Bean

Rear rotors seem like a lot of work but aren't too bad - the Hub assembly is held on with 4x 8mm Allen bolts that are accessible through the big hole in the wheel bolt flange, just rotate the flange around until you get all 4 out. Use a good allen socket, and make sure it's full seated in the head of the bolt before undoing it. Rear calipers: Are you sure they're seized? You won't really know their condition until you remove them, but just remember the piston needs to be rotated before it will slide back to change the pads. Never force the piston back. Glad the transmission oil tip worked out - My 505 STI 5sp was THE best shifting car I've ever driven after using the Redline NS gear oil in it. Rabin

From the article on the history of the N9T motor: N9T history A few years earlier, the ROC firm developed a high powered version of the Chrysler/Simca/Talbot OHC for Formula 2 racing. This engine had a 16 valve cylinder head and produced around 300hp at 8000rpm. From the french forums, it sounds like this was quite the engine, and that ROC fitted/adapted a 16V head to the N9T block and used in F2/ Formula Alantic race cars. What would be cool - is to find out what that head was! F2 engines included the famous Ford BDA engines, so if the N9T based motor was built to play with those engines - that's a HUGE testament to how good they are. I used to think the Danielson head was the holy grail - now I'm thinking this 16V head they used is! How cool would a 505 16 valve turbo would be! Rabin

Engine heat / oil temp is the cure for moisture in the oil. Good t-stat, functioning PCV (ie: no plugged up screens), clean oil, and if it's getting cold make sure to use a lower viscosity oil like 5w30 or even 0w40. If the car isn't on synthetics now, I'd recommend and engine flush prior with liqui-moly or similar, and then filter changes every 1500 miles at least twice as synth will free up a lot of gunk in engine. If your oil looks like a chocolate milkshake it's a coolant leak, but if you just see white stuff with good oil on dipstick it mostly needs a good long drive. Rabin

Mentioned it previously - that's the wrong oil cap. Functioning Pcv systems reduce/prevent condensation. Volvo cover gasket set for your Volvo I hope? And no. Bad upper rad hose was bad for coolant to circulate properly. New t-stat and new hoses should get it to temp quick which helps reduce condensation. XN6 engines will blow head gaskets if head bolts not checked as per manual. Newer 505s were "supposed" to not nerd retorquing, but still adviseable by most now. Rabin

Did you test the main pump with 12V yet? Banjo bolts are reuseable - as are copper crush washers if you can anneal them before reuse. You should never need sealant on a copper washer btw. Rabin

Did you test the main pump with 12V? CIS runs at 70 psi so you really should know it will work before installing it. Will it take the same threaded banjo bolt connections at least? Rabin

Never heard of any valves breaking, reason mentioned many times was that it didn't justify the cost. Fully agree about them running lean - especially here as we got even lower flowing fuel injectors (~280cc/min). Standalone management of boost control is another big advantage over stock. Rabin

The North America 1985 505 Turbo cars had sodium exhaust valves and a .48 A/R turbo with no water cooling. In 86 they got rid of the sodium filled valves and went with a smaller .36 A/R watercooled turbo. Pistons should be fine with MS3X, but they do not tolerate detonation at all which was usually because of wastegate failure and overboosting. Overboost switch delayed it if it was functional - but often they failed or simply not connected. Lots of N9T** motors died that way. With proper fueling and engine management I think these motors will make very good power. Rabin

Your car is CIS - You might want to recheck the Walbro pump specs as CIS runs at a MUCH higher pressure than regular cars. Make very sure it can handle CIS pressures. Back in the day - CIS pumps were the upgrade for modified cars as they handled much higher pressures and they flowed a lot of volume. Have you checked the main pump by applying power direct? Rabin

Sorry - I just meant also using Spec as the supplier. I figured 2+ would be a good compromise between being able to handle the power and not abusing the drivetrain. I'd rather have the clutch be the fuse in the driveline than risk damaging the stock BA10/5 or the stock diff, but I'm only shooting for 300 RWHP, so 2+ should still be plenty of clutch for me and still have nice drive ability. Would definitely consider stage 3+ if you have favorable experience with it however. MS3 should add a lot of tuning capability - should be fun to see what kind of power your car can make. Definitely one of the nicest 505 projects I've ever seen come together. Rabin

That sucks! Sadly all my used 5sp clutches are still in the cars. I was also thinking of a Spec 2+ as I wanted to keep the sprung clutch plate, but I do have a new Sachs clutch that will get used first. I'd hate to sacrifice a new part to get rebuilt by Spec, so will need to ensure the used ones I have are saved so they can be rebuilt. Do you have any idea what you're going to use for engine management? Rabin

