850 T5 Project - Ivy

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Cookeh

Original Poster:

247 posts

87 months

Monday 5th February 2018
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So, I recently - and very sensibly - decided to sell my ultra-reliable, cheap to run Toyota Corolla and buy a 180,000 mile 1995 Volvo 850 T5 for shed money.

I've been eyeing these up for months now, and they've been on my dream car list since I was 7 and we were getting our 940 Turbo serviced at a Speeds dealership - they had a poster of the BTCC 850 on the wall and that was me hooked... of course that was powered by a very high strung version of the N/A 2.0 but the T5 was always the one I wanted.

Haven't had much of a chance to sort pictures out yet, and only got round to giving her a quick bath this evening before it got dark - better ones will be coming! But for now, introducing (a dirty) Ivy...



Mechanically she seems well sorted, displaying none of the symptoms linked to common issues with the 850s (clogged PCVs, leaky oil seals, broken top motor mounts, milky emulsions on dipstick/oil cap, splits in CVs/steering rack gaiters, smoke on boost), and she's almost entirely rust free - including in behind the wings which is a really common spot for them.

Every time I drive her she puts a silly grin on my face. They almost seem like they have two personalities; keep the revs below 3000rpm and she'll just drive along serenly, exactly what you'd expect from a boxy Volvo estate....but then you drop your foot, take the revs up past 3000 and the whole car wakes up and just flies. I may have only come from a meagre Corolla but this thing feels properly quick when it gets going.

She's not without her faults, by any means. So far, the list of things not working and needing replacement includes:

- Saggy headliner...
- Rip in bolster...
- Rear exhaust mount has rusted away (only rust I could find, actually)...
- Heated seats don't seem to work...
- Cruise control doesn't work...
- All speakers on the N/S of the car don't work...
- Both front indicator lamps are cracked...
- Alloys are in dire need of a refurb...
- O/S/F door check strap needs adjustment

In the two days since I've had her, I done some work on her already. When I first viewed her she had been sitting for a couple of months and had a dead battery. Tried changing the battery but the dealer couldn't get past the immobiliser and said he'd give me a call when it was sorted. A few days later I went to view it, whilst a test drive revealed that it felt fairly sorted mechanically and had me giggling....so of course I ended up buying it.

When I got it home I discovered the central locking wasn't working, so my first port of call was to check the fuses. I found Fuse 6 (fuse for central locking) was missing. Plugged it back in and voila, the central locking worked again...but the car was immobilised. Right. Dealer hadn't fixed the issue at all then (wonder what other issues I'll come across). Anyway, I reset the immobliser by pulling Fuse 15 (remote central locking) followed by Fuse 6, and then replacing them in reverse order. So now I have both central locking and the immobiliser working, winner.

I also discovered the windscreen washers weren't working properly. Turned out there was a sizeable air bubble in the system....flushed that out and now they're working like a charm too. After sorting that I figured I'd better clean the interior which was decidedly dusty and had plenty dirt present....

Before:





After:



In terms of my plans for her....well, the list is ever growing but looks something like this atm:

Fixes:
- Headliner... Likely going to get it re-trimmed in a leatherette or similar for easy cleaning - if anyone has recommendations around the Chesterfield/Nottingham/Sheffield area please let me know.
- Fix the rip in the drivers seat - planning to just get the section repaired.

- Replace the broken rear exhaust mount.
- Fix the lack of audio on the N/S.
- Slowly work my way around auxilliaries like the heated seats/cruise control depending on how hard a fix they are... didn't have them in my last car so won't miss them if they don't work.
- Stage 0. A car with this many miles, despite a very full folder of service history and a full stamped book will no doubt benefit from a refresh of things like plugs, distributor cap, ignition leads, fuel filter, etc, and I'll slowly be working my way around those.

Modifications/Other:
- Alloys. The keen-eyed among you will have noticed these aren't the rims that she would have come from the factory with. So, I'm looking to replace them either with Columbas or Volans (both OEM on the 850 T5 wagon).
- Headunit. No CD player is my biggest gripe with the car, so Im tempted to swap in an aftermarket HU. The added Bluetooth would be nice too. I'd considered by an SC901 HU and swapping that in but they are going for almost the same price as an aftermarket double din so not sure about that. My only concern is that if I went double din I'd have to shave the HU mounting rails which would mean I'd be unable to refit an OEM HU in the future.
- Badges. Need to source some new badges for the rear as the ones on it have worn away on 3/4 wheels.
- Suspension: Dealer drove the car personally for a few months and replaced the suspension with what I believe are TA-Technix (spelling?) coilovers. I like the ride height and they certainly let her grip, but they're definitely a bit firm for the crappy roads we have on my commute. They'll probably get replaced by either Koni or Bilstein when funds allow.
- Touch-Up: Needs a good decon and machine polish and there are a few scuffs I'd like to get touched in.

