New to Volvos, questions about parts compatibility and desirable parts.
 

Hi guys, I am new here ! I didn't even buy the car yet but I will be getting in a 1998 S70 soon. I know these cars are tank but also that these cars are getting older and older. I will be getting one for cheap, I know these are very solid and reliable cars. I also love going treasure hunting at the local u-pull.

I was wondering what parts from which different Volvo models fit in my S70 ?

Are clusters a direct bolt-in ?

I think I saw somewhere someone put an S60 armrest in the back, is that complicated to fit in ?

What other nice parts could I get from different models ?

Also ideas for cool mods that are not too expensive are welcome. I tried looking on ebay for a few things such as a front bumper lip or headlights but couldn't find anything.

Thank you for your time.

The key issue on the 1998 S70 of course is that mechanically, it's an 850. The 1999 S70 has pretty major engine revisions, so they're not all that compatible 98 to 99. The 850's vary a little bit year to year on locations of things, and there are some significant variations in emission controls since they spread over the range of before and after OBDII standardization in the USA. Today, though, the junkyards are full of them, and the people who drive them all fix their own cars. So they're easy to work on today, and easy to get parts for mechanically, and easy to get solid information to troubleshoot.


I always buy mine for $500 from somebody who doesn't maintain them, so there is a large backlog of stuff that they need sometimes. But it's pretty cheap to bring one back in my opinion.

Very true. I went to the local yard they have at least 10 of them. And most of them are complete.

yep, used parts are pretty easy to find. I like to use car-parts.com to find which yards have a model/year, plus there's always a few DIYs parting out a Volvo on Craigslist. Quite often a car finds the yard due to a timing belt or head gasket repair being more than the value of the car. In some ways the '98 is one of the most maintainable years - there is a sticky on the 850 board with a new buyer's check list you should check out. Re the cluster - what are you looking to do - ie replace a cluster that isn't working or freshen up the instrument plates? I believe the 98s are like the 850s where you can drop in another model - the newer s70s (2000+) need to be reprogrammed via a VIDA (dealer tool) - not too hard to access (took me an hour on my 850 and the s70s are similar - just find a write up for the hidden screws)

Thanks for the info. I don't check with car-part because I'm in Montreal, Canada and we only have one real u-pull here so not many choices but it's getting bigger and better.

Picked up the car tonight.

http://imgur.com/a/S4CqV

Shes actually silver. Sorry for the crappy night pics.

Damn dude, you can't win between these two huh? I know this'll sound like heresy, but maybe it's better to let both of them go and find one that doesn't have so many issues?

The side windows might be cross compatible though, not that difficult to swap, just takes patience. Also, at least where I'm at it costs about $500 just to drop the transmission at most shops... I guess in the end it depends how long you want to keep the last car. I've probably got about $4000 in my 90 sedan so far, and I'm about to change the seats and convert to LEDs, cuz I want to and I know I'm probably never gonna sell it. 😁

I would imagine after a year and a half he probably figured something out.