# Candisa's Volvo 940 (sedan)



## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Hi,

As you might know, half a year a go, I sold the Clio and bought myself a Volvo 940 sedan. Since the plans I had for the Clio aren't that easy to build in the Volvo, I spent the last half year in rethinking everything.

The Car:
1992 Volvo 940 sedan 2.4l. 6cyl. non-turbo diesel









Doors:
I don't feel like converting the manual windows to electric ones (did that with the Clio, costs a lot of money if you want to do it properly and it's just not worth it), so I can't go extremely wild (8" or bigger drivers) with the doors. 
I think it might be possible to put 2 6" drivers in each front door. 
Between the seats and the doorpanels, there are extra cardholders I can remove, so mounting depth is not an issue.
Since sedans arent the easiest cars to get sub-bass right, I wanted midbasswoofers that can reach very very low. Since the limitation in diameter, the TangBand W6-1139 is the only driver that fits the requirements and it's also cheap!









Dashboard:
The dashboard also looks a lot better than the plastic crap in the Clio, so I won't do any heavy modifications to that. On the left and right, there are grills in it for tweeters. Those grills are easy to remove, so I'll use those as the base of custom made pods.
In order to keep the look of the interior nice and classy, I don't want huge mids ànd tweeters on the dashboard, so I decided to get some 4" full-range speakers instead. 
The TangBand W4-1337 isn't the cheaped full-range speaker out there, but according to reviews and opinions, it's a very nice driver that doesn't really need a tweeter and the price isn't thàt huge, so I'll get a pair of those.









Sub:
I won't remove the rear-seat of this car, so despite the quite large trunk, I'll have a lot less room to work with compared to the Clio. 
There is no space for 2 12" subwoofers in a 6th order PRed and slotported bandpass enclosure. I first tought of just leaving the subs out, since the mini-subs I'll be using for midbass can reach very deep. I already started to build an enclosure to use the XXLSes + PRs at home:








Luckily, after making that 1 hole (the size of a subwoofer), I tought: "Hey, one subwoofer is better than no subwoofer", so I'll devide that enclosure into a part that has the right volume for 1 subwoofer and 2 PR's, and I'll put the battery's in the remaining part.

Downside:
This set-up has 1 big limitation compared to the plans I had for the Clio: it won't be able to get the same spl level. I listen a lot to hardrock, metal... and this car has a sunroof I like to open all the time that it's not raining, so limited spl level is a BIG downside...
Solution:
I have 4 5.25" Peerless HDS Exclusives and 2 Peerless HDS tweeters laying around that I've bought for the Clio and I was first thinking of building a pair of home-speakers with those, but since I already have nice home-speakers and I don't need more, I tought: "why not put them on the rear-deck?"
This way, I can listen to the frontset + sub only when I want perfect staging at normal volume levels, but when I just want my music LOUD, I can switch on the rear-fill-amplifier.


Set-up:
Headunit: an old (1997ish) Panasonic radio-dcc-player with 8cd-changer, line-input and front and rear line-outputs
EQ: AudioControl EQX
X-over: AudioControl 4XS
Amps:
- Fullrange speakers: Genesis Stereo 100
- Midbasswoofers: Genesis Dual Mono
- Rearfill (active 2-way): Genesis Four Channel
- Sub: don't know yet...
Fullrange speakers: (1pr) TangBand W4-1337
Midbasswoofers: (2pr) TangBand W6-1139
Rear mids: (2pr) Peerless HDS Exclusive 152
Rear tweeters: (1pr) Peerless HDS
Sub: (1) Peerless XXLS 12" + (2) Peerless 10" PR


My budget is very limited at the moment and at the end of June, I'll be in the hospital for a week followed by an unknown time of recovery, so don't expect to see results fast.
I want everything except for the rear-fill in the car by the first EMMA game of 2010.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Candisa,

2 comments, 

If you have not look into the Aura driver I am using, it's rather efficient, 6", and 2 of them per side would make some nice low end up front. It's also rather inexpensive. I have no problem with low end up front and I have 1 per side. I have a review in the reviews section, they work well with rock as they are rather snappy.

I also have a sunroof and open/closed parked is no big SPL loss, the loss comes into play with wind-noise and getting up over it, the wind-noise aspect depends on the car but many have said a deflector up front makes a big difference.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

lilmsprelude said:


> it's gonna be good to see another girl building a system.


word!


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Hi,

Thanks 4 your comments.

As you know, I live in Belgium and sadly there are almost no DIY stores here. I order my drivers from Holland where I have a bigger choice. Both places I know where to get DIY drivers don't have Aura. 
I made my choice based on specs and reviews of drivers I can order. 
Since the amount of spl you can have at low frequencies in an IB/sealed situation almost only depends on cone area (wich is limited to a 6.5" woofer) and x-max, and of all the 6.5" drivers I can get, the TangBand has the biggest x-max (a whopping 11.5mm!), I decided to get those...

