Project Full Circle - 1993 245 refresh & upgrades

[odj]

I've always been a fan of build threads. I learned a ton watching/reading others builds over the years, and found that making my own created not only a cool bit of documentation around my own "builds," but also served as a way to share what I've learned with other people.

This thread is about a 93 245 (b230f, AW70) that kind of fell into my lap.

But first, some back story...

When I turned 16, my dad gave me his 86 245 (also an NA auto). By the time I got it it had well over 270k miles (where the odometer stopped). I beat the ever loving crap out of that car over the next year and a half - donuts in wet church parking lots, taking it mudding, top speed runs on the highway - and eventually sold it and bought a manual Civic from a friend's dad. The only pics I have of it are scans of old photos from when I swapped out the abused tan vinyl interior for a very clean chocolate brown vinyl interior I scored at the local pick 'n' pull.

I've owned 29 cars since then, including a lot of early watercooled VWs, but have always had a soft spot for 240s.

So when my buddy Mike mentioned that he was selling the 240 wagon he and his father had owned for 13 years, I kind of had to buy it. You know, full circle. (EDIT: I just found out Mike had a build thread here: https://turbobricks.com/index.php?threads/mikes-1993-volvo-240-wagon-project.294116)

The car came to me mostly stock, and free of rot. Some Dave Barton stickers and a set of Virgos were the only exterior mods, and the blue cloth interior was in great shape. It came with a full set of rubber floor mats, front headrest pads, a tach (and dash clock), a tan arm rest, and a fairly new Pioneer head unit. Oh, and some IPD sway bars and GT strut braces. (And probably some other stuff I'm forgetting)

I immediately fixed a few small things - replacing cracked sun visor clips and glove box knob, installing a missing dash blank, replacing the tan arm rest with a blue one, and installing some snow caps.

I put kiddo's car seat in and put the car into transport duty for a bit. She thinks it's cool.

The tires on the Virgos were aged out, and I didn't see anything I wanted in 15" so I did what any sane individual would do, and had a set of 16x8 ET20 wheels custom made for the car.

They fit well - plenty of clearance on the shocks.

But the crash structure thing on the rear calipers were way too close to the inner lip than I was comfortable with. I ended up cutting them down.

Tire rack had a hell of a sale on some decent performance all seasons, so I snagged those. Had a local shop mount the tires, and regretted that. The tech dented each of the wheels with the vale stem mounting tool. So much for trying to throw them some business...

 

[odj]

I couldn't just throw the wheels on the car as-is, so I set out to do a somewhat-cost-conscious suspension upgrade:

Cut springs (2 coils front, 1.5 rear)
Koni Sport (yellow) shocks f&r
BNE panhard bar, torque arms, and lower trailing arm bearings
Powerflex purple poly everywhere else
New tie rod ends
New ball joints
New front strut mounts
Trimmed bump stops
New sway bar end links

Some of the bushings put up a FIGHT.

But overall I'm really happy with the upgrade. It rides smoothly as it did stock, but is more direct and controlled. Plenty of clearance for real world driving, but it still looks a lot better. I definitely have more noise from the rear diff (think it's in need of a rebuild), and the rear tires rub on the outer fender lip ever so slightly.

I took it to a local Volvo shop and had them recharge the AC and look for leaks, troubleshoot a running issue (turned out to be a bad crank position sensor), and do an alignment. They found a leaking hose from the tank to fuel pump, so I had them replace that while they were in there.

I think they just did a quick toe adjustment, so I'll get a "real" alignment done later. Was a bit annoyed to find one steering rack boot pulled off and the other one twisted. This is why I work on my own cars...

The rust-colored water everywhere is from the water pump leaking pretty profusely, so it was time to take it off the road again for some more work...

 

[odj]

While I had it in the shop I added some LiquiMoly radiator cleaner to try and clean out some of the rust in the coolant system, and addressed a couple of other things like replacing the non-existent shifter bushings.

And re-pressing one of the sphericals. I think I was trying to center it and hadn't got it in there just right.

I also rebuilt the mirror switches around this time, tightened a flange nut on one of the front struts that'd come a little loose and was rattling, and checked out the diff fluid which was surprisingly fresh and clean.

Shortly thereafter, my dad's truck broke down while he and my mom were on their way back from the airport, so I lent him the Volvo with the warning that the cooling system was leaking a bit. He had a great time with the car, but found the tire rubbing in the rear (loaded up with luggage) disconcerting. He's not a lowered car veteran like some of us

When I got it back it was up on the lift for some more work.

