IPD XC70 V8 Project Car

The Volvo 4.4L V8 engine, designated the B8444S was an admired by the Volvo community when it was first introduced in the XC90. Even Volvo die-hard enthusiasts could not resist the intrigue of a grumbling-torque-monster offered in a vehicle that previously used 5- and 6-cylinder engines. What is it about a V8? At that time, high-end luxury SUVs came equipped with a powerful V8 engine. Volvo chose to take the more American approach of “bigger is better” to attract more new Volvo owners. At that time, Ford owned Volvo and decided to collaborate with Yamaha to develop the B8444s engine. Ford already had a relationship with Yamaha, making it easy for them to leverage their experience in building high-performance engines.  The V8 was more appealing to a demographic reared in the V8 5.0L and 5.7L days. Now it was time for Ford and Volvo to show the community they wanted to offer customers a smooth, refined, more efficient V8 offered in the upward trending SUV segment.

The Volvo 4.4L V8 has quite a bit to offer. The argument is always being made among Volvo owners that the 5- and 6-cylinder models can make more horsepower, but you cannot compare lower end torque.  Plus, it is a V8! The 4.4L produces around 311hp and 325lb-ft of torque. The engine features an aluminum block and aluminum DOHC cylinder head. It features variable valve timing (VVT) to enhance performance and efficiency across various RPM ranges. At the time it was the tidiest and most compact V8 produced.

And then there is that sound. A musical mechanical siren song to lure the wandering sailor.

The Volvo 4.4L V8 was primarily used in the XC90 from 2005-2011. Volvo surprised everyone when they released its new iteration of the S80 utilizing the 4.4L V8 in 2007. The S80 was the only sedan to come with a V8 engine. The V8 S80 was packaged on their new P3 platform using a superior Haldex all-wheel-drive system. The S80 V8 Volvo is a comfortable sleeper that unleashes the low-end grunt you would expect from a V8.

The Volvo V8 was only offered in the XC90 and S80 model, and this gives you an idea why ipd’s XC70 V8 swap is kind of a big deal.  Remember, we are car enthusiasts here at ipd. We love Volvo cars, but we also love motorsports and have longstanding attachment to the automotive performance industry, history, and culture. With that comes a great deal of emotion when you hear the distinctive sound of a V8. V8 engines are famous for their deep, throaty exhaust tone. V8 engines are related to muscle cars which creates a sense of power and excitement. When we chose to build another overland wagon, we thought nothing would be better than to create a vehicle that is able to trek its way up a steep rocky grade with ease while emitting a deep growl from the exhaust.

How did we get a brand-new Volvo 4.4L V8? When Ford owned Volvo, ipd had a fantastic relationship with their concept and development department. Volvo’s North American concept facility was in Camarillo California which was near some of the premier west coast PR automotive magazines. Before the internet and YouTube took over, magazines like Road and Track, Car & Driver and European Car Magazine had a huge presence in southern California. Having a concept center nearby made sense when promoting new models, collaborating with writers, photographers, and editors, creating content and news for these automotive publications. Ipd was fortunate to have worked with the Volvo concept center on exclusive projects. Volvo hired IPD to develop and create the Volvo XC70 All-Terrain and C30 Gull-Wing vehicles. Both cars were featured in the main Ford booth at the Las Vegas SEMA show. During that time ipd established relationships with individuals who worked for Volvos design house and PR firm. We became extremely close with the directors of the concept center and technical training facilities.

As those individuals became aware of our capabilities, another opportunity surfaced. Like all automotive manufacturers, when a new model is introduced, the manufacturer will send many of those models to a specific car market for press and exposure. These “press pool” cars are used for photoshoots, reviews, track days etc. The press gets first glimpse at these new models long before the general public. In many cases these vehicles are “pre vin”, which means they don’t have legal DOT vehicle identification numbers. Once the vehicles have served their purpose, they get shipped back to the motherland where they get crushed or dismantled. Volvos concept center had a fleet of “non vin” 2007 S80 model sedans. Along with those sedans Volvo shipped over a handful of engines for technical training purposes. Once the fleet of S80’s finished their debut, it was time for them all to be sent back to Sweden. The good folks in Camarillo contacted us about V8 engines that were crated new in the box. They had a few unused motors featuring packaged V8’s with subframe, transmission, angle gear, steering rack, control arms, wiring harness, and engine management, ready to go for the S80 P3 platform We jumped at the opportunity to take one of these crates off their hands before it headed back to Sweden. After we received the large V8 crate, our product team entertained different ideas and best use cases for the complete V8 package but at that time we had many other projects in the works and the V8 became a lower priority. Not long after we received the V8 engine package, Ford Motor Company sold Volvo Cars to Geely Holding Group, the concept center was closed and many of our contacts moved on to greater endeavors. The V8 package sat, like the closing of an Indiana Jones movie, in our temperature-controlled warehouse for nearly 14 years before the siren song took hold!