If it's not very windy, the sunroof isn't a loss of SPL indeed when parked, but cars are ment to be driven, don't they? My sunroof has a small deflector that goes up when the roof is open, but I still have a lot of wind noise. 
There is a bigger, fixed deflector available from Volvo, but I rather put my music a bit louder at medium speeds (below 60mph) or close the roof at higher speeds (the highest legal speed in Belgium is 75mph, most people including me drive about 90mph on long wide roads) than have a hat glued on top of my roof.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

LOL, I feel the same way about the deflector  We are on the same page.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

I just (2 minutes ago) tought that the floor of the part of my trunk right behind the back seat is raised, so the height is limited where the subwoofer enclosure has to be.

Since I've built that enclosure in order to use it at home, I started to panic.
So I ran to the garage, measured the enclosure --> height: 38centimeters
Then I measured how much room I have between the floor and the rear-shelf, all trimming removed...
Exactly 38 centimeters! Tight


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

Hey.... Long time no see here:blush:


No car, so no install

Glad to finally see some plans coming together since the clio girl!


Let's hope the 740 estate is mine soon, and I'll be glad to visit and even do some work for you so you can hit the road as soon as you're gettin better. (that is if you let me.... You know how clumsy I can be sometimes:blush::laugh:


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Some help would be great, since I HATE running cables. 
It would be a lot more fun to have a little help with that and off course, see a good friend again I haven't seen in a while at the same time...

Since a 740 is basically the same car as a 940 and the rear part of an estate is only easier to work with, it should go a lot easier and faster when we run cables in your 740 afterwards, altough I'm affraid there will be a little less space in a petrol version since there's some electronics in it to let the engine run, while my diesel is pure mechanics...


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Expecting Good Things.....Scribed!


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

Might take a while before anythng happens, I think.

I'm sure it's gonna be worth the wait though8


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Good work! Some support from Australia guys! Keep at it.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

The SQ part of the install has to be in and playing by the first EMMA SQ game in Belgium in 2010, wich should be easy...
The door-panels seem to be easy to customize and I hope they are as easy to reinforce (Volvo is Swedish, but I think the interior is made by an American manufacturer since it's flimsy plastic everywhere, not really according to EU standards, even for a 17 year old car)...
The thing I hate the most about building an install is the wiring part. I HATE running wires in a car and that's the one and only reason why my Volvo is still stock...


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

fyi, my wife owns a 99 SEAT ibiza v2....it's not american made in any which way or form....built to supposedly better[?]"EU" standards. it's a cheap ,flimsy plastics galore.
and i have worked on a peugeot back before they realized it wasnt a viable product for winter enviroments.....the front fenders held on with 2 screws and [i'm not kidding]double faced tape!!!! from the factory..... so EU standards arent better...just different.
and although i prefer japanese cars to american cars...i have yet to see a euro built vehicle that is as reliable as the run of the mill u-s built econobox. and do not get me wrong....i do have a soft spot for many euro models. but fact of the matter is..you can buy a cobalt,escort, or neon and run the piss out of it for 160 000+km in harsh canadian winter weather and basically all you need to do is change the oil and tend to the brakes.
and when i go to the west coast...i am surprized to see 25+ american cars that have long turned to dust in my neighborhood, still up and running.
point is....let's stick to our hobby and build great sounding cars

copy n pasted from wiki>>>In 1999 Volvo sold its car division Volvo Cars to Ford for $6.45 billion


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

My 940 is pre-Ford 

When I talk about EU standards, I talk about the class of my 940: Mercedes E-class, BMW 5-series or even an Opel/Vauxhall Omega... 

PS.: Please don't insult EU standards by referring to French cars: they're made as cheap as possible and built to last no longer than the 3 years of warranty. My previous car was a Renault, my work-car is a Peugeot, I have friends who drive Peugeots, Renaults and Citroens... well, they're crap, they even break down standing still...


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

now-now...don't get nasty with your neighbors...lol :laugh:

if you previously owned a renault...my sympathies.[renault =:z:]


just anxiously waiting for build pics,here

the wife's ibiza[non turbo, diesel] is for sale[in brussels]....in case you know anyone who is looking for a very clean/cheap beater car.


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

If it were something different than a VAG I might have gone and take it for a test drive, since the volvo I had planned on got sold today. But since it IS a VAG, I'll just be looking for another volvo


And since I might get it insured on my mom's insurance, why don't take a little heavier than the 2.0.... 2.3 for instance (diesel would be nice too, but little too much road tax....


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## DonovanM (Nov 1, 2006)

XC-C30 said:


> If it were something different than a VAG I might have gone and take it for a test drive, since the volvo I had planned on got sold today. But since it IS a VAG, I'll just be looking for another volvo
> 
> 
> And since I might get it insured on my mom's insurance, why don't take a little heavier than the 2.0.... 2.3 for instance (diesel would be nice too, but little too much road tax....





> DIYMA has lost a little female touch.
> 
> Left the mental institution that's called diymobileaudio.com


Urk...?


