"Bruce" a 1993 244 Rally Project

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

An alternative title for this thread could be: "Turbobricks helps a complete retard with zero experience build a rally car".

I have very little wrench time. I've never been involved in motorsports. I just slowly but surely gained a love for Stage Rally, specifically 1970s-1980s boxy/snowplow RWD stuff. DiRT Rally games are largely to blame for this. Over time I found myself researching real rally driving techniques to improve my skills/try not to die, in the game.

At some point I discovered the plethora of Volvo's being rallied in Europe and became obsessed with their reputation...I bought a 240 for my daily driver "Gretta the Grocery Getter". This would set the stage for what type of car I would choose to rally...

After spectating Oregon Trail Rally for a handful of years I decided I wanted to get into it. So, I'm volunteering for the upcoming Olympus Rally this year. And hopefully after that, I will be CoDriver for Dave Ford in his MkII Ford Escort at Oregon Trail Rally.

As my car starts coming together I will try some Rally Cross events to practice without the risk of flying off a cliff or into a river. Eventually the goal is to do Stage Rally when I feel confident enough. Anyways, on to the car:

The Goals:
- 2600lb curb weight or less maybe?
- high compression b230f NA build, 150ish hp
- ARA/CRC Stage Rally safety spec
- don't break the bank
- don't half ass **** (there is no deadline)
- try not to f*** up

How to get there (not really in order):
- Prep (gut/scrape/weight reduction)
- Cage (in contact with Al Kun)
- Stitch Welding/Reinforcing
- Lexan Windows???
- Delete ABS/EGR uneeded **** ect
- Shave zie Head (hire someone)
- Port & Polish (hire someone)
- K cam
- Intake/Exhaust upgrade
- T5 Tranny swap-a-rino
- LSD 1030 w/Dana 30 (4.88)
- LH2.4 tuning
- Electric Fan
- Steering Quickener *or* Fast Rack
- MOMO wheel like everyone else
- Suspension Upgrade (not sure what yet?)
- Upgrade Sway Bars
- Brake Upgrade (replace OEM at minimum!)
- Custom Skid Plate
- Rally spec Rims & Tires
- Stock Handbrake (YOLO?)
- Seats/Safety Equipment
- Fire Suppression System
- Personal Cooling System (yeah, you heard me!)
- Exterior & Interior lights
- Roof Scoops (mmm, luxury)
- a bunch of electronic **** that I have no idea about
- a bunch of interior **** in general that I have no idea bout (a Tachometer would be nice lol)
- annnd a bunch of **** that I don't even know that I have to do yet, right? yeah.
- beer, rage, lots of swearing

---

Some of the list above hopefully implies I've done a little bit of research on this topic already. But does knowing what component to buy/use mean I know how to properly install or maintain it? nope.

I'm open to any suggestions, advice, tips or constructive criticism. But don't mention Ken Block or Subaru - it is forbidden in this thread.



Also, John V is my spirit animal, no homo.

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

Everyone, meet Bruce the Brick. The previous owners said the people they bought the car from called it Bruce. I told them I would honor this tradition.







Bruce had some pretty "bitchin" JBL aftermarket speakers, so I carefully set then in my daily 240 Gretta for a later day.



Not bad in the Redblock Mileage department.



Bruce is missing various Trim bits as you can see.



At some point mobbing up and down our farm road I realized Bruce didn't even have the stock "skid plate" if you wanna call it that... so I uhh stopped doing that.



These photos were taken by the owner and are from the FB market listing. They fail to show the REAL condition of the interior...sure seats and door panels are in decent shape...but the trim was cracked, smashed or non-existent in many places.

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

Week 1: guttin' Bruce!



First progress felt good! Getting in some wrench time and finding out how the interior bits are will really help when I need to work on my other 240s.



Bruce had various custom/janky wiring jobs I discovered... lots of coins... hairpins... trash...





I found this inside the ducting that runs under the front seats... level 90 weight reduction!!! HELL YEAH.



The reality of building a Rally Car sets in...



Scrape, scrape, scrape. I feel like I'm pissing up hill. I know dry ice is the go-to method but ("but" implies I'm half assing it already, DAMMIT!) I saw some people on Youtube using freeze-off / freeze spray or whatever. I picked up a couple cans...it just shot normal penetrating brown **** it seemed like. It didn't get white/cold and easily smash/rip off like on dem youtubes... I reckon there has to be a way to get the verrry last bit of stickyness off right? I mean, I did the back section about as good as it can get via scrapping by hand today. I should note I only used a bit of that CRC freezeoff to test.