I replaced the timing belt and tensioner, all of the front engine seals, water pump, thermostat, coolant hoses (large ones with silicone), upper and lower timing covers, ...

... several worn out accessory bushings were replaced with YoshiFab aluminum units. Had to space the alternator ones with a couple of washers.

Of course since I was replacing the timing belt I decided to pick up a B cam and slap that in, install/swap cam bucket shims accordingly...

... and pick up a pair of NA ecu chips from Redblockpowered, which required soldering in a daughterboard in my EZK.

I had a hell of a time getting the crank seal in straight, so I whipped up a quick model in Fusion 360 and 3d printed a tool. It's up on the 3d parts thread if you need one.

It worked a treat.

Somehow I lost the damn water pump studs, and had already pitched the old pump. Fortunately I found some longer M6x1 studs in my stash o' bolts and cut them down.

I removed all of the hot air intake bits and printed up a cap for the airbox I found online (thanks!). I need to go back and print it in something other than PLA, which is part of the reason I used pink... so I'd remember.

A fresh air filter went in before closing it up.

I replaced the oil filter, filled with Driven break-in oil, and vacuum filled the cooling system with a mix of distilled water and Thermocure, the latter of which is supposed to break down the rust so I can flush it out of the system.

All buttoned up. The reservoir and cap are new, and I painted the bracket while I had it out.

 

[odj]

I kept smacking my thighs on the steering wheel, so I installed a Momo wheel I've had for ages along with a Dave Barton horn button to match the fenders. It's a Marine wheel, so the grip is molded rubber. It matches the feel of the factory one really well. I had to install a non-SRS contact ring, and still need to yank the old SRS computer and such.

I installed new YoshiFab HD motor mounts, which required drilling one of the bracket pairs...

... as well as the trans mount, which was replaced with an OEM part.

I installed some YoshiFab subframe braces, too.

Last night, I wrapped up the brakes. I replaced all three hoses (which put up a fight - I had to use fire and vise grips on a few connections), and bled the system with ATE 200.

This weekend should have some above-freezing weather, so I'm going to see if it starts up and runs and holds all its fluids, and then hopefully put a few miles on it.

 

[JCol91]

Beautiful wagon! And well documented progress too, looking forward for more

 

[odj]

Beautiful wagon! And well documented progress too, looking forward for more

Thanks! Plenty more to come

 

[mike.volvo.240]

Jackson, I'm so glad this car made it into the right hands. You've done everything I've ever wanted to do with it, and more. My dad is also pleased it's getting so much well-deserved attention.

Here's the build thread I started for this car in 2014: https://turbobricks.com/index.php?threads/mikes-1993-volvo-240-wagon-project.294116/

 

[nibroc]

good pics also

 

[mike.volvo.240]

... and here's a little something I put together before passing the keys to Jackson: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/10/29/the-nostalgia-wagon/

I miss it dearly.

 

[odj]

Jackson, I'm so glad this car made it into the right hands. You've done everything I've ever wanted to do with it, and more. My dad is also pleased it's getting so much well-deserved attention.

Here's the build thread I started for this car in 2014: https://turbobricks.com/index.php?threads/mikes-1993-volvo-240-wagon-project.294116/

... and here's a little something I put together before passing the keys to Jackson: https://bimmerlife.com/2023/10/29/the-nostalgia-wagon/

I miss it dearly.

Mike! Thanks for posting those. I just read through your thread. Funny how a 10 year old head unit seems "modern" to me hahahaha.

And you know where it lives. You'll need to drive it next time you come by, provided I can get it off the lift by then!

good pics also

Thanks! Five year old iPhone FTW

 

[Lebowski]

Well done. Love a clean white wagon on meshies!

Any plans for an e-code swap?

 

[odj]

Well done. Love a clean white wagon on meshies!

Any plans for an e-code swap?

Thanks!

Yes, I have a full e-code setup ready to go in, but I need to get it off the lift and out of the shop ASAP so I can do some maintenance and prep on the track car.

 

[odj]

Last night, I had a little free time between dinner and kiddo's bedtime, so I figured I'd make quick work of replacing the failing right rear hatch hinge.

I noted that all of the wires through the hinge were split...

...so I decided to run new wire while I was in there.

I didn't take many photos of the process, but I used crimp connectors and heat shrink and tucked the excess length nicely up in the hatch.

