My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

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Optimistic
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My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 12:41 am

Well here is my 2nd time writing this, as the first one was so long I logged out and lost 1h of writing, I will re write it another time :wall:

To sum it up:
I had an 850, went and drove a 480 for the first time, liked it wanted to sell the 850, the owner said it isnt for sale, waited 2 years sold the 850 and bought the 480 because the car a actually wanted to buy the guy backed out, so i said why not try the 480 as this was the only time i could get it for a reasonable price. got the car on December 24.
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The 850 in its final form, Propus C wheels R bumper, Turbo spoiler, Coilovers, IPD swaybars, 11 sepaker sound system...

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And the 480 the day i got it
Last edited by Optimistic on Wed May 04, 2022 4:46 pm, edited 6 times in total.
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 12:46 am

So first thing on the list as I got it, the MOT guy said there is some silicone on the Eu drivers side wheelwel, well after investigating I think the car had an accident and some one did a poor job, as the rust hole was really bad
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First contact
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Actual hole was bigger than this
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Process of removing the rust
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So to that I just took the car to a body shop and 320€ later it looked brand new
Last edited by Optimistic on Wed May 04, 2022 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 12:50 am

Next was the 480 classic, re soldering the gauges (day 2 of owning the car)
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Also while I was at it, I looked at the radio, climate controls and the oil pressure gauge.
One of the plastic things on the back of the climate controls were broken, so I tried to re glue it back. I don't know how successful i was but it looked ok
Last edited by Optimistic on Wed May 04, 2022 5:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 12:57 am

After a couple of weeks driving it, i found out the steering wheel wasn't the best for me and i also needed it closer, so I got a new one. I take it as an 1up on the Renault guys who stole the turbo engines :twisted:
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A nardi Renault turbo Williams edition wheel, it least I think
But smart me got a momo hub, so i needed to make an nardi to momo adapter
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Also at that time i was talking to Robou about ecu tuning so I send him some photos from the ecu, and shortly after that also the ecu
Last edited by Optimistic on Wed May 04, 2022 4:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 1:03 am

Waiting for the ecu to get back I proceeded to find all the water leaks. In hopes of well the hatch not leaking i changed the rear seal, which did nothing as the water was coming in from the lights and in between the galas and the trim on the hatch?

Also one of the high beams wasn't working so when I went to change the bulbs I found out the connector wire was broken, so new connector it was
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The end result was much better, this is just the only photo I have.

At the same time i ordered an oil to air cooler as the OEM water one was bypassed. that was a hudge pain in the --- to install, but after 4 days and 3x front ends pulled it was on
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Last edited by Optimistic on Wed May 04, 2022 4:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 1:06 am

A few days after the oil cooler install I got the ecu form Robou back, so I installed it, and took it for a drive
But before that i changed all the break lines with braided steel ones, so i could at least stop
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Pic from the drive, and the stain under the car wasn't mine, also the plastic covers for the headlamps are missing since I wanted to adjust the lenses but i never got around to do that
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Last edited by Optimistic on Wed May 04, 2022 4:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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jamescarruthers
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by jamescarruthers » Wed May 04, 2022 7:56 am

Welcome! Can’t see your pics though? Google hosted ones never seem to play nicely
1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

Optimistic
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 5:07 pm

thanks

So to continue the story, well what you know i got sort of used to the car, and decided I wanted to start modyfing it a bit more. The first thing was the wheels, so I got a set of 16x7.5 wheels.
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The tires are wayy off, don't worry
And as you can probably see the car looks like an off roader so i decided to buy lowering springs for it, I asked around and the most recommended ones were the KAW ones. So i got a set of those, When they arrived happy as one could be I immediately went to change them but to my surprise the shocks were goone, like really dead
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So o lost all hope and the car sat like that in pieces for 2 weeks
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 5:11 pm

After coming down from the short 'my life is ruined' type of week I stood up and mounted the new shocks so i could at least roll the car around and to see how it looked, and oh boy it looked good, I was a bit upset that I didn't do it before as it looked so good. Ps. only the front was changed the rear is still stock
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After that the car sat for another 2 weeks until I decided it was time to pull the engine out
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you can see the dust and sand
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 5:25 pm

