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Volvo 740 Turbo "Hoon Saloon"

petemac Part of things Posts: 174	Volvo 740 Turbo "Hoon Saloon"petemac @petemac
	Aug 5, 2020 20:02:59 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	The 740 somehow passed the MOT at the start of July despite a seized strut top bearing. They must have liked the car. I had to buy new strut top/camber adjustment assemblies to suit the BC coilovers. (Went with TXR motorsport) Those took over two weeks to arrive. I couldn't do much driving until that was sorted. It's great fun to drive. The only real problems that were immediately apparent are that the viscous fan is worn out, and the propshaft centre carrier needs replaced. The movement in the carrier has been amplified by everything else being so solid. (Stiff engine mounts and heim joints on rear axle) I cleverly arranged two track days right next to each other - 3rd and 4th of August. It turned out I was right to be worried about this because a heater hose burst open on the first track day. It was a fairly easy fix with some silicone hose, but I want to order the correct part. Then on the second track day, I was having further issues with the cooling system. The worn out fan being one issue. At first we were worried that the engine was pushing exhaust gas into the system, since coolant was pushing out of the cap on the reservoir. With further trials, it looks like it's just a bad seal on the cap. The power steering can't handle more than a couple mins of hard driving. Not only that but it started running on three cylinders at the end of the day. We couldn't see anything wrong on the ignition side. It quickly cleared up when I started driving home, but the underlying problem definitely hasn't gone away. I still got plenty of time on the track. Here's some footage:
	1988 740 Turbo, 1998 V90, 1991 Eunos Roadster.

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petemac Part of things Posts: 174	Volvo 740 Turbo "Hoon Saloon"petemac @petemac
	Oct 2, 2020 14:08:26 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Some of the issues from the previous track days have been sorted. I put better power steering fluid in (ATF). Changed the viscous clutch on the fan - massive difference. And of course I replaced that heater hose, plus the two little coolant hoses that go to the oil cooler. I decided to go to a wet drift day despite having an open differential. It was still good fun. I had never really used the handbrake to initiate until now, so that took a little getting used to. Now I've got a squeaking clutch release bearing. And very creaky rear suspension, but that may be due to moving the whole axle over for alignment purposes. Hopefully I can make it out to another track day this year.
	Last Edit: Oct 2, 2020 14:09:06 GMT by petemac 1988 740 Turbo, 1998 V90, 1991 Eunos Roadster.

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petemac Part of things Posts: 174	Volvo 740 Turbo "Hoon Saloon"petemac @petemac
	May 3, 2021 9:54:02 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	It has been a while. I'll jump right in with a picture before rattling on about the things I've changed. Short version; Fancy differential, bigger front brakes with a later year servo, stiffer rear springs, revised the rear section of the exhaust, added thrust bearings to the front coilovers, made an oil separator can, and fitted ridiculous wheels. For the rear springs, I went up from 350 Lb/In to 400 Lb/in. You seemingly can't get any higher rate than that in this size of spring. I'm hoping this helps to balance the car a touch more. The front springs are definitely too stiff for an old wobbly Volvo! On the front coilovers, I had serious coil bind issues so the PS pump was struggling. I bought these thin needle thrust bearings to sit against the spring. I'm sure they will get full of dirt in no time, but for now it's a good improvement. I went all-out and had some V70/C70 front brakes refurbished by Bigg Red. Plus braided lines all round and EBC yellow pads. The discs are 302mm, the originals were 262mm. Unfortunately my 16" Volvo Galaxy wheels don't fit over these brakes. I could've made them fit by grinding the calipers, but since the calipers were freshly refurbished I couldn't bear to go down that route. There aren't many options for perfectly sized wheels that don't require spacers or adapters. I really hate using adapters, which led me to these 59 North wheels. Gripper differential. Genuinely cost more than the car Painful thing to buy but it should be worth it in the long run. It's set up in a pretty aggressive setting. It does make funny noises when turning at slower speeds. The speedo sensor is mounted on the diff cover, but my original speedo/reluctor ring was solidly attached to the OE diff. So I had to model one in CAD, and thankfully got it made for free! The ring was such a tight fit that I didn't bother tacking it on. Now I can't help but wonder if that was a bad idea. I had to redo the rear section of my exhaust because it was hitting the handbrake cable over big bumps. (black cable running next to the axle). I wasn't too upset about this because the old rear section was pretty ugly anyway. I'm aware of how disgusting the axle looks in these pictures. I made this oil separator out of mild steel, which I know is not the right material. But if the inside is covered in oil, it's not likely to rust. And I painted the valve cover before realising that I should've had a fitting welded to it. I'll try to lower it a bit more. That's more than enough spending for one year!
	1988 740 Turbo, 1998 V90, 1991 Eunos Roadster.

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petemac Part of things Posts: 174	Volvo 740 Turbo "Hoon Saloon"petemac @petemac
	May 30, 2021 7:09:14 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	I had some fun at Cadwell Park. As expected, the differential works wonders. Cadwell isn't exactly near to me, so I'm glad nothing went wrong. Only thing is that the breather system doesn't work at all, so it pushes a little oil through the cam seals etc.
	Last Edit: May 31, 2021 8:48:18 GMT by petemac 1988 740 Turbo, 1998 V90, 1991 Eunos Roadster.

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jiggawhat2k Part of things Posts: 344	Volvo 740 Turbo "Hoon Saloon"jiggawhat2k @jiggawhat2k
	May 30, 2021 19:45:10 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Cool thread, love the mods you're prioritising too. Excellent wheels!


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