Roger M

First off, if this post isn't acceptable for the forum, please let me know and I'll delete it.

Back in the day, some car manufacturers sponsored bicycle race teams, and a few of those ended up building a limited edition model , named after that bike manufacturer.

So far, I've learned of at least four:

Ford built a Kona edition Focus
Saab did the same with Gary Fisher wagon
VW made a Trek edition Jetta

And Volvo built 500 of these 1998 Cannondale edition V70 XC wagons. In the 90s, Volvo was a major sponsor of the Cannondale mountain bike team. I guess to commemorate that, they made these, all red, and all similarly equipped. Also included, was a coupon/voucher for a new Cannondale bicycle.

I came across this car at an estate sale. I was there looking at an old Gitane road bike. The folks that put on the sale, had several bicycles, and a lot of bike parts. The owner had passed away, and was a serious bicycle enthusiast from way back. He had in excess of 20 upper level bikes at some point.

Anyhow, I didn't know about the car until a couple of days later, when scozim went to the same sale. He told me later that they were selling a Volvo wagon. He didn't get to see it, because it was buried in the garage with several years of stuff.

Long story short, I got ahold of the sellers, and scheduled a time to see it. It had been parked in the garage for five years. Dead battery bad gas, no brakes,, etc. I ended up making a deal, and hoped to jump start it, pump up the tires, and drive it 35 miles home.

I made it two miles before a plugged fuel filter ended the trip. AAA showed up at 10pm and got me home.

So here is the car, a before and after set of pictures. It cleaned up well, but there's still some detail work to do. It is safe to say that this Volvo has lived in a garage its entire life. All of the trim and paint are in very good shape (no fading), with only a couple of door dings to deal with. The original owner never did get a free Cannondale bicycle with the car, and was pretty bent out of shape over it. I don't know the story behind that, the family didn't have much information about it.

I had to take care of several mechanical issues before it was road worthy.

Fuel filter
MAF sensor
Spark plugs
CV boot
Throttle body
Vacuum leaks(many)
Etc.

The pictures tell the story of this 1998 Volvo V70 XC Cannondale edition.

I owe more than thanks to Scott, for tipping me off to this car.

Roger M

After a bath and some repairs. This wagon has 167,000 miles, so it's been driven regularly up until 2015. The owner took very good care of it, from what I can see.

I will address a few preventative maintenance issues, and deal with a couple of door dings. It should be good to go.

I'll mount a rack soon, and get a couple of vintage Cannondale mountain bikes on it...

noobinsf 

How'd you tow that thing with your bike?

bOsscO

Although VW had a Syncro edition Westy, it had nothing to do with Syncros components.

scarlson 

Whoa, it's even got the jump seat! Very nice. Does it have one of those temperamental electric throttle bodies? Can't remember if it was an across-the-board change in '99 or if some '98s got them too. I've had to mess with a '98 V70 T5 quite a bit, and it thankfully has a mechanical cable controlled throttle. I'm just getting into the suspension, as now it has a hard pull to the left when braking at high speeds. I'm thinking subframe bushings.

Are you a crazy Volvo guy who knows all about them already? If so, ignore the following, I'm sure you know all this stuff. If not, I'd suggest taking care of the timing belt if you haven't got a definitive service history on it. They are interference engines and the valves take a lot of work to replace. Can do the water pump while you're in there. Also if you're still working on CV joint boots, I've found that the Empi brand ones last one year, the Rein brand ones last 2 years, and the GKN or Loebro (same manufacturer as genuine Volvo) ones last a decade or more, at least here in New England. Learned that one by trial and error.

clubman 

So jealous! The ('88?) 240 wagon looks amazing as well. My wife and I are on our 6th Volvo but nothing newer than a 960. Clocking in at 580K kms is our '91 240. Maybe I should paint it orange.



crazy Volvo guy.

Roger M

Thanks for the heads up. I know my way around a 240(for the most part). This is an unfamiliar territory for me. The turbo ads a few questions. I have a new timing belt for it, but i inspected the one on it, and there's no evidence of any real wear.

It has the old cable operated throttle. I cleaned the TB, and replaced the MAF.

Roger M

Good eye, 88 is correct. That one is close to 500,000 miles(odometer quit several years ago at 366k). Your 240 looks great, especially with that kind of mileage. Those Virgos are the best wheels on these cars. I have never been lucky enough to find a decent set for the right price.

How do you like the 960? I have been looking for a low mileage 960 wagon or V90, casually for a couple of years.

merziac

Cool Volvo, good on ya for saving it.

