I bought a worn out 98 S70, aka, how these cars can be so expensive

[tryingbe]

Oh no.....
There is a manual C70 for sale locally... damn it.
No start they say..

Must resist. Must.... resist...

[tryingbe]

That C70 was a bust.

Plate expired in 2013
All leather interior is hard as rock.
3 mat missing
Dark greasy hand print on front interior
Can't tell the paint quality due to the layer of dust on it.
EMPTY coolant surge tank *RED FLAG*
All plastic under the hood is broken.
Dead battery
Crack plastic plug wires cover

I didn't even make an offer on it and walked away. It is a way bigger project than the S70 as it would need everything inside the engine bay and interior as well.

[precopster]

That C70 was probably half the work of the T5M but I think after feeling so outrageously overworked on the T5M you just wanted an easier, quick project
Great work on that project BTW. I just sold my 98V70R and left almost no stones unturned on that one after a full front end, brake and engine rebuild. Only got AUD$3,300 unregistered because it was difficult to sell with 398K kilometres or 249K miles.....

[sleddriver]

That C70 was a bust.

To bad it sat too long and overbaked in the Az. oven.

I've gotten in the habit over the years of opening my hood at the end of the day to dump all the heat during the extended Summer. I long ago removed the plastic plate covering the plugs & wires. Just didn't make sense to me to put plastic on top of a hot motor. Sure doesn't help the wire set life.

My front seat leather is pathetic. Even using Lexol on a regular basis didn't help. Then read you shouldn't use oil on vinyl-coated leather, so I switched to 303 and Meguires vinyl cleaner/protectant. It's a tan, milky liquid that smells like leather. Leaves a film inside all the glass within a few days of application.

What do you use on leather in Az?

[erikv11]

[... I long ago removed the plastic plate covering the plugs & wires. Just didn't make sense to me to put plastic on top of a hot motor. Sure doesn't help the wire set life. ...

Haha funny thing, it looks like we will give the S70 to my mother-in-law near Mesa, and this week in preparing the car I first thought about putting the plug cover back on, then thought "no it is just too damn hot in AZ, leave it off." Reassuring to read your post. TBH I didn't even think about the plug wires specifically but that makes sense too.

[tryingbe]

Crack on the plugs cover on the C70 wasn't due to heat, it's due to someone literally tried to tear it off without undoing the bolts first.

I wanted a project I can turn a profit, if there is no profit, I don't need it.

I don't use anything on my leather, other than soap and water and sun shade.

[xiami]

How did you restore the interior seats? They look beautiful. My 2002 S80 driver seat is all cracked. Did you go to a upholstery shop? How much is it per seat? Can you sell me the leather skin?

[tryingbe]

How did you restore the interior seats? They look beautiful. My 2002 S80 driver seat is all cracked. Did you go to a upholstery shop? How much is it per seat? Can you sell me the leather skin?

The seats came like that. I changed the steering wheel and redid the armrest cover. Armrest cover can be bought on eBay.

[erikv11]

... I used VICTOR REINZ MS19361, but volvo 30777495, 8699467, 86994670 also works.

Do you know the difference between 30777495 and 8699467? One is about 10 bucks one is about 20, from Volvo.

[1337]

How did you restore the interior seats? They look beautiful. My 2002 S80 driver seat is all cracked. Did you go to a upholstery shop? How much is it per seat? Can you sell me the leather skin?

One option would be to look in a junkyard for an S80 with good seat skins. I found some good ones for my V70 in a junkyard. I think pick-n-pull charges $6 per seat skin.