinders with balance bar allows for front/rear adjustability, dual masters eliminates the brake booster, and I've already designed and built the system once before.:cool:

And (IMO) Big wheels with small stock brakes just looks so trashy and dumb!:rofl::rofl:
(Which is not to say that I'm gonna be putting stupid huge wheels on this car... maybe 16's or 17's... but the brakes are going to FILL those wheels!


Are you okay? You don't seem stable. Many people put big brakes on relatively stock cars to find it wasn't to their liking. I'm not saying that will be your experience. You can improve braking buying a better pad. Please don't go over 17 for a wheel. I think this is the limit for a 240. Anything else will look like a donk. Culberro is offering a nice wildwood package that may fit your needs I'm not a purist, I dont drive stock cars. I just wondered if there was a purpose to your proposed list of modifications. Good luck with your project.
 
Are you okay? You don't seem stable. Many people put big brakes on relatively stock cars to find it wasn't to their liking. I'm not saying that will be your experience. You can improve braking buying a better pad. Please don't go over 17 for a wheel. I think this is the limit for a 240. Anything else will look like a donk. Culberro is offering a nice wildwood package that may fit your needs I'm not a purist, I dont drive stock cars. I just wondered if there was a purpose to your proposed list of modifications. Good luck with your project.
I deny everything.:-P


TBH, I don't think I need to go bigger than 16s for my purposes. But really, brakes are kinda far down the to-do list. Engine and gearbox are way higher priorities.
 
Are you okay? You don't seem stable.
I'd say that helps, really. There's a fine line between hobby and mental illness. Always keep 'em guessing which side of it you're on. :cool:

OP, I like your attitude.

PS. my Sweetie wants me to send her that Steve Jobs quote so she can share it with her poetry workshop this weekend...
 
Status upgrade: Daily Driver!

I sold my truck on Tuesday, and drove this car to work on Wednesday.
This morning, I replaced the whole PCV system, and fixed the oil leak at the back of the head.
Tomorrow, I'm going to licensing and getting this thing legal.

I have the stuff to do the front struts, ball joints, upper strut mounts, and TA bushings. That'll be happening in a few days.
And I'm on the hunt for stuff to fix up the drivers seat.
 
Sooo... Clearly, this is not a candidate for any sort of concours event.

I know the feeling.


Sooo... Clearly, this is not a candidate for any sort of concours event.
It's gonna serve multiple purposes:
  1. Get me and my tools to work in the morning and home at night
  2. Replace my truck so I can sell it for $1000000
  3. Provide driving enjoyment
  4. Provide attachment points for modified powertrain, suspension, and brakes components

Love your list. Definitely gotta have goals!


Like, maybe I could do that poseur-boy thing where I take all the paint off the hood and rinse it with saltwater or something?
Also, lots of stickers.
Definitely definitely gonna need more stickers.:lol:


Stickers = more BHp!

50027904171_ee86c591db_b.jpg
 
Front suspension day!

Today was front suspension day!
New top mounts, ball joints, and new-ish strut inserts.
My friend had these inverted 40mm Bilsteins laying on his garage floor, and those are supposed to be pretty cool I guess? Anyways, they're in my car now.

strut.jpg


I bought a pair of the Sachs "performance" inserts that I guess I have to return to Rock Auto if I decide I really like the Bilsteins.

I'm not sure yet. I was kind of enjoying that floaty 1970's American car feel that I had with the dead and leaking Boge inserts that were in there...:rofl:

And now I know for sure that the rear shocks are pretty dead too. Couldn't really tell before!
 
Oh also!
Now that this old girl has her new plates, she now has a name too.
Giselle the gazelle. Or something like that..
We're still working on it. :-D
 
Your mom called, she said "The shipment has arrived"

I'm moving my art studio next weekend, so in preparation, I want to get some parts on there that I recently received. Rear shocks and springs, brake hoses and a new j-block, new headlights, and various other bits...

Last night, I brought the floor jack and some fraction of my stone collection. So, several hundred pounds in the back end...

Giselle laden.jpg


And then unloaded this morning...

Giselle unladen.jpg


Today did not go as planned, or I would have started earlier, but I still have tomorrow.
I went over to a friends house to pick up a compressor, and ended up helping him clean his roof! :roll:
And then came home and put her up in the air to get a head start on tomorrow...

Giselle lifted.jpg
 
Nice jack stands!!!!

Hey , well sometimes things don't go as planned. I know the feeling. I've been working in my wagon 4 4 years almost to the day i bought it. Almost done.
take care .:rofl:DZ
 
You're making me appreciate how cushy my life is by virtue of having my own driveway. Your pic somehow reminded me of the pits at an old F1 track that I visited many years ago, Reims-Gueux. The pits are the area to the right of the white/red/white stripe in the pic. During the races the F1 cars would wiz past at 160-170MPH while the mechanics worked on the cars:
440px-Reimsstands.png


I'm not an overly cautious kind of person but I do want to ask, are those Harbor Freight jack stands? Us Volvoistas have to watch out for each other.

I hope all is going well today.
 
You're making me appreciate how cushy my life is by virtue of having my own driveway. Your pic somehow reminded me of the pits at an old F1 track that I visited many years ago, Reims-Gueux. The pits are the area to the right of the white/red/white stripe in the pic. During the races the F1 cars would wiz past at 160-170MPH while the mechanics worked on the cars:
440px-Reimsstands.png


I'm not an overly cautious kind of person but I do want to ask, are those Harbor Freight jack stands? Us Volvoistas have to watch out for each other.

I hope all is going well today.

It's kind of like that F1 track, but the speed limit is 25, and there's a stop sign right behind me in all those photos.:lol:
And no, those are 20-year-old Napa jackstands. They've held many a 240!
 
Totally laid in bed all morning, and got started at about noon. :oops:

I started with the IPD overload springs and Bilstein HD shocks in the back. I seriously thought about trying to remove the TA bushings (which are completely trashed), but I really don't have the tools for that, so they'll have to wait for another day.

Moved on to replacing the tie rods and rack boots. The tie rods don't have any flats on the joint end, but some big vice grips did the trick. Too bad I broke the shrink wrap on that fancy Harbor Freight Tie Rod Tool that ended up being completely useless.:roll:

And then the brakes.
The symptom was that I couldn't get anything out of the two upper bleed screws in the front. I took a shotgun approach and replaced the hoses and distribution block. Which turned out to be also completely pointless, because the real reason that I couldn't bleed the calipers was because the bleed ports were just clogged.:grrr:
And the brakes are fine now.:rofl:

Giselle raised.jpg


This was also my first chance to really take a look around on the underside.
Notes:
-The shell looks sound. The original undercoating was still intact on everything I worked on.
-Diff pinion seal is leaking.
-Underaxle exhaust is welded in.
-Those are some skinny sway bars!
-TA bushings are dead
-One of the control arm bushings is dead
-Bellhousing is wet with oil, maybe leftover from earlier leak, or from the trans cooler lines that got cut and spliced with rubber hose.
 
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I have a TAB tool I can loan you when you want to take a crack at them. I ended up replacing mine with the Kaplhenke variety, but I suspect even OEM would make a huge difference in how the car feels.
 
good luck with the overloads. They didn't treat me very nicely. felt very oversprung and the rear axle would hit the shock extension limiters going over big bumps or railroad tracks at speed. When I loaded them down with 9 people in the car, they acted much better.

If you're gonna be hauling stones in the back though, that sounds more reasonable
 
Nice stance.
That's the height of a wagon that's meant to do actual work. :nod:

I bought one years ago with lowering springs; the seller was really impressed and figured I ought to be, also. Imagine his surprise when I noticed a stack of springs in the corner of his garage, excitedly asked if those were the originals... he was more than happy to get rid of 'em to me, despite the puzzled stroke of his chin.

Raising the car back to normal was the very first "improvement" I got rid of. Even before the trip to the DMV.

To each his/her own.
 
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