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

XC-C30 said:


> If it were something different than a VAG I might have gone and take it for a test drive, since the volvo I had planned on got sold today. But since it IS a VAG, I'll just be looking for another volvo
> 
> 
> And since I might get it insured on my mom's insurance, why don't take a little heavier than the 2.0.... 2.3 for instance (diesel would be nice too, but little too much road tax....


well i thought i'd throw it in here...i cannot import it to canada,cause it doesn't meet N-AMERICAN safety standards ...EU standards...pfft


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Just great...

I've had some surgery done 2.5 weeks ago so I was in the hospital for a week and when I got back home, I'd got to sleep downstairs since I couldn't reach to the first floor (where I normally sleep and where my own computer is)...

Now 2 days ago, I tried to go upstairs and got there, so I powered up my own computer... and it went dead after an hour and a half...
I checked it and I know for sure the power supply is busted, but I'm affraid there is more going on. I already used a big fan to cool the inside of it because the original cooling system was broken and since it's a piece of antique (AMD 650MHz, 128MB of slow memory...), it started to struggle with stuff for the last few years (internet pages with a lot of flash animations and/or scripts, newest versions of some programmes...)...

Conclusion: I'll try to find a second hand power supply for now in the hope I can get it back running for a few months and start to save for a new computer (wich I was planning to buy somewhere in 2010 after I was done with the Volvo).
The computer I want costs 1400 euros (cheapest 24" iMac) and I won't be able to work for a few months (we have a replacement income in Belgium when we are sick, but that's barely enough to live from), so it'll be close to get the Volvo done by the first EMMA SQ game in 2010 and it'll probably be with just the essentials (no rear-/show-fill, no nicely finished trunk install...)


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Shame to hear Candisa, I hope you get well quickly. Cheer up!

BTW- i hate computers!


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

DonovanM said:


> Urk...?



Only reason I'm back is to follow up on Isabelle's car

But I'm not going any deeper into this.... Don't wanna spoil her topic


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

Candisa said:


> Just great...
> 
> I've had some surgery done 2.5 weeks ago so I was in the hospital for a week and when I got back home, I'd got to sleep downstairs since I couldn't reach to the first floor (where I normally sleep and where my own computer is)...
> 
> ...


I'll help out with the car, you know that Don't worry! You're gonna be fine. Games don't start for another 8 months, right?


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

EMMA Belgium normally starts in May, a bit earlier (end of March) in The Netherlands, but I'll only go there when there's a game that's not to far over the border and I think the first games are more in the North...


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

Candisa said:


> EMMA Belgium normally starts in May, a bit earlier (end of March) in The Netherlands, but I'll only go there when there's a game that's not to far over the border and I think the first games are more in the North...


SO 8 months as I thought.... But since you're not planning on driving too far for one as you say, you got even more time. Gonna be fine really


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Still recovering from surgery 3 months ago, but slowly getting better, so back to car-audio...
Budget for car-audio is lower than planned and I really want this car to have a good sounding audio system asap, so I made a few changes in the plans:
- The TangBand W4-1337 full-range speakers stay (already own those)
- I might add a couple tweeters to help the top octave (later...)
- I won't use TangBand W6-1139 mini-subs as midbass-/subwoofers, but a pair of Soundstream SS8's (have them laying around and after measuring, I think they should fit --> lower costs)
- No rear-fill (cost saving)

Next update very soon...


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

get well soon


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## honza440 (Aug 22, 2009)

same as stinky06, good luck


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## kingman (Feb 2, 2010)

How are you planning on using the TangBand? As a dashmount of in the A pillars.

These seem great on paper, but I would have a hard time mounting these in the dash. A-pillars is a no go as the size would block my view..


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

I'm planning to start fabricating the dashpods for them today. 
A Volvo 940 has speakergrills on the dashboard, I'm gonna build pods on top of those grilles, leaving the bottom open to allow the mids to vent in the dashboard (They sound the best when they can breathe freely).

PS.: I ordered 2 pairs of 4" CarPower speakergrilles at Europe-Audio (formerly known as BMM-electronics). You can't use them the normal way (sandwiching the plastic part between the baffle and speaker), probably because those tangbands aren't conventional caraudio speakers.
You can mount them on top of them instead, they are a little bit larger than the tangbands, so you can fill the small gap between the plastic part of the grill and the baffle with a little bit of black silicone kit. The whole in the middle of those grilles are the perfect size for those tangbands: it's big enough to clear the cone and surround, but small enough to hide the grey mounting flange completely.
The holes in the plastic part of the grille don't match the mounting holes of the tangbands completely, but it matches good enough to leave it unmodified.

Downside of this solution: since the cone and phaseplug of those tangbands have a metal color, you see them trough the grille and the cone looks rather small compared to the grille. I don't mind that, I've seen a lot worse in competition car-audio, it's all about how much you care about small details...