For over 14 years the V8 had been occupying space in ipd’s warehouse. On many occasions the V8 had been the topic of discussion for a new project. The fact is nothing came to fruition or made sense when pairing that drivetrain with a full body and chassis. Initially, we were looking to design a full tube-frame 544 that would be able to host the larger V8 subframe and engine package. We then moved on to the possibility of putting the V8 in the back of a C30. All these ideas were nothing more than ramped up brainstorming sessions that would eventually fizzle out due to various hinderances. These were obviously massive projects that just don’t seem to move forward in the real world of daily business.

Fast forward 14 years, ipd was heavily focusing on designing and manufacturing new products related to the overland sector. Our customers were requesting more products allowing them to go off-road, a big part of that was specific to P3 Volvo models. We had just finished building a 2010 XC60 T6 overland rig. The XC60 was a great vehicle for us to test and promote new products developed for harsher driving conditions. Chris Delano and Ken Pruett (ipd product team) always kept the V8 in mind when looking at new projects. The knowledge gained by working and researching the P3 platform had sparked a new idea for an overland vehicle.

Volvo has always done an excellent job keeping their chassis platforms modular between models. Like previous Volvos, the P3 chassis shares many suspension and drivetrain components. The P3 chassis consists of the XC60, S60, V60, S80, and XC70 models. The first vehicle to debut on the P3 chassis was the S80 in 2007. New models like the XC70 and V70 followed very quickly on the same platform, unfortunately, none of them were offered with the V8 engine. After many discussions between Chris and Ken, the decision was made to build another overland vehicle featuring an XC70 wagon and a freshly swapped V8. They knew it was time to put the V8 to use and build another in-house project car utilizing many of the overland products already developed for that chassis. They shared their enthusiasm with other members of the product team about the idea and how “relatively easy” it should be. Chris and Ken quickly got our in-house guru and Product Manager Paul Bertucci, to start researching all the differences between the XC70 and S80. Remember, our new V8 was an extra drive-train package for the 2007 S80. All our initial research was specifically around all the ins and outs related to the 2007 S80 V8 model. We will get into more specifics about those differences and what was needed to make it all work. But the first step was finding the perfect car to begin this process. After Paul Bertucci gave the thumbs up on an XC70, it was advantageous for us to find an early P3 model. The fact that most of our products developed on the XC60 Overland project would easily apply here was just a bonus in our back pocket.

The XC70 wagon needed to be well taken care of in relation to the interior and exterior. Knowing we were going to replace all the suspension and drivetrain components; our perfect donor would be something with high-mileage or even something with a blown engine/transmission. After searching Facebook Marketplace for a few weeks, a 2008 XC70 3.2L popped up in our price range. It was an original- owner car with close to 200K. It featured black exterior paint with minor scratches and a few door dings. The interior was the most impressive aspect of the XC70. It had black leather with light wood trim pieces in near perfect condition. It was equipped with all the bells and whistles offered in that year. We were immediately impressed with how everything worked! We found our XC70 donor car.  We also worked with our close friends at DLR Nordic in Portland Oregon.  DLR Nordic is the best used Volvo car dealer in the country!  They helped us obtain a 2008 Volvo S80 V8.  It was important we had a car to reference when needed.  Everything lined up and seemed to be moving forward relatively quickly at this point.  Now our shop had a reference vehicle, a brand new crate Volvo 4.4L V8, and the XC70  donor car. 

After driving the car around in stock configuration, we felt bad that we were going to be dismantling a perfectly good high-mileage XC70. We are car guys at IPD, and it hurts us to tear apart something that works well and has earned our respect but in perspective this “restomod” seemed pretty minor compared to the time we cut the doors off of a brand new pre-release C30. There is nothing wrong with the 3.2L 6-cylinder engine and it behaves almost like an electric car in normal usage. The XC70 featuring that engine is a great product serving many families extremely well around the world. But we had our vision of the end goal and knew it was time to dive in! This XC70 wagon found a new home at ipd and the project was officially in progress. We would teach this XC to sing a new song.

