[Fmfosnacht]

This thread documents the restore of a 2006 Sonic Blue V70R.

Special thanks to this community, including the following, for advice, help and inspiration. A bit of each of you is a part of this restore. In no particular order:

ScottishBrick
Chicago_Wagon
Martinunya
[email protected]
Need4Svede
ZZZZZZZ
[email protected]
bhill
JaredR
R-Pow3R3d
skywolf
Wayne T5

And many others!

The car is to be delivered August 28th, (2020!) Final pics will be posted at that time.

 

[Fmfosnacht]

First Question: Whats it worth?

It is not lost on me that most of you who are interested in this restore start with the question, “How much did it cost?” and, “What do you think it’s worth?” These are fair questions.

Let me start by recognizing the current value is not the sum of the dollars spent in restoration and customization during the course of the project. Quality, age, timing, demand, uniqueness and ego determine how people ascribe value. So the best answer is, I don’t know. But this community does know. It is worth whatever delight this community ascribes to perhaps the lowest mileage, US based example of a late model (2006) V70R (1 of 823, 186 of them Sonic Blue, paint code 470) that has been restored. So in large part, the value lies in what you say it is. So post whatever you want.

For me, it’s been worth a return to the nostalgia of buying my first Volvo, a teal 850 turbo wagon. And then, a black 850 sedan. And then, a black V70R AWD. It has been worth the camaraderie of craftsman, mechanics, and other specialists who have contributed their skills. It has been worth the anticipation of the results of long wait for a full respray. I have enjoyed the research and advice of many of you. And it has given me a distraction and things to work on in the era of Covid.

As for the investment, or better put, expense of this project, I purchased the basic car, sight unseen, for $11,200 (plus shipping to KS). It was a single owner California car, totaled, then brought back to life by Millennium Motors, in Portland Oregon, who bought it at auction. I purchased from them after a Pre-purchase inspection by a Volvo shop.

With what I have done, it may be that I could have bought a new V60, at least a T5 Momentum. I considered it. But I already have a late model XC 90 Inscription, which is too similar, as well as a new BMW X3 M40i, both of which have all the modern bells and whistles. So I chose to pick doing a project car that fit my personal taste and desires and would result in a comfortable and fun daily driver for me and my German Shepherd dog, Nikko.

Hagerty has insured the car at an agreed upon value of $40,000. I’m not quite sure of what that will mean in case I ever have an unfortunate accident, but I feel like I have some backstop in that scenario. Since I don’t plan on selling, I am not really interested in resale value. But stay tuned, as my son is not the Volvo fan some of you are, so upon my death you may be able to score a deal.

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Does the car have “good bones”?

The bad news: The car has a rebuilt title. The good news: It has 41K miles, and great mechanical bones.

At first look, the pictures I found googling the VIN scared me. It clearly had a rationale for being totaled. Essentially the front end, including, the bumper, hood, lights, drivers quarter panel required replacement, as well as miscellaneous front end pieces. The airbag was deployed. That being said, there was zero damage to the engine, the frame, the transmission and the rest of the car, as it apparently hit the rear of a truck, sliding underneath. The CARFAX verified regular and frequent care by the single California original owner. So, with the right donor car, the front end could be restored without much worry. Millennial Motors, whose business model is to do just that, took on this project.

The report that I got from my pre-purchase inspection was essentially this: The car was put together well. Engine and trans were in great shape. The mechanical and maintenance items noted were incidental. But the body and paintwork were, a “10 foot job”. It would pass for a nice looking car, but “was not the pristine, low mileage specimen” I hoped for.

So, knowing the market and the number of options available, I took a gamble. It would do for a daily driver.

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Adding VST R wheels

Nothing can transform the look of a car like a good set of wheels. Although I like, pegs, I don’t love them, and considered them ordinary fare. So, when George @Viva offered for sale ($1650) a rare, matched set of 18” VST R wheels that do not require spacers, I jumped at them. Although they were in pretty good shape, they did have some pitting. So, I had them refinished ($600), powder coated silver and clear coated, and applied Feynlab ceramic wheel coating.

Now I had a great looking V70R. From 10 feet.

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Costco Cracks my Bumper.

Although the relatively new Pirellis were low mileage, as long as I had to migrate from a 17” to an 18 inch wheel, I wanted to upgrade to better all season rubber. Based upon research here and elsewhere, I decided upon Michelin, my goto brand, AS/3 All Season Ultra High Performance, Y rated tires with TPMS sensors ($265).

Costco, after finishing the job, had a kid porter pull the car out and park it in the lot. During relocating and parking, he curbed the front bumper, scraping the skirt and cracking the lowest section.

To their credit, they were totally upfront with me about the damage, and indicated they would file a claim for a new bumper. It may have been due to my specific instructions and concerns (to the shop manager directly) on how they would handle my newly refinished VST wheels that tipped them off that I cared about the car. But I was grateful for Costco’s forthrightness in handling this situation.

Old pegs and tires were sold.

So, now I have a new Volvo Bumper, and because paint code 470 Sonic Blue is NLA, Costco agrees to fund the repaint as well. The question is, how far do I go?

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Getting ready for Sage 0

I needed to determine what was required in getting this car to Stage 0. So, a combination of CARFAX, calls to the California dealer and the work done after my pre purchase inspection, I determined the following was done in the previous 5k miles or 2 years.

Miles: 36,0914/4/16Volvo Dealer
* Timing Belt Replaced
* Dash Trim Replaced
* Cabin Air Filter Replaced
* Check Anti Theft System

Miles: 386319/15/17Volvo Dealer
* 15,000 Mile Service Performed
* Brake Fluid Change
* 4 Wheel Alignment
* Brakes Checked
* Engine Mounts Replaced
* Fuel Filter Replace
* 4 Pirelli Contouro Tires mounted
* Air Filter Replaced
* Trim Replaced

Then, at 39, 679 miles, the collision, auction and repair occurred.

Concurrent with my pre-purchase inspection, I had the following done:

Miles: 39,79211/15/18 Swede One Indy Shop, Portland
* Transmission Flush
* Bevel Gear Oil Replace
* Cooling System Flush
* Replace Driveshaft CV Boot
* Replacer Right Inner Tie Rod End
* Cabin Air Filter Replace
* Air Filter Replace
* Replacer Cracked Windshield
* New Key FOB

The car was now ready for final Stage 0 Items

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Completing Stage 0

Stage 0 was done through a combination of three collaborators:
Me- for work I felt competent to do myself
Volvo dealer- for things only they could do, such as software upgrades
KC Autosport- a Volvo Indy shop for other needed repairs

Here are the items performed. In doing my Stage 0, I included whole chassis and suspension upgrades or modifications to bring the car to a complete and reliable driver:

Miles: 41,5002/6/20Kansas City AutoSport, et al

* Update software
* Replace spark plugs
* Replace Battery
* Cooling system flush and coolant replace
* (Unfortunately, Swede One flush did not use Volvo coolant)
* Replace thermostat
* Radiator hose
* Pressure test
* Brake fluid flush(Dot 4)
* Replace Upper Engine mount (Volvo)
* Volvo PVC kit
* New 4C front struts
* New 4C rear struts
* Replaced *both Front and Rear w IPD Track Spec Anti Sway Bars
* Replaced Front Lower Control Arms (IPD HD) (R&L)
* Replaced IPD HD endlink kit (all corners)
* Replaced all subframe bushings (Volvo)
* Installed Snabb Upper Charge Pipe Kit (FCP Euro)
* 4 Wheel Alignment

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Getting better Vision

Inspired by Martin, Chris and others who did the projector retrofit, I was fortunate enough to recruit Martin Steele (Martinunya) to do a full projector retrofit for me. I ordered new Skandix glass lenses from Germany, and sent them to him. He was able to do a full retrofit, for which I am grateful. I won’t duplicate all of the details here, which are well documented in other threads. However I will say I am happy to have modern, current lighting to replace two decades old technology.

I had to decide If I was going to follow the lead of Chris (and others) in doing a headlight “wiper delete”. I was very tempted given how nice his look is. However, since one of my wipers was fully functional, and new Volvo parts were readily available, I decided to replace my passenger side wiper motor and forego the wiper delete. It is one of the old Volvo safety distinctions that differentiate this car from others.

The inspiration for my Projector Retrofit:

 

[Fmfosnacht]

What to do about the leather?

I never expected to replace the interior of this car. However, knowing the mechanical investment I was making, and the potential for a repaint, I began to seriously look at the quality of the interior. Truth be told, my efforts at leather cleaning and conditioning yielded mediocre results. The leather, in the rear in particular, just was too worn and stained to be completely revived.

I have admired the total re-dye some have done, particularly on Atacama. But I was not up for a re-dye to the same beige. So what I began to consider was utilizing a local interior craftsman for a total replace of the leather on all surfaces and door cards.

