To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Tuner4life's Mixed Imports Garage

OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Last night I tore into the Volvo. Turns out it was the starter itself that was bad. New parts are on the way, but here is how is sits for now.

Yeah, I know... I really need to clean up that workbench..


2012-10-17212822.jpg
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Previously, on the Volvo, I had polished the cam (valve) cover and the thermostat housing while I was upgrading the cams. This was from a few months ago:



2012-06-28070353.jpg


2012-06-23131415.jpg



Now, since I have to take the intake manifold off to change the starter, I'm going to polish the fuel rail and the manifold itself. Last night I got the fuel rail done (just need to pinstripe the 3 grooves), and got the manifold striped down, not eally looking forward to polishing that piece, lol.


2012-10-21014555.jpg


2012-10-20221841.jpg
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Special thanks to "wornoutoldman"!! He sent me these neat OEM Saab tools, some of which I have been looking for for a while!

2012-10-24222304.jpg
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Finished Volvo manifold:

2012-10-27162357.jpg



And installed on the car. Still have some detailing to do, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

2012-10-27191834.jpg
 

LoRollinLS

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
211
You've gotten off to a nice start on re-organizing things. Love to see a REAL working man's garage from time to time instead of the "museums". Looks great! Subscribed for more action.
 

Re-Volv

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 11, 2008
Messages
77
Nice job on the intake mani! Those are a pain in the *** to polish!

Saffron C70?? More pictures please.

I have about 8 Volvos myself at the moment...
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Thanks! Yeah, I look back and laugh a little bit about this car. I really didn't want it, but my wife did, she really wanted a C70 coupe, and she was wasn't going to settle for anything less than Saffron Orange. I had a couple extra cars at the time so she agreed to sell hers and we would keep a look out for this "unicorn volvo" since there wasn't one for sale anywhere in the country at the time... Well 3 days after we sold her previous car, this one pops up for sale in Chicago. I took it as a sign and we bought it. It seems like I am always working on fixing something on it, and it's always expensive.. I really wasn't fond of it at first, but the more time I spend working with it and driving it the more I really like it, in fact before next winter we are talking about trying to find an AWD s70 as a daily driver. Anyways, you only asked for pics...


SDC12277.jpg

2012-09-07175025.jpg

2012-07-26221603.jpg

2012-07-26121141.jpg




Here is the volvospeed thread if you are interested...

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/154317-tuner4lifes-1998-saffron-c70-progress-thread/



What kind of Volvo's do you have?
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Just to keep this thread updated.

All 4 Summer cars snuggled up hibernating for the winter.

C900 was the last one in there with some guidance from the wife, had to crawl out of the hatch. lol


2012-11-22230735.jpg


2012-11-22230646.jpg


2012-11-22230616.jpg


2012-11-22230542.jpg


2012-11-22230444.jpg


2012-11-22230325.jpg


2012-11-22230316.jpg


2012-11-22230252.jpg


2012-11-22230135.jpg
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
I don't like dollies. I've seen cars get leaned against and roll back into something damaging the body. I just move them around with a floor jack and set them down when they are where I want.



I also got some neat stuff for Christmas for the garage.

10" Sign:
2013-01-01131852.jpg



Coaster:
2013-01-01131827.jpg



OMG bright headlamp.
2013-01-01131931.jpg



Zipties!
2013-01-01131954.jpg
 

LoRollinLS

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
211
I don't like dollies. I've seen cars get leaned against and roll back into something damaging the body. I just move them around with a floor jack and set them down when they are where I want.

Touche'


I like that redneck sign! Where did you find that?
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
The redneck "sign" is actually just a 3"x3" ceramic coaster, I guess it does look out of proportion in the picture. It came from my grandmother-in-law, so who knows where it came from lol.
 

LoRollinLS

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
211
hey come to think of it, i bet that coaster came from hobby lobby, they sell similar coasters to that... :dunno: ill have to drop by there and see if they have any.
 

ket-tek

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
1,289
Any pics on the SC build? I see you said your having piggyback issues running na-t. What piggyback you running and what's your issues/plans, you gonna stay na-t or go gte when you start working on it again?? The TT wheels always look decent on those cars too. I've almost bought an SC a few times, but my GS keeps consuming too much time/money to start another 'similar' swap/build. Would love to see more of it.