Our team knew the mechanical swap of the V8 into the XC70 was not going to be the hard part. Our team followed others who successfully performed this swap in various locations around the globe. Our goal was to build an overland project car while keeping everything under the hood looking like it was meant to be from the factory. The big challenges would come further down the road, which we will get into later in this article.

The great part about ipd’s R&D facility is having the space to jockey cars around while leaving a car on the lift for an uncertain amount of time. Our brand-new Volvo V8 engine was mounted securely on a subframe with the transmission, control arms, axles, wiring harness, steering rack, and angle gear. Our team was ready to remove the 3.2L I6 engine out of our XC70 and get it on the ground next to the V8. Everything was relatively straight forward. We began by draining all the fluids from the vehicle followed by removing the lower cooling assembly support and anything keeping the engine and subframe from dropping out under the car.

We prioritized tasks each day between the team. While we were removing the 3.2L from the engine compartment, others continued researching and investigating every part configuration between our S80 reference car and the XC70. Once the engine was out and, on the ground, it was much easier to cross-reference part numbers allowing us to figure out what parts needed to be swapped between both subframes. Once all the fluids were drained, it wasn’t much more than a few hours before the stock engine, transmission, and subframe was on the ground. 

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON

THIS SECTION WE WILL BE COVERING

• Brake Booster Seal Installation
• Covering our list of items resarched and what was needed or not needed from the S80 V8
• Steering Rack swap
• Shift Linkage
• Control Arms
• Drivetrain components

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON

THIS SECTION WE WILL BE COVERING 

• V8 4.4L reseal valve cover and timing cover 
• Comparing components from the V8 to the 3.2L 
• Getting the V8 into the engine compartment of the XC70

Do you speak in 1s and 0s?

The TL;DR version? Lifting a car on a hoist and leaving the entire powertrain on the ground looks very cool on video, but we always knew software was going to be the hard part.

We had a lot of fun with this project, and while we feel we've got one of the most cleanly-executed V8 conversions of a P3 V70 or XC70, we are not the first to have done the mechanical side of this swap: there are a few conversions running around with the "mission-critical" (serialized, or electronically handshaked with each other) computer modules spliced in from a donor S80 V8:

• Engine Control Unit (ECM/ECU)
• Central Electronic Module (CEM)
• Instrument cluster (DIM)
• Remote module (KVM)
• Key/Starter Module (SCU)

There are other computer modules in the car, but these five are all paired together and the car won't start without them. If you've got an entire donor car and a willingness to turn it in to a big paperweight, you can essentially do a brain transplant and swap those five core modules over to another car. Bob's your uncle, your XC70 now thinks it's an S80.

We've had that ex-press fleet S80 V8 drivetrain sitting in a crate in the back of our warehouse for years, but an (un)fortunate event pushed us towards finally doing something with it: friends of the company, DLR Nordic, had a high mileage S80 they were parting with. At this early stage of the V8 project, before D5T5 helped us out with module re-coding, we jumped at a running car with modules we thought we'd need to cannibalize. 

Czech out these guys!

This approach had some limitations we knew we'd run in to: with the core modules swapped over, the car would essentially be an S80's brains in an XC70's body, and that would mean wagon-specific functions like the power tailgate wouldn't work, as the S80's CEM wasn't programmed with them. Part of why we reached out to D5T5 was to get their input on these issues...and it was then we learned they've done this swap before and had done extensive CEM and ECU work on their own EU-market XC70, and were eager to try a North American car as a technical exercise.

Keeping the car's original serialized modules in place makes the list of software changes a lot shorter: only the ECU would have to be changed, and the CEM would only need to be updated in a few places and hand-shaked with the new ECU. As all the immobilizer functions occur between the KVM, SCU, and CEM, this would make getting the car to start theoretically less of a headache (this is foreshadowing).