Where are you located Junkwurx? Rabin

If you google it you'll see references to it on the forum - Or try the forum search. Volvo uses a Tachymetric relay that works, or you may be able to save it by resoldering the joints on it. Running 12V direct to the pump will tell you for sure. The other stuff you mentioned wouldn't have caused you any issues at all. Rabin

There's an intake low pressure fuel pump in the tank, that then feeds the high pressure pump beside the accumulator as you mentioned. There's also a tachymetric relay under the dash mounted near the steering column that passes power to the pump on start up. If the pump isn't powering up I'd suspect the relay first, the quick check for that is to provide 12V direct to the fuel pump and see if it pressures up. Rabin

Head is aluminum, and yes it's a hemi. I rely on "mechanical feel" and not torque with plugs, just don't over tighten and you should be good. They just need to be snug, and I HIGHLY recommend using a little bit of high heat anti-seize on the threads. Rabin

^^ Curious why you used rods and not pistons? Rods are supposed to be factory forged - but the pistons have a reputation of being fairly weak... I've never heard of a rod failure, but I could definitely see it if you wanted yo lighten them - factory rods are quite heavy! Rabin

Just use a copper crush washer. It likely already has one, and you can reuse them if you anneal them with a torch/heat. I've had great luck using Redline 75w90NS in my transmissions. Rabin

Should still have a sticker under hood with that info on it - should have plug gap and valve lash adjustment info if I recall correctly. CIS is usually VERY stable and the worst thing people do is start messing with it when there's other issues at play. Make very sure the car is properly tuned first. New plugs, valves adjusted, cap, rotor, wires (if they're hard), and timing set. Also make very sure there are no vacuum leaks. Once that's done - then you can at least ensure you have a good base to start adjusting the CIS. It's fairly complex though, and before I took the plunge and built some pressure gauges to properly diagnose and tune it - my car was totalled. Haven't owned an XN6 since so can can't be of any help - but it's the same CIS system used in older Volvo's and VW's - so if you can find any shops familiar with those CIS systems they can work on the 505's. There's lots of info online as well - I had found a great VW CIS tuning guide that showed what was needed to build the pressure gauge set and how to adjust it. Rabin

Excellent work... That resistor you bought likely goes elsewhere BTW - it looks familiar but it's been a while since I've worked on one to say for sure where it goes. Rabin

Virginia isn't rust belt - Michigan is. VA mechanic likely never sees rust like that, and rust like that certainly wouldn't pass VA inspection, so it's very possible he didn't even want to touch it purely from a liability standpoint. Michigan mechanic has probably seen a LOT worse, and authorities there are likely much more lenient. Where I live, it'd take a lot of money to properly sort that rust out. I'm pretty OCD with repairs but only for keeper cars. I've used duck tape to holed a truck fender together, and then sprayed with undercoating so that I didn't get an inspection ticket - worked for YEARS! What ever you decide - just don't put a lot of money into it. If your mechanic can do some patches to buy you some time - great. Rabin

You should have a 12V test light to check the plug for power, or a multimeter... You need to be able to find out for yourself if there's power or not. Fan resistors = rheostat. When it fails it should default to high not interrupt current. It's normally in he heater box as it's cooled by the airflow from the heater fan. Rabin

Did you do anything with the clock? I've got a 504 clock I took apart to see if I could either fix, or replace with a more accurate movement as the stock one lost 10m a day! Rabin

I guess our opinions differ greatly - you're much more into the rust belt than I however so maybe the tolerance for that stuff is higher. If that car was inspected here it'd be immediately taken off the road until it was patched properly with welded metal and it passed structural integrity inspections at a body shop (big $$$). If you proceed with repairs make sure to ask for pictures - would love to see how he does it. Rabin

Easier to just check the fuses visually in the fuse box takes 2 minutes. If it was running at one speed then the fan resistor is likely shot - that's what gives you speeds. You should be able to check the fan directly at the fan motor connection - it's a two prong flat plug that's underhood near the heater assembly - might be under the firewall cover though. Rabin

Copper NGK v-groove plugs work great for the car - gap should be on a sticker under hood. Would also suggest head retorque, valve lash adjustment and VC gasket while you're at it. Did you get the leaking lines sorted? Have you checked and adjusted timing? Is your vacuum advance working? Rabin