Quite a bit of good progress on the garage. Cool idea with the sockets on the hangers.

2012-09-26214512.jpg
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Thanks!


The SC300 is a long term project and will be on hold until the other cars get done, because I know once I start dumping money into it, the others won't get done.

I don't have many pictures from the "build" since I bought the car prettymuch how it sits. I wasn't planning on buying it, but the rarity of the RSP blue with the black interior was a life long dream that I probably wouldn't be able to find again, so I bought it planning to build it in a few years.

Here are pics from the last time I washed it this fall: I just realized that I don't have any engine shots uploaded, I'll see about getting some tonight.

SDC12254.jpg


SDC12253.jpg


SDC12252.jpg


And this one...

2011-03-21135708.jpg



The plan (unless I magically get rich) is to keep it NA-t but swap to the 6 speed and run the AEM standalone. It is currently running the AEM FI-C and has some issues with cold starts and is pretty tricky to use (plus I want to start the electronics install fresh when I build it). Several people seem to have used it successfully, but the general consensus is that the standalone is way easier to deal with all around.

I like the GS platform too, but same as you, I can't seem to bring myself to start another so similar build..

Lets see your GS!
 
Last edited:

ket-tek

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 28, 2009
Messages
1,289
The links above aren't working for the SC?? Yeah the 97's are desirable, being the only year the they still were available in manual but also received the new aero kit/facelift. And black interior would be a must for me, I see you appreciate the same styling.

Most 97's were non-vvti and still had a distributor, but a handful of very late 97's were vvti then all 98-00's were. Is yours vvti?

It seems alot of people have good luck with the FIC but it all depends on the tuner. It's a pretty advanced piggyback and even can control injector pulsewidth.

Most people end up with hot start issues, more so than cold start. Since oem ecu ignores the o2 signal on a cold start you shouldn't have much issue. But the fic does also have iat compensation for hot/cold start help if implemented properly. What injector size you running?

But yeah most all tuners will just say give me a standalone and I'll guarantee I can tune it for you. Doesn't mean though that the FIC can't work well if done properly.

I'll post back a few GS pics tonight when I get back home..
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
The links above aren't working for the SC?? Yeah the 97's are desirable, being the only year the they still were available in manual but also received the new aero kit/facelift. And black interior would be a must for me, I see you appreciate the same styling.

Most 97's were non-vvti and still had a distributor, but a handful of very late 97's were vvti then all 98-00's were. Is yours vvti?

It seems alot of people have good luck with the FIC but it all depends on the tuner. It's a pretty advanced piggyback and even can control injector pulsewidth.

Most people end up with hot start issues, more so than cold start. Since oem ecu ignores the o2 signal on a cold start you shouldn't have much issue. But the fic does also have iat compensation for hot/cold start help if implemented properly. What injector size you running?

But yeah most all tuners will just say give me a standalone and I'll guarantee I can tune it for you. Doesn't mean though that the FIC can't work well if done properly.

I'll post back a few GS pics tonight when I get back home..


Alright, I fixed the pics.

Mine is still a distributor setup, but once I build it, I will most likely end up with Coil-on-plug. Injectors are the stockers for now. It is only running about 5 psi and doesn't go lean under boost.

I completely agree that The Fi-C can be a good setup, but nobody around here seems to know anything about it. To me the benefits of getting a standalone far outweigh the costs. When the time comes, I might look into it a little more, but it's still a long while away.

:beer:
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Haven't done much to the garage itself since it is being used for storage of the vehicles over the winter and there is no room. But over the last week I did move some stuff out and did an overhaul of the brakes, suspension, tune up, and other miscellaneous stuff on the Volvo C70. That car is almost ready for summer.