The 2009 XC70 3.2i we picked out was the perfect recipient for this project in a lot of ways, as it had lots of options and was in beautiful cosmetic shape, but the base drivetrain and high miles made it fairly cheap. But we ran in to some unexpected CAN-bus network issues that threw a wrench in to D5T5's plans: engine serial number 48 put our pristine S80 powertrain at a sometime-in-2005 production date, and P3s from 2006 and up (including our 2009 XC70) use a faster network than the very early cars. Never mind reprogramming the ECU and the transmission computer (TCU), they couldn't even talk to the rest of the computer network in the car!

D5T5 sent us some part numbers for ECUs and TCUs they thought would work, and we went on a bit of a scavenger hunt, eventually pulling the old 3.2i's TCU and overwriting its software with 2009 V8 code and locating a Denso ECU that would talk to the CEM long enough for D5T5 to reach in and move some 1s and 0s around. This took a few tries, a few different modules, a few conference calls, and plenty of swearing. But one day and one particular combination of files finally got us our first start. We were elated!

A lockup fly in our ointment

"But why," I can hear you asking, "did Volvo even have a complete V8 and transmission with a dozen miles on it?" We had our suspicions, but suspicions were only that for awhile, as we drove the car around, built the suspension, accessorized it, got it wrapped, and generally drove the pants off of it. All seemed well at first.

Our suspicions were transmission related: the oil in the engine's oil pan looked brand new, the undersides of the cam covers were spotless enough to eat off of, and even the exhaust components didn't have any heat cycle blueing to them. But one thing stuck out like a sore thumb: the transmission valve body cover had been removed and stuck back on with kindergartener-with-a-glue-stick amounts of red RTV. We didn't know why, and when the car initially drove fine, we speculated that it might have been used for service training purposes.

Our blissful ignorance came crashing down around our ears when we noted some shuddering at medium speeds and light throttle tip-in, like slowly speeding up when the 25mph zone becomes a 35mph zone. Fine at wide open throttle, fine at a steady state cruise, but subtly and distinctly unhappy at light throttle.

We grabbed a DICE unit and a laptop and hit the road to do some datalogging, first making sure we had the circumstances of the shudder pinned down so we could reproduce it, then checking the car's readings as it was shuddering. We went through the engine first, making sure fueling was good and no misfires were happening when the shudder was happening. Next, we turned to the transmission readings, and it was here we finally spotted it: when the torque converter lockup solenoid was switching from off to partial lockup to on, we felt a shudder every time.

Understandably, we weren't too jazzed to learn this after buttoning the car up, as it would have been quite a bit easier to put a new transmission on the engine before both went in to the car. But armed with this data, we figured we had the problem pinned down to one of two things: the lockup solenoid, or the lockup clutch in the torque converter itself. 

As replacing the torque converter would mean pulling the transmission back out, replacing the SLU solenoid was something we wanted to try first, but that also proved tricky, as Volvo only supplies complete valve bodies already loaded with all of the transmission's solenoids. Without individual part numbers to reference, we took a leap and ordered a solenoid from a transmission rebuild supplier, hoping that Aisin didn't spec different solenoids between makes and models. Volvo's documentation showed a different valve body solenoid layout between 5/6cyl and V8 cars, which made us nervous!

The solenoid arrived, we popped the cover off, removed the valve body, and pulled the delicate retaining pins holding the solenoids in place. The old and new solenoid sure did look the same, so we put it all back together, filled the transmission up, got it up to temperature for a final level check, and reset all of the TCU's learning adaptations. 

It ran trouble-free, but as it originally took time to start acting up, we kept driving it and kept our fingers crossed. A month went by, then two, before we finally breathed easy.

What’s the point of doing a V8 swap if nobody knows there’s something a little rowdier under the hood?  The easy answer is, if you can’t show everyone, let them hear it!  We immediately began working on a solution for an exhaust system for the 4.4L V8. We were all surprised at how close the factory 3.2L exhaust system was to fitting the V8. Everything from the catback flange back was the same. The 3.2L incorporated a single pipe to a “y” flange above the rear subframe that splits off to two mufflers. Both factory mufflers tuck under the rear bumper assembly. After inspecting the differences between the components in front of the catback flange, creating an exhaust wasn’t going to be too difficult.  The hard part was the front-mid section of exhaust that connects to the V8 manifold assembly.