I ordered also a pair of Dayton ND20FB tweeters. I don't think tweeters are necessary in combination with TB W4-1337's, but since they are 4", they beam a lot, so I added these cheap, small, but according to reviews good tweeters to make the off-axis response better, making the sound better on the passenger seat.
I bought these ones instead of the FA's or the smaller ND16's for 2 reasons:
- they have the best frequency response of the "family"
- they are rear-mount.
That rear-mount thing is very handy to mount them flush in a piece of 12mm MDF.

As I said earlier in this post, I ordered 2 pairs of 10cm grilles. This isn't a mistake, but I did this to have 2 extra grilles:
- 1 to cut down into 2 tweeter-grilles
- 1 to have a matching grille if I ever want to add a center speaker.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

Subscribing for your build pics. Glad you are feeling better.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Today and tomorrow, I am/will be busy doing some non-audio jobs I've been shoving in front of me for way too long, so if everything goes as planned, I'll start with my dash-pods wednesday.

I already made the basic shape of the baffles out of a junk-sheet of .5" MDF. I'll have to figure out a way to hold these little baffles to cut out the mounting holes for the mids. I know, I know, I'd better do that before I cut out the baffles, but that's too late for now, I'll remind that for Xenia's 740...

So the first pics I'll show will be of the dashpods and will come very soon now (yeah yean I know, said that before...)

Isabelle


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

This is what I'm building on at the moment...










The bases are the original dashboard-speaker-grilles. I added baffles the size of the grilles I'll be using and to give it some shape, I added a simple little piece on the back...

To be continued...

Isabelle


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

good too see your back and working on your install!!


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

There's been yet another slight change of plans (yet again)...

- The Genesis Fourchanel is gonna be traded in for 2 DualMono's instead, to power tweeters and mids
- I scored another DualMono as a present for her that's gonna be used too
- kicks are changing now that there's gonna be more power available. (TB (3x)W6-1139 or (2x)W8-740C)

I have to admit this mostly is my fault though.... I sort of pushed her to make a long-time dream come true, since I had found 2ads with a couple DM's for sale.... So we responded to both and went into action....

So now the insall is gonna be fully driven by Genesis DM's except for the subs, which is stil gonna be the Crunch CR600


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

That's right, and I've decided what midbasswoofers I'm gonna use.

I don't have any plans on competing in EMMA ESPL (SPL with music), but if I would like to compete once in a while for fun, it would be better if I can end up in the lowest possible class.
The crazy thing is that 8" woofers add up to the subwoofer-cone-area, but 6.5" woofers don't.
This means I could put 3 pairs of 6.5" woofers in my doors and still end up in a lower class than if I'd put only 1 pair of 8" woofers in my doors, even if both the 6.5" woofers and 8" woofers play down to 20Hz and help pushing up the score.

Also, the W6's have an Le of only .95mH, while the W8's have an Le of over 3mH ànd they have a rubber surround, while the W8's have a foam surround, so...

I've decided I'll go with 3 pairs of TangBand W6-1139!

Why 3 pairs?
- 2 pairs would be nice already, but then each midbasswoofer would get 150W (1 channel of a Dual Mono each) and at full throttle, they would have to be high-pass crossed at 30Hz to protect them from exceeding their x-max. 
This isn't bad at all, but if I'm pushing them down to sub-frequencies, I might as well be able to push them all the way down to 20Hz.
- 4 pairs would be very nice too and it would get the maximum out of my amps (2 in parallel on each channel = 2ohms load), and then I would give them 125W each, allowing me to cross them at 25Hz.
This is already a bit better, but this would be over-overkill and pushing the budget.
- 3 pairs allow me to run each channel at 6ohms (3 of them series-bridged), resulting in 67W each. This allows me to run them without any subsonic filter and gives me the same SPL output than 2 pairs of them with 150W each.
Wonderfull!

Isabelle


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

What did I get married to.... Or rather will be....

You're UBER-CRAZY honey!

Glad I could help though:laugh:


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

This is another car I won't be able to complete... 

I'm glad I didn't make any serious damage yet to the original parts of the car. I'll only have to replace the dashboard speakergrilles. I also removed the cheap ass Sony headunit and all non-original wiring, so I'll have to put that back in and make some new wiring to get it back working...

This car always gave me mixed feelings. Although it's a very comfortable car to drive and I really like this series of Volvo, the 2.4 6cil diesel engine is very expensive in taxes and very slow (only 82hp)... 
I discovered quite early that I've actually paid too much for the car and it wasn't always serviced like it should in the past, and off course, now I'll have to pay the price...
The engine is leaking a bit of oil and the valves + fuel pump would need some tuning or maybe even replacement to make it drive like it used to and to make it sound like a 6cil diesel again instead of a rattling bucket of marbles...

Since I actually want a car with a better power-to-weight ratio and a stationcar would come in handy too, I've decided I won't put any money in this car anymore. I'm gonna make it look as nice as I can and try to sell it for the best price I can get...

