G-Tech 940
New member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2020
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
Welcome!
I bought this Volvo 940 Turbo sedan in late 2019. It is my first Volvo, my oldest ever car, and my first attempt at doing all of my own maintenance/overhaul.
(The "T" on the plate is a temp sticker, not a new driver sticker lol)
I have not driven it a whole lot, I did a test drive and have driven it about 40km since then, down to the car wash, gas station, small tests, etc. The plan was to work on it over the winter, get it safetied in the spring, and then drive it in the summer. Well one thing led to another, then corona hit. I have not done as much overhaul as I would have liked to, but I am moving at a slow but steady pace and learning a lot along the way!
Here are a couple pics that are the only evidence I have of how dirty the engine bay was when I bought it.
Over the winter I spent probably 100+ hours tinkering with the car. Mostly involved with cleaning.
I pulled out the seats and gave the interior a solid detail. Any trim piece that I could get out easily, came out and all the gunk was cleaned around the edges. The car was not a dirty car, but 27 years of slow buildup around trim pieces, under seats etc resulted in a lot to clean.
I bought this awesome keychain from a fellow in the UK who makes custom leather keychains. They are laser cut. He also did a custom design for me for my Subaru, only asking that I bought 1 extra as a fee.
I have also done the armrest mod. I bought an 850 cupholder armrest and bolted it to the 940 armrest. Well, actually, I didnt want to screw up the original, so I bought a tan one on eBay and painted it grey, then used that. It would have been the same price to just buy the 940 cupholder armrest though.
I also took this opportunity to install a front + rear dash cam. I only had to buy an extra wiring kit so that I can swap the cameras only from winter to summer car. (no pics of this)
I bought an NXS manual boost controller from eBay and a Electrical Boost Gauge from Prosport. I have not installed the MBC yet (want to swap the turbo first) but I did install the gauge in the dash. This was my preferred spot for a single gauge. I am happy with how it looks!
I only plan on raising the boost to 12-14 psi, do you think I would need a wideband AFR? I was under the impression that I would only need one if I was going higher, 15+.
I bought a set of 850 big brake brackets, as well as a pair of calipers. I remanufactured the calipers, and had a bit of fun with engine paint. These are not yet installed, I still need to buy some rotors and pads, and will be swapping the hoses at the same time. I need to reman the rears too!
There was some damage on the car when I bought it, it has clearly been in a bit of an accident, or more likely 2. The main damage was this front jacking point;
There is also some body damage, both rear quarters. I hammered them out from the inside the best I could, I was planning on eventually sanding, bondo-ing and painting once I have worked up the courage. Some of the car has been repainted before, and then the rear quarter damage happened on top, which is why I suspect 2 previous accidents.
(I removed both rear door trim pieces to replace the clips, and figured I might try to polish the paint first, I'm not sure yet)
I removed all of the trunk trim as part of my detailing. I took a pic of the fuel sender unit while I was back there. Not looking forward to that job one day, as I will need to replace all of those fittings, and probably hoses too. Thanks, salty roads!
I debadged the rear. Partially with the intent to polish the paint and replace, but I actually like the look and will probably put a single Moose in the center. Also swapped the tail lights for S90 white versions. I want to look into getting chromed orange bulbs though, as you can just see the orange bulbs inside.
I re-did the radial-rod bushings, front and rear, as well as sway bar end link bushings. Also blasted and painted the rods and the sway bar end links.
I spent quite a bit of time cleaning and detailing the engine bay. It is very far from where I would like it, but cleaning some (like getting the block bare enough to clean and paint) requires mechanical skill that I am still working towards.
My biggest detailing tasks still to do are to use Forever Black on the timing belt cover, clean the white paint spill on the air box, remove and clean (possibly paint) the valve cover, and apply a bunch of stickers I got from Mr. Barton (replacement engine serial sticker, distributor, coolant bottle, booster, etc)
I remanufactured and zinc plated the brake booster. Still needs it's Bendix sticker!
Disaster struck when I turned the car around in the garage. I was not used to the hood being near the door. I opened the garage door for more light, while the hood was up. A piece of the garage door caught the front of the hood:
It pulled the hood back, past 90 degrees, and bent the hood hinges. There was other minor damage to the cowel (I think a very tiny bend) and the wiper line "T" snapped. Thankfully, I think the hood itself survived unscathed. However I will need some new hinges so that the hood will sit flush again.... I'm such an idiot.
Giant box of parts that I have to work my way through. Including belts, new coolant tank, water pump, full set of gaskets (I have been convinced to not do HG, unless there is a verified problem, but I do want to do all the cam/valve cover seals/gaskets, all the manifold gaskets, trans filter and gasket, and oil pan gasket). New Distributor cap/rotor, plugs, plug cords, wheel spacers, oil filters, fuel filter (need 11.2mm ID fuel hose to make the switch) and more.
Also have some Oil feed and coolant hoses for the turbo. Waiting from Yoshi for the oil drain hose/fitting.
They will be going on the 15g turbo that I will be swapping in.
It has a straight flange, which ain't gonna work. Originally I was going to mod the downpipe, but I found a conical flange 15g that I will be using instead. Will have to reclock anyways, so I will open up both 15g and take the best looking cartridge. I would also like to get the cold side (compressor?) powdercoated. Both 15g turbos have allegedly been rebuilt very recently.
