My Volvo 850 R Saloon

[Andysr]

So that was the story of 2013, not a lot has changed since then except I've been driving and enjoying the car, as mentioned previously the next thing on the list is the brakes which is coming soon as I want to get them up to scratch before I take it over to Germany for a trip to the Ring

Anyway the car as it stood last week in the first of the year warm weekend sunshine

Stopped on the way home briefly to take a few shots seeing as the sun was well and truly out, roll on the real sunny weather and summer, these are the few that didn't have too much glare or were actually in focus..









Hope you guys all like the updates, apologies for the delay I shall keep things more up to date in the future...

Edited by Andysr on Monday 17th March 18:32

[Andysr]

Dalto123 said:

Just been reading though this thread. Always had a soft spot for the 850 T5 (particularly in saloon guise) - loving your attention to detail, for a car of its age it looks fantastic . Any idea what sort of power it's putting out now?

Thanks for your positive comments, power wise it's not been on a rolling road but at a guess I would say I would be surprised if it wasn't somewhere in the region of 320-340 hp, that is purely a guess but having recently driven a well maintained standard auto R it's a huge, huge improvement over the original 240 it once was... It might be 241hp .. Lol

[Andysr]

Shadow R1 said:

Great update, glad you have the car back.

Any details on the saffron S70, is that an R ?

Thanks Shadow, it's certainly brilliant to have it back.

The Saffron S70 certainly is an R and that belongs to my brother, it's mildly fettled with a front lower splitter and 850 R saloon boot spoiler. It is fitted with KW variant 2 coil overs and is chipped, with a performance full flow exhaust. It's also a very clean example, bought as a standard car he's had it since 2008 and I'm yet to see a better S70R tbh...

[Andysr]

Little update, done just over 1,500 miles since I've got the car back so have decided to have the engine and autobox oils changed again, yes very early but I want them done to satisfy my OCD issues.. Lol

Also going to have the AP's fitted to the front and have the rear brakes overhauled at the same time, a few other small bits to be done like new wipers and I'll get the brake reservoir replaced while the brakes are in bits as it's looking very discoloured next to the new coolant header tank...

Anyway before that happens towards the end of the month one thing that has been bugging me is the bonnet, from a distance it looks fine but up close it's littered with chips and scratches which has really been highlighted since I had the bumpers repainted before the engine was done...
So it's in the bodyshop at the moment having the bonnet sorted

Stripped waiting for bonnet to be removed.. Chips not evident in this shot..


Close up showing the chips clearly...



Bonnet off..



Work in progress as of end of play today



Will update with more pictures as things progress


No major updates, when I checked in they were just about to paint the bonnet and headlight panels so by now should be in paint

How it looked waiting for paint in the oven







Fingers crossed should be able to get some shots of the painted finish

Out the oven painted awaiting a polish, hoping to get some shots of it fitted on the car tomorrow





In fill panels



Finish is really good, looking forward to seeing it back on the car, had loads of compliments from vistors to the bodyshop whilst it's been in, must be doing something right... Lol

So a couple of shots, camera phone so apologies if the quality doesn't come out very well...

[Andysr]

New headlight wiper blades and wiper arms on order because on removal I realised how shocking the condition that they were in, wiper arms have rotted to excess, was a shame refitting them but I'd rather it was all complete than half assembled...

So in an effort to finish the car to half decent level I've decided it's time to attack the brakes.

So down to RT's and off with the current now rather poor 302's, managed to source myself some very very good barely used AP's







But not happy with the colouring of the AP calipers I've decided I'm going to get them professionally repainted. I contemplated my options and I've decided as a gentle nod to the later models and in the interests of maintaining the factory upgrade/subtle look that I've always favoured I bought a phase 2 V70R/S60R rear caliper. The reason for this is I will be sending it off with the AP calipers so they can colour match the caliper to Volvo's own colour choice and the AP Racing lettering on the AP caliper will be matched to the colour of the "R" on the Volvo/Brembo caliper.



Then testing with a cheap locally sourced universal Ripspeed 10 mm wheel spacer I was quite pleased to see that the Brembo rear brakes from an S60R/V70R fit inside the 17" 850R volan, thankfully arch clearance is still fine so I've ordered another R rear caliper, discs, pads, shoes springs brackets etc for the conversion and some hubcentric H&R spacers and and H&R extended wheel bolts from IPD USA and they should be here next week.

