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264TT-R
Updates 10 September 2012 Car has begun a restoration project. Head over to the restoration page and take a look. 2 February 2011 It's been a while since I've updated, so here's a collection of updates over the past little while. I ended up breaking 3 teeth off the pinion gear in the diff, mainly due to old age, so I replaced the crown and pinion gears with Yukon 3.73:1 gears. They are silent in operation and so far are performing very well. My 2nd PWR radiator also gave up the ghost, after only a year or so of operation. It was hypothesised that electrolysis was the cause, but several tests indicated zero voltage in the coolant. I think aluminium radiators are not suited for road use, and should be used for racing applications. Frustrated, I had South Coast Radiators copy my PWR unit and create a copper/brass unit. The boys did an excellent job, and the weight difference is negligible. I've had it installed since September so far it has performed very well, in some cases keeping the oil temperature a few degrees cooler. The immediate future is looking at a full suspension upgrade with new springs and shocks all round, as well as hopefully a respray. Stay tuned! 7 April 2009 A few weeks ago I had installed some suspension parts ordered from DVS in Melbourne. I purchased lower chassis braces, and adjustable strut brace and an adjustable panhard bar. The results are absolutely fantastic - tighter cornering, less body roll, a more solid feel of the car, and less driveline shock which has translated into smoother driving. An excellent upgrade, I am most pleased with the results.6 October 2008 Not much news on the car front lately, as the car's been going as well as I could hope. Mainly some maintenance in the last few weeks with the installation of a new driver's side wiper, new passenger side power window motor, and rewiring of the passenger side central locking system. Also fixed up some loose wiring in the rear light clusters, which was giving me an intermittently working brake light. I've added some new shots of the car with the new lights. 18 March 2008 Had the new quad headlights and Prosport gauges installed. The headlights definitely make the car look a bit meaner, and also provide better clearance to the air box and both sides of the intercooler. The gauges now sit on a custom bracket above the clock, and the old gauges mounted on top of the dash are gone. New gauges are boost, oil pressure, volts, and oil temperature. Pics to come soon. 1 February 2008 Installed four new discs, two new front calipers and new pads all round. Front discs have been upgraded to vented/slotted, and rears to solid/slotted, both by RDA. New vented-size Volvo 4-piston front calipers have also been added. Ferodo DS2500 pads have been installed in the rear, but due to fitment issues not in the front. A leftover set of Bendix Ultimates are on their way for the front, as Bendix no longer make the Ultimates for volvo calipers. New photos are in the Gallery section. 8 January 2008 Obtained four new tyres, BF Goodrich, as well as replaced non-functional wiper-washer motor. Also had to file a small "channel" into the bore of the steering-wheel boss to accommodate the horn wire. Previously I was not able to fit a socket into the boss due to the wire being in the way. Now the wire can sit in its own area, and the socket is free to descend the boss to access the nut. This also fixed intermittent horn problem. December 2007 Pedal box causing issues with clutch master cylinder leaking. Theory is that the pedal box is bent from the excessive load from the previous clutch, and not driving the clutch pushrod straight into the cylinder, rather on an angle and putting pressure on the side of the bore. Had the cylinder honed, and a new pedal box installed. Old box was in fact significantly bent. Also, Stu and Nathan at Bezerkly decided to get smart and paint my crossmember pink. They'll get theirs! 8 November 2007 Installed new Jim Berry clutch. Pedal feel is now fantastic. Clutch pedal pressure is much more linear, rather than the old clutch which felt like a brass-button. New, smaller bore master cylinder has also helped significantly. High clamp load of 2700lbs is still achieved with light pedal effort, even deceivingly so. New clutch photo added to Gallery. 16 July 2007 Discovered problem with new heater core. Been getting coolant fog through the air vents, and coolant patches on the ground, so I think the core is a dud. Will have to get a new core on warranty. 24 June 2007 Sound system reinstalled. Some wires needed to be modified as the second subwoofer box sits further to the left due to the battery being in the boot. 19 June 2007 Waiting for the weather to clear up to reinstall the sound system. Otherwise the car is running beautifully. 5 June 2007 Sorted out the fuel pump. Traced it back to a loose connection at the fuse box. Also installed the new ignition barrel side. 31 May 2007 Whilst under the dash trying to sort out a central locking bug, the fuel pump has stopped working from the ignition switch. It now needs to be manually bridged from the boot to get it started. Will get Enzo to take a look at it next week. Purchased a new electrical side to the ignition barrel to be safe, and also a new passenger side power window motor, which I will install in the future. 23 May 2007 Had the heater core replaced at Julio's Auto as it was leaking coolant. Tricky job, but successful in the end. Also removed the air conditioning evaporator, as it is no longer needed. 