Parts Car

My niece wrecked her 1992 Volvo 240 Sedan, so I now have a parts car.  The first thing I did was to take the spare tire.  Unfortunately the battery did not hold a charge--I could have used that.  I plan to remove the window exterior seals as these are much better than mine.  I pulled some of the trim off.

One thing I'd like to do is take the seats out and replace the covers with new covers.  Her seats were much more comfortable than mine. Also there are lots of nice parts I can sell.  It has the Tachometer conversion,  Voltmeter and small clock.  Plus the engine ran good.  I should either sell that or save it.  The clutch and transmission are good.  She wants the stereo in her new car.  Tires are old and not worth anything.  It has lots of nice interior trim, but not in my color.  I may try to salvage teh fuel tank for use on one of my trailers that I'm building into a service trailer for work in the woods.  I would supply gasoline to field equipment.

Spare Tire

I discovered that while a full sized spare fits in a 240 sedan trunk, it does not fit in my 240 wagon.  I talk to my body shop guy and he recommended trimming some sheet metal to see if it would drop it.  The issue is the tire is too wide.  Tire size is 205-75R15 a bit wider than stock.  I do have a spare from another car I can use, but it is the wrong diameter--slightly, and I don't trust it.  My original spare blew apart in the storage compartment.  I found that this is not uncommon.  The tires were made with sharp edges in the steel core and as the tire deflates, or possible is inflated again, the tire saws itself apart.  So you can see why I would prefer a full sized spare--or else I can ditch the spare, save the weight and get towing insurance.  I lean towards making it fit.  I'd rather try this out on a junker car first before I start cutting metal on my pristine car.  From what I can see it looks like the added space will let the tire drop farther into the storage compartment.  I can trim some metal off the other side up high near the side windows which might help also.  I suppose I could bang out the bottom sheet metal some if I need a bit more space.  This will have to wait a bit as I am busy with other projects.

Center Console Arm Rest

I installed a center console arm rest that I got for free.  It is black and matches my interior.  Installing was a bit of a PITA and needs a little tweaking as it prevents fully releasing the parking brake.  In any event, I love it.  I drove to Washington DC on Monday and back that evening.  I found the arm rest comfortable and it held my arm is just the right position for operating the manual transmission.  It also had four drink holders, two for the front and two for the back seat.  The drink holders lack the flip down parts that prevent a drink from falling through.  However, they are perfect for a tapered paper cup.   I highly recommend this part if you can find one.

New Tires

Here are my new tires.  I bought Michelin Harmony Tires. These are 195-65R15's mounted on my Virgo Rims.  I held off on buying these until I found an extra rim so I could buy a full sized rim.  One problem I have is these tires are a little short so I lost some of my top end speed and the speedometer reads high.  I am thinking about taking these back and putting on 205-65R15's. The ride is great.  They corner well, and have a high tread wear rating.  I should be able to get as much as 100,000 miles on these tires, if they don't wear out due to the rubber breaking down from UV light.  In any case, having a full size spare will allow me to have a five tire rotation (these are not directional tires), and give me a bit more confidence on long trips.

Purchased: A 5th Virgo wheel for a spare tire

Not long ago, I scored a set of perfect Virgo wheels for $150.  These came with four over sized tires, two of which are nearly worn out.  The other two are in decent shape but are two heavy for this car, and also too tall.  A 5th Virgo Wheel cost $75, but gives me the option of a five tire rotation.  I will be able to swap tires all around and my wagon will look complete in any configuration.

I want to buy a set of five Micheline Engergy Saver A/S tires.  These tires are not in production at the moment. I've been waiting and hoping Michelin will start producing these again for the last six months.  If not available, I will buy Michelin Harmony tires, mount them up, and use a five tire rotation.  The Harmony tires are bi-directional offering greater flexibility in tire rotation.

Looking forward, what is next after this?  I'd like a larger fuel tank--instead of 15 gallons, I want to carry 30 gallons.  With Energy Saver A/S tires I should be able to achieve a range of over 900 miles.  I was getting 32.5 mpg on my last set of tires which were 60% worn which reduces rolling resistance.  I might see a slight reduction in fuel economy at first, but I expect it to improve as the tires wear in some.  I'm hoping to at least maintain that 32.5 mpg and hopefully improve it.  I'm sure in the long run I could see as much as 34 mpg with these tires and keeping my speed under 60 mph on the highway.

Other goals are installing two Ham Radios and two antenna mounts. And finding two four way switches for my power mirrors.

Instrument Cluster and Wiring issues.

I have had a few wiring issues.  I'm pleased to report replacing my instrument cluster was causing some problems.  Replacing it fixed that.  Another problem was the front turn signal was damaged when I steam cleaned my new engine.  So I will fiddle with that some and if that doesn't work, I'll replace it. 

The next issue is to fix the turn signal stalk and cruise control.

I also discovered there is a problem with the mass flow sensor which explains my high fuel consumption.  I dropped it at the shop for that.  I may ask them to take a look at the cruise control--just to wrap all that up.

My next projects will be to install an arm rest, and repairing the drivers seat lumbar support.

Blown Engine

I have not posted in a while because I blew the motor in my Volvo 240.  So I searched around and found a used motor in a wrecked 240 wagon, also a 1992 model, and bought it for $425 which included some trim, a drink holder, a spare headlight bulb, tail lamp, and a few other parts.

I have the motor in now and it is running great.  It has all new gaskets, a new clutch kit, and all new seals.  Unfortunately, I have some sort of bearing noise now.  It might be the rear end.  I will find out soon.  It is difficult to tell where the noise is coming from so I will need some help to figure that out.

Other problems to be resolved are some wiring issues.  My turn signals stopped working and when my lights are on, the dash instruments short out.  Hopefully, I'll have all these remaining issues cleared up in the next month.