After looking to obtain a new front section of exhaust from Volvo, the cost was approximately $2600. At that price, we knew having something fabricated would be much more advantageous fitting within our budget. We turned to our friend Adam Nonis at Atom Design in Seattle Washington. Adam has been instrumental in developing components for earlier ipd project cars. We sent Adam all the components from the S80 V8 donor car along with the factory 3.2L front pipe. Adam created a stainless-steel version of what we needed with laser cut flanges. He also incorporated two new flex joints like the factory unit. The front pipe was a perfect fit!

The front exhaust section was complete. Volvo uses a proprietary catback flange configuration. Good thing about Volvo is they are very modular between models and engine variations. The flange is the same for T6 models. We were able to use our upgraded T6 turbo exhaust catback connection. This part is made from stainless steel and is larger in diameter, perfect for the V8. All that was left was removing the factory mufflers. We replaced both mufflers with 3.0” Super 10 Series Flowmaster mufflers. We finished the look of the V8 exhaust by using two matte-black angle cut tips commonly found on off-road vehicles.

Volvo enthusiasts have changed their V8 XCX90 exhaust systems. Our team found it entertaining to see other Volvo owners head down the rabbit hole modifying their stock exhaust systems. We had a good idea of how our XC70 V8 would sound given all the videos on YouTube highlighting their V8 sound bites. We just wanted to jump in on that action and let the XC70 bark! We couldn’t be any happier with the outcome of the V8 exhaust.  So far it has been the most appealing to other Volvo owners who have seen this project.

This XC70 V8 Project was going to be an overland vehicle with some added grunt. We wanted something that could manage washboard gravel surfaces. We knew it would primarily be traveling along forest service roads with the occasional crossings of deeper ruts and rocks. We were not looking to create a “Rock Crawler” we wanted to make sure the suspension could manage driving at a good pace on bumpy service roads. 

When driving off-road it is always nice to have some added ground clearance or height. IPD developed a spacer lift kit in 20mm and 30mm. We designed a spacer kit that goes on top of the rear shock, spring assembly and front strut mounts giving you a small lift that will not deteriorate other drivetrain components. We feel the 30mm lift kit is perfect for the XC70 P3 chassis. Made from durable rubber material and high-quality sleeves manufactured to fit the front and rear suspension. 

After installing the lift kit, we outfitted the XC70 with Bilstein HD front struts and rear shocks. Bilstein is known for making the best high-quality shock for both on and off-road. We have been using Bilstein on our project vehicles for over 50 years. Bilstein doesn’t list the B6 HD struts or shocks for the XC70 model.  They do list them for the XC60 models.  Both XC60 and XC70 are on the same chassis platform so we decided to do some overall height and compression measurement checks between the two.  As it turns out, the XC60 Bilstein B6 HD struts and shocks were within 10mm of total travel between one another.  It was a go to install the B6 Bilsteins on the XC70.  The only modification required was to open the hole on the top of the rear dust book so it would slip over the rear shock mounting shaft. We paired the rear Bilsteins with a set of IPD Overload Springs to help support any additional cargo when hitting the trails.

The factory endlinks were not in attractive shape. We outfitted the XC70 with a set of front and rear IPD HD endlinks.  This was perfect timing for us, at that time ipd announced their new larger ball-joint HD endlink for P3 chassis. For most off-road vehicles you do not want a sway bar if you are going over significant uneven surfaces. We were not looking to take on any obstacles that would cause excessive articulation of our suspension components. We installed IPD’s XC70 rear sway bar kit. We noticed an enormous difference having the rear sway bar on this vehicle, especially once you load the car with a rooftop tent and added weight. The tires also have a larger side wall, having the anti-sway bar installed really helps driving around town. 

After replacing all four corners with new springs, strut mounts, struts, shocks, 30mm lift kit, endlinks, we also replaced the control arms. Remember, our donor car had nearly 200K miles on it. It was necessary to replace anything we could get our hands on. Having all brand-new suspension components on the car was essential to go hand in hand with a brand new never-used engine!

Once we inspected all the suspension components, we moved on to the front hubs and brakes. Even though this car is in no way a “speed racer” we wanted to outfit the XC70 V8 with a good set of brake rotors and pads. At that time, we experienced a loud “humming” noise coming from the front passenger side when diving into a corner. This was indicative of a bad wheel bearing/hub assembly. IPD has options on the shelf for replacement units. After further inspection, the passenger side assembly had red dust particles on the backside of the hub. This was a combination of rust particles and worn-down metal debris from the failing wheel bearing within the hub. We decided it would be best to freshen up all four corners with new hub bearing assembly units. 

