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My Spaceball (M66) HPT swapped XC70

7K views 36 replies 13 participants last post by  LukeFlynn 
#1 · (Edited)
While this car has a thread from a long time ago, my visions for the project changed pretty drastically, and I ended up going a whole new direction. I think it would be best to keep that as it is for historical purposes.

Welcome to my XC70 M66 "R" project! Something I'm proud to write about, and it was a blast to build.

Back in May of 2019 I found this 2004 XC70 listed for $600 on Craigslist. The owner at the time cited possible transmission issues, which were typical AW55 shift flares. We settled on a much lower price and I took it home! The car needed typical work, PCV, timing belt, and some suspension stuff. I originally planned to fix these things and use the car as a beater. After about 3-4 months of driving the XC70 I quickly realized I love my wagons and I wanted to find a V70R. I had no luck with the search... so I figured I would turn this car into the R that never was. Originally this started out as wheels, Nordkap interior swap, and lowering. I was happy with how it looked, but the performance of the old 2.5T did not do the car's new look justice, it needed more ponies!! Fast forward to November of '19 and I had to bite the bullet and put a transmission in the car just to keep it on the road. I took it to work and swapped in another AW55 out of the same car my Nordkap interior came from, this wasn't too bad and I drove the car for another 6 months. Now comes March of 2020, Covid-19 panic is rampant, and work at the dealership has slowed down... I'm still making money, but everything is closed and there is nothing to do. I saw where pull-a-part had gotten in a 2007 S60 T5, I knew I HAD to get the 4T5 out of that car. We went to get it, and once it's on the engine stand I realize that the 07 T5 has had a replacement engine from LKQ... and it's the wrong one. Oh well, it's still got a K24 and the B5254T2 is still a very capable motor with the right mods. I pulled it apart and gave it the R shim treatment along with a low mileage turbo from Erie Vovo. Once the motor was ready to drop in... I got to thinking, "Do I really want to put this much more HP through another tired Aw55?" Hell no I don't, we're gonna M66 swap it. I had a S60R parts car I had planned on restoring but it was too far gone and had the perfect donor transmission. I took the S60R to my buddy's house and we tore it down in a couple of days. I installed a SPEC SMF to the new motor and bolted up the M66 on a table at work. In July, I dropped the engine/transaxle out of the XC70 and did a full power train swap. I had everything swapped in and running on it's own power within about 8 hours. The worst part of this whole endeavor HAS to be the pedals for the manual swap. The mechanical pieces and even the wiring was beautifully simple. I contacted a couple of tuners, most of which ended up becoming unresponsive. I finally reached out to Rob Hilton, who was the pricier option but very well regarded here. He had the car ready to flash within 2 days... I was ecstatic! We worked on a couple of issues and had the car boosting at 20PSI with proper fueling in about 2 weeks. Super happy with how that turned out. It's been a little over a month since the power train swap was completed... and I must say I LOVE IT. It's not a V70R, which is still a dream car for me, but it is fully mine, and while anyone can build this, you could never buy it with these options and I think that makes it special.

So what's next for the car? I really want to improve handling. I've already got older Elevate (I think) sways from the parts car installed. I've also got BC coilovers going in shortly. What's nice is that I already have lowered this car on stock V70r control arms and axles, so BCs will be a true drop in. I will likely install IPD camber bushings in the rear, and do some powerflex at the same time. Eventually I will be getting a 3" Downpipe, and I might look into doing a Hybrid turbo too.

Here's some pictures, I also post a lot on my new instagram @boostedxc









And here's a breakdown of all of the mods:

July 2019
  • Lowered on AWD Springs
  • Volvo OEM Pegaus 17" Wheels wrapped in larger 235/55/17 tires

April 2020
  • IPD Catback Exhaust purchased and installed. Fitment on wagons SUCK, will be extended an inch or two and welded at some point.
  • New wing from @ScottishBrick painted and installed
  • Euro Xenon headlights retrofitted

July 2020
  • Low mileage B5254T2 shimmed with new belts, seals, and head gasket installed
  • Erie K24 Turbo installed to new engine
  • M66 transmission sourced from donor car installed
  • SPEC single mass flywheel
  • New LuK/Sachs clutch and slave kit
  • Green Injectors
  • Older black Elevate or IPD sways installed
  • Brembo "R" Calipers painted yellow installed with stainless lines
  • Hilton Stage 3 + Manual ECM Conversion
  • 05+ Center stack conversion with brushed alum trim around the radio and CCM

Yes yes I know this project was expensive, and some would say I could've found a rough V70R to restore for what the cost of this was, but my labor is free to myself and I don't think it would've put as much of a smile on my face.
 
