I’ve been wanting to type out a build thread on my car for quite some time so here we go.
I bought the car in early 2022 for $500 out of a field in Montana
I drove out to pick it up and discovered it was a running and driving car with around 260,000 miles. The car was a 2 owner car and was bought and spent most of its life in Canada.
It was in pretty rough shape. After a fluid change, power steering rack, exhaust, and rear brakes it was inspected and road worthy. For the next few months, I slowly replaced parts as they broke and went through stage 0. Lots of interesting bits were found in this car such as bolts blocking off vacuum lines and a disconnected waste gate actuator.
As for modification, I started with light OEM+ parts. 302mm front brake upgrade, H&R lowering springs, boost controller and gauge at 14 psi, short shifter, and every shift bushing I could. Slowly, I moved to more in-depth mods as I gained confidence wrenching. IPD intake box, Poly engine mounts, ARD black tune, Walbro 255, OBX turboback, IPD rip kit, and Snabb turbo inlet went in next. I didn’t do too many aesthetic modifications just an OEM wing, fixed foglights, and used Enkei M52 wheels. At this time, the car was my daily driver and was quite the hoot for a 16-year-old kid. During this time, the slave cylinder started leaking so a bottle of DOT 4 was always in the back.
In early 2024, the 26-year-old motor was tired and gave in. At this point, the engine had put in around 290,000 miles and had 30 psi of compression, most likely due to high miles, a lead footed teen, and a healthy dose of boost. And so a full engine bay reset was due.
I started with a used B5234t5 long block out of a 1997 Volvo 850R off marketplace for $800. The previous car was totaled and this engine was supposedly built by Rolling Motors and had 1000 miles on it. It was a big risk on whether or not his engine was at all legit but upon further investigation, all the claims were right and it had 167 psi compression. Plus it was one of the only “running” engines for my car within an 8 hour drive.
So the teardown began. In my barn during a NY fall/winter, I took everything out of the engine and ordered replacements for every broken part. You name it, I replaced it. Along with it, every part I could was cleaned and polished. My Dremel also saw a ton of use as I ported my turbo, exhaust manifold, and intake manifold. A whole host of go-faster parts went in as well, including: poly subframe mounts, BOV block off, R clutch, Japanifold, and more. The whole swap process took about 2-3 months.
The car ran good and didn’t have any issues beyond some oil leakage.
Next on the docket was an ECU and tune from Aaron at VAST. I cannot recommend Aaron enough. His tune made the car run better than stock. It just feels great to drive around town. The tune runs about 20 psi through a 16t turbo and pulls great from 3000rpm – 6100rpm.
As spring came around, I added a few more aesthetic mods. I started with BBS RS-GTs in a 17×7.5. Super happy to get my hands on these as they are a Japan-only wheel and are possibly a custom order, as they are Volvo a specific bolt pattern and hub bore, as well as not being offered in their catalogue. I wrapped them in a Continental Extreme Contact Sport 02 225/45/R17. I got an XC grill and a proper hood.
Under the hood, the car got a 60MM intercooler and a Vast catch can kit.
As the car sits now, the turbo has decided to call it quits, which is quite impressive as it has lasted 300,000 miles. As for the future, I have a set of Deatschwerks 650CC injectors on the way and plan to experiment with the Mamba Td04hlx-21th turbo, which I will provide a write-up for as it behaves on whiteblocks and possibly redblocks.
Thanks for taking the time to read my thread. I will update the thread as I make progress!