Volvo 940 Fast Road/Drift Project
Discussion
I've wanted to learn to drift for a while now, but I wanted a car that's nice on the road as well, as that's where it'll spend most of its time, so there'll be no stripped out interiors or welded diffs here. But what car to choose? Having ruled out old Japanese coupes for being too expensive and old BMWs for being a bit obvious, I settled on a Swedish brick of some kind. After being as patient as I could and waiting for a nice one to come up, in October last year I ended up with this beauty!
It's a 1998 940 Celebration estate, with the 2.3 litre turbo engine and the stronger manual gearbox. 165,000 miles, been in the same family since new, and barely any rust anywhere. In other words, it's exactly what I was after. It's pretty slow and the handling (or lack of) is hilarious but it's incredibly comfy and has a fair bit of tuning potential. It even fits on the driveway (just).
Progress has been fairly slow so far but it is getting there. The first job was a proper bucket seat (I've got another one for the passenger side but I'm still waiting on the brackets to mount it).
This was followed by a new steering wheel (the original one was way too big) and some extra gauges in place of the centre air vents.
A couple of weeks ago the gearbox came off so I could fit the lightened single mass flywheel and 850R clutch I'd bought as a kit.
Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it all before the gearbox went back on, so here's a picture of the old clutch and incredibly heavy DMF instead.
With the new clutch in and working, I threw in a bleed valve and upped the boost from 4 PSI to 9. Obviously 9 PSI is hardly going to set the world on fire, but I'm really pleased with the difference it's made. Unfortunately, with more power the handling seems even more scary. I think it's time for some new suspension...
It's a 1998 940 Celebration estate, with the 2.3 litre turbo engine and the stronger manual gearbox. 165,000 miles, been in the same family since new, and barely any rust anywhere. In other words, it's exactly what I was after. It's pretty slow and the handling (or lack of) is hilarious but it's incredibly comfy and has a fair bit of tuning potential. It even fits on the driveway (just).
Progress has been fairly slow so far but it is getting there. The first job was a proper bucket seat (I've got another one for the passenger side but I'm still waiting on the brackets to mount it).
This was followed by a new steering wheel (the original one was way too big) and some extra gauges in place of the centre air vents.
A couple of weeks ago the gearbox came off so I could fit the lightened single mass flywheel and 850R clutch I'd bought as a kit.
Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it all before the gearbox went back on, so here's a picture of the old clutch and incredibly heavy DMF instead.
With the new clutch in and working, I threw in a bleed valve and upped the boost from 4 PSI to 9. Obviously 9 PSI is hardly going to set the world on fire, but I'm really pleased with the difference it's made. Unfortunately, with more power the handling seems even more scary. I think it's time for some new suspension...
Looks good, a couple people have fitted S13 coilovers on these which tighten up the handling. Despite the looks, these are actually quite light for what they are (1400kg, lighter than a 1series / modern hatchback) and can make decent power; with good coilovers and geo they can handle very, very well. Some specs had LSDs; might be worth hunting one out
Cheers guys. For now it'll just be having lowering springs, and maybe some bigger anti roll bars, with the aim of getting some coilovers in the future. 
From what I've read, it seems the locking diff that some came with isn't really strong enough for drifting, which is a shame because they're fairly cheap. At the moment I'm planning on a Truetrac LSD from America, but that's a few months away yet.
From what I've read, it seems the locking diff that some came with isn't really strong enough for drifting, which is a shame because they're fairly cheap. At the moment I'm planning on a Truetrac LSD from America, but that's a few months away yet.
I finally got the chance to make some more progress today, and managed to get the suspension (nearly) done. First up was rear lowering springs:
Yes, that's the original driver's seat in the boot that I still haven't bothered to do anything with.
Then the car went back inside for front lowering springs, new top mounts and shiny new radius arms:
And now it looks...like a normal car.
Which shows just how high these sit as standard.
I discovered a leaking rear shock while I was there, which I'm actually quite grateful for, as it prompted me to look at replacements and discover that I have self-levelling rear shocks that need to be replaced with standard ones when the car is lowered. That's a job for another day, much like the adjustable panhard bar which I completely forgot I even had. Still, pretty pleased with the progress overall!
Yes, that's the original driver's seat in the boot that I still haven't bothered to do anything with.
Then the car went back inside for front lowering springs, new top mounts and shiny new radius arms:
And now it looks...like a normal car.
Which shows just how high these sit as standard.I discovered a leaking rear shock while I was there, which I'm actually quite grateful for, as it prompted me to look at replacements and discover that I have self-levelling rear shocks that need to be replaced with standard ones when the car is lowered. That's a job for another day, much like the adjustable panhard bar which I completely forgot I even had. Still, pretty pleased with the progress overall!
Progress has been slow recently (hence the lack of updates) as I've been waiting for parts to arrive. A couple of weeks ago everything seemed to arrive at once, so I can finally crack on.
The tatty, leaking rear shocks have been replaced with new Bilstein ones:
Having spent ages looking at different wheel options, I finally settled on Bola B1s in bronze. Last weekend I had them fitted with Rainsport 3s and quickly test fitted the rears with 25mm spacers. I need to order some 20mm spacers for the front, which should see the tyres just about clear the inner arches on full lock.
Finally, earlier this week I removed the standard camshaft and fitted the new Stage 2 one. Now I need to take it all apart again to sort out the valve clearances.
I'm also in the process of fitting a 3 inch turbo back exhaust (pictures to follow). Once that's done there's not a lot left before it's ready for the road.
The tatty, leaking rear shocks have been replaced with new Bilstein ones:
Having spent ages looking at different wheel options, I finally settled on Bola B1s in bronze. Last weekend I had them fitted with Rainsport 3s and quickly test fitted the rears with 25mm spacers. I need to order some 20mm spacers for the front, which should see the tyres just about clear the inner arches on full lock.
Finally, earlier this week I removed the standard camshaft and fitted the new Stage 2 one. Now I need to take it all apart again to sort out the valve clearances.
I'm also in the process of fitting a 3 inch turbo back exhaust (pictures to follow). Once that's done there's not a lot left before it's ready for the road.
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