The unfortunate part about the XC70 is the limitations when fitting offroad wheel and tire packages.  Unless you choose to cut into body pieces, you are limited to a specific size if you’re looking to outfit an XC70 with AT tires. We feel we were able to accommodate our overland build with a set of wheels and tires that are appropriate for this specific application. We wanted something larger, but just enough to make the tires look proper with the 30mm lift.  This XC70 came factory with a set of 16” wheels wrapped in a 215/65/16 tires.  

We chose to upgrade the wheel to a 17” wheel. 17” wheels are commonly used among other off-road adventurists.  We knew a larger tire would be necessary, but how much larger was the question. We started looking at other enthusiasts with lifted XC70 models and found the look we were searching for. That’s the great thing about social media, sometimes you can find others who have pioneered or paved the way with products that just work! A few of our favorite XC70 overland builds use a tire size of 235-65-17.  That is approximately 2.0” larger in diameter over factory dimensions.

Once we knew the overall diameter we wanted, it was time to find a wheel and tire package. We collaborated with our friends at Fifteen52 Wheels and Tire Rack. We obtained a set of Fifteen52 Wander off-road wheels straight from the Fifteen52 MX wheel lineup. The wander wheel is 17”x8” with a 38mm offset. We chose to go with the new Carbon Grey color offered by Fifteen52. We outfitted those wheels with TOYO Open Country ATIII All-Terrain tires giving it an aggressive look complimenting the 30mm lift kit. There are multiple options of all-terrain tires in the 235-65-17 size. Having a tire in a common size will help keep the cost down along with providing more options for tire brands.  

increasing the size of the tire sidewall, we knew it was going to increase the overall weight of the wheel and tire together. For any Volvo owner who rotates their tires, it can be troublesome lining up the holes with the factory lug bolts. We installed IPD’s Wheel Stud Conversion Kit. The Wheel Stud Conversion makes it easier to mount a heavier wheel without having to line up the individual holes on the hub. We recommend this conversion if you are looking to go this route. Your back will be thankful later! While we were in the process of installing IPD's Stud Conversion Kit we decided to install longer studs for the rear only.  After installing the longer studs, we chose to install 15mm spacers giving it a more aggressive look in the back. We feel the wheel offset along with the wider fenders create a deeper look than we would like for an off-road vehicle.  We wanted to achieve a more "flush" fitment in relation to the wider flares. After installing the rear 15mm spacers, it gave us the exact look we wanted to achieve!

Once we completed the suspension, wheels, and tires, it was time to outfit the vehicle with overlanding accessories. We turned to our long-time friends at THULE to see about adding a Thule Caprock Platform Rack. Thule has been extremely generous working with us on many accessories on earlier projects like rooftop tents and bike carriers. We have been extremely impressed with their new lineup of platform racks.

Platform style racks are becoming exceptionally popular among the overland community. Platform racks are versatile and sleek, allowing the end user to customize any mounting system for whatever devices they plan to install on the roof of their vehicle. Thule recently released a full lineup of platform racks called Caprock. The Caprock is offered in multiple sizes for various vehicle applications. We found all Volvo cars should use the Thule Caprock Small. The Caprock can either mount to crossbars, or directly to your factory roof-rails using Thule’s universal “foot” mounting system. The Thule Caprock Small measures 60”x 52”. If you’re looking for a rack to take up most of your Volvo roof footprint, 60” ensures you will have good coverage keeping your rooftop safe.  

Thule has truly taken the design and function of platform racks to another level. If you’re a fan of Swedish design, which you are owning a Volvo, you will appreciate Thule’s Caprock Platform Rack, it never hurts supporting another Swedish company!  We have put our Thule Caprock Racks through rigorous conditions. We have mounted rooftop tents, kayaks, bikes, spare tires, and shower accessories using the standard T-Channel slots allowing you to customize any mounting configuration. If you’re like us and like a “boxed in look” we added the Thule Caprock Railing Kit to our platform rack giving it a “beefier” secured look.  For more information pleaser visit THULE at their incredible website. 

What’s the point of having a platform rack if you’re not going to use it? Now that we added a larger footprint to the top of our XC70, it was time to add a few accessories. Fifteen52 was nice enough to hook us up with an extra Wander MX wheel. Due to the oversized AT tire mounted on that wheel, we couldn’t use the spare tire well any longer. Most off-road vehicles use the roof-rack as a suitable space for a spare tire. Naturally, we chose to do the same thing.