8 November 2006 The 244 went in to begin the 1JZ-GTE / R154 conversion. Updates to the 244 will continue in the Conversion page for the time being, so check that out for more details! Note: The updates went on hiatus from the below date, however, updates will resume from November 2006. 31 March 2004 Purchased and installed three Command 2" gauges. After careful deliberation I decided to go with electrical oil pressure, volts and mechanical vacuum. They sit in a carbon fibre pod on top of the dash. The Command gauges allow you to choose from 7 colours, all of which you can change at any time with a push of a button on the gauge. They are very helpful, especially the vacuum as it helps to monitor fuel consumption. 24 March 2004 I still wasn't too pleased with the relative lack of noise coming from the exhaust which, although quite considerable, was not adequate for my liking. Today I had the centre muffler removed and a straight-through pipe installed in its place. It has achieved the sound I am after - a real, unfiltered roar. The removal has also allowed the various crackles, pops and small backfires to be heard. Some people do not like it, but I have grown to love it. Above 3000rpm the roar is very very loud! 19 March 2004 Replaced rear muffler with new Mercury sports twin-outlet muffler. Also replaced the tips with new chrome 3" rolled in pipes. The Mercury is considerably smaller and lighter than the Super Turbo unit it replaced. It is somewhat louder and deeper, and also helps to reduce weight on the back end. 3 January 2004 Purchased new fuse and tested new amplifier and 6 x 9 speakers. There is an excellent improvement in sound clarity and quality over the old speakers. At high volume the sound is ear-splitting, just the way I like it. The 6 x 9's have a high-pass filter applied to them, so they produce next to no bass, but in the future I would like to change this, but for now I can't because the filter needs to be applied to the 4" door speakers, otherwise they will blow. 2 January 2004 Installed new X-plod 444 watt amplifier and 240 watt 6 x 9's. Also added new 8-gauge gold connectors to all amps, fuses and earths. Installed everything, then when I tested it, nothing wanted to work. After an hour's worth of trouble-shooting I got it down to a defective fuse on the power line, it was faulty to begin with but completely fell apart when I opened the fuse holder. An exchange tomorrow will be in order. 27 December 2003 Purchased a 1979 242GT. See the sub-site for pictures and description. 18 December 2003 Cleaned engine bay to remove residue from the blown head gasket two years ago. Also re-mounted the bottom foglights to a more sturdy position, as they used to wobble and the the light beam was never straight. Also completely cleaned, degreased and painted the engine in Racing Red heatproof paint, and there is a fantastic improvement. Pictures to come soon in the Engine Bay section. 29 November 2003 Fitted new rear window mounted aerial. Now I can listen to the radio! Also tested the performance of the car a little more as the weather has cleared up. Certainly climbs quicker to redline and there is a noticeable difference. The car also sounds a little meaner, with a bit more growl coming from the exhaust. The extractors were a nice, relatively cheap addition, with certain power gains. 24 November 2003 Today I had the new Hurricane 4-2-1 Extractors fitted at Oak Flats Muffler Men. The car now picks up better at around 3000rpm, and second gear just keeps climbing to redline. 3rd has also improved at around 100-110km/h. The car feels more free-revving and you can tell that there is a power increase. The constant rain hasn't provided much opportunity for testing though, but I'll do some proper runs when the weather clears up. For pictures check out the Engine Bay section. 18 October 2003 Removed entire towbar mounting bar. Also removed trailer light socket. Re-hung both exhaust tips in new locations, as they were previously mounted on the towbar mount. Had to drill into the body for new bolt holes for the hangers, as well as fabricate new hangers. The car is now 9kg lighter at the rear, and the difference is noticeable.
History My brother Tibor bought this car in 1992 as his first car. He wanted it because it had four doors and a lot of room, and a wise choice I must say. When we bought it the car was light blue, automatic and had steel rims, in other words, if you put it next to a rock it would look no different. During the course of the years, it had undergone some major modifications, and had been in three crashes - all of which it survived and each time the other car was severely damaged. A Honda Civic, Hyundai Excel and a Datsun Sunny were added to the kills list, which one day I hope to emblazon on the window or on the drivers door, fighter pilot style. In 2001 the torch was passed on to me (Frank) on my 17th birthday, and it was my duty to uphold the legacy that was "That Bloody Purple Volvo" or "The Violet Grumble" - as it had become known in our area. Following a bad incident while on loan to a friend, it received it's second engine change as a result of a blown head gasket, with the addition of a B23E with GT cam and mechanical fuel injection. To this day I have decided that no matter what happens, this car will not leave me. When I do purchase a new car, it will stay. Should I write it off, the only place worthy would be to put it to rest in a Volvo wrecker's yard.
Future Modifications Deep dish rims. Haltech ECU. Full interior reupholstery.New dashboard.
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