As a replacement, I'm thinking about a Volvo 7/9 series again, but an estate with a 2.3 turbo petrol engine (cheaper in taxes, more insurance, but a lot more horsies for about the same annual cost)...
Although Volvo is very close at my heart, I'm also considering some other options, knowing that I can still drive a Volvo whenever I want to, since Xenia now also owns one...
- Mercedes-Benz 230TE (T meaning it's a stationcar, not a turbo, but it has the same amount of horsepower as the low-pressure-turbo Volvo 2.3), which costs the same in taxes and insurance as a Volvo 2.3LPT Estate, but is more quiet inside and also known for being very strong and reliable cars
- Something Japanese with a powerfull 1.8 or 2.0 engine, which would drop the annual costs, but I'm affraid the engine would react too nervous to drive it just as relaxed as a Volvo or Merc, and face it, a Nissan Primera stationwagon would be a huge step back from the Volvo I have now...

A very sad Isabelle with mixed feelings at the same time


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## bdimag (Jun 2, 2010)




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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

That's an early US 745 with a dropped suspension. The front of the EU version is different and here in Belgium, you can only drop a car with springs that come with GOCA (TUV isn't "good enough") papers... which don't exist for the Volvo 7/9.

For caraudio, the 945 is more interesting, since the top half of the dashboard is a bit different. It would be very hard to put 4" mids on the dashboard of a 7xx...


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

imo having a peppy car is a must in belgium...especially with the ''me first'' driving attitude, they have over there.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

There are indeed 2 things that I want from a next car:
- safe feeling... too many idiots out there
- more power


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

I don't know.... But for me, Volvo is the best car in the market, atleast that's the only company that dare to say their car is a safety car. Japanese cars are more on marketing side(they like to sell more and won't put safety at first, remember the latest issue on Toyota).


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

My C70 fit a 3" in the dash with very little modification but like you said a 4" would be a lot of work.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

I've had the time to activate the little bit of common sense that's in my head, and I've decided to keep an eye on the second hand market and look for "the perfect Estate". In the mean time, I'll inform how much it would cost me to tune the valves and fuel-pump of my 940 to make it sound and perform better and stretch its life...

This also means I'll keep on building on this install, since I'll be able to swap the modified panels when I buy a 7/9 Estate, unless I'd buy a late 960/V90, but that's very unlikely...

Isabelle


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

kyheng said:


> I don't know.... But for me, Volvo is the best car in the market, atleast that's the only company that dare to say their car is a safety car. Japanese cars are more on marketing side(they like to sell more and won't put safety at first, remember the latest issue on Toyota).


toyota does not represent all the japanese companies... and even though they may have made some bad executive decisions, that does not change the fact that they do build great cars...and i don't really like toyotas that much....but i'd sure would love having a lexus in my drive-way.


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

^Agree with you. But not only Toyota, even Honda do have some problems. This is not because bad executive decisions, it is because their plant's capacity exceeded. If a plant's capacity is rate at 1000 car per day, when you do any output above 1000, the balance or the numbers will be at risk. 
that's why Volvo is my next car, because they won't compromise on this. And my country do have Volvo production plant, but I have yet to hear any bad review from Volvo.


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## Arezump (Jan 6, 2010)

kyheng said:


> ^Agree with you. But not only Toyota, even Honda do have some problems. This is not because bad executive decisions, it is because their plant's capacity exceeded. If a plant's capacity is rate at 1000 car per day, when you do any output above 1000, the balance or the numbers will be at risk.
> that's why Volvo is my next car, because they won't compromise on this. And my country do have Volvo production plant, but I have yet to hear any bad review from Volvo.


Kyheng, 

this might be off the topic  but, are u still using your scan driver bro?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

I still miss my 855 Turbo Estate...the most comfortable seats i have ever owned...


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

I think I'm gonna make a new thread with the on-topic stuff that's in this thread and upcoming updates...........


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Sorry to go OT here guys, but I have a '95 Volvo 950 wagon - basically the same car as the OP's car, but wagon form. I've just installed my subs, and the whole rear of the car flexes - ALOT. Any recommendations for stopping the flex, especially the roof? I plan on filling the tailgate, and perhaps the rear quarters, with foam. The roof, otoh, is going to give me issues.....


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

The roof of an Estate (btw, a 950 doesn't exist it's a 940 or a 960) is a pretty big surface and pretty flat, so it is pretty normal that it flexes with some powerfull sub in the car.
I'll probably repair my car and go on with the project, but I was thinking of buying an Estate and if I'll ever replace this sedan, it will be by and Estate.

I think, the best thing you could do is try to brace the roof a bit. Remove the headliner (which is a lot easier in an Estate, since you can get it out trough the hatch) and add some crossbeams that are also touching the roof. Put some flexible glue/kit between the added crossbeams and the roof to prevent them from rattling against eachother.
Next step is apply dampening material. I would recommend to use butyl based dampening with an aluminium top-layer. This is lighter, but more efficient than cheaper dampening materials. If you use cheaper materials, the weight that is hanging on the roof will be too high and there would be a chance it would come down when the sun is shining on the roof.

Isabelle


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Sorry, it was a 960, not 950. IDK why I typed 950. Anywho, thats the general consensus I've reached as well - I need to physically brace the roof. Thanks!


