Rydell's 850 Race Car

[Rydell]

Hi there.

As I am now getting to the stage where I am going to need advice and help with all things 854 T5, i thought I would start a thread to chart the progress of what I assure you, will be a slow burn race car preparation thread.

If I can get the car in some sort of order, and out for the last race of next season I will be extatic!!!

So, where do I start?
Having competed in sprints and hillclimbs for around 5 seasons in a Clio 172 Cup, I had to give up due to the recession and a distinct lack of funds. Jump forwards 2 years and I was attending the end of season sprint event held by NSCC at Thoresby, just outside Ollerton, Notts.
I was talking to some of my old friends while watching the action, and talk turned to whether I would do any motorsport again?
I said yes, but this time I would like to do something a little different!!!!
At the time I had a picture on my phone of an 850 estate touring car rep, which I showed to my friends. There were a few raised eyebrows, but the general consensus was that it would be a good idea.
So, on returning home, I fired up the lap top and behold, an 854 T5 in white on Ebay for £600!!





A deal was struck and the Volvo made its way straight into the workshop, where it is going to spend the next few months undergoing its transformation into a 1995 BTCC replica.
The first job was to remove around 200kgs of interior trim etc.
I then started to remove chunks of the wiring loom that was no longer going to be required.
As per the works cars, we also removed the various cross members from the floor pan which we would not be needing.





The hand brake tower has now been modified and will be re welded at the rear of the tunnel out of the way. The gear lever platform has also been removed and will be re made to allow the gear lever to be mounted further back and a little higher than standard. These mods are all a result of me being 6’ 3” and sitting quite far back in the car!





All the sound deadening pads have also been removed from the floor pan to help reduce weight further.
We then borrowed a seat from another competitor so we could weld in some 30mm box section for the seat rails in the right position. While adjusting the seating position, it became clear that the steering wheel was going to have to move. The adjustment bracket has been modified to allow more of a drop and slightly longer reach, and with the new steering wheel and boss in place is just right.
At the moment the car just keeps getting taller and taller as we remove more and more weight!



Compared with it its original condition:



This weeks tinkering has resulted in:
Bonnet pins fitted to bonnet and boot lid.
The boot lids inner skin has been cut down.
Door inner skins have been trimmed back.
Switch panel has been fabricated for battery cut off and starter button etc.
All battery wiring has been re-directed into the car. The battery will sit in a box in the passenger footwell.
I have also sent some rollcage specs off to a pipe bender to get a quote for the main hoop and front legs of the cage I have designed. Once the quote is back and I have enough money, the cage can start to go in and the interior will then be painted and we can move on to the engine bay!
More pics and updates will follow. I now have to try and get her running again. Following advice given in another thread, I may have to reinstate the transponder ring so the car will start again.
I’m going to need lots of advice on getting the car to handle and releasing more power from the engine etc, so stay tuned!

[JT]

oh the memories come flooding back!! lol

just shout as an when you need some help, the guys on here are "second to none"!
I might be able to help, but I wouldn't bank on it!! lol

keep up the great work.
JT

[Jamest5r]

Getting quite common these race car's lol, wish i had the space/cash to do it, any reason no-one is going for the 855?.

[JT]

one word!

aero.........

[AndysR]

Welcome to the fold, sounds like a nice interesting project. Keep us updated with your developments.

[Jim S70R]

Very nice, welcome to the club and keep up the great work.

[antz]

looking forward to seeing this unfold...

[Rydell]

Only reason I didnt do an 855 was there wasnt one available at the right money at the time! 855 was definitely the inspiration for this project. My previous experience of Volvos are an 855 T5 CD and and 855R.

[Volvostorm]

Cool! Another replica, we will have to all meet up up one day

Its starting to look really good.

[M-R-P]

Really liking the look of this project. The Flying Moose and Claymore will agree with you about getting the bonnet pins in early Welcome to the loonybin and please keep us posted on the project.

[Volvostorm]

Really liking the look of this project. The Flying Moose and Claymore will agree with you about getting the bonnet pins in early Welcome to the loonybin and please keep us posted on the project.

Yeah! Got mine to fit too!

[t5_monkey]

awesome project keep the thread updated with lots of photos please!

[The Flying Moose]

Nice project, love the Replica BTCC cars... especially roadworthy ones. Anyone who doesnt give them a second glance must be insane!

[martybelfastt5]

nice these are getting popular lol,,,,,surprise pedro hasnt thanked you for them grinder shots lol

[Rydell]

Rickard runs once more.

Re-connected the transponder ring and taped the key to it. Car fired 3rd time of asking on its new starter button!! Woohoo!

The order for the roll cage main hoop and front legs is going in tomorrow. Should be ready in 1-2 weeks. Then fabrication can start on the rest of the climbing frame!

Must admit, the cage in Rickard is not as extensive as Johnny T's, biut is copied from the 1996 850 that is currently for sale in Holland. Anyone got £67,000 they dont want????

[Rydell]

Ok, update time.
Got to the workshop at 8.45 this morning and left tonight at 5.00pm. Managed to tidy up quite a few loose ends and get the interior ready for the impending roll cage.
Here is my bin liner of spare wiring taken from the Volvo.



As mentioned previously, I have lightened a few panels etc. Here is the boot lid:



Doors







Rear bumper and brackets:








Dash





I’ve even taken the saw and grinder to the steering column:





Bonnet and boot pins installed ready:

[Rydell]

Back to today’s progress. First job was to remove the starter panel I have just got working and the dash. The dash will be going off to be flocked in the next few weeks. Just need to get the cage front legs in place so we can cut the dash to fit around it before it goes away.







Dash out. Now time to tidy up the last of the wiring. Whats left of it anyway!





I’ve been using copex to tidy up the wiring as I go:



Also re fitted the immobiliser module to the column which was the route of the starting problems I had last week.



Now all the wiring has been tied up and the dash is out of the way, I could start removing seam sealer from the sills where the cage feet will be welded and generally tidy up spot welds that had been drilled and other bits and pieces.
The last of the sound deadening from inside the car being chipped away:





Once it had all been knocked off, I cleaned up the panel with some gun wash



Removing the seam sealer with a strip and clean wheel

[Rydell]

Then, having given the floor pan a good vacuum and a panel wipe down, I prepped the modified hand brake tower ready for welding into its new position.



In its new position I have had to re-route the cables, which has worked quite well



Also gave the seat mounts a bit of a clean up with the strip and clean wheel







Something I have found is that since cutting the inner skin from the boot lid, there is a lot of flex when you pull the boot lid shut. Once it is locked in place, its fine. We decided that a bit of a tack weld in the corner of the boot would help





One of the last bits to give up its hold on the shell was the rear seat pivot brackets. These are pretty heavy duty and the spot weld cutter wasn’t doing it. Bought out the grinder and they soon gave in



While im waiting for the cage to be fabricated, I will need to tidy up the wiring in the boot.



Talking of the cage, here are some pics of the template I made using 20mm plastic conduit and a bending spring! One of Stuarts customers thought it looked a bit thin for a roll cage!!!!!





Here are some pics of the cage as I hope it will look

[Rydell]

I have taken delivery of the 3mm steel that the feet of the cage and the base plates will be fabricated from. Can’t wait to try cutting this up!





So far so good!

[AndysR]

Blimey, you have been busy...