Well to pull the engine was quite tricky, it was the first time I would do something like that. I have helped 3 of my friends with that, but never on my own car so as you could imagine it wasn't stress free. Firstly I went and took as may photos of the engine as I could, and the proceeded with removing all the connectors and other stuff in the way. But every connector hose whatever I disconnected, moved out of the way I took a picture in hopes I can re assemble it again. That took 2 days, and on the 3rd day the engine was out.
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I had some help, but still it was quite difficult to get it out
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 5:28 pm

While waiting for the parts to arrive I gave the rear lights to a friend who did wonders to them. Wet sanded, epoxy, lacquer and wet sanding along with more lacquer made them looking beautiful. Even he was surprised how well they turned out
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92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 5:31 pm

Next on the list was to clean the engine bay and fix the rear trans mount.
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My friend has this technique where you clean the mount and then apply new rubber to it, making it even stronger than the original.
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WillC9303
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by WillC9303 » Wed May 04, 2022 5:33 pm

Nice to see a TTT on the forums!
Unfortunately the UK market never got these. Only 1.7 and 2.0 versions I think.
William

1993 2.0i Limited Edition

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed May 04, 2022 11:51 pm

The last thing I now did on the car was to remove the ABS system, as i dont want it to die while I'm doing some dumb stuff. I sadly have decided, taht this car will be sort of a 'steer racecar'
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Me with the ABS mess.

So if anyone can help I would appreciate it.
The engine is currently out of the car, I have all gaskets and seals for it, as well as the belts and a new water pump.
Following questions are:
do i need to apply a gasket maker to the paper gaskets, as a Renault enthusiast that has built these kinds of motors suggested,
I would like to lighten the flywheel, I have seen someone in the forum do it, weight removed was around a kilo, which was also the same amount the Renault guy did to his flywheel,
The engine is running a roboumod, and now I have the Audi tt recirculating valve, is there anything i should also replace fix?
The turbo intake hose at the idle air pipe is cracked, what to do about that? get a custom aluminum connection and a silicone 90 bend to the MAFf?
The brakes are a big unknown on what to do, I want 99% reliable brakes so either have them manual and hard or a vacuum pump, any ideas welcome
I am waiting on poly bushes from classic swede, along with that I have new sway bar end links front and back, and KAW shocks and springs.
The Renault tuner also has a 16v head, so we were joking of making a 2.0 16v turbo down the line, but that maybe helps where i am aiming to take the car
Despite all of this I would still like to drive it during the summer as may main car, well currently its my only car, so yeah.
So any help is appriciated
92' TT-T

Optimistic
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Sat May 07, 2022 11:42 pm

Yesterday we made significant process in rebuilding the car. My friends and I have completely re sealed the bottom end of the motor. The oil sump, oil pump, both main shaft and the weird things that go on their ends now have new O ring seal things (Don't know their names), as well as all new gaskets. We used gasket silicone, I think its called RTV? as all surfaces already had that on, but in a sloppy manner. I remoted and cleaned all of the old gaskets off, while my friends were making new ones and reassembling the engine.
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pic of the underside of the engine, well again we were working a lot so I didn't take many pics, but I think making new gaskets and cleaning is also not very interesting.
And the same day I also decided to paint the calipers as I got them back from sand blasting, well it wasn't the best idea after working on the engine for the whole day I spent another two hours painting the calipers and brackets. So the end result is so so, I will need to retouch some parts to make them ok-ish
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The yellow has an interesting rubber like finish which I really like, its the same brand as I had on the 850
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Jay-Kay-Em
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Jay-Kay-Em » Sun May 08, 2022 4:05 pm

All good to see. Keep the updates coming.
Optimistic wrote:
Wed May 04, 2022 12:46 am
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Wow! :shock: I know the exact seam that causes that and had to weld there myself, but that's another level at that location! Fair play for taking it on.

Optimistic wrote:
Wed May 04, 2022 12:57 am
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That steering wheel reminds me of the United Colours of Benetton edition MOMO. Not to everyone's taste but I love it. Very cool, and very period correct. Hopefully you have removed the four leaf clover?

Optimistic wrote:
Wed May 04, 2022 1:03 am
At the same time i ordered an oil to air cooler as the OEM water one was bypassed. that was a hudge pain in the --- to install, but after 4 days and 3x front ends pulled it was on
Image
Remember that our standard "oil cooler" is actually a heat exchanger. When the engine is cold, it helps to heat the oil too. They are still available for the Opel Vivaro / Renault Trafic van - I believe engine code F9Q. I personally wouldn't be fitting an oil->air cooler that size unless I was doing some serious track work. Perhaps you are.

