RRRRRRR Wagon (Not a Nissan)

[onehundredoctane]

Well. . . as time goes we all grow up, or at least most of us do.

I still have my other Nissans, the V8 S14 and the SR20DET S13, but having a family now and car seats for babies usually means no more fun daily drivers.

I was slowly losing my soul driving my Accord V6, 4 door. . . I've long driven Hondas for daily drivers just for reliability, but the older I get the more plain old cars just don't do it for me.

Insert the Volvo, and I'm sure a lot of you stopped reading right there and picard.jpg'd. But hear me out. I needed space for my two son (18 months and 3 months), and our two lab mix pups

After helping a co-worker wrench on his Volvo XC70 that we've done quite a bit, the hunt began. Now, my co workers XC70 isn't your typical soccer mom station wagon. We've installed a 3" downpipe, cat back exhaust, Hilton Stage 2 Tune, Geograpplers, and a few other things I've already forgotten about. Oh, and it's Plastidipped lol, because he's not a soccer mom.


I started looking for an XC70, and instead found a 2006, Volvo V70R, one of 823 made in 2006. These are 5 cylinder, 2.5 liter, turbocharged, 15 psi, twin intercooled, all wheel drive, hot rods (if you can call a Volvo a hot rod). Stock they are rated 300hp and 295 lb-ft, not too bad for hauling the family around!


4 piston Brembos on all four corners



Another difference between the V70R and the base V70 is that the V70R comes with 3 different suspension modes. The stock shocks are electro-magnetic, like many performance and exotics, and you would be surprised to know that a car this big, and this heavy can take most cloverleafs just a fast as my V8 S14 that has coilovers and thick ass sway bars.


The car was originally purchased by a dentist in SC, the majority of the maintenance on it was done by one of two Volvo dealerships. After purchasing it I wasn't able to find records of the timing belt, so that was the first thing I knocked out. The car had 133k on it when I bought it, the service interval is 99k-105k :/


After a switch to synthetic oil, a transmission flush, front diff flush, Haldex flush, and a rear diff flush I was rewarded with this, when these cars average 18-25 mpg.


Being a car guy, I can't just leave well enough alone. The car handles better than any daily driver I've ever owned, but there's still room for improvement, right? Caught a set of front and rear sways on sale, had to grab them. I ended up paying less for the pair than the front sales for by itself! The upgraded front sway bar is beefy and a mutha!




3 way adjustable


The sway bars have stiffened up the car more than I would've believed. That coupled with the electromagnetic shocks sets this car apart.

Recently while on a business trip for work I was in Cleveland, Ohio for two weeks. While driving around town the car suddenly lost power. Great. I'm 500 miles from home with no tools. Turned out to be a crappy plastic intercooler pipe that developed a tear. The hot pipe goes directly over the engine, which isn't the best design, but is the most direct route to the intercooler. I contacted Volvo, they wanted $260 for a plastic fucking pipe. Fuck that. A company called Do88 makes aftermarket parts for these cars, but they are a bit pricey. I was able to get a stainless over engine pipe by itself shipped to my hotel for less than the stock plastic piece. Of course I can't leave it alone either. . . I stopped by Summit Racing while in Ohio and picked up some Reflect-a-Gold.


There are debates on the Volvo forum whether I'm helping or hurting here. Most seem to believe that this is insulation. However, this material is 3 mil thick and doesn't hold heat in, it actually reflects 80% of radiant heat. With it being directly over the engine it was kind of a no brainer for me.



Had some left over, did the air box too, just to piss off the Volvo forum.



And because 300hp wasn't enough, it's time for a 3" downpipe


Updates to follow!

[_tony_s13]

very cool! excited to see more updates

[SoundEfx]

Interesting build pimp. Good luck.

Are there any specific goals or are you simply building as you see fit?

[hanzbrady]

I love seeing builds like this, it makes me feel like I'm on driftworks haha

[STEEZxIT]

the practicality of this type of build is exciting.

[rawgarage]

sick platform

[K_style]

M/T ? What's the oil capacity? When I had a Volvo a while ago, it took like 7~8 litres.