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#2 ·
Yes yes I know this project was expensive, and some would say I could've found a rough V70R to restore for what the cost of this was, but my labor is free to myself and I don't think it would've put as much of a smile on my face.
Nahhh. This is more fun and less headache than an R. Make it for what YOU want and need not what the internet tells you you think you need.
 
#3 ·
My thoughts exactly! If we're really being honest, and R isn't much more than bolt ons (and better design decisions) plus an antiquated suspension system that brings nothing more than a headache and empty wallet
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
Yes I used my stock 04 harness because I already had dual VVT and this isn’t a factory R motor anyway. If you’ve got an 02 or earlier VVT can be tuned in.

I didn’t make custom axles, my XC is lowered on stock V70r control arms in the front which eliminates the need to go custom or modify. If you’re at stock xc height or lifted you will need to make your own


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#9 ·
I didn't make custom axles, my XC is lowered on stock V70r control arms in the front which eliminates the need to go custom or modify. If you're at stock xc height or lifted you will need to make your own
You can just use the R control arms on the lowered XC??

Mine is lowered with S60 AWD springs, on the XC control arms.

I know there is at least an inch difference between R and XC CA's.

I was under impression you can't use the R ones because of the track width difference between the two. I don't think I've read about anybody doing the swap and keeping the R CA's. Strange.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Oh join the family of Manual Swap XC ! Ive done 4 myself LOL. Nice job!

I am curious about camber issues on the rear with the coilovers vs the S60 AWD Springs.
( wana sell me your springs ... :D, comming to carlisle ..)
 
#7 ·
Oh join the family of Manual Swap XC ! Ive done 4 myself LOL. Nice job!
You definitely inspired me! Do you end up getting to CEM reconfigured too or do you just stick with the ECM?

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#10 ·
Adam nonis did it, but used v70r lowering springs.

You can do it, I ran it that way for a year with no alignment issues

I’m on BCs now


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#11 ·
Adam nonis did it, but used v70r lowering springs.

You can do it, I ran it that way for a year with no alignment issues

I'm on BCs now

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I see that he did A LOT more than just V70 lowering springs and R control arms.

"NON XC front lower control arms
NON XC front struts
NON XC front axles
NON XC front outer tie rods (turns out you need to do the inner tie rods too)"

Axles I have, struts I just ordered XC, control arms I only need one more, but I'd also need new outer tie rods? I just put the existing XC ones onto the R rack

(don't mean to thread highjack here)
 
#12 ·
Lol, it's been so long I've forgot everything I swapped over.

Yes, you need the tie rods, both inner and outer. XC are longer.

If you want to lower... I would honestly recommend getting control arms, tie rods, axles, and then do BC coilovers. My ride quality sucked on V70R lowering springs with stock V70 shocks.

If you want to keep stock height, just make your own axles using P80 outers
 
#13 ·
Lol, it's been so long I've forgot everything I swapped over.

Yes, you need the tie rods, both inner and outer. XC are longer.

If you want to lower... I would honestly recommend getting control arms, tie rods, axles, and then do BC coilovers. My ride quality sucked on V70R lowering springs with stock V70 shocks.

If you want to keep stock height, just make your own axles using P80 outers
Is p80 (99+) outer the same as p2? More info on this swap plz since it may make m58/m66 axles for p80 awds a possibility
 
#16 ·
this car is awesome, you parked next to me at the pullapart this past weekend, I was the nautic blue xc70. My son and I spent like 15 minutes admiring your car before we left, would have loved to spoke with you about your swap.