[Andysr]

The plan is to send the AP's off for paint after the bank holiday and I've be promised a 3-4 working day turn around including transit time.. Thought that was really good tbh..

Whilst the brakes at the wheel end are being done I've decided to get a new brake reservoir and master cylinder as I think with all the brake work being done at the other end it would be nice to have the pedal end all fresh as possible.. That's my man logic coming through there.. Lol

[Andysr]

Something I've always wanted, purely because I knew it was possible, is a remote for the SC-805, and after much research I found the part number of a remote which I suspected to work, special order from Sweden it was mine even if it didn't work but I thought sod it and took a flier, well it turned up and it only bleeding works, so that's me extremely happy



Also having had the alloys refurbed getting on 7 years ago I've noticed that they're just starting to bubble around the wheel caps and valves on a few of them so I'll be getting them refurbished again while they're off and when the spacers arrive from the states I'll get the edges of those, the parts that don't touch the hub or wheels, colour coded to match the wheels so they blend in and don't stick out like a sore thumb.

So that's where I'm at currently, more news as the updates come through from the brake painters and RT's, thanks for reading

Not much to report, brakes are boxed and awaiting collection by courier to go for repaint, however wheels are back from refurb..

What do you guys think

[Andysr]

Lol, only joking they're still away and these are temporary donor wheels... It's amazing how a set of wheels can change the look of a car I think the car looks like a dog... Pmsl

No real updates, word back from the wheel refurbishers is that the corrosion had set in worse than expected so definitely the right time to get them sorted, strange when they weren't even that bad but just glad I'm a fussy sod otherwise I could have ended up with pressure loss and then facing the option of new wheels.

Anyway, brakes are away for paint now so here he is waiting whilst having engine and autobox oil changes and general checks after having done just over a thousand miles from the build



So wheels are now back from refurbishment..

[Andysr]

Also heard back from the brake caliper people, they've recommended a full caliper refurb on both of the AP calipers whilst they're doing the repair so I've opted for this as I can't be doing with the calipers sticking or going faulty and wrecking a set of pads and discs or worse which means they won't be ready to send back until early part of next week, they've said their going to take some pictures of the calipers as they work through the refurb so I'll post them up as the come through

So been a while since this thread was updated, so for those who were wondering what's been happening well here goes...

So the AP's needed a freshen up and overhaul and then some holidays and trouble with couriers ended up causing a fair delay for the caliper work which is why the update has taken a while..
Anyway today the calipers and disc hubs arrived back from the specialists having been overhauled and colour matched to the Volvo/Brembo caliper.
Tbh these are the only pictures I have so far but I've been told they look good and tbh from what I can see they do. I'm really happy with how well the colour has come out and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they look like fitted to the car..







Another very minor development that occurred while the brake calipers were being done was to the wheel spacers, I ordered some H&R spacers and decided to get the edges, the visible bit when fitted to the car, colour matched to the alloys so they don't stand out so much..

This is how they came out..

[Andysr]

So not a large update but some progression none the less, hopefully within the next few days when Russ can schedule it back into the workshop to have the brakes fitted I should be able to get some better shots of the brakes fitted to the car from behind my freshly refurbished Volans so until then this is where the car progress sits currently

So we're making a little progress and I've some more pictures, the hubs are fitted to the discs and the rear brakes are starting to go on







Rear brakes stripped off new shoes fitted...



With the wheels and brakes off it really does fly


Rear brake disc backing plate cut back to allow clearance for larger caliper then cleaned



Caliper offered up to mounting bracket



Rear disc on



So that's where we are currently

[Andysr]

So bit of an update again...

Rear calipers all in place





Front discs and calipers fitted





New master cylinder and reservoir on





Wheels fitted and back out in the sun







I have to say I think the brakes look fantastic, I can't wait to get them bedded in and give them some stick. I think the colour works well with the rest of the car and I am over the moon with how purposeful they make the car look without detracting from the subtle look that the car has.

Hope you guys like the latest additions

[Andysr]

So brief update, yes I do still have it and yes I am still here . I've obviously got the car back and I have to say the brakes are phenomenal in operation, I honestly think attaching an anchor to a chain and throwing it out the back would be a less effective way than the way it stops now. I'm also really pleased with how the caliper colour looks behind the wheels, one down side I have found is that the wheels are an absolute git to clean now, you can't even get your little finger between the caliper and the inside of the wheel which means I have to roll the car forwards when I'm cleaning the wheels. But hey it's not the end of the world I guess

Popped out the weekend before last and snapped a couple of shots just to prove it still exists








Anyway with the weather being absolutely shocking and the car having done around 350 miles in the filth I thought it would be a good idea to make the most of the sunny weather and give the car a spruce up and get it look back to how it was pre bad weather driving...