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

I've put the car for sale on a Volvo 700 Club forum. 
If I can't find somebody who loves this model of cars to buy mine for the fair price I'm asking for it (considering the tuning that has to be done, the bad muffler and the oil leak, but also considering the recently changed timing belts, coolingfluidpump...) in the first month, I'll keep it and continue this project.

I will continue the dashpods, since my next car would be a 940 for sure, or a 740 with a 940-dash-conversion...

greetings,
Isabelle


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## bdimag (Jun 2, 2010)

Candisa said:


> I've put the car for sale on a Volvo 700 Club forum.
> If I can't find somebody who loves this model of cars to buy mine for the fair price I'm asking for it (considering the tuning that has to be done, the bad muffler and the oil leak, but also considering the recently changed timing belts, coolingfluidpump...) in the first month, I'll keep it and continue this project.
> 
> I will continue the dashpods, since my next car would be a 940 for sure, or a 740 with a 940-dash-conversion...
> ...


i'd recommend some other volvo forums but i'm not sure how many users we have in your area...


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## mitchjr (Mar 8, 2010)

What problems has Honda had? Of all the Hondas Ive been around ( owned myself or by friends) the only thing I can think of is some rust issues. but thats cause of the harsh winters here in western PA. One undeniable fact is their 4 bangers are bulletproof. And my last honda had 365k, ya 365,000, miles and it road better than an american car w under 90k. (steering and suspension was great, not like a pontoon boat)

I do like volvos but parts are like vw's. here in the states you cant get much at advance auto and the like so your stuck w junkyards or the dreaded trip to the dealer. PREPARE TO BEND OVER!


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

What the hell has this topic to do with Honduh? 

I do not want to wait until "tha veeetèc" kicks in at a gazillion rpm to have decent performance, I do not want a car that falls in pieces because of rust after 5 years and I want a CAR, not a matchbox. 

I'm not very small, but also not very tall with my 1.72m (5ft 7.5"), and I really do not want a car that makes me feel like a giant wearing a dress made out of metal and plastic.

I also want a car that can transport 5 normal people (with legs, hips and shoulders), a decent subwoofer enclosure, 4 not so small amps and 1 big amp, an extra battery, 2 equalizers, a crossover... AND the luggage of 5 people going for a daytrip/2 people going for a weektrip, while towing a caravan without running 5k rpm!

If this car gets replaced, it will be by a Volvo 7/9 series estate. Any other car brand available in Europe would require me to buy a minivan or an SUV with a huge, thirsty, tax-unfriendly engine...

Isabelle


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## pankrok (Jan 1, 2010)

is not a volvo
is not cheap
maybe even no automatic
you would find it used at a decent price very difficult
but it is what you want
best car audio platform!!!


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

Guys, I clearly stated: "...my next car would be a 940 *for sure*, or a 740 with a 940-dash-conversion..."

If we had the money to buy a (close to) brand new car, there would be a Volvo XC90 V8 and probably a Volvo S60 T5 in front of the door instead of a Volvo 940 and 740 and we probably wouldn't live in a rented converted attick, but in a bought home...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

For some reason, I thought your GF (Xenia, right?) had a Saab.

Jay


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> For some reason, I thought your GF (Xenia, right?) had a Saab.
> 
> Jay


That's because she had a Saab for a few months the end of last year/beginning of this year. It was a 1990 900i 16v classic facelift with manual transmission. She sold it because she wasn't comfortable in it and had issues with her legs. We fetched a very nice price for it (profit!) and we already got some insurance money out of it because an idiot with a BMW 1 series rear-ended the Saab, fortunately with almost invisible damage, so we didn't repair it before selling it.

After the Saab, she bought a Citroën Jumper 2.5d bus. We were thinking of putting in a bed, some closets... And we tought it would be better for her because the pedals are beneath her instead of in front of her, so she didn't have to stretch her legs to drive it.
Unfortunately, it was still far from ideal and the bus had rust and reliability issues (It's French, what did you expect?)...

Then, a few months ago, I was getting a left-over of 1/2" MDF from the woodshop and I saw a Volvo 740 at the garage next to it...
It was a 1989 non-turbo model (the ugliest front Volvo ever put on one of their cars), and it was in front of a garage, so I didn't expect much, but I gave a look at it.
I saw it had an automatic transmission, no rust at the wheel-arches, no serious damage (just some scratches and a tail-light), reasonable amount of miles on the clock, good tires, recently replaced muffler, suspension seemed to be alright after giving it a push and checking the height (my own 940 is 3 years younger and sits on its ass, this 740 doesn't)...
I tought, "what the hell, I'll ask about it, it probably needs a lot of work and will be way to expensive, or it will be a 2.0"...
Well, pleasant surprise, it was a 2.3, running perfectly and he sold it for cheap (it was a Toy-ota dealer, so he probably didn't know that the amount of miles on the clock were very reasonable for a Volvo).
I showed it to Xenia and since then, she drives a Volvo 740 

Isabelle


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Candisa said:


> She sold it because she wasn't comfortable in it and had issues with her legs.