[spooled240]

Nice, finding a compromise to the needs of the family as well as your needs of not driving a boring piece of shit. I don't have kids yet, but I'm already thinking of building some kind of cool family car as well.

I'm curious to see how much power you pick up with the exhaust and other bolt-ons.

Subbed

[DYNOBLUEPEARL]

i dig this something different thumbs up to you sir

[Quail]

Awesome, looking forward to seeing this one develop.

Volvo wagons have been a firm favourite of mine since the 850 estates were prolific in BTCC. Would still love an 850R Sport Wagon!

[Felipe]

Love threads like this.

<~~~~ wagon owner

[onehundredoctane]

Originally Posted by SoundEfx

Interesting build pimp. Good luck.

Are there any specific goals or are you simply building as you see fit?

Main goals are to address known issues these cars have, the over engine pipe was one of those. Other goals would be to improve handling, reliability, and of course increase POWA!

Originally Posted by K_style

M/T ? What's the oil capacity? When I had a Volvo a while ago, it took like 7~8 litres.

Sadly it's a auto, my daily commute has lots city traffic, stop lights, etc. A manual wouldn't been nice, but then again they didn't make as many of these in manual anyway I think the oil capacity is 5.2 liters? I can't remember right off.


Funny, I didn't think this car would get this kind of positive reaction here!

So, as I've mentioned, one of the things that sets this car apart is the electromagnetic suspension. Well. . . it is known to be a bit finicky, actually more of a bitch. Since I bought the car this system hasn't worked, it's throwing a code for the passenger front shock, and after replacing the shock the system still gives the same code. Not cool. I assumed the 4C Module was going bad so I pulled it to check it out before shelling out $500+ for a new one, or chancing a used one and getting stuck with it.


I went through the circuit board with a firm bristle wire brush (made for cleaning electronics) and some contact cleaner spray. Even after 4-5 cleanings there is still minimal surface corrosion.


What do ya know. . . no more "Chassis Setting Service Required" message. . .


YAS, YAS, YAS! My God this car is so much more fun in turns now with working 4C!


No messages or lights!


I've been working with a good friend who is a welder/ fabricator to make a much needed, affordable, 3" stainless downpipe. It's sad that people are paying $600-$1,200 for a downpipe! So my friend Josh made a jig based on a stock downpipe and is making this now.


I like it when a plan comes together!


We test fit on a friends S60R (sedan version of my car)


You'll notice everything is just tacked together here, just to check fitment before final welding it up.


LIKE A GLOVE!




We took it back off the car to final weld since everything fits, it's sad. . . I can't wait to throw this thing back on the car and blast around

[Lees_Garage]

Awesome car. I had an 850 Turbo Wagon, and it was one of my favorite daily drivers. Loved the sound of the turbo 5 Cyl. Post an exhaust vid once you get that downpipe installed.

[onehundredoctane]

Originally Posted by Lees_Garage

Awesome car. I had an 850 Turbo Wagon, and it was one of my favorite daily drivers. Loved the sound of the turbo 5 Cyl. Post an exhaust vid once you get that downpipe installed.

Thanks man, I love the look of the 850, so boxy and classic! We'll be working on an exhaust video before and after the downpipe install, also working on some dyno action before and after

Got these pics today from my friend Briggs, since the downpipe fit he's moved on to finish welding it, much excite!










The only thing left to do now is add the oxygen sensor bungs and bolt it on!

[rawgarage]

Nice progress

[fallen_51]

Man im loving this !! Cant wait for exhaust vids

[collegekid]

Really cool, I didn't know these things had that kinda power and got that kinda mpg holy shit.
I have a sweet spot for the few wagons that I like and this one is now on that list.
Keep the updates comin

[onehundredoctane]

Originally Posted by collegekid

Really cool, I didn't know these things had that kinda power and got that kinda mpg holy shit.
I have a sweet spot for the few wagons that I like and this one is now on that list.
Keep the updates comin

I should maybe clarify a bit. . . that MPG was after I flushed all the fluids, did the timing belt, and babied it on my 45 minute highway commute with the A/C off lol, that fuel economy is FAR from typical lol

Despite it being AWD you can still get a little too, lets say. . . carefree in turns lol, but only when you do these two things:

[onehundredoctane]

Got the finished product back from my friend Briggs, with it all welded up it's finally ready install!