One of the most unique accessories outfitted on our XC70 V8 is the incredible 5-gallon shower rack by RINSEKIT. The RINSEKIT system is a complete electric mountable-portable shower equipped with a battery-powered pump. It has an easy to attach hose giving you a consistent high-pressure spray so you can wash up no matter where the road leads. The RINSEKIT system is made of military-grade materials and is mountable on all four sides, so you can attach it to virtually any rack or truck bed.  We chose to mount it on the driver side of our THULE Caprock Platform Rack nestled up against the rail system.

We have used the RINSEKIT to wash dishes, wash off mud, hose off bird poo, and of course take showers. It also makes for enjoyable conversation at car shows when spectators ask what the box is on top of the rack. A quick demonstration of the spray nozzle usually explains it all. The RINSEKIT system has a very gool digital display that shows you the battery level and water temperature. It also has multiple USB connections that allow you to charge any electronic devices. For more information, visit RINSEKIT to see why they offer the ultimate off-grid shower system.

For many years, IPD has had a fantastic relationship with PIAA. PIAA is one of the industry’s leading manufacturers of high-performance light upgrade systems. We offer different PIAA lighting upgrades along with their incredible Silicone Wiper Blades. We worked with PIAA and obtained two 18” RF18 LED Bar Kits. The RF18 LED Bar Kit utilizes PIAA’s innovative rearward facing bulbs.  Basically, the led lights in the bars face backwards, bouncing off a reflector providing a very focused light-beam pattern out in front. It’s literally the best light we have ever used or seen in the off-road sector. The RF18 can also be used in series with other lights, that is why we used two RF18 LED Kits spanning across the front of our 44” wide platform rack.  We also added a set of the PIAA Quad Cube LED Ditch Lights on each end of the rack.  The PIAA Quad Cube helps illuminate light off to the side of the road. We custom made brackets that allowed us to mount the light bar directly to the front of our platform rack. Platform racks have integrated channels that allow you to fix or bolt down any accessory with a channel lock and fastener. We used our custom brackets and mounted the large LED flood light to the front of our rack using the PIAA wiring harness. We ran the wiring down the a-pillar into the cabin of the XC70. The PIAA light switch controlling the lightbar is mounted flush on the dash. Having a light bar installed comes in handy if you are off the grid exploring in the dark.

When we purchased the XC70, the front headlights were faded and rock chipped. We replaced both front headlight assemblies with new Volvo genuine units. At the same time, we replaced the factory halogen bulbs with PIAA’s LED Conversion Kit. It was a simple plug-in-play set up. Upgrading the factory halogens is necessary. It is a fantastic way to make your car look more modern while getting better light out in front of you while driving at night. 

Now that we had the light bar, upgraded headlights and bulbs, we wanted to give the XC70 one final addition in the fog light location.  We used PIAA LED LP270 Ion Yellow Fog lights. The PIAA LP270 LEDs are larger than what came factory on the Volvo XC70. We wired them into the factory fog light harness. This makes it simple so you do not have to wire in a switch, you can utilize the factory fog light switch already located on the dash (for cars that come equipped with factory fog lights).  We did have to create a custom bracket to mount the LP270’s in the XC60 bezel. We also had to trim the bezel, opening it up allowing the larger PIAA light and cover to fit properly. The yellow light makes it look proper for off-roading. Yellow has become a popular choice for accessory lighting among off-road enthusiasts. It’s common to see yellow driving/fog lights tucked beneath headlights on cars equipped for roads less traveled.

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON

THIS SECTION WE WILL BE COVERING

• Taillight extender, creating a more modern look
• Bumper and Trim pieces replaced 
• TFT update (NEW CLUSTER) more modern made simple by our friends at D5T5.com.  More information coming soon

Vinyl wrapping a car has become a popular choice among car enthusiasts and businesses alike. It could be a great alternative for someone looking to paint a car. All the labor and prep work that goes into painting can cause a big dent in your pocketbook, that’s if you have it done correctly by a reputable autobody shop. Don’t get us wrong, vinyl isn’t cheap either.  The rise in high-end car owners wrapping their vehicles in PPF (Paint Protection Film) has driven costs a tad higher, but it’s still more affordable than a new paