Volvo 780 Bertone Project Pt. 1 - In Over My Head

So I had planned to make a write up on the 780 Bertone much before this month, but with work slowing down it was time to get in the holiday spirit of spending money and actually work on the 780. To make this simple for myself to follow (since it has been a slow couple of months tinkering with the car), I wanted to get a list made of everything I had marked down that the car needed when I got it. As follows:

• Passenger side hood latch not catching

• Radio mast bent / broken

• Radio not working

• Light fault warning

• Poor idle

• Broken drivers seat controls

• Oil Change

• Brakes going to floor

• Check coolant

• Electrical gremlins in dash / lighting system

• Suspension damage

• Exhaust rust

• Interior needs lots of TLC

Quite the extensive list I know. One of the first the first things I wanted to tackle was the mechanical bits and bobs so that I could actually drive the thing without it stalling or hitting a tree. First up was the brakes. I was told when I got the car that they were bad, and I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Got the car up on the rack and removed the wheels hoping that maybe it was just air in the lines.

After a full flush, it was becoming apparent that it was NOT a problem with air in the lines, but an issue with the master cylinder bleeding off pressure. Luckily brake master cylinders for these cars are shared with the 700 series as a whole, and as such I was able to get a good reman. one for the cheap.

The reservoir was cleaned thoroughly to ensure all the old crusty fluid was not going to contaminate the new master.

Thankfully installing one of these is just 2 bolts and 2 hardlines, and within an hour the new system was installed and bled. Now, the car could easily drive itself around the shop yard without being a complete risk of rolling away.

Next in the process was the hood / grille situation. I would like to mention that this car is repainted, and due to this many of the little trim pieces and parts have been removed and reinstalled. The grille was fixed in such a way that it was skewed at an angle, and this was quickly fixed by setting it correctly into its spot and using a new push tab to secure it.

The moisture in the headlight was easily remedied with a fan pointed into a funnel which was inserted into the bulb hole.

One of the larger issues was the hood not latching on one side, and I will preface this by saying that my “fix” still isnt 100% however it does work. These cars use a cable that pulls two releases (one on each side of the hood). One of these latches, due to the nature of the cable stretching over time, does not like to reset back into place once pulled, causing the hood to not properly relatch. Two adjustments were made for this, one in the car where the cable handle can be tightened to pull out slack, and greasing of the mechanism to help it return to its place. Unfortunately it still wants to stay in the open position, however it can be easily returned to place with a small flathead.

The silver bar slides over the hood bar to latch into place.

Moving into the engine bay, I wanted to start tackling the idle and rough running issues I was experiencing with the car. Thankfully, the previous owner had left a lot of new parts in the trunk for me to install like spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor, distributor cap, and few other odds and ends. I figured I would throw all these parts into the car and see where it got me.

After the install of all these parts, unfortunately I was still getting a seeking idle as well as a slight misfire above 2500RPM. Time to hit the books, and really get my hands dirty with this motor.

Volvo 960 Project Pt. 5 - Taking my time.

960 Update

As luck would have it, the 960 started acting up just as I sold the S60. I was driving on Saturday around town when it suddenly started losing power. Immediately the engine began jumping in a feeling that I knew all too well from when I first got the car. Cylinder 2 was misfiring, and the loss of power was nothing short of significant as I was able to limp the car back to the shop under its own power. About a month prior during my road trip back from Florida I got a code for a lean running condition. I cleared those codes and they stayed gone for a wile, but now I can see that it was most likely the bad injector/spark plug I had starting to die on me. My first course of action was to replace the injectors as I had a spare set left over from the 850 days. The 960 actually uses the same Bosch injector as an 850. Installation is straight forward on the 960 as there are only 3 bolts holding the fuel rail in place. The bolts can be tough to access, and dropping one can mean losing it forever down below the intake manifold. For this I recommend using “dum-dum tape” which is 3M’s butyl rubber tape. A dab of the stuff inside a socket keeps the bolt securely in place during removal and the installation later on.

The plugs were also replaced at this time, I have no previous records on the car so most things I do are a mystery as to when they were last changed. The previous owner had installed NGKs which was a nice relief, and I used a Denso as a replacement as we already had them stocked in the shop. With the misfire resolved, it was time to test drive…

After only a few minutes the CEL was back on. This time for a rich condition. Damn. Back to the drawing board.

Well I knew that the condition had to have come from the “new” injectors. These were old used injectors from a junkyard car, so they were a mystery if they worked properly or not. I ordered a set of re manufactured injectors and began to inspect the ones I had.

My 960 most likely had its still original injectors. I could tell because all 6 bore the “A” mark, meaning they were part of the first batch of injectors that Bosch made for this part #. The 850, had 5 “B”s, and we also had a few spare “E”s in the shop.

I made sure to mark the old and new injectors so that I could tell which ones I replaced and which ones were “new”.

After I received the new injectors, I took a look at the rest installed in the car and found what was most likely causing my issues, broken O-rings.

Most of the injectors had broken or no pedestal, and this one had a very damaged O-ring.

One thing I did note about the reman. injectors I received was that they were all from different batches. While I later learned that it doesn’t make a difference, it would have been a nice peace of mind. These fresh injectors were tested and had new hardware like rings and caps. They were installed without a hitch and it has been running without a hitch (fingers crossed).

Everything was going great for about 3 hours. Thats when I decided to take the car out to go grab some dinner. Arrive at the location, go to grab the inner door handle and POP, the handle went limp on me. It still actuated the door, however it was not returning into place. In my haste, I got home, grabbed my tools, and began to remove the door panel. Well I did this without a guide so I just brute forced the doorcard off, thinking it would be the same as my S60. Well I was wrong, it destroyed the clips at the bottom that have a pop out retainer on them which is easily removed from the door…

You live and you learn.

Well I did find the culprit to my issue. The spring in the handle had sheared clean in half!

This is supposed to be one piece…

Removing the handle on the 960 is an easy process and only requires a punch / screwdriver and a hammer. It is help in with a pin with the spring behind it providing a force to return the handle to its resting location. A quick trip to LKQ and I had a new spring ready to go. I also had to order new pins for the door, but for now it is solid with just the screws behind the grab handle.

A Very Volvo September

As usual, i have neglected to post on here for a long while. When this happens, it usually means that thing have been going on in the background and recording my endeavors gets sort of pushed to the wayside. Recently though I have acquired a new car, one that I think a lot of people will enjoy reading about. Before I show it off, lets recap what has happened over the summer since my last update!

2012 Volvo S60

Almost nothing happened with this car over the summer. In fact it spent most of its time in the garage. It was sold to its new owner in Montana in early September. I wish I had more of a final celebration for it given the fact that it was my first Volvo, and the one that helped launch this blog, but its departure is nothing note worthy. I think I had been mentally over the car for some time, and other cars and projects in my life have taken over.

The final shoot i did with the car. Photo by @itsmackeever

1997 Volvo 960

Its no shock to anyone that this car has taken the place of the S60 for me. I haven’t had to do a ton of work to it, however it has definitely changed in appearance. Early in May I recieved the set of Ocean Mk18 wheels I ordered back in the winter, and ignorant of the fitment for the 960 I attempted to mount them on the car. What I learned was that the track width of a 960 is actually different than the 940. The Mk1 960s, the ones that look more like a 740/760 use the same solid rear axle as a 940. However, the Mk2. 960s (which mine is) use a Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) giving the 960 a FWD type offset instead of RWD. As such, the room to fit a higher offset wheel is lowered.

Using 235/40/18 tires, these wheels still had over an inch of poke. Wasnt the look or functionality I wanted.

After spending the money I did to import these wheels from Sweden just to not be able to use them took the wind out of my sails for a few days. I started doing a lot of searching for 5x108 wheels I could run on the wagon, and finally came to a realization. I still had the set of Ocean Storm wheels from my S60 R Design. I had been planning on selling them, but I found that with some work I would be able to fit them up to the 960. The Ocean Storms have a fairly aggressive positive offset to clear the suspension on the S60 so a 1” (25mm) spacer was going to be needed. With that spacer I would have an 18x8 wheel with a ~30mm offset. With a 215 width tire, the fitment was good enough that it didnt poke and rub was minimal.

Having spent the past few months slowly refining the 960, it was finally time for its ultimate test. A round trip from Greensboro, NC all the way to Daytona Beach, FL and back. I only had 4 days to get there and back, so the 960 was going to be rolling at least 5-6 hours a day in the summer heat. As such, more preventative maintenance was needed. The last thing from my original list of items from back in Sept. of 2019 was to do the timing belt. I had no records of when it was last done, and with the motor in the 960 being an interference design, it was better to be safe than sorry. The engine recieved a whole front end refresh kit with new idler bearing, pulley, water pump, tensioner, and belt. This way I could feel confident the car wouldnt have any cooling issues on its trip.

The straight 6 configuration makes it very easy to access everything for the service.

The trip did go off without a hitch, with one tiny asterisk. On my return trip, only about 20 miles from the NC border, the car did through a Bank 1 Lean code. However, after I cleared the code twice it has yet to return after hundreds more miles of driving. This car does have some weird quirks when it has been running in hot temps for a while. I suspect that high pressure in the fuel rail combined with the heat and a leaky injector contribute to the stumble it sometimes suffers from after doing long highway drives in the southern summer heat. New injectors and possibly a purge valve on the schrader valve of the fuel rail may help alleviate this issue.

Raceday at Daytona!

1987 Volvo 780 Bertone

Well it finally happened, I finally bought a Volvo coupe. While I dont plan on giving too many details here (working on the first installment of this cars blog posts as I write this one!), I can say that this car is an absolute gem. I definitely have a lot of work cut out for me, the interior of this Bertone is in dire need of some TLC, and with the production numbers being so low, replacing panels isnt a cheap or easy option. This may be my first experience with recarpeting and reupholstering a car, as the tan interior has been badly sunburnt from its time in the south east. This car will be my winter project, and hopefully a good flip! No doubt working on this car will be a major learning experience for me, as information on repairs is much more scarce compared to your average 740. Stay tuned, this is going to get interesting.