Without a lift to work on, space is limited, but it's on and sounds great


After we finish up with the downpipe group buy we've organized, we plan to build a jig for the exhaust so we can begin making affordable cat back exhausts as well! Possibly oval pipe stainless, straight pipe

[onehundredoctane]

So, as of late, my co-workers XC70, deemed the War Wagon, has been burning coolant. His car has also been misfiring on cylinder 3 at start up, until it has been running for a few minutes, then it levels out. I figure it's either split a cylinder liner (common on these cars once your turn boost up), or has some other issue, maybe head gasket related. The 2.4 and 2.5 liter blocks are prone to these and similar issues, but the 2.3 liter blocks having thicker cylinder liners don't have these issues, and are proven up to 30 psi and 400+HP all day long!

So with that in mind, I helped him source a 2.3 for $500 to begin building.


Beginning tear down, as you can see the engine even came with the turbo! You can't even get a used turbo for these for $500 usually! Even better, the turbo has ZERO, and I mean, ZERO shaft play. Score!




With the block torn down, the goodies have started to arrive! H beams and Wiseco pistons will ensure this thing is damn near bullet proof!




Aluminum slugs, very excite!




Now it's time to drop all of this off at the machine shop.

[onehundredoctane]

Wow. . . Can't believe I haven't updated this thread in a while. . .

So, I sold my V70R a while back due to the amount of driving I was doing for work. Going through 3 tanks of gas a week was killing me and a low production car like that (IMO) shouldn't be subjected to daily driving conditions that I regularly face.

Oddly enough, I sold the car to my friend Briggs who had begun making downpipes for these cars, and to date has build about 40 downpipes for customers, shipped them all over the world (Russie, Belgium, etc), and is planning to expand his product line for these cars now!

Recently he made a pie cut over engine pipe (intercooler hot side for us Nissan enthusiasts), not sure if he plans to make a jig and pump these out at volume, but the possibility is there.












As you can see, fitment is on point! Love Briggs work here!

So... you might be asking yourself, "If you sold the car, why are you bumping an old thread for a car you no longer own?"

Well, I'm back in the market for one. After driving a beater hybrid for work, so that I can maximize my mileage reimbursement, I'm noticing that I'm slowly losing my soul as a car guy. Amid being a dad, a husband and having a stressful job in healthcare, I'm slowly realizing I miss what I'm at a my core, a gearhead.

So look for some updates soon, I'm trying to find a manual trans V70R, but they are literally unicorns.

[e1_griego]

Came across this one a few days ago locally. Crackhead price, though
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...371243283.html

[supersayianjim]

fuck!!! that is some kick ass welding!!!

[crash n' burn]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

But for real, join me on the dark side and grab an e91

[onehundredoctane]

Originally Posted by crash n' burn

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

But for real, join me on the dark side and grab an e91

Man you know I'm not down with de Germans lol

[ehhhregartless]

I've had my S60R for about a little over a year now and definitely would be interested in his OTE pipe and exhaust. There are a few Facebook groups like VOMAR that you should check out as many Rs are listed for sale. I've done a review for a forum member of swedespeed that ended up buying a local VR so maybe I can help.

[onehundredoctane]

For those still keeping up, the War Wagon build that belongs to my co-worker is still going strong! After completing the break in period for the new 2.3 liter build we found that boost won't go over 5-7 psi, which is less than stellar. I found the wastegate actuator rod was out of adjustment, with that corrected it's not party city


We have plans to do an upgrade and rebuild on a 16T so we can push 22-24 psi without flutter at higher boost. The thing looks like the Swedish Tank it is, love this thing! Still working on the details of the lift kit, but for now going fast will have to make do :P