If it had been a 5 speed I would have jumped on it.

The base S70 I did an engine swap on and restored goes back to her owner on Sunday. All work is done and this week it is my daily driver just so if something goes wrong it goes wrong with me behind the wheel.

The car really grew on me with seat comfort and simplicity of use. But the mechanicals were what really sold me on it.

If and when the owner of this one decides of get rid of it I will ask to buy it. We put in about 2 grand with of parts...new radiator, a/c compressor, T belt, battery, etc....and a used engine with 105K miles that is running flawlessly. The chasis has about 180K miles.

Anyway...getting back to the T5....it has 85K miles and the guy is selling because his son went to college this fall and the car just sits most of the time. I've yet to go see it. What do you think it is worth?

I can pretty much do any and all service/repairs myself but he says it needs nothing.


Another car on my list is a 2000 C70 turbo with 108K miles for nearly 6 grand. It is also an auto though.

Is the ride similar on the coupe and sedan?

My only dislike in the sedan is the lack of good lateral grip for hard cornering.....195 series tires are to blame....they should have stuffed 225 in there somehow.

 

Well... That sounds like a decent price. Just be aware that a 99 will likely eventually need the throttle body replaced, and it's not a cheap fix, nor can you just get one from a salvage yard, as they have to be programmed, and they're a one- time program. But if it runs well and needs nothing, it's a good price. If you liked the base S70, I think you'll love the T5. And a T5 should have 205 55 R16 tires on it, which actually makes a HUGE difference in cornering... I swapped the original wheels on my S70 GLT (195 60 R15) with the wheels/ tires from a T5, and it seriously transformed the handling. My advice: look the car over well, pay special attention to the ball joints, strut mounts, and sway bar links, make sure the A/C works, and if the timing belt hasn't been done... DO IT! And of course, you'll want to check the PCV system. (lots of smoke billowing from the dipstick tube. None of these are dealbreakers... they're all bargaining chips, and since you've changed the engine in one already, you can certainly handle the timing belt and PCV.

 

+1

Also, '99 ETM's tend to go out...but Volvo had a massive recall or something and now you can go to a stealership and have the ETM fixed under warranty.

To go into more detail about the PCV sys., it doesn't have to smoke to show that it's clogged. Grab a balloon or something similar and place it over the dipstick tube...if it inflates...the PCV is clogged.

 

Thanks...great info.

BTW, where does the PCV system tend to clog?

 

The extended warranty for the ETM problem is 10 years or 250,000 miles from original in- service date. 99 model cars are either no longer covered or just about to be out of warranty.


As for the PCV system issue, Texan, it's not "one part" that gets clogged. It's usually the ports in the engine block that get clogged as well as the oil trap, however, by the time this happens, many of the rubber hoses are deteriorated or plugged up, as well. The remedy is replacement of the entire PCV system, along with cleaning out the clogged ports in the engine with solvent and a stiff, narrow bottle brush. Kits can be had for $100-$150 at FCPgroton.com