2013-02-14000805_zps246c4cb5.jpg




And on the white Saab 9000 (not so much ready for summer) I took the doghouse off to work on patching the rust starting behind the fenders. Should be done messing with the rust after that is finished.


2013-02-10201459_zpscfb2d686.jpg

2013-02-10201538_zps760f6499.jpg

2013-02-10201556_zps1c644b8e.jpg



More POR15, here we come.
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Had an open evening to work on stuff, so I repaired the wall between the door to the house and the backyard. I thought it would be cool to have license plates covering that wall behind the shelving I wanted to put up. I need more plates though lol.


2013-02-26070408_zps902aab9b.jpg

2013-02-26070345_zpsa08b4450.jpg
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Quick update, the garage furnace **** the bed. So I'll be looking for a newer more efficient heater. Maybe 2 smaller ceiling mounted units or possibly a gas unit if money permits.

On a lighter note, it was quite entertaining having the fire department and gas company swarm my house at 1 in the morning after my co2 alarm went off. lol
 

G20-Budo

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
987
Location
Chandler, AZ
Enjoying your thread (Both the garage AND the cars). :) I'm not much of a Saab guy (as in, I don't know much about them), but I do really like the Volvo. I like how it looks on the exterior, but after you polished a few parts, the engine looks great too. Keep up the good work, I'll be following your thread.
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Haven't updated this in a while, too busy working on other stuff and the garage was just crammed with stuff and cluttered. I put the SC300 and the Volvo C70 in storage this winter wo I won't have to cram 4 of them in the garage again and make it unusable for the winter. I am waiting on my white Saab to come back from getting some body work done, so I have staarted working on the garage again.


First, I got a bunch of old license plates and added to the shelving. I also had to move the old Ricky Rudd cutout to the bottom.





Then I built a shelf...



I mounted it to the wall on the south ease corner of the garage behing where my '86 Saab is stored. I needed a shelf to set my plastic drawers on which I have sorted/filled with nuts, bolts, washers, clamps, etc.. Basically any small hardware that would just otherwise lay around. The drawer units are very heave not that they are filled with hardware and I didn't trust just screwing them to the wall, so, while they are fastened to the wall, the shelf supports most of the weight.

I have several more of these little drawer units that will be filled with whatever other random small stuff I can't find a home for. I love my label maker. I also hung my organized drill bit case under the shelf along with my recently organized zip tie carier, come-along, jumper cables, etc.. It's not all done yet, but here are some pics of that..




The other thing that has been taking up a lot of time is my new project. I've wanted to get into drifting for a while, so I bought a cheap 1991 Cressida that was blown up. The quick and easy plan is to use the 1UZFE V8 from a 1990 Lexus LS400 and make a drifter out of it.. Here are a couple of pics..






Here's the build thread for it if anyone wants to follow..

http://jzxproject.com/bbs/index.php?showtopic=9332


We also bought my wife a new winter car: It's a 1997 Volvo 850 Base. It's like her C70 except with less options, more doors, and no turbo, rims, or ground clearance to worry about. She is liking it for winter. It has heated cloth seats and the hottest freakin heater in the world.



I'm still rocking the Camry in the winter for now.


Also picked up a free snow blower from a neighbor that is moving to Florida, but more on that when I start tuning it up. That's the quick recap of what's been going on over the summer, but winter is build season, so I'll be posting more updates here about the cars and garage. I've missed this forum!
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
Well.. It is bittersweet, but this thread must come to an end. We are moving to a new home with a 2 car attached and a 30x40x15 shop! Almost everything from this garage including all shelving, posters, etc will be coming with us when we move..

Link to the new thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4566477#post4566477

There have been lots of cars built, projects done, good times, bad times, and tons of memories made in this garage over the last 6 years. I will always miss my first garage, but on to bigger and better things! Thanks to everyone who read and contributed to this thread!

:beer:
 
OP
T

tuner4life

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
266
Location
Indiana
The old house should be sold this week.. Definitely a lot of memories, but now it's time for someone else to make it their own.. Got the last of our stuff out, just need to clean it up a little this weekend for the new owners.



 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom