My new baby!!

[t5_monkey]

That Castle looks really cool - it's fascinating seeing military history - you been around the Tank Museum in France? Went around it as a kid was brilliant from memory though.

Your 855 is looking good That shade of green really suits it - what mods are you getting first? It'll make a big difference with the Strut Brace and Poly bush.

Braided brake lines are also good for driving 'feel' if you've not considered those yet (and relatively cheap.)

[JelT5]

That Castle looks really cool - it's fascinating seeing military history - you been around the Tank Museum in France? Went around it as a kid was brilliant from memory though.

Your 855 is looking good That shade of green really suits it - what mods are you getting first? It'll make a big difference with the Strut Brace and Poly bush.

Braided brake lines are also good for driving 'feel' if you've not considered those yet (and relatively cheap.)

Cheers mate.

Not seen the tank museum, there are 5 of these forts surrounding Metz- massive defences; Maginot line not far away etc. Really interesting stuff. Lots of WW1 battlesites close by: Verdun, Les Eparges etc.

Yep, doing all those mods and plenty more this summer

[martybelfastt5]

car looks great mate well done,,,

[Flatout Phil]

So am I Phil! I'm hoping to get back over in June to get the wheels refurbed and the front bumper sorted, so hopefully see you then for a bit longer mate?
It's a brilliant drive and Clarkson was right...thuggishness is in abundance

T'would be good.

[PORTHOS]

Hello, It's nice to see it go to an enthusiasts home! love the pictures!

(I am the guy with the Blue Integra that I moved so you could park across the driveway)

Keep these guys updated with all the developments so I can have a peek too
That Volvo is a beast I have to admit! was sad to see it go.

Enjoy and all the best,
Ian.

[JelT5]

Hello, It's nice to see it go to an enthusiasts home! love the pictures!

(I am the guy with the Blue Integra that I moved so you could park across the driveway)

Keep these guys updated with all the developments so I can have a peek too
That Volvo is a beast I have to admit! was sad to see it go.

Enjoy and all the best,
Ian.

Hey Ian!

Thanks mate- it's a great car and will be well looked after
Chuffed to bits with it!

Jerry

[S70T5Chris]

Nice one Jerry, looks very nice mate.

[Porcine_Aviator]

I agree totally about the V70 being like a boat on corners, I would rather drive Mrs PAs 850 T5 it's a better car, the steering is more precise, the engine is more responsive, the effect when you floor it is far better than the V70.

The P2 V70 is more of a gentleman's car, a sedate boring old lady that seems to have lost the tightness and fun of the older T5s.

I love the growl of the 850 T5 when you put it in sport and floor it, even if it's only up to the speed limit, it's just more more fun.

[JelT5]

Mods have been started now...

Strut-brace fitted; HLM 304 on the way (here tmrw hopefully) and...I fitted a Forge BOV (courtesy of mattp- thanks mate) for a bit of psssssch- quite subtle compared to some BOVs that one has heard.

That b@stard recirc valve has cost me some knuckle skin and blood though; talk about easy access NOT!!! Rest of it was dead simple. You've definitely got to have a 10mm ratchet spanner available, which I didn't: @rse!


Pedro, I still might buy an AMG just to annoy you mate

[p fandango]

Pedro, I still might buy an AMG just to annoy you mate

it won't annoy me mate, you'd have to drive it (i'd be just here taking the p**s lol)

[JelT5]

it won't annoy me mate, you'd have to drive it (i'd be just here taking the p**s lol)

pmsl!!!!

[walter leever]

very nice jerry,and another one who goes back in time and absolutely loves it.

I was told the 850's were a far better drivers car than the newer models,seems they were right(well i have known that allready,lol)

walter

[JelT5]

very nice jerry,and another one who goes back in time and absolutely loves it.

I was told the 850's were a far better drivers car than the newer models,seems they were right(well i have known that allready,lol)

walter

Thanks Walter

Yes, it's definitely a better drive than my V70 ever was...perhaps we should try and have a mini- meet in Belgium sometime? Find a halfway point between Metz and where you are...somewhere near Bastogne?

[JelT5]

WTF do I manage to do to transmissions???!! LOL

Had the car jump out of 2nd on three occasions now for no apparent reason...tell me it's not terminal pleeeeeease!

Any ideas chaps?

[JelT5]

Came back to UK recently to get everything sorted out on The Olive Shed...the smoking issue- valve stem seals, dodgy clutch and gearbox, front bumper (take note Pedro lol) and a few other bits and pieces.

Thanks are due to Justin (t5lover), Bradley (nuttyt5), Niles, Scott, ChrisS70T5, Gaz, Pedro (not sure what for, but thought I would anyway), Jamest5r, Smithy and AlanM.

I set out at 2.30am to get the 8am ferry from Dunkirk to Dover; it was pi$$ing down and really foul driving conditions. The first incident happened on the motorway between Luxembourg and Brussels at about 4am; a truck had shredded a tyre and it had been left in the middle of the carraigeway, by the time it appeared out of the gloom I'd no way of avoiding it...stopped immediately and checked the front end, didn't appear to be any damage, no warning lights, so carried on. Got past Brussels and had approx 60 miles to go to the ferry, then the coolant warning came on. The tyre incident had split the rad!
Topped up the coolant and made it to the ferry, then across to Dover where I was met by t5lover and Niles and drove the car to Niles' unit.

Everything was stripped out, ready for the gearbox and clutch change. Chris had dropped the box (donated by Gaz) off to Justin on his way to the Ring and Jamest5r had met up with Justin to give him the refurbed head (kindly donated by AlanM) and originally collected by Smithy!

That night I heard that we had to move the car from Niles' unit, due to complaints from his neighbours about noise and the number of people gathered there.
So, on Saturday morning, off we went to t5lover's place. The rest of the work would have to be a kerbside repair.
Being towed with no operational power steering was interesting and using only the handbrake made things even more fun.

Within a few hours the gearbox and clutch had been replaced:
Removal...



The old release bearing (not too good!):



Engine and box back in:


Having done so well it was decided that the head should come off ready for the refurbed item...



Then the next incident occurred...due to some careless work by a prior owner or mechanic a head bolt snapped whether this was caused by over tightening or doing them up in the wrong sequence we'll never know!
It was really galling after so much hard work on Saturday.


Left it at that on Saturday.

Engine and box would have to come out and the bottom end swapped over the next day. Thankfully Justin had a spare block in his shed of many parts, although it did have a bent rod for some reason

Sunday, out she came:



Justin's bent rod...oooooer missus!!



The crank and shells were in perfect condition:



The rod and piston were swapped for one of mine in the 'snapped head bolt block' and the rings from Justin's piston put on. Then it was time to lob it back in again!



The head could be sorted now- the valve stem seals were definitely fubar



The whole lot back in and ready for the cams and cover:



Scott turned up with some oil he'd acquired and everything was just about ready to go when we discovered Justin's spare rads were knackered.
Niles to the rescue- brought along a mint rad and all was ok.

In between all this, Justin had to rush off to hospital twice when first, one of his daughters ended up in hospital and then his son, following accidents on their bikes! All got a bit stressful for him.

The moment of truth came and she fired up and ran beautifully.
Bradley supplied me with a 960 throttle body, some new rear lenses and the proper front bumper (at last).




That night on the way over to Brad's to pick up a few more bits that I'd bought off him, one of the clips on the oil cooler pipes came off, in the countryside with approx 5 miles to the nearest oil depot (Tesco) and 7 litres of oil on the road and over my nice clean engine bay!
We made it and the car was ok, just drove it there at about 1500rpm much to the frustration of other road users.

All that was left was a decat, throttle body to go on and a few other minor jobs.

I can only say that Justin and Brad did brilliant work on The Shed for me and are highly recommended for any repairs anyone needs doing.

Justin's love of T5's has filled me with enthusiasm for my car again, I do actually like the old girl now!
It's taken a year of heartache and way too much money but finally, she goes and goes bloody well too.
The 960 throttle body and decat work really well with my (ported) 18T, blues and 3" JT system. Happy days!

I then had to drive to the New Forest to see friends and family and load her up for the 500 mile journey home...I had a load of kit stored at a mate's place that I hadn't taken to France:



With hindsight, I probably shouldn't have made such a long trip after having had major surgery (for cancer) in June as it's left me feeling pretty tired, however the results speak for themselves.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out during the last year.


Mods, could you shift this into the projects section please? There will be more to follow!

[Vikingxl]

great write up and great pictures glad you are happy with the car now

[Yorkshiresxi]

Well done VPC...glad to see so much volvo love

[Jamest5r]

Quality job lads, many a lesser person would of given up but thanks to a lot of hard work a classic has been saved.

[T5frankie]

alot of people would have broke the car lol, well done mate another t5-r lives for another day

[S70T5Chris]

Glad your sorted now Jerry, and can start enjoying the car!