It was raining off and on today. So whenever I shut the doors in the car the fumes from that **** popped some braincells... this accidental photo describes that feeling... pretty artsy, I know.

[carver]

Sell the '93 AC stuff! Someone on here will probably buy it as it's the best year.

[propav8r]

Originally Posted by carver

Sell the '93 AC stuff! Someone on here will probably buy it as it's the best year.

Agreed, if you haven't tossed it already, it's worth a few bucks.

[Harlard]

Originally Posted by carver

Sell the '93 AC stuff! Someone on here will probably buy it as it's the best year.

Originally Posted by propav8r

Agreed, if you haven't tossed it already, it's worth a few bucks.

I hoard it thanks

[mblue240]

Originally Posted by carver

Sell the '93 AC stuff! Someone on here will probably buy it as it's the best year.

I came in just to say I want all the AC parts!

As for the sound deadner get an oscillating tool with scraper blade. I had decent luck hitting the tar with a torch (don't let it catch fire or bubble), then scrapping it quick.

[h20ham]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/They..._Call_Me_Bruce

[Redwood Chair]

I came in to say I want all the AC parts!

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

I might be selling some of the bits from Bruce. I won't throw anything away that I or another 240 bro might want.

But I will be keeping the AC stuff.

I can hook someone up with those super bitchin' rims though.

[2turbotoys]

Those rims. I mean...idk what to say. Are they a factory bolt pattern? I don't want anything to do with them but just curious.

Good luck with the build!

[culberro]

Originally Posted by Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast

I might be selling some of the bits from Bruce. I won't throw anything away that I or another 240 bro might want.

But I will be keeping the AC stuff.

I can hook someone up with those super bitchin' rims though.

Keep those rimpz for rally or recce spares. You will be surprised at the speed at which wheels become a consumable at fast/rough rallies.
We've gone through 3ish full sets of 10-spoke OEM wheels before switching to rally specific wheels. Sorry fam.

[holtzboy]

What are your plans with the door panels?

[redblockpowered]

Sounds like you have more of a plan than most do around here. Not sure what your class rules allow, but we got our race wagon down to 2500 lbs with half a tank of gas with a cage, so getting there with a 244 should not be too hard.

K cam and more compression is probably enough for 150 on the motor. Certainly enough to have fun in the dirt, especially with a decent axle ratio.

Probably just do whatever Culberro says to do, honestly.

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by culberro

Keep those rimpz for rally or recce spares. You will be surprised at the speed at which wheels become a consumable at fast/rough rallies.
We've gone through 3ish full sets of 10-spoke OEM wheels before switching to rally specific wheels. Sorry fam.

Rodger. By the time I do a Stage Rally there will be Rally spec rims and tires on it... maybe I'll bang on some OEM for Rally Cross/gittin gud.

Originally Posted by holtzboy

What are your plans with the door panels?

Will trade for T5 tranny haha... I'm trying not to beat them up. I will take pics for you later.

Originally Posted by redblockpowered

Sounds like you have more of a plan than most do around here. Not sure what your class rules allow, but we got our race wagon down to 2500 lbs with half a tank of gas with a cage, so getting there with a 244 should not be too hard.

K cam and more compression is probably enough for 150 on the motor. Certainly enough to have fun in the dirt, especially with a decent axle ratio.

Probably just do whatever Culberro says to do, honestly.

My weight goal is achievable based on what others have gotten down to. I'll have some "extra" weight that some people will not be a fan of or understand but whatever... and yeah I already owe Culberro a six pack based on the amount he's helping me learn.

...heading to Euginer to pick up some dry ice because I'm tired of scraping. The roof should be interesting... whatever, off to work!

[culberro]

Originally Posted by redblockpowered

Not sure what your class rules allow, but we got our race wagon down to 2500 lbs with half a tank of gas with a cage, so getting there with a 244 should not be too hard.

It's somewhat difficult to get a 240 down to that weight when ready for rally.
Spare tire, extra seat and safety gear, 1/4" aluminum skid plates, reinforcements on the chassis, tow straps, tools, a few spare parts in the car.

I think we're down to 2950 with a stock 242 and a bit of interior metal removal. That's ready to race with a full tank of fuel btw.