The old hinge was in sorry shape.

This job was unexpectedly way more of a pain in the ass than I expected, and at some point I had to take a break to get kiddo to bed before heading back out to the shop.

I had to adjust the ground wire's route through the hinge, and it took a while to get the hinge installed with the gasket properly seated around (and not under) the hinge. I still didn't do a perfect job despite spending some time on it. Oh well.

I made my life a little harder by using 14ga automotive wire. I think it would have gone quicker had I used 16ga, which appears to be what was in there. Also, that black sticky snot stuff is awful and gets everywhere, and sticks to everything (including beards).

The hatch opens and closes so much more easily now. It's great. Glad I did it, and I hope I don't have to do it again.

 

[odj]

After the hatch hinge replacement, I was all riled up, so I figured I'd start swapping in the e-codes and see how far I could get.

Getting the lights out was a PITA - several nuts were fused to the headlight studs and ended up spinning the studs.

I got the first light out by yanking and prying, which I regret since it kinda mangled up the core support.

I'll have to go back in and paint that later, maybe see if I can straighten it out.

The second headlight had two spun studs. I didn't want to cut down the studs since it was after midnight and my shop is somewhat close to the neighbor's house. I tried cutting open the front of the light to see if I could hold the studs in place or drill them out, but even that made a bunch of noise, so I decided to focus on the wiring and get back to the headlight in the morning.

The headlights I got are the "nice" ones from Skandix. I tried to get OEM corners, but could only snag one, and grabbed a pair of TYC's.

I would have run an OEM on one side and a TYC on the other, but the colors were off enough, so TYC on both corners it is...

I bought all the bits to relay the lights from Daniel Stern, as well as some NLA light bulbs he recommended.

Apparently these were barn finds

I was a bit annoyed to find that both headlights had cracks in the upper guides where the corner lamps attach.

But anyways... wiring...

I used the factory distribution point on the left fender to power both relays, and mounted the same bracket.

I don't have a lot of photos of making the harness, but I used some nice quality 14ga, and loomed them in techflex for the long run in front of the rad.

The relays are fed by the left headlight plug, and both headlights are grounded to the same point where their respective turn signals are grounded.

The "chrome" headlight trim mostly transfers to the euro headlights, with the exception of the bit that goes over the headlight itself. You have to trim one of the mount points off...

...and then notch the other end so it clears the headlight.

Once it's on there it fits fine though.

There's also a little bit of black plastic faring that slides in behind the grille that moves over.

I started to run out of steam just before 3am, and called it a night.

 

[odj]

I got back out to the shop again late this morning, and buttoned up the headlight install.

To my great surprise, everything worked.

With the headlights out of the way I decided to trim the rear arches where they'd been rubbing the tires.

Gotta don the safety gear. And readers so I can see what the F I'm doing up close.

On both sides I cut about 1/8" out of the arch from the mud flap to about noon.

I'm going to go back and hit it with some paint once I'm sure that's enough clearance.

With that done I decided to see if I could fire it up and see what happened.

And, well, here's how it went:

Video TLDR: It started right up, ran smoothly, and the only thing I had to address was a small dribble of coolant from the slightly loose lower rad hose.

Soon as I got the leak sorted, I did some wagon stuff.

I took my full oil jug to the recycler, and picked up a small sheet of plywood from Home Depot, and just drove it around a bit.

It drives so much better now! It's not like the power is earth shattering, but the power band is much more usable, and the car no longer feels like a wheezy burden to navigate through traffic.

I'm really happy with the work, and I think the car looks great too. Sure there are still some details to follow up on, on top of pre-existing issues, but the car's in a good place now.

It's back in the shop now - I am going to change the oil and drain/refill the coolant, then it's back to regular operation.

 

[Lebowski]

Fantastic!!
The e-codes complete the look. That is a perfect wagon. Late model with single stage paint, sitting right and clean. Keep that one.

 

[odj]

Fantastic!!
The e-codes complete the look. That is a perfect wagon. Late model with single stage paint, sitting right and clean. Keep that one.

Thanks!

I'm really happy with how it's coming along. And I do plan to keep it.

I've been reading your 242 thread, btw. What cool build.

 

[oldschoolvolvo]

very nice wagon! looks like a great runner.

 

[Nagrom]

That's a noice wagon.

 

[Scaramanga]

Nice wagon and well done! That amount of work would take me years