Changed all fluids- everything looked good, except for the coolant which is always rusty. I was especially worried about the diff, since I made the shims out of tractor supply parts, but the gear oil wasn't sparkly and there wasn't much on the magnet so I'm calling it good.
Replaced the starter:
Looks like the old one had a broken solder joint, causing an intermittent starting issue. I can probably resolder this and have a good spare:
Put the rest of the car back together, topped up fluids, and drove it:
It drives as well as it ever does, and the new radiator seems fine. Not sure how much help the vent I added is, seems like putting some back by the strut towers would also help based on how hot the hood gets there.
When I got back, I unscrewed the radiator cap and there was no pressure- this isn't the first time I've had one of these Volvo caps fail, so maybe that was part of our cooling problem as well.
So, the new radiator works but the cap may be non functional? Seems like you would have experienced some overheating issues with the bad cap or this is a testament to the cooling capacity of the new setup which will be even better with a new cap?
In reply to Samebutdifferent :
No overheating- the new setup is definitely pretty good and will hopefully improve further with a new cap. In this case, the cap is on the (also pressurized) coolant reservoir and therefore not actually part of the new radiator. It's the same cap we ran at NEFR, and there's a little bit of a "chicken or egg" thing there with whether we actually got the cap hot enough to fail, or whether the cap failed and let the car get hot.
Regardless, it looks like you have the cooling under control. Should eliminate another trouble spot and increase your chances of a podium finish in the near future.
The outer door handle on Sara's side broke at the end of the rally. It's actually really easy to swap... except I store all of the parts car bits inside the parts car shell, and the passenger door was on the bottom. Lots of unpacking just to take out two screws:
Cap replaced, the cooling system still wasn't holding pressure. Created a "blow into the hose, stupid" pressure test arrangement:
The cheap aftermarket reservoir is leaking through a crack right at the threads. Genuine Volvo replacement ordered- annoying, but promising that it stays relatively cool even with no pressure.
Then moved on to pedal reinforcements:
Some seam welding on the pedal box:
This spring helps keep the brake pedal from moving side to side. I stretched it as much as I dared and reinstalled:
And I welded a tab to the firewall as a reverse stop for the gas pedal- previously it could just bounce rearwards as much as it wanted:
I also welded a big piece of metal to the brake pedal mount but failed to photograph it before reinstalling the pedals. Driving it, I'd say things are 50% of the way to being where I'd want them- on this car, that's good enough. The biggest improvement is that the gas pedal can't bounce around, so I can consistently heel-toe it without wondering if it'll get hung up on my shoe. If I swap the engine at a later date I'll take the opportunity to put a real motorsports pedal box in it.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:
If I swap the engine at a later date I'll take the opportunity to put a real motorsports pedal box in it.
A month ago you were willing to ball it up into a tree at NEFR and move on. Now you're talking engine swaps :)
I like this turn of events.
In reply to irish44j :
It's still very much both. Hating the car and trying to improve it are not mutually exclusive 
759NRNG
UltraDork
8/11/19 8:43 p.m.
this is a rally unicorn ...embrace it .....mend it.....with support from the hive.....onward and upward.....be safe....right side up.....and give the Navigator a BIG HUG...yu goof!!! 
In other news, I've confirmed with the tech people that I don't have to chop off the cage tubes in front of the strut towers until it's convenient, so that can wait until next time the engine is out.
In reply to MrChaos :
Yes, but a hatchback. That's a decent price though!
New coolant reservoir! Holds pressure, looks to be better quality.
I even managed to retain the coolant by installing it one handed while plugging the outlet in the (still full) old one with my other hand
It's my birthday, favorite present? This glorious piece of art that Sara commissioned- "Better Than Ken Block" by Ashley Gilbert, White Stallion Studio, Wood Burning and Colored Pencil, 2019:
java230
UltraDork
8/18/19 6:18 p.m.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
Most excellent! Sara rocks.
That, sir, is pretty awesome :)
How do you put miles on the rally car? Use it for barn work! 
With all of the other projects (house, Kawasaki, shop roof) currently going on the budget won't support STPR unless some sort of miracle happens, so the plan is to go and crew for Josh at that one.
Saw this :https://www.ebay.com/itm/174022957587
and thought of this thread.
Registration for the 2020 Mt. Washington Hillclimb opened at midnight so I submitted an "application" for this car. It's not a normal event where you just register and you're in- you need to send photos and history and stuff and then hear back in a few months about whether you made it onto the entry list or not. Fingers crossed!
In other news, after a few more house and other vehicle things I'll be getting back to work on this beast- it needs some small cage updates for next year, new harnesses, and I think I may remove the front swaybar and install compression struts instead to try and get better turn-in.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
There’s an Xr4Ti nearby that looks nice & can probably be bought under Challenge budget. I’m very definitely absolutely not going to allow myself to go check it out - mostly due to all the flaws & problems these cars have that I’ve learned from you. My wife thanks you, though she doesn’t know that yet...
In reply to Pete Gossett :
On the other hand, I do have plenty of cheap parts for you if you get it... 
Pete Gossett said:
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
There’s an Xr4Ti nearby that looks nice & can probably be bought under Challenge budget. I’m very definitely absolutely not going to allow myself to go check it out - mostly due to all the flaws & problems these cars have that I’ve learned from you. My wife thanks you, though she doesn’t know that yet...
IDK where you are, but there are at least four of them listed for under $2k in the mid-Atlantic, on Fb Marketplace....
irish44j said:
Pete Gossett said:
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
There’s an Xr4Ti nearby that looks nice & can probably be bought under Challenge budget. I’m very definitely absolutely not going to allow myself to go check it out - mostly due to all the flaws & problems these cars have that I’ve learned from you. My wife thanks you, though she doesn’t know that yet...
IDK where you are, but there are at least four of them listed for under $2k in the mid-Atlantic, on Fb Marketplace....
There was one listed for $200 in Kentucky but it looked like it had some rust and other issues, was also missing an engine and transmission. I bought tires for my daily that weekend instead of another money pit.
MrChaos
SuperDork
11/1/19 7:25 p.m.
ok so hear me out. Keeping in the 4cyl turbo realm. Turbo or NA K swap in front of a getrag or cd09? should drop a decent amount of weight. could rev to 9k NA