So that's the plan for now, plug away at bits and pieces slowly and as funding allows. I can't justify big spends on her all at once as I've only just bought my first house 4 months ago which always requires some spending and I'm only a mere student! I'll get some more pictures up soon too, ones that do her some justice.

steve-5snwi

8,592 posts

92 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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Sounds like a nice shed, although it's lacking in pictures from where I sit.

bungz

1,960 posts

119 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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Turbo tip shed yum

Cookeh

Original Poster:

247 posts

87 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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Pictures will be coming, when the weather and daylight hours improve. At the minute I leave and arrive home in the dark, and when I do get back in daylight its peeing it down with rain... Turbo tip shed sounds about right too, she will definitely be a workhorse, and I do about 15-16k pa so this might get interesting...

Small update: Cruise control is now working - scratch that from the list! Having used it today I'm not sure it does much for fuel economy but certainly makes for a more relaxing drive and takes away worries of any speed cameras. Checked and reseated the fuse for it, checked the vacuum lines and the wiring into the cruise control relay and couldn't see any issues. So went on my commute and thought I'd just try it out again. Little bit of wiggling and turning it on/off and it kicked into life... I guess it was just a bit stiff from not being used in a while and the contacts needed a slight clean.

In celebration, have a few pictures in dull light and on my hideous drive (which will be getting a makeover shortly).




(This pic highlighted another bit of trim I need to source).

and the important (but filthy bit):



Lastly, something that caught me by surprise in the car park today. I know MINIs are far from that nowadays, but almost everything I park next to - including my old Corolla is noticeably taller than the old brick. The MINI is almost as wide as well!



In other news, the ABS light came on today. Dropped the dealer an email and he's agreed to look at it this Sat. I'm hoping that like with the P2 V70 my parents have its just going to the plastic collar on the ABS wire that got knocked/broken when the hub was replaced, rather than the ABS.TRAC ECU being shot - I'm now off to look for repair and replacement options in case its the latter.

klunkT5

589 posts

117 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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Looks nice, If you want to keep the front wings rot free pop off the front bumper cover and get behind the front part of the wing, Remove the little support bracket and clean up/ Rustproof, IME Its where the brackets screwed on that starts the rust in this area. Likely your ABS will be the control module, Dry solder joints, If your handy with a soldering iron their a doddle to repair, Google 850 ABS repair and there's guides showing you the pins to resolder. Also Volans were OE on the R's, T5's had Columba's which isnt a bad thing as Volans are expensive and Columba's are cheap. As for CV Boots and rack gaiters being weak points ive never heard that before, Mines on it's original rack gaiters and 1 CV boot, Dipsticks get emulsified because of short runs, Same with Oil filler cap, These 2.3 Motors rarely have Head gasket problems smile



Edited by klunkT5 on Tuesday 6th February 21:04

JakeT

5,406 posts

119 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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Speeds- now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. My grandparents used to take their cars there too.

Cookeh

Original Poster:

247 posts

87 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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Great info, thanks. Yeah, I'm quite certain it's the module. Will wait and see what dealer says, might even offer to replace it - though that is unlikely. I don't mind soldering, got a range of tutorials bookmarked for that already!

Regarding the wings, it's definitely something I want to do, just need to find the time and a good guide for removing them.

Don't suppose you know if the Haynes manuals for these are any good? Or can recommend somewhere to source parts?

klunkT5

589 posts

117 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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If you take the front wings off also clean up and rustproof the lower section of the wing behind the mudflap as they can go here aswell. Every repair ive had to do has been covered by someone on the internet ie Volvo performance club, Volvo forums, T5D5 and even Matthews volvo site (USA) I use ECP for Service stuff and PFV/Ebay for other bits. Got a cracking deal last year on Ebay for Meyle HD lower arms, Droplinks and Febi delta link bushes so it pays to search around, Is yours manual or Auto?