960 Project Pt. 4 - End of Spring Almost Summer Updates

Since my last update back in February, I have had a lot of changes happen in my life. I went from an office job, to working full time for a local Volvo shop. I now do the marketing and classic car & car parts sales for Hailey Import Service. Due to this, I have been busy but lots of mods have been happening to my 960. My last update I had done a few comfort modifications, but I have upgraded the car even further. The car got a new dash carpet, full steam clean (again), and some much better air fresheners to remove the old musty smell. Using the ozone generator followed by an order remover disk I was able to neutralize the mold smell caused by the water leaks in the car. A re-sealed sunroof has also helped reduce water entry into the car.

Over the past few months, I have been driving the car on an almost daily basis, slowly building up a trust in its reliability. I have been able to do 2 round trips to visit my family in Charleston, SC and the car had no hiccups from the 4 hour drive each way.

Safety has also been improved with new lighting and taillights. I used LED upgrades in the lights and the difference was significant. Fahren LEDs were used for the headlights, and SNGL LEDs were used for the fog lights. Both kits were ordered with a 6600k color tone to give the car a clean white look up front.

One of the major issues I have had with this car have been the abused cosmetics. The paint is in rough shape in a lot of locations around the car, and does show signs of a respray at some point. During a washing session, the power washer took the paint on the rear drivers door clean off revealing a white door underneath. Since then I have begun the process of using vinyl wrap to cover the worst affected panels on the car. Avery gloss black has been used due to its cheap price, as well as its very close color match to Volvo 019 black color code.

Side shot showing the painted drivers door vs. the wrapped rear door.

The hood before. Note the clear coat spots and “crows feet” marks.

After, not 100% color accurate but much better.

Other additions to the car have mostly been cosmetic. A set of used corner lights from the UK were imported. I have always liked the clean look of clear lights up front. The set cost me about $80 when all said and done. Expensive, but around the going rate for a set in the US. A bonus was that they came with the sockets for a single filament bulb instead of dual like ours require.

960 Project Pt. 3 - Always Remember Your Oil

Its the new year, and progress has finally been made in the drive-ability of the 960. Over the past few months I have been slowly accumulating parts to fix all the small issues with the car. I was finally able to take a whole day and get the car up on a lift. I want to make a special thank you to Haileys Import Service in Greensboro, NC, who I have been going to for a while with my Volvos. They let me have access to their shop, tools, and a lift to get everything done on the 960 sand saved me likely days of work. They also helped me procure a new 960 seat from an S90 which fits perfectly in the car (well its the wrong color, but hey its not ripped, and actually moves!)

Let start off with the seat, this was a whole process, but surprisingly cheap to do. I saw my local LKQ had a nice Volvo S90 in the yard, and I was able to get to it very quickly to aquire a new seat. The removal process was fairly standard, and only takes 4 bolts and a few electrical connectors to remove. I found the hardest part was lining the “plugs” up to take the seat out of the rails. The seat uses a similar system to what you would see on an old hotel door lock chain, where it slides into a hole then down the rail where it is locked into place. Getting the seat in the right place to get it out of these holes is a painful experience and requires a lot of pushing and pulling on the seat.

For an LKQ car I was genuinely surprised at the quality of the interior. Usually these cars are absolutely wrecked, then again this one did have a pretty serious water leak beginning to develop unfortunately. Once I was able to get it back to the shop, installation was very easy, and I am disapointed I didnt get a picture of my old drivers seat since it was in quite the state.

A rogue golf tee, some candy wrappers, and a quarter. My “bounty” found under the seat.

After removing the seat, it made more sense to me why mold had begun to grow on the center console. I was able to take care of the mold with a bleached cloth, as well as a slew of degreasers and cleaners. An ozone generator is going to be used in the car for good measure.

The next steps were mostly mechanical fixes. For a long time, the car has been leaking power steering fluid. I was able to track this back to a leaking return line (non pressurized). You will see in the picture that the hose I removed was original and even had the late 1996 printing date on it. Volvo sells OEM replacement hose, and other than the mess that the fluid made coming out, the replacement process is as easy as undoing 2 hose clamps and taking off the hold hose. I found removing the bottom first was easier due to being able to pull up on it, but removing the hose from the reservoir require some special tools that could pry the hose away from the flange.

The ends of the old hose were super tight from 23 years of being installed.

Keep in mind the hose is cut to fit, so some trimming will be needed. Some new ATF was poured into the system, and the bubbles burped out by giving the rack a few back and forth movements with the steering wheel.

The last handful of fixes were around the front suspension area. New Lemforder end links were installed with ease, and helped the handling of the car significantly. The old end links had insane amounts of play, and I do not doubt that they were original 1997 equipment. They were work enough that they had almost 0 resistance and could be freely moved around in their joints. Additionally, new brake rotors were installed, and the old pads were sanded down to give them a fresh face.