RE: Shocks: Mine is an 88 245A: I had a bad experience w/Boge turbo gas on the rear. There was a constant jiggling sound. The shaft was a wee bit too large in dia. for the bolt. Others have reported a similar problem. Store gave me full credit towards KYB GR-2's which is an OE, not performance shock and I love them. Bilstein are great performance struts but when I had a set of those on my 87 244 M47, passengers complained the ride made them nauseous - too much motion but it cornered great. I also had a good experience with KYB on rear of a Dodge Grand Caravan. Good combination of ride and handling. So be aware of the trade-off between performance and comfort. I haven't tried this but I would be inclined to use OE level struts/shocks and add IPD sway bars and strut tower braces to improve cornering and reduce body roll. Lets see what others say.

Not to be out of order, but I have a factory tach, complete with wiring and face plate, which I may be willing to part with. It's the small type that fits in place of one of the blanks in the upper dash between the instrument cluster and the radio-upper vent area. The wiring is straightforward: 12V power, ground, light, connection to coil. Works great.

Love those 245's!

Thanks, Steve.

rusteebrick@hotmail.com

1) easy as pie
2) Virgo (240 turbo) or Draco (740 turbo) but make sure the seller spins the wheels to look for bends. More than 50% of the wheels out there are bent.
3) I'd get Bilsteins or Boge, if cost control is an issue. KYB has a reputation for providing a harsh rear with no rebound control. Not sure if that is current info still.

Personally I would scout junkyards for a front arm rest, Large tach/small clock combo (pre wired simple connections) Voltmeter from turbo , Also easy install And if your lucky Virgo whells off of 240 turbo . Also grab sway bars. From turbo car. Front sway from either turbo wagon or turbo sedan. And if you have a sedan, turbo sedan rear. Wagon can use Turbo wagon rear or stock N/a 240 rear. These are a cheap alternative to Ipd bars adn are a greagt Upgrade. With the virgo sway bars combo you will have a nice ride. Esp on 205/60/15 virgos. Sweet Good luck !

Here are some of your answers:
1: Yes, it is easy to add a small tach just to the left of the radio. You can find used factory tach kits on Ebay all the time. The wire behind the instrument cluster will need to be extended, can't recall the color of the wire for sure, but its not plugged into anything and might be yellow or yellow with a red tracer.

2: If I recall correctly, Volvo Virgo wheels are 15 inch and fit perfectly. I'm running Volvo Hydra 16 inch wheels with 205-50-16 rubber on our 92 245, simply an awsome combination both appearance and performance wise.

3: If you are staying with stock ride height springs, ignore the Bilsten HD struts and shocks. Standard Bilsteins and KYB GR-2s are close to identical, you would have to be a road racer to even detect the difference.

From there, if you are in to performance handling, consider IPD sway bars and sport springs. If the suspension bushings are shot, replace them first, especially if the trailing arm bushings are toast. Good struts/shocks/wheels/ and tires can't counteract hosed bushings.

Good luck

jorrell