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MY wife's '91 940T is on its last legs (she didn't quite get it all the way into park, it rolled out of the garage, down the hill and into a tree). This sprung the unibody and bounced enough stuff around that systems are starting to fail all over the place. So she is getting an upgrade and I'm trying to decide if I should keep the '91 as a parts car. My other Volvo ride is a '94 945T, I know the engine block has various upgrades in the '94 that the '91 doesn't have (oil squirters for one) but I was wondering mostly about the top end. Are there any differences in the intake system that would negate my using parts from the '91 on the '94? Are the turbos different? Head? etc? Thanks for any input/opinions.
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Bob Kraushaar '94 945T, '91 940T, '88 240, '94 F-150, '68 Shelby GT-500 KR
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posted by
someone claiming to be keefus
on
Mon Nov 4 05:54 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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I think there are enough differences in the major stuff under the hood (block, head, turbos, etc.) that you wouldn't be able to cleanly replace these items on your 94.
What you might want to consider is keeping some of the important interior items like seats, door panels, etc. (assuming color match, of course), as these usually wear out before the drivetrain does. You might also want to pull the engine and tranny, and sell them. Alloy wheels are also worth saving if they are in good shape. There is a pretty active market for these items, and you could make some extra $$$. ;-)
Otherwise, I'd just dump the car. Once the unibody is bent or majorly deformed, the car is toast.
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I don't want to seem too harsh, but comments like "Once the unibody is bent or majorly deformed, the car is toast" perpetuate myths. Worse yet, they always come from someone who clearly has very limited knowledge of frame and body structures, mostly relying on old Uncle Billy, who between mouthfuls of tobacco, said "that 'un will never be the same again."
The whole idea of a unit body is that it can 1) be more crash-absorbent than a body-on-frame car, and 2) can be more easily straightened, with better results. They came around as a cost saving and weight saving measure. If you take a normal box frame rail, it isn't particularly strong at all. But when you join it together with the rest of the car, it's suddenly VERY strong. But it is still light. When a unit frame bends, it bends at predictable points. When a rail frame bends, it can actually destroy the rest of the car rather than saving it.
While sidesway damage on front ends is common and easy to cause, unit body structure have virtually put to bed diamond-bend damage on frame vehicles. THOSE are the problem cars after a big accident, because often the frame just will NOT come back the way it should. Nor is pulling an entire frame vehicle straight totally effective, should it actually be damaged that badly.
Unit frames tend to manifest worse damage, but they are much more correctable than are frame vehicles. Also the unit frames tend to transmit less impact and damage across vehicle structures than do frame vehicles. While light hits sometimes take on the look of something really serious, they are anything but.
Some peoples' imaginations run wild once their car gets tweaked. Suddenly there are all sorts of failures that "wouldn't have happened" otherwise. Occasionally there is a problem that can be realistically attributed to a crash, but often there are few failures. Also most people won't want to believe that their car is just falling apart; it's much better to be able to say that it's falling apart because of something OUTSIDE of anything they could have ever possibly done.
Believe me, I've seen and worked on enough wrecks and fixes to know what the deal is.
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1992 940 wagon, low miles
as well as others.
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Chris is right, however, my particular situation IS toasty. The car has been stretched, twisted, poked, prodded, etc. but to no avail. The left rear pillar is bulged out 2-3 inches and will not go back no matter what the body shop tries. The suspension cannot be aligned. Soooooooo, part it out or junk it?
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Bob Kraushaar '94 945T, '91 940T, '88 240, '94 F-150, '68 Shelby GT-500 KR
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Uhhhh...
After my little rant, I have to back up a little and say that the car IS definitely not worth saving! I have seen a few cases where the damage to a car is so bizarre that they either have to chop a piece off and straighten it, then weld a new piece in, or it eventually just gets given up on.
Either way, if you have the room, you could part the thing out. I would save everything that you can from the car. If you can get the trans out, what the hell.. might as well save it. Pull the whole head/exhaust manifold/turbo. Take the intake pieces as well if you can. The 94 lower end will probably run until the next century, so I'd say if you haul the 91 head out you should be in good shape.
Plus, think of the relays, etc. that you can scavenge. I have fun just plucking light bulbs and switches and that kind of thing.
Break something? Just go into the parts bin. You have one there.
Take the airbox (they bust easily where the clips go). The intercooler hoses (big, BIG plus) and whatever else you can find. Swipe whatever you have space for, and then scavenge 4 spare tires that fit the car and have it hauled for scrap. You might have to pay (scrap prices are horrible right now) but it would be $50 or less usually. I say keep the parts; you never know what you might need. There will be a small difference here or there, but not that much. As far as I know, the 91 head will work fine on the 95, if it was necessary. I don't know about the turbos, but saving the one from the 91 couldn't hurt. Think... engine computer, door glass, etc. A lot of good stuff.
--
1992 940 wagon, low miles
as well as others.
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