Optimistic wrote:
Wed May 04, 2022 5:28 pm
While waiting for the parts to arrive I gave the rear lights to a friend who did wonders to them. Wet sanded, epoxy, lacquer and wet sanding along with more lacquer made them looking beautiful. Even he was surprised how well they turned out
Image
Those restored rear lights look amazing. Top work.

I have replied to your PM about the ABS. Later TRACS cars had a traditional vacuum servo, so as long as you have a really good one-way valve, don't worry about a turbocharged car and inlet manifold vacuum. They soon generate vacuum on over-run. My only concern of fitting a late servo, is if the early bulkhead has the suitable holes. I can't answer that i'm afraid.

Best Wishes and keep the updates coming.
Jay-Kay-Em
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Optimistic
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Tue May 17, 2022 11:53 am

This week was slow. I started rebuilding the calipers, and have currently only one done. Still waiting for some parts for the engine, but in meanwhile I have changed the fuel filter with the new one. Today some parts should arrive, also the rear lights should be done. The flighweel should be done tomorrow and then balanced so I hope it is done on friday.
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Old filter, the gasoline dripping out was brown, so It was good that I changed it
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New fuel filter in place
92' TT-T

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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Sun May 29, 2022 7:15 pm

Another slow week. Still waiting for some parts, but I almost have all of them now. Last week while browsing ebay I found a armrest/cupholder in Germany and decided to buy it. It had one rear cupholder metal bracket missing but I will fabricate one myself. There is also an offer for a cargo cover, witch I am also intrigued to buy.
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The cupholder in my hands
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Having it installed it really changes the driving position. I'm my opinion it should be on all cars or at least to have it raised to that height.
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Another thing I did while waiting for the parts was to have the flighwheel lightened, as one of my friends does that. It was balanced so it should be as good as new one.
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And the last thing for the last week were the rear lights. The middle part is cracked a bit and really bent, so you can see it on the keyfob, it is about 6mm apart.
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WillC9303
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by WillC9303 » Sun May 29, 2022 7:53 pm

Progress looks really good!

In regards to the Cupholder, you were very lucky to get that! Price isn't really the main issue with these, it's just finding one for sale. You'll probably find that you hardly use the cupholder part. They're too shallow for anything other than a 330ml drinks can, and the sliders are quite fragile. I also found that the handbrake is inoperable with the front cupholders extended, so is probably best suited for automatics. The extra height over the standard armrest (if you could even call it that) is the best thing about it by far. Much more comfortable.

Despite its faults, the cupholder armrest is by far my favourite 400 series accessory, and I will be keeping mine for as long as I own a 480!
William

1993 2.0i Limited Edition

Optimistic
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Re: My First 480, a Two Tone 1.7 Turbo

Post by Optimistic » Wed Jun 08, 2022 11:08 pm

Another week another slow week, but that is to change as today I have gotten all the crucial parts for the engine :hopping:
Now i have all the belts, oil, servo and trans fluid, as well as lower ball joints.

I need to get the rear arms and the panhard bar fabricated so they will be adjustable, while i am waiting on the poly bushes which are taking a really long time:(
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today the first picture will show all the parts that I finally got, you can probably tell I'm super excited to finish up the car
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and well huh, i took it upon myself to simplify the breaks, and with the recourses I have now, I did this. Don't worry it is now just in the testing phase and the tests have passed so i will paint over the bare metal surfaces so no rust will come.
It is a booster from a Honda civic, as almost all of my friends have them so they could help me with it.
I still need to install a brake bias valve, so the rear wont lock up, and I can change the proportions in the wet for more "safety".
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And finally i also scored a cargo roller, as one 480 owner told me to buy rare or good parts if I see them and I can afford them as I may not get a chance for that in some time. maybe its from a forum member, it came from Italy who also linked this forum. Along with the roller he send some nice instructions, sadly I will need to 3d print the brackets, but I have almost finished designing them so no real problem with that.
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Hopefully the next posts will be how we got the car assembled and running, cheers :D
92' TT-T

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