Ford guy here, seen plenty of belts let go that looked fine until you fold them the wrong way and see the cracking in the inside corners of the teeth that cant be seen with the belt installed, your asking a lot of parts to get back on board after a lot of miles then sitting for 5 years. Just sayin

scarlson 

I'm mostly a crazy Saab guy, but in this case I'll tell you everything I learned from working on that '98 V70 over the past seven years.

I've never had any troubles with the turbo on this car. Seems to work fine even though it is driven around mostly on regular gas. There is a knock sensor so performance will be reduced but no damage occurs.

Replace the timing belt anyway, if you don't know when it's last been replaced! Interference engine means business and these cars are old. I've heard too many horror stories on the forums to think it's anything but cheap insurance. If it breaks, you will bend valves. Changing it will take an afternoon and also allow you to get a good look down that side of the engine.

The strut top bushings often separate and fail. This causes some clunks and squeaks in the steering. There are heavy duty aftermarket ones available.

If the throttle body was all gunked up, it may be that the "flame trap" crankcase breather box is also. They say this can cause enough pressure in the crankcase to blow out the rear main seal. You can test it by putting a rubber glove (easy to get in these trying times) on the oil filler cap and run the engine. It should not inflate the glove. The breather box is a pain to change. You have to take off the intake, fuel rail, etc.

There, now I've said everything I know about '98 P80 models. Good luck and enjoy that turbo!

clubman 

The 960 was a fine car but has some proprietary bits that were NLA in Canada at that time, brake backing plates perhaps. It bled money so we went back to a 740. The V90 is as you know, a kissing cousin to the rear wheel drive 960 so do your homework.
That looks like the same colour as the sporty 850R. Again, very sharp.

Those Virgos have been swapped onto the four 240's I've owned and are starting to distort. There's only one wheel orientation that works smoothly. My wife has had 8 Volvo's starting with a 144 and brought me into the fold when we met.

There's very few low mileage Volvo's left in Nova Scotia. Rust never sleeps on the Atlantic.

yarstepharon

Hey Roger,

Do you still have this car?

Roger M

Yeah, it's still with me

yarstepharon

Were you trying to sell it locally not long ago? My nephew said he saw a CL ad here in Portland a few weeks back but it expired before I could take a look. I really enjoy these cars and have been looking for a red one in decent shape for a good price.

Roger M

No, haven't posted any ads for it. There's been a few red V70XC(Cannondale edition)for sale over the years.

yarstepharon

Ah, okay thx for letting me know. Beautiful car btw. I look forward to finding one of my own.

Roger M

Thanks, it's not without flaws though.

TiHabanero

In December 2018, after 3 years of searching for a 240 sedan that would eventually replace a 2005 Toyota Matrix, I found a near garage queen about 2 hours away from my wife and I. With 38,000 miles on the clock it was a no brainer to buy it, thus we did. The Matrix is still going strong with 254000 miles on it, but we now put it up for summer rest and drive the Volvo, which now has 58,000 miles on it. It is the third one we have owned and is a 1988 model. Honestly, likely the best automobile outside of the Toyota Corolla to have ever been built.

VtwinVince

I always like the V70, especially the R version, very handy vehicles with some sport pretensions.

Roger M

I had a 1988 5 speed 240 wagon for a bunch of years before this red car. It was a great rig, but after a half a million miles, the rust was working its way through part of the floor pan. I have been casually looking for a clean 240 wagon with a stick. They're not so easy to come by any more.

Here's my old one

clubman 

We picked up this '93 940 red block. 0 to 100 in about, well never. 260k km, gorgeous one-owner car. This one will take me out.

clubman 

Bike content...looking for a Thule bike accessory.

squirtdad

oxymoron (still lust after the 900 turbo)

scarlson 

You can still have a decent one for under $5000! Outside of showroom quality survivors, they've hardly appreciated at all! It will cost you in time and effort though. Few people know how to work on them. I daily-drove a classic 900 for about a decade. I learned a lot about how to repair them in that time, and still carry two toolboxes around in my car by force of habit!

Hopefully the OP has changed that timing belt. The V70 in my family has also come due, but sadly I have about 10 other "while I'm in there" jobs. The Volvo P80 community is really good, and there are a lot of them in junkyards right now. Kind of where classic Saab 900 cars were a decade or 15 years ago.

Roger M

Yes, I did the timing belt replacement shortly after the initial post here. Since then I have done

Another CV axle
Cam position sensor
PCV system service
Chased down some vacuum leaks
Brakes
etc.

Still trying to sort out the excessive turbo lag. It's a nice car, but I like the simplicity of the older 240.