I bought this Volvo 940 Turbo sedan in late 2019. It is my first Volvo, my oldest ever car, and my first attempt at doing all of my own maintenance/overhaul.
(The "T" on the plate is a temp sticker, not a new driver sticker lol)
I have not driven it a whole lot, I did a test drive and have driven it about 40km since then, down to the car wash, gas station, small tests, etc. The plan was to work on it over the winter, get it safetied in the spring, and then drive it in the summer. Well one thing led to another, then corona hit. I have not done as much overhaul as I would have liked to, but I am moving at a slow but steady pace and learning a lot along the way!
Here are a couple pics that are the only evidence I have of how dirty the engine bay was when I bought it.
Over the winter I spent probably 100+ hours tinkering with the car. Mostly involved with cleaning.
I pulled out the seats and gave the interior a solid detail. Any trim piece that I could get out easily, came out and all the gunk was cleaned around the edges. The car was not a dirty car, but 27 years of slow buildup around trim pieces, under seats etc resulted in a lot to clean.
I bought this awesome keychain from a fellow in the UK who makes custom leather keychains. They are laser cut. He also did a custom design for me for my Subaru, only asking that I bought 1 extra as a fee.
I have also done the armrest mod. I bought an 850 cupholder armrest and bolted it to the 940 armrest. Well, actually, I didnt want to screw up the original, so I bought a tan one on eBay and painted it grey, then used that. It would have been the same price to just buy the 940 cupholder armrest though.
I also took this opportunity to install a front + rear dash cam. I only had to buy an extra wiring kit so that I can swap the cameras only from winter to summer car. (no pics of this)
I bought an NXS manual boost controller from eBay and a Electrical Boost Gauge from Prosport. I have not installed the MBC yet (want to swap the turbo first) but I did install the gauge in the dash. This was my preferred spot for a single gauge. I am happy with how it looks!
I only plan on raising the boost to 12-14 psi, do you think I would need a wideband AFR? I was under the impression that I would only need one if I was going higher, 15+.
I bought a set of 850 big brake brackets, as well as a pair of calipers. I remanufactured the calipers, and had a bit of fun with engine paint. These are not yet installed, I still need to buy some rotors and pads, and will be swapping the hoses at the same time. I need to reman the rears too!
There was some damage on the car when I bought it, it has clearly been in a bit of an accident, or more likely 2. The main damage was this front jacking point;
There is also some body damage, both rear quarters. I hammered them out from the inside the best I could, I was planning on eventually sanding, bondo-ing and painting once I have worked up the courage. Some of the car has been repainted before, and then the rear quarter damage happened on top, which is why I suspect 2 previous accidents.
(I removed both rear door trim pieces to replace the clips, and figured I might try to polish the paint first, I'm not sure yet)
I removed all of the trunk trim as part of my detailing. I took a pic of the fuel sender unit while I was back there. Not looking forward to that job one day, as I will need to replace all of those fittings, and probably hoses too. Thanks, salty roads!
I debadged the rear. Partially with the intent to polish the paint and replace, but I actually like the look and will probably put a single Moose in the center. Also swapped the tail lights for S90 white versions. I want to look into getting chromed orange bulbs though, as you can just see the orange bulbs inside.
I re-did the radial-rod bushings, front and rear, as well as sway bar end link bushings. Also blasted and painted the rods and the sway bar end links.
I spent quite a bit of time cleaning and detailing the engine bay. It is very far from where I would like it, but cleaning some (like getting the block bare enough to clean and paint) requires mechanical skill that I am still working towards.
My biggest detailing tasks still to do are to use Forever Black on the timing belt cover, clean the white paint spill on the air box, remove and clean (possibly paint) the valve cover, and apply a bunch of stickers I got from Mr. Barton (replacement engine serial sticker, distributor, coolant bottle, booster, etc)
I remanufactured and zinc plated the brake booster. Still needs it's Bendix sticker!
Disaster struck when I turned the car around in the garage. I was not used to the hood being near the door. I opened the garage door for more light, while the hood was up. A piece of the garage door caught the front of the hood:
It pulled the hood back, past 90 degrees, and bent the hood hinges. There was other minor damage to the cowel (I think a very tiny bend) and the wiper line "T" snapped. Thankfully, I think the hood itself survived unscathed. However I will need some new hinges so that the hood will sit flush again.... I'm such an idiot.
Giant box of parts that I have to work my way through. Including belts, new coolant tank, water pump, full set of gaskets (I have been convinced to not do HG, unless there is a verified problem, but I do want to do all the cam/valve cover seals/gaskets, all the manifold gaskets, trans filter and gasket, and oil pan gasket). New Distributor cap/rotor, plugs, plug cords, wheel spacers, oil filters, fuel filter (need 11.2mm ID fuel hose to make the switch) and more.
Also have some Oil feed and coolant hoses for the turbo. Waiting from Yoshi for the oil drain hose/fitting.
They will be going on the 15g turbo that I will be swapping in.
It has a straight flange, which ain't gonna work. Originally I was going to mod the downpipe, but I found a conical flange 15g that I will be using instead. Will have to reclock anyways, so I will open up both 15g and take the best looking cartridge. I would also like to get the cold side (compressor?) powdercoated. Both 15g turbos have allegedly been rebuilt very recently.