That's too bad. Something temporary or a permanent condition? Hopefully temporary.




Candisa said:


> it was still far from ideal and the bus had rust and reliability issues (It's French, what did you expect?)...


lol.



Candisa said:


> It was a 1989 non-turbo model (the ugliest front Volvo ever put on one of their cars)


Wow, *that's* saying something. Older Volvo's always remind me of a movie called "Crazy People" (IIRC, Dudley Moore and Daryl Hannah were in it) Where Dudley Moore plays an ad exec who gets committed to a mental hospital. The patients end up helping him come up with ad slogans...the one for Volvo was "They're Boxy, but they're good." 


Candisa said:


> I showed it to Xenia and since then, she drives a Volvo 740
> 
> Isabelle


Always nice when things work out like that!

Jay


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> That's too bad. Something temporary or a permanent condition? Hopefully temporary.


I'm affraid it's permanent, that's also why we do our best to make it as easy as possible for her. That's why I recommended her that Volvo with auto-transmission and we are also looking to buy our own little house instead of our current rental-apartment that is 2 stairs up from the street...

I haven't got any reactions on my ad at that 7/9-series club, so it seems I'm gonna keep this car until it's dead.

Yesterday, I've found an ad on a Dutch site for an oldskool high-end wood-look Clarion radio-cd headunit. I don't have a wooden dashboard, but I do consider converting it. 
The Panasonic radio-dcc headunit would require me to get under the seat or in the trunk to put in new cd's and on long trips, I usually listen to the radio or an mp3-player, so a radio-cd-headunit without cd-changer is a better choice for me than a headunit without cd and with a cd-changer.

The Clarion doesn't have an aux-in like the Panasonic, but since I feel the need to mix the aux-in with the sound from the radio (when using a laptop with spoken navigation software for example), that's not a downside compared to the Panasonic. 
There is plenty of room in my dashboard to build in some turning knobs, so I'll build some kind of mixing-table into my dashboard that allows me to connect multiple sources and listen to them all at once with a volume control for each source...

This is a picture of the radio I'll buy:









Isabelle


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

If it wouldn't have been permanent, I'd have never sold the saab, but i'd have stored it till I would have been able to drive it again...


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

_Reposted post because of the back-up..._

This project is *discontinued*...

I already had more reasons to stop this project than to continue with it, but since we have our minds set on buying our own house (now renting), we decided to use only 1 car.

Since Xenia needs a car with an automatic gearbox, her 740 is in much better shape and the usage costs are more spread over time (higher price/mile, but lower taxes), we decided to keep that one and sell my 940.

This means, audiowise:
- This project comes to a halt, but...
- We will build a killer install in the 740, using the best of my gear and Xenia's gear.
- We can use the drivers we weren't planning on using, together with the drivers that will loose their use because of ditching 1 car in a nice home audio project.

This means, financially:
- Saving over €800 per year on insurance and taxes, which is the price of driving about 5000km/3000miles with Xenia's 740, so we'll probably end up not saving any money on yearly basis, or maybe spending a bit more, but it will be more spread, so we wouldn't notice it that much.
- Instead of spending extra money on repairing the 940, we can spend whatever we can still get for it on the house.
- We can sell some gear that is worth selling (f.e. Xenia's McIntosh amps) and spend that money on the house...

Since the 740 is from 1989 and road-taxes on cars older than 25 years are a lot cheaper here in Belgium, we will be able to buy a second car that deserves the name "car" again in 4 years and still spend less on taxes compared to now. 
In the meanwhile, we can save some money and work on a financially better future (I'm on a waitinglist for a truck-drivers-licence, maybe we will be able to quit smoking if we are house-owners and don't have to worry about landlords...).

Isabelle


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

As I said, since we will only be using 1 car in the future to keep costs spread untill the 740 is 25years old and we can comfortably afford a second car again, we will be able to build a killer install in it.
We have almost all the materials that were needed to build 2 installs ànd some more laying around...

This is what we're thinking about:
- Headunit: Clarion HX-D2 + CD-changer --> already owned
- Equalizers for front mids and highs: 2 AudioControl EQT's --> already owned
- Crossover for front and rear mids and highs: AudioControl 4XS --> already owned
- Center channel processor: AudioControl ESP-3 --> already owned
- Center channel crossover: AudioControl 2XS --> already owned
- Front tweeters: 1 pair of Dayton ND20FB-4 --> already owned
- Front mids: 1 pair of TangBand W4-1337's --> already owned
- Midbasswoofers: 1 pair of CSS Trio8's --> already owned
- Center mid: 1 TangBand W4-1337 --> already owned
- Center tweeter: 1 Dayton ND20FB-4 --> have to buy, but dirt-cheap
- Rear mids: 1 pair of TangBand W4-1337's --> already owned
- Rear tweeters: 1 pair of Dayton ND20FB-4 --> have to buy, but dirt-cheap
- Subwoofers: something IB in the rear-deck, will be added later
- Left mid + high amp: Genesis Dual Mono --> already owned
- Center mid + high amp: Genesis Dual Mono --> already owned
- Right mid + high amp: Genesis Dual Mono --> already owned
- Midbass amp: Clarion APA4300HX --> already owned
- Rear mid + high amp: Clarion APA4300HX --> already owned
- Subwoofer amp: Genesis Dual Mono --> already owned

I don't think anybody would expect the list above sitting in a single old Volvo-brick :laugh:

PS.: I did NOT add a link to some words in the list above, is this something new on diyma, or something fishy about Google Chrome?

