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I always seem to have a couple of Volvo projects going on. I needed to replace the 86 244 my older son was driving before he went off to grad school at UNC Greensboro. I combined a totaled 89 244 and a 90 244 that needed some rehabbing.
The 90 had 125K. It had a bent A arm, some rear quarter damage, and a dirty interior. It was driven home. The previous owner must have hit a curb to bend the A arm. I decided to look into the suspension first so as not put time and money into a car that might have the frame kinked. If it did not line up I would just part the car out. I replaced the tie rod ends, ball joints, and the bent A arm. I had a set of shocks and strut tubes with Monroe GasMatics on the shelf from another car which I installed. I took it for an alignment and it was good to go.
I pulled the head and found evidence of a little electrolysis damage. I had that repaired and they took a clean up cut on the head. I lapped and adjusted the valves as well as replaced the stem seals and dampners. While the head was off I replaced the heater hoses, cleaned out the oil separator, and replaced the crank position sensor.
Additional engine related work included: New injector and engine seals, timing belt, tensioner, and a waterpump. New drive belts, radiator hoses, thermostat and new brushes in the alternator. Cleaned the CIS moter, throttle body and set the switch. Installed a new fuel pressure regulator. New flame trap, fuel and air cleaner. The power steering was flushed. A new 25amp fuse holder was installed. The allen head plugs were removed from the universal joints and grease fittings installed. All of the fuel injection connectors were cleaned and greased. I made up a low coolant sensor circuit that lights a warning light when the coolant level falls in the reservoir. It came equipped with a 935 ECU.
The brake system got a set of front calipers off of the parts car and after new pads were installed the brake system was flushed.
The transmission got a flush and I made a rubber cushion for the cooling line bracket that usually wears through the line.
I put a new exhaust system on the car and a nearly new header pipe from the parts car. It passed Ohio emissions testing.
The interior was removed from the car. The front seats were rebuilt. I used a 3M product called Foam Fast 74 to adhere light canvas to both sides of the cushions where they traditionally tear. The heaters needed breaks repaired and the covers were washed in the washing machine after pretreating the heavily soiled areas. The parts car had the same interior so I was able to take the best cover components to make up one interior. The drivers side back was worn in both cars so I used the back of the second passenger’s seat for the driver’s seat. The hole for the lumbar adjustment knob was closed up and a piece of vinyl was glued over the back of it. The carpet was caked with ground in dirt. Evidently it had never had mats. I removed the carpet and took it to the high pressure car wash. It removed a lot of the dirt but after they dried it was evident that there was still some dirt embedded in the pile. I made a second trip to the car wash and this time after they dried I was still able to “beat” fine particles out of the carpet from behind. Volvo used some very high quality upholstery and carpet in these cars. The high pressure directed at the carpet did not tear any of the piling. The interior came out looking almost new. I put a pad on the dash to cover the cracking. The compensation board was removed from the instrument cluster. All the relays were resoldered and a CD player was installed.
The lower back half of the passenger’s rear quarter panel was damaged. I worked carefully for several hours tapping metal with a hammer and dolly to get it as good as I could. The panel had been replaced in a previous life and required a lot of fiberglas cloth and resin to seal out the weather where rust had set in at the inner wheel well. I found a local guy who moonlights doing body work in his garage and between the two of us it came out to an acceptable level of finish. The clear coat had to be stripped off of the trunk and top. I painted the car with Dupont Centari (acrylic enamel) and hardner.
The headlight lenses were removed/cleaned and resealed.
I can justify everything I did to the car but the amount of work in the body and paint went way beyond my estimates. I would have been better off finding a solid damage free body and building that car up.
The car runs and drives fine. He has put about 3000 miles on it since it was completed. I did everything I could think of that might eliminate those car trouble calls everyone dreads and provide him with a safe comfortable car. The total investment was around $1500 including the cost of the totaled parts car that still has a number of good parts to be sold off.
Randy
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