For starters, I'm incredibly happy with how the car performed and handled. And I'm beyond surprised neither the engine nor transmission gave me any trouble at high RPM (I didn't shy away, the car was pushed, and at 330k miles I wasn't banking on that happening).
However, about halfway through the first heat of the day, major clunking occurred. My original (and possibly correct at the time) theory was the frame hitting the control arm, as the bump stops in the springs were removed... mainly because they weren't secured in the first place, just wobbling around like a bouncy ball in a jar. However, after the first heat was over, we took our lunch break and diagnosed the clunking:
- IMG_6596.JPG (59 KiB) Viewed 488 times
- IMG_6595.JPG (55.15 KiB) Viewed 488 times
The whole arm will jostle the whole wheel up, down, in, and out. Going to call my volvo dealer tomorrow (or at some point) in an attempt to get a diagram... I'm hoping it's a bolt. The driver's side has three and the passenger's side has two, so maybe it was loose and finally had enough.
Another thing that broke is the exhaust pipe... which now tilts on an axis somewhere between pre catalytic converter and post muffler. The tip got ripped off. That's another issue I'll need to diag further, to see what all is holding in the exhaust now that the tailpipe isn't hung on a hanger anymore...
Linked below is a video of the best run we recorded and some more visuals on what's broken:
Again, making it home was all I really needed. I can get the car in the air and do further diagnosis. But I had an excellent time either way and can't wait to fix it. Going to get stiffer springs, new bump stops, and obviously fix the clunking/secure the exhaust pipe before doing another event... but I've scratched that itch.
Now go do something stupid!
)