My Volvo 854 T5-R 591 hp/524 ftlbs project the story so far.

[591 bhp volvo 850]

I also started on the engine bay refit adding all the pipes/and wiring looms to the car - they would mostly live inside the chassis legs






REMOTE BRAKE SERVO

A new part I had to have fitted to the car was a remote brake servo this was something I had started to look into when I first realised I would need a pedal box assembly , as I did wonder how it would be to drive with the car without servo assistance but for a time was happy with the brake feel and found the brakes worked very well all you had to do was press the pedal a bit harder!!

I had pointed out to me a unknown to me a grey area of the mot rules that state if a car leaves the factory with a servo it must have one fitted so I had no choice but fit one I did not want to be running an illegal car so was happy to look into a solution.

I did even check with vosa about the details and found it to be correct there must be hundreds of rally etc cars that don

[591 bhp volvo 850]

I started to add the wishbone arms etc to the subframe ready for the engine and gearbox to be added





I bought new gear control cables and added some brass bushes to the ends to help the gear feel



And poly bushed the lower torque rod







This pic shows the longer bolt I have used for the pick up for the traction control I run on the Sm4






ENGINE GOING BACK IN

I was now getting ready for the engine and gearbox to go in. I used some very large straps as I did not want an error while lifting the engine onto one of our work trolleys. I first removed the subframe and fitted the steering rack etc to it ready to meet the engine and box

[591 bhp volvo 850]

I covered the engine bay sides with cloths just in case of a slip:





In she goes !!!!!!!!!









Andy and the team decided to put a small sign in the shot for a joke


Now that the engine was in place I soon set about connecting all the extra parts back to the car (intercooler/rad hoses etc etc etc )

[591 bhp volvo 850]

FITTING RE-PAINTED PARTS

I then added the freshly painted front panel

[591 bhp volvo 850]

I also kept busy when I fancied a change of jobs on the car and fitted the fuel tank and the new loom for the fuel pumps/speedo/fuel gauge




I was so pleased with how all the freshly repainted parts looked that I decided to buy all new trims/mouldings, rear glass etc etc etc. This cost a huge amount as Volvo trim items are not the cheapest to buy !!!!












With a bit of help we finally managed to fit the 850R rear spoiler

[591 bhp volvo 850]

On went the wiring loom for the engine



The late nights continued for three months - I worked a full day at RT then stayed until late into the night every night as I had to get the car up and running as soon as possible - it started to pay off as it was nearly time to start the car

[591 bhp volvo 850]

THE PERIL IN MOTION AGAIN!

I was soon at the stage where I was ready to drive the Peril around our car park, just to get the wheels moving again under her own steam. This was a great moment for me but I still had lots to do ie, brake lights, reverse lights etc etc etc but it was great to drive again.

















HEADLIGHTS & FIRE EXTINGUISHER

After a few comments from customers that had had a chance to see the Peril several times during the re build (they thought the headlights I had bought did not suit the car) I decided to buy new standard lights from Mr Volvo:

[591 bhp volvo 850]

I also bought a fire extinguisher to have to hand should the worst ever happen










THE FIRST DRIVE PART 2

It was a very exciting morning one Saturday when it was finally time to drive the car properly again after 9 long months. It was time to start to enjoy the car again and run the engine in for a few hundred miles at half a bar of boost. I wanted to do this as soon as possible so every night that week me and a lucky passenger went out for a good couple of hours each night with a varied course - we even popped into the Goodwood race track as its only down the road from work.

[591 bhp volvo 850]

We continued to do more late night runs with no problems at all which was a great relief

I wondered how many trips I would be making to my favourite shell garage on the A3 at Liphook !!!





RE-MAPPING THE ECU

I travelled over to see Mark Shead my Autronic mapper and teacher who is slowly helping me learn how to map my own car. We started off doing a few runs to start to give the Peril some decent amounts of boost now that the engine was run in after the late night runs with half a bar of boost so out we went :






MAD

[591 bhp volvo 850]

I have had a date in mind to aim for completing the Peril 100% since last September when I made my yearly trip to the Brighton speed trials.

I thought this would be a great event to put the Peril into as I have been going for a few years and have never seen a Volvo enter.

I decided that I would not have time to call it the finished spec as the delays with the custom cams have cost me dear, so would run the car for the Brighton Speed Trails in its current form which is a long way off the final spec.

The Brighton and Hove Motor Club is a great club to be part of as they do several good events each year. I was a member a few years ago when I was doing the Porsche racing. You cannot just enter the speed trials you have to be invited, so many months ago I set about getting my invite. Back in June this year my invite came through and I sent off my details as quickly as I could as I did not want to miss it as the event is always over subscribed.

The pressure was now on to get the car ready as soon as possible so more late nights and weekends helped a lot.
The testing continued - I had decided on a evening run out with a few weeks to go before the Speed trials to a RS Owners club meeting which I used to attend when I had my Escort Cosworth. I have many friends there so thought they might like to see some thing a bit different!!!!!, Me and my great friend Mark (who has been a true friend helping me after hours and weekends for many many months without a complaint!!) set off to Staines Rugby Club for the evening. As we came off the main road down to a round about I slowed in the traffic and went down to first gear. I pulled away and the gearbox made a very strange noise (like I now had straight cut gears!!) I changed to second and the noise was the same !! 3rd 4th and 5th were fine !!

GEAR BOX ISSUES

I had wondered how long the standard gearbox would last even though I have seen many internet guessing games say they are fine for a 5-600 hp car. Maybe I was unlucky, so time would tell. I drove the car home without a problem just a noise in 1st and 2nd still.

I thought the only route I could take was to use a brand new exchange box from Volvo so took a deep breath and ordered one!! The new gearbox was sent to our gearbox company and the gripper diff was swopped over into the new unit, this in its self was not straight forward as the new Volvo gearbox was not without a problem! The gearbox company called me to tell me the roll pins in the lay shaft were not there!!!! If the box had been fitted to the car as it arrived it would not go into gear! This problem was easily sorted but annoying - even brand new parts can be faulty.

The clock was now ticking as the speed trials was only two weeks away so I had very little time to get the engine/box back into the car and run up and tested so the late nights started again.


WHEEL REFURBISHMENT & FRONT SPLITTER

I had always wanted the wheels in anthracite to finish off the look of the car so had this done ready for the speed trials. I also finally added my carbon fibre front splitter which I had been looking forward to adding to the car.




THE BRIGHTON SPEED TRIALS

The days before the speed trials went very quickly and the night before we put the numbers on the car ready for a very early start. I also had a small amount of sign writing done so people would know who the mad guy in the Volvo is. We set off for the speed trials at 6am sharp - thankfully the weather was fine and dry:




We set off for the run down to Brighton and soon arrived and set up camp






I was very proud to finally make it to the speed trials so with my virgin race suit/gloves and a borrowed crash helmet from a mate I was ready.




The other cars all started to arrive - such a wide range of cars, just about every year and make you could ask for