I'll argue this to the hill there's a definite case to be made for utilising a decent brand of polish/wax. Cleaning the car today was a lot easier than I thought it would be, currently it's got Meguires Cleaner Wax, Poor Boys SSR-1 and Poor boys Natty Paste Wax blue attempting to protect the paintwork from the elements and this was the beading I had when rinsing the car off before washing...





Then after an hour or so the car was looking better again so much so that I just had to go for a spin, radio up climate on auto with the a/c on, probably the last time I'll need that this year lol, was the best 30 mins drive I've had in ages.
Did manage to pull over and take a few shots so I could update the thread with the latest engine bay pictures showing the new brake master cylinder and brake fluid reservoir but I didn't want to waste the sunshine so the shots were limited.

Anyway here are a few shots from today...

How the engine bay now looks with the new master cylinder and reservoir.







This would probably be a better shot without the reflections.. Lol





Interior, excuse my trance CD's in the door pocket, and yes I am that sad the coin holder is full of £1 coins and yes the were cleaned before I put them in there and yes they are all lined up and yes thank you it is OCD to another level... Probably more CDO imho... Lol

[Andysr]

Sorry for the huge and extremely delayed update but thought those who had previously commented would like to know how the car currently sits so I've brought the thread right up to speed to reflect where I am with the car now... Hope you enjoy the latest updates

[Andysr]

charltjr said:

Looks great, thanks for the updates

Thanks, sorry it took me so long to post them.

[Andysr]

macp said:

Still loving this car well done for keeping it looking mint and OEM

Thanks for your kind words, it's the way I like to fettle my cars keep them looking like they've had factory upgrades so things don't stick out unless you have a trained eye

[Andysr]

oobster said:

Enjoyed reading this whole thread over the last 45mins while the Mrs watches X Factor, my boss back in the mid 90's had a green estate 850, this brings back memories (mainly of the boss being an ass-hole!)

Well done OP, beautiful car and great updates.

Thanks, not sure which carries more street cred, watching X factor or reading about an 18 year old Volvo, although as a petrolhead who cares about X factor. I must confess when I bought the car 8 years ago I thought it would be good but I had no idea of its potential at the time.

[Andysr]

Ecurie Ecosse said:

Really loving your car and the attention to detail. I love my 850 T5 and think they are really underrated - great to see one having the care lavished on it that it deserves.

I agree, people recognise what they are but still don't realise what they area at the same time... If that makes sense?

[Andysr]

kerryt5r said:

Looking really nice Andy - makes we want to spend a bit more on mine. Must resist..

Thanks Kerry, think you've got more than enough to be doing around the house to be worrying about the car, but then there's always next year

[Andysr]

BorkFactor said:

Lovely car, I have always wanted a saloon one since I went out in a slightly fettled one. They can bloody shift!

What is the gearbox like? Do miss having a manual?

No not really, most of the company cars I've been using are the model flappy paddle style dual clutch boxes and I actually like the traditional autobox of the 850 with its creep in traffic and on hills along with smooth gear changes. When I punch the loud pedal it's instantly in kickdown rather than having a couple of split seconds holding a meeting in the ecu to discuss which gear would be better like the DSG style boxes do, yes they're in 2 gears at once but try getting them to decide which of those gears you want can be painful at times especially if it's neither of them.. Also being only a 4 speed with lock up torque converter the 850 isn't forever up and down the box, this means faster cornering can be done without fear of a mid corner up or downshift, then on a run with the torque converter lock up engaged it returns better mpg and more relaxed cruising than a manual. One downside is that being auto it's not rated to the same power thresholds as the manual counterpart so if I wanted more from the engine I'd have to convert it to manual which if I wanted to do isn't too much of a heartache as it's a relatively easy conversion and has been done 100's of times over. That said with traffic on our roads increasing I hate traffic jams in a manual and I'd much rather be driving an auto day to day.. Just personal preference I guess..

[Andysr]

GuitarTech said:

Don't you just love photobucket..where have all the photos gone?

I wish I knew, no idea what's happened to them or how to resolve it unfortunately..