I was just cruising here looking for a build thread of your car.
 
#17 ·
I remember! That car was clean! I went to snag an AC compressor. Wish I would've run into you, I was wearing my Volvo uniform! We should try to do a meet and greet at some point

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#18 ·
Here are some new pics! Also featured in the official photo thread in this forum.




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#19 ·
I retrofitted an XC90 V8 Haldex module today, this is very popular in the P1 scene, @MyNameIdeasWereTaken and MooseTech seem to have been the pioneers of such a swap on that platform with good results.

https://forums.swedespeed.com/showt...AWD-Upgrade-Improved-Power-Split-Gen-3-Haldex


Overall I agree with their findings, it definitely feels more sticky, and no more torque steer!

I'm not sure if any P2 people have done this swap, but this would be a worth-wile upgrade for any 03-05 XC70, or 04-05 S60/V70R. I scored my DEM, solenoid, and pressure sensor for $18 at the pick and pull.
 
#21 ·
06 and 07 already have instant traction.

And no, no resistors, I just drilled a hole in the shunt to increase the resistance, plenty of write ups. I did have to get a conversion harness which ScottishBrick supplied

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#24 ·
Not sure if you posted this anywhere else (and I apologize if you did), but what would I be looking at pricewise to get into something like this (minus the engine swap)? Ideally, I'd find a t5m v70 vs v70r m66 and not have to go through this, but xc70s are everywhere next to nothing with high miles and my dream is to have a quick, p2 volvo wagon!
 
#25 · (Edited)
To buy it already built? Easily 8-12K depending on condition of the car, it's a lot of labor and the parts are expensive/rare.

To build it:

  • Expect to spend between 900 and 2,000 on an XC70 depending on how nice you want the base to be
  • The transmission, swap kits regularly go for $1200, sometimes you can find individual items cheaper or at junkyards (shifter assy, pedals, cables, etc etc)
  • Clutch is around $350-400 for OEM/Genuine
  • Single mass flywheel or even new dual mass factory will run you between $550 and $1000 (ALWAYS buy this new or get a Single mass resurfaced)
  • K24 turbos regularly go for $200 used in good shape
  • Green injectors are probably another $100-200
  • Usually people will just give away T5/K24 airboxes if you buy something else from them, otherwise around $100 used
  • You will need a tune, if keeping stock power from whichever car you are swapping, Hilton can do the ECM conversion for $100, for a full stage 3 with the mods I have done you will be looking at $900 just for software. If you have a 2005 or up, you will also want a CEM conversion which is $600 on top of the former
  • On top of this, if I were doing this for a customer, I would probably charge over 25 hours of labor. It's a lot of work, and there will be problems that come up.

I spent around $2500 to $3000 getting this thing to what it is now. I already had a donor S60r I spent $200 on from a friend who bought it for the struts and wheels with a blown motor. I also am mechanically inclined and have a lift. One of the reasons I chose to lower my XC was so that I could run V70r axles. If keeping stock XC height you will have to make custom axles which can be a headache.

Software tuning and the trans is going to be the most expensive in most cases.

If you're uncomfortable doing heavy line work yourself, you'd probably be better suited buying a V70R m66 or V70 T5M. This was my first ever swap, and maybe my last, I don't have a super big itch right now. I do have a decent amount of R&R experience with engines and transmissions, however.
 
#27 ·
Fantastic response, thank you for the time you took! Yeah, that sounds a bit out of my league, I'm just happy getting the intake manifold off, replacing belts, etc. BUT was wondering about how much it may cost to have done, buy an automatic v70 or v70r, save up and pay someone to do it, but sounds like better to just be patient and get a manual from the get go for those types of numbers if I can't do it myself (ow, would be worth it in my mind and it's totally sweet what you did!)
 
#28 · (Edited)




Next weekend I will likely be swapping in another transmission, this M66 had a bad third gear syncro and I happened to find another M66 AWD for very cheap, I was gonna wait for the clutch to go before I swapped it, but I want something else to keep me busy
 
#37 ·
Haha that car was sent to Valhalla many moons ago, but it’s parts live on
 
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