It was a concern to me to leave the original Volvo color. However, when push came to shove, I determined this car was really about how I wanted it to be - for me- rather than a perfect restoration for resale. So, I determined I would pick the color I thought was the perfect match for my preferences. This turned out to be an “Audi” chocolate color, which I and the installer thought went really well with the Sonic blue.

In general, I am really pleased I went with a nice leather in a rich color. To match, I replaced the interior carpet with a combination of new (front) and used (rear), (Erie Vo-Vo) sourced black carpet. It took a bit of effort to clean the used carpet sufficiently to look new, but they got there. The one wear area on the top of the tunnel in the rear responded well to a black dye.

Finally, I purchased new black Volvo rubber All Season mats for front, rear and cargo areas for all weather protection. As with some other rubber surfaces on the car, these are protected with Feynlab all purpose dressing.

Before Picture of Interior

 

[Fmfosnacht]

From Bumper Spray to Full Spray

Knowing if I were to replace the front bumper which required a paint job, I began to look for at shops, quotes, and who might be able to address taking the “Looks good from 10 feet” to “this looks amazing”. Unfortunately, there were so many areas that were shoddily done, in my opinion, that only a full respray would bring it to a high level. My Benchmark was the great “windows out” job that Chris had done on his!

Fortunately, I found through research and referrals, Tanners Customs and Collisions, which takes extensive respray or custom jobs in addition to the standard work that pays the bills. All other shops I talked to were not interested in the work involved which upsets their normal workflow. The question was, would Tanners accept my job as their custom project. Turns out, Justin (the owner) liked the idea. Their quote was very reasonable. I was put on the waitlist.

6 months later, they took the car into the shop. 12 months from that, the car was completed.

I was surprised the amount of prep and detail Tanners put into the job. Truly amazing. Although at times I got very frustrated with the wait and delays, and lack of prioritization of my car, I cannot argue with the results.

My Inspiration:

 

[Fmfosnacht]

One Year at Tanners:

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Roof Rail Delete

The most problematic part of the full respray was finding parts for the roof drain channel trim strips. These parts are NLA from Volvo, are nearly impossible (and very expensive) to ship, and are the first o fly off the cars at Pick and Pull.

Fortunately, Erik (Chicago_Wagon, who took over my prior 2000 Venetian V70R) found just what I needed at a KC yard. The next day, I had them off and at Tanners. Thanks Erik, for the now slick look of the roof!

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Incidental Modifications

In addition to the full respray, I wanted to take advantage of improving the function or look while the car was disassembled. I certainly had the time to consider a few options.
So, I decide to include a few additional modifications:

* Fog Lights: Miromoto XB LED 70mm Fog Lights (set). These required just a slight mod for mounting, and updated the look nicely while enhancing night vision.
* Brake Calipers - I decided to change the color to Sonic Blue, with a Silver “R”, to give a bit more contrast.
* While we had the silver and Sonic Blue Paint out, why not paint the three engine cowls?
* As long as the door cards are off, might as well add Dynamat sound insulation on them.

 

[KDM Mods]

Following! This is going to be amazing!


Sent from my Nokia 3310

 

[Ihatespeedbumps]

Great thread! Really nice work here!

 

[Wayne T5]

This thread has a proper title! That paint is breathtaking!

 

[ScottishBrick]

Fred, pics of the fogs install when you can. I like the attitude keep it up

 

[Fmfosnacht]

Fred, pics of the fogs install when you can. I like the attitude keep it up

Thanks, guys! Will do.

 

[ZZZZZZZ]

The Full Fred. Who coined that?
Well done documentation. Isn't Chicago_Wagon Derek?
Get a pro to shoot a ton of pics with a DSLR in a cool setting. You won't regret it.
Also very interested in the details of the fogs, parts and install mod.

 

[Fmfosnacht]

The Full Fred. Who coined that?
Well done documentation. Isn't Chicago_Wagon Derek?
Get a pro to shoot a ton of pics with a DSLR in a cool setting. You won't regret it.
Also very interested in the details of the fogs, parts and install mod.

Full Fred: I believe was coined by Chicago_wagon and JaredR (and you?!).

I know him as Derek, but his signature says Erik. so which one is it?

I’d love to do a real photo shoot. KC has a few cool places.

I am leaving to go to Cave Creek AZ the day after I pick up the car, for two months. First born grandson duty. BVery excited. Back in November. So that will delay pictures. I hope to get some up right away though, even it not the best professional shoot.