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Serge's first Volvo Project - 1990 245 DL "build" - From Hoopdi to Canadian Snowbrick

HatredSerge

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2013
Location
The 914
Serge's first Volvo Project - 1990 245 DL "build" - From Hoopdi to Canadian Snowbrick

Soooo. I just picked up mtd240's blue '90 245 that some Maryland/Mid Atlantic tBers may be familiar with. I hesitate at calling this a "build project" because all of the suspension, drivability and exhaust mods I would have done anyway that this car came with:

-iPd sport exhaust
-Front/Rear sways
-Overload springs in the rear
-Adjustable torque rods
-T Cam
-Poly bushings where needed
-Rear panhard bar
-Upper and lower chassis braces
-Front strut bar (ok, maybe I wouldn't have done that, but its there, so it stays!)
-Armrest
-Tach, voltimeter, oil temp, oil pressure and vacuum gauges

My plans for the car are to slowly stage 0 it between now and April, at which point I will swap in an M46 and either a B23FT and LH2.4 conversion OR keep the current B230F/LH3.1 setup, replace its head with a 100k spare that came with the car (thanks again Mike!!) and drop in a VX Cam + M46 and be done. We shall see which path I choose ;) Aesthetically, the car will stay very much a Hoopdi: I don't plan on fixing any dings, repainting it or doing anything cosmetically beyond some DIY re-freshening and adding some prancing moose emblems hah!

This car will be garaged once we make our northward journey, but will see some Winter use in Montreal and my end goal with this wagon is to have a beyond restorable, but generally reliable, functional, high mileage 245 that I wont feel guilty using as a City Wagon from time to time and will look nice with a QUEBEC - JE ME SOUVIENS plate on the back :oogle:


So Far I (or my Yonkers car wizard) have:


-Installed a new Brake master cylinder, full bleeding and fluid change, Wagner thermoquiet pads all around
-Installed New Tailgate, not color matched yet and in the process of troubleshooting wiring issues (see my thread on that in Maintenance and Non-Performance forum)
-Replaced a broken door handle
-Replaced broken taillamp assembly
-Changed engine and gear oil.

Things I plan on sorting out before Christmas:

-Tailgate wiring issues to get my brakelight and rear wiper working

-4 Snow tires

-Installation of a new instrument cluster with working upshift indicator (I dont like the backlighting on the one in the wagon, but I'll switch over the current odo/speedo for mileage accuracy sake and obviously, the Tach)

-DIY Clearcoat "restoration" (read: ghetto spray job) to make the front end of the car look not abysmal (although It wont look great, that's not what were going for here!)

-Plasti Dipping the bumpers and door trims just to make it look somewhat presentable

-Winterization: Undercoating, greasing up the fender wells, good snow tires, ordering a new drivers seat heating element and making sure all door/window seals are good.

-Reattaching front door cards, drivers is loose and needs refastening, passenger needs a map pocket.

-Cosmetic freshening up of the interior (read: magic eraser to the headliner and covering seat tears with Blue duct tape :-P )

Items tabled for the Spring (the actual build):

-M46 Swap

-Addition of B23FT/LH2.4 (and associated ECU, harnesses, EZK etc) or plop newer head on existing motor and VX Cam it up, keeping LH3.1. is that doable? Or should I 2.4 downgrade regardless?

-Get cruise control functional

-Some surface rust grinding and fiber glassing before being brought to Canada

Some pics of the car in its current state:







Better pics to come once I start bringing this Bad Grrl back to life! Im calling it the BLUE BOMBER for now.

Stay tuned to this thread for progress and gratuitous amounts of automotive masochism!

Im so excited!
-Serge
 
Those front seats are out of my 1993 245, were pretty minty when I sold them to him about 6-7 yrs ago when I sold to Mike. I will send you a link to a really nice trim die gel that works for a good year or two. (Way way way better then using plati-dip again and gettting over spray everywhere, lol).

Good luck!
 
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