The only cars I know that are down in that weight are either MK2 Escorts, Starlets, or cars that have been completely rebuilt with thinner sheetmetal in the non-critical areas and lots of thin composite panels.
For example, the lightest rally e36 M3 I know if is ~2500lbs. Full lexan, flimsy composite hood, lightest axles and diff, lightest wheels available, every single piece of extra material removed from the car, lightweight tool kit, etc.

[patrickstar]

Originally Posted by Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast

Week 1: guttin' Bruce!


Scrape, scrape, scrape. I feel like I'm pissing up hill. I know dry ice is the go-to method but ("but" implies I'm half assing it already, DAMMIT!) I saw some people on Youtube using freeze-off / freeze spray or whatever. I picked up a couple cans...it just shot normal penetrating brown **** it seemed like. It didn't get white/cold and easily smash/rip off like on dem youtubes... I reckon there has to be a way to get the verrry last bit of stickyness off right? I mean, I did the back section about as good as it can get via scrapping by hand today. I should note I only used a bit of that CRC freezeoff to test.

3M 048011-18730 3M-18730 Roloc Bristle Disc Grade-50, Size-2, Green

These seemed to work well (seen in video) to remove the leftover residue. If you want to go the turbobricks route, sandpaper or an angle grinder will get it off

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

Thanks Patrick, I'll check it out.

So I mixed dry ice and alcohol just as I saw people do on youtube. In those videos they just barely hammered on the stuff and it came cracking off in big chunks...yeah not the case with ye ol Volvskie...





I originally planned to do all the flat stuff in the car that needed to be removed... yeah 90 hours later and I only did the big one in the trunk... the only positive aspect of the ice/alcohol mixture was that I didn't have to deal with the annoying stickyness like I had previously.

I still have some dry ice I can play with tomorrow. But I think I'll try a heat gun on a different panel too. Some progress is better than none I guess... I forsee power tools in my future.

[2turbotoys]

I love those green pad things, they kick ass. Unless it is pretty thick sticky stuff.

Dry ice does work way better than the cans though, you can chip and shatter off the sticky stuff. Heat guns take a long time and scrape off the paint if you go too long on it.

Either way it isn't a great time..

Edit: where you are at, I would give something like Goo Gone a shot. Pour a puddle at and walk away for an hour, then see if it wipes off.

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by 2turbotoys

I love those green pad things, they kick ass. Unless it is pretty thick sticky stuff.

Dry ice does work way better than the cans though, you can chip and shatter off the sticky stuff. Heat guns take a long time and scrape off the paint if you go too long on it.

Either way it isn't a great time..

Edit: where you are at, I would give something like Goo Gone a shot. Pour a puddle at and walk away for an hour, then see if it wipes off.

I hand scraped the other day with no dry ice. Using dry ice barely barely improved things...not worth the money and drive imo (there was no shattering or chipping, just a mess). It worked great on YT for people on random cars. Maybe Albertsons has weak ass dry ice. I don't know. Maybe the trunk was the "worst" spot and my initial dry ice impressions are incorrect. Maybe the Swedish tar is as indestructible as the cars reputation.

I'm way past the point of caring about to avoid scraping some paint off. I was going ape **** on this stuff.

[mblue240]

https://www.harborfreight.com/oscill...ool-62866.html

Get that. Do all the work right away, so if you burn the tool up you can replace it under warranty. I did the flat rear passenger seat area in about 10 or 15 minutes.

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by mblue240

https://www.harborfreight.com/oscill...ool-62866.html

Get that. Do all the work right away, so if you burn the tool up you can replace it under warranty. I did the flat rear passenger seat area in about 10 or 15 minutes.

Cool. I did a few more sections today by hand. Took like uhhh 45 minutes each. I guess I got target fixation... I just kept taking my scraper to the grinder. I really should go buy some help tomorrow.

[Ansel+]

Originally Posted by culberro

We've gone through 3ish full sets of 10-spoke OEM wheels before switching to rally specific wheels.

I am currently at this point. Only destroyed Virgos so far

[Volvo_Gravy_Enthusiast]

Alright, a heatgun worked absolute wonders today. I still have some stuff to remove below the dash and on the floor which should be easy with the heatgun. But the black stuff on the roof is brutal. That sticky glue is not gonna do well with a heatgun.

[2turbotoys]

If you really want to get **** off in a hurry, use MEK. It will remove everything. Wipe it on, then wipe it right off again unless you want bare metal showing. It removes goo like nothing else.

Toxic stink, really bad for your skin, highly flammable, etc, so take precautions. But pour a puddle, let it sit, and everything except metal is coming off.