Isabelle


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

indeed not the average list in a "brick"


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

Meh... Go nuts honey.
I wouldn't go that route personally just "because I have the stuff anyway". I can still build a nice set of home speakers


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

XC-C30 said:


> Meh... Go nuts honey.


Thanks honey 


XC-C30 said:


> I wouldn't go that route personally just "because I have the stuff anyway". I can still build a nice set of home speakers


And you still can:
- I know you like your ribbons, so I won't be using them in the car
- 3 of the 5 TB fullrangers are yours, so if you need them at home: use them, no problem, I think the 1320 version would be better for rear-fill duty anyways
- You still have a pair of HiVi M8a's
- I won't be using my Peerless XXLS subs and PR's in the car


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

The 740 seems to be in worse shape and use more fuel than expected. Apart from that, we actually only bought it because it has an automatic transmission and we don't have any real connection with it. 
I like my 940 better and Xenia still goes crazy when she sees a nice Saab 900 classic.

We made some calculations and we figured out all predictable costs (fuel, taxes, insurance) of the 740 in 1 year are the same as all predictable costs of the 940 (which costs a bit more in taxes, but a lot less in fuel and a bit less in insurance) ànd the taxes + insurance (insurance of a second car is only half price) of a Saab 900!

This means, if we use the Volvo 940 the most and only use a Saab 900 as a second car when we both really need to go somewhere else at the same time and exceptionally on a longer trip to keep the car in shape, we won't be spending much more money in a year than we do now!

Since I can't manage to get rid of the 940 in the shape it is now (putting it in a shape that is sellable wouldn't pay off, so getting it fixed just to sell it is not an option), Xenia wants a Saab 900 again and fixing my Volvo 940 wouldn't cost more (probably quite a bit less) than fixing the Volvo 740...

So...

This project probably WILL continue in the 940 somewhere in the future, with a few small changes to the plans we made for the 740:
- 1-way rear-fill instead of 2-way rear-fill
- Use the 2 channels that become available on sub so I can sell a Genesis Dual Mono and use that money to repair the 940.

Isabelle


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## Morganpartee (Jul 2, 2009)

All I have to say is- Volvo Power! I race a 740. Good choice!


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

Morganpartee said:


> All I have to say is- Volvo Power! I race a 740. Good choice!


Actually the 740 is to be replaced by a saab 900i 16v again (I just melt away whenever I see one!!.... And that isn't very often...)


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## Morganpartee (Jul 2, 2009)

Well, Swedish power then. Haha. When I had a couple drivers in the trunk, people would always look around for other cars when I turned it up. 

I do like those Saabs.


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## Candisa (Sep 15, 2007)

The 740 was probably our worst choice 
I agree they are very good cars and those Red Blocks are probably the strongest blocks Volvo or even any other car manufacturer have ever made.
The problem is that regular gas isn't cheap over here and that 2.3 engine uses quite a lot of it compared to a Saab 900.
We tought it would be a better choice to have a car that isn't too expensive in yearly taxes but uses a bit more fuel to spread the annual costs, but we didn't expect it to use thát much fuel.

A Saab 900 uses quite a bit less fuel, is cheaper in taxes (here in Belgium taxes depend on engine size, a Saab 900 has a 2 liter engine, the 740 has a 2.3 liter engine) and the insurance is pretty much the same.
My Volvo 940 runs on diesel (cheaper than regular gas) and uses very little of it, especially if you know that car is also 18 years old.

As far as we know, the engine of a Saab 900 classic is also very very strong so that's not an argument to keep the 740.
The Volkswagen LT diesel engine that is in my Volvo 940 isn't as strong as Swedish engines and pretty slow (no turbo), but the rest of the car is in better shape than the 740, so we have more trust in the reliability of the Volvo 940 than the reliability of the Volvo 740.

Unfortunately, we already spent quite some money on the 740, but we think it's a bottomless pit, so if we loose money on it, so be it. If we keep it, it'll only cost us even more money...

Isabelle


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

I guess we relied too much on the regidity of the car in general and overlooked the cons because of that...

It's a sturdy block, the car it's self is built like a tank... But everything else is pretty much breaking down. We don't really have affiliations with the car.
So instead of trying to get it as new, why not put those costs in a car we (well, I) really love... That's more or less the argumentation behind it.


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## XC-C30 (Jul 24, 2007)

All is fine again!

We both got our own cars now to work on (Bought a saab 900classic today for myself).


Good luck honey!!!


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