Q-ship build. 2000 Volvo S70 T5M

After being the market for a newer daily driver that could hold a decent amount of crap while still being comfortable and somewhat fun to drive I stumbled upon this S70 T5 at a local used car dealer. The CarFax revealed that it was a one owner vehicle that spent all of its life in Hawaii before being shipped back to Tennessee where it was traded in on a newer vehicle in 2014.

The car as a whole is impressively clean and it shows that PO took (or had someone else take) decent care of it. After negotiating the price down to a level that I thought was reasonable (well below blue book) it was mine.

This won't be an extensive build, but rather me restoring that into something that will be a comfortable, reliable and Q-shippy daily driver. Eventually I may decide to add a bit more power but that's down the line a bit. For now I'm happy with the way the car performs.

The specs: Stock 2000 S70 T5 w/ 5-speed manual, 130,xxx miles, no damage or signs of neglect anywhere. PCV system tested good.

The cons: Slight oil leak that isn't dripping, I almost think it is coming from the dealership not replacing the oil drain plug crush washer, but I'm going to replace all the common gaskets and O-rings just to be safe. There is also no sign of the timing belt being replaced so that's going to be the first and foremost project.

Here's some pics from the dealer:

Nice, gotta love Swedes...looks like a nice clean ride!

Nice. I highly recommend everything that was done to mine.

I love that interior.

nice! i just picked up a 96 850 turbo wagon! if you dont mind me asking how much did you pick it up for?

Looks nice! I'm amused imagining a Volvo in Hawaii the land of nice weather. Does it have heated seats? If so I wonder if they were ever used...

My ex- bought a 850 with a T5 (auto) that I had to "de-Q" after she bought it. The previous owner installed Koni yellows and H&R lowering springs. Really made the car ride like crap and didn't handle all that well. No matter what, it's still a big, heavy car. More power might be nice, but I'd resist the urge to muck around with the suspension.

Thanks guys.

clutchsmoke wrote: Looks nice! I'm amused imagining a Volvo in Hawaii the land of nice weather. Does it have heated seats? If so I wonder if they were ever used...

Sadly there are no heated seats

I have no plans to do anything with the suspension other than replace bushings and such with OE quality parts.

I'm currently changing the oil and trying to pinpoint the leak, it's definitely coming from the front of the engine, the turbo connections are bone dry, and it looks good where the engine and transmission connect.

Dipstick tube O-ring is one possible culprit, but I think it is coming from higher up and running down. Any insight as to possible leak locations would be greatly appreciated. I'll try to get some pictures uploaded soon.