Edited by klunkT5 on Tuesday 6th February 21:16

klunkT5

589 posts

117 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
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Heres mine:



Few mods: HLM304 remap, 16T, White injectors, Genuine RIP pipework from very early T5, 302mm front brakes, Eibach springs, Genuine Volvo strut brace, R front bumper cover, Tomcat splitter and Volans, Done a genuine 83K.

Edited by klunkT5 on Tuesday 6th February 21:27

Cookeh

Original Poster:

247 posts

87 months

Tuesday 6th February 2018
quotequote all
Its a manual. Thanks again for the info - I've found Volvospeed and Matthews Volvo to be fairly useful so far, hadn't really heard of the rest, or of PFV - which seem rather good indeed.

Yours looks in great nick, and the Volans are such a good looking wheel!

klunkT5

589 posts

117 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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Manuals a good find, Most seem to be autos ( Should have looked at your spoiler pics before asking the question!) Mines manual and due a bit of cosmetic attention now as it lives outside and with work/ Lack of spare time it's a job to keep on top of it. It's a good thing 850's hardly rot smile Just remembered Charlton volvo centre on Ebay are good for bits and they ship fast, They do rear exhaust mountings for about a tenner.



Edited by klunkT5 on Wednesday 7th February 07:34

Brynjaminjones

120 posts

122 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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I absolutely love these. My dad had one very similar to this most of the time I was at primary school and I used to tell everyone how fast his car was! I remember it cruising easily at 130mph on the autobahn.
It was completely trashed and had over 150,000 miles with minimal maintenance so was eventually traded in.

Back in 2014 we decided to scratch that itch again so we found and bought a white one (with blue interior!) for cheap from eBay. It turned out to have too many problems for him and ended up going to auction.

I miss them and would love another one in my life one day.

I'll look forward to following this!

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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Ref the alloys, I'd hunt out a set of Perfo wheels if you like the Columba look.

They are almost identical (the Perfo has a slight flat area on the face which the Columbas don't) but you can fit a set of upgraded 302mm brakes under the Perfos - it's a very common upgrade and if you're changing the wheels anyway it would make sense to give yourself the option. If I remember correctly they will fit fine under the Volans too, but it's been a long time since I was modifying 850 T5s so best to check that.......

klunkT5

589 posts

117 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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The reason mines on Volans is because of the 302mm Discs + I like em, Though it rides nicer on the 16" Columba's smile

Cookeh

Original Poster:

247 posts

87 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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Think I'll grab the Columbas if I spot a cheap-ish pair. Perfos also look great but seem to be a lot rarer, and like the idea of a 16" with more sidewall - help iron out some of the bumps that the TA-Technix highlight... until I can replace them!

Cambs_Stuart

2,833 posts

83 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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Great car and thread. Looking forward to seeing how you get on. Best of luck to you!

Dammit

3,790 posts

207 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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My ~330mm (may be 326?) AP discs and brake calipers fit under Volans, so 302’s def will

Cookeh

Original Poster:

247 posts

87 months

Wednesday 7th February 2018
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Some more minor updates.... namely getting the tracking sorted (£28, seems pretty reasonable. Wheels straight had the steering wheel at about 2 o'clock, and the toe was 4' on one side and 14' on the other. Clearly never got adjusted after getting new lower arms a while ago...)

Next up was new wipers front and rear, £20 - seems a good price to me. They were definitely needed too!



Then another £18 on some eBay mats, fit really well surprisingly, smarten the interior a tad too.

.

Cookeh

Original Poster:

247 posts

87 months

Friday 9th February 2018
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Managed to get home slightly early today, and was pleased to find the new indicator lamps I'd ordered (from Germany, on Tuesday at 11pm...) had arrived. Old ones were cracked, had algae growing in them, and were crazing over so wanted to sort those out..plus for £16 delivered for both it was hard to say no. Swapping them out was as simply as unclipping an S-shaped tensioned spring. Yep, that really was it... shocked me.

I've also contacted a guy breaking an 850 about the rear centre brake light cover that I'm missing and a replacement gaiter - we'll see what happens there. Cover is surprisingly irritating, actually, as there is a pin hole so when driving at night braking illuminates the whole rear interior.

Anyway, some pics:

Nastiness:


Shiny:


Installed:

Dammit

3,790 posts

207 months

Friday 9th February 2018
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I thought that the headlights were just rubbish on mine, then swapped to new headlight assemblies - turns out when they've got all the silvering still present the lights are actually ok.

Here's mine: