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The 81 was in the garage for three weeks on this one, but it's done - and it's GREAT. I could do this again in a weekend or maybe a very long day, but I kept on growing the project as the total dashboard removal opened up opportunities to do other things. And I insisted that my son be involved in every step, and he works some nights, carouses some nights, so it went rather slowly. Some observations:
I recommend the dash removal method for the blower - it's more work, but maybe less frustrating, since it opens things up and you're not wrestling around a lot of stuff in your way. Replacing the core you have no choice...dash out.
The Four Seasons replacement core (FCPGroton) is not the nicely engineered piece the original Volvo is, but it sure as hell (ho!) puts out the heat. Now to see if it lasts...been some stories.
The Siemens (Hecho en Mexico) blower motor and new resistor pack (FCP again) look less substantial than the OE Volvo (from Electrolux - the Swedish vacuum cleaner giant), which lasted 24 years, but it's nice and quiet and blows a lot of air. Having been warned by Art Benstein's excellent site/article, I bench tested the motor before, during and after installation - no problems...yet.
The tough part of removing the HVAC housing to split it and get the heater core out (without cutting into the housing) is removing the AC evaporator without damaging it or its connected components. This is a little easier on the earlier 240's with the flexible hoses going to the unit, but still a chore. The well-aged bitumen sealant the factory put on has turned to epoxy by now. My 200-lb son and I had a fine old time pulling this out.
With the HVAC box out you can clean out the two decades worth of debris that has sifted in through the cowling grille, and also check the operation of the flap that controls the recirc function.
I used a lot of foam weatherstripping to seal the new heater core in the box so that ALL air must pass through it. Even the factory unit was less than great here.
We vacuumed up a lot of biodegraded leaves and crud from under the carpets alongside the trans tunnel. The car just "feels" cleaner now. We pulled the seats and the e-brake console and cleaned everything. Got enough lost coins for a 6-pack.
Installed a new JVC stereo unit and put in RCA cables to the trunk for the subwoofer amp. I ran a new, fused 10-ga wire from the battery as the constant power source for the head unit, and since it has a display dimmer function which requires a full 12V, ran a little wire from the connector for the seat belt lights.
Converted the speedometer head to a metric unit, and tossed away the 30k mi Lambda reminder box. Put #168 bulbs in for cluster illumination; these are about 4W compared to the 2.6W originals...a definite improvement.
Very nice to get everything back together and have no sparks, smoke or funny noises. The heater blows truly hot (it's -12C/10F out there tonight) and as quiet as 240's get, all dash lights now work, and the stereo really rocks. There's just no way I could have done this without all the good advice and info on this BB, so thanks, all!
...and a special tip of the hat to Art Benstein, whose website was a big help and who personally nursed me along through a couple of tough spots with advice and some well chosen pictures from his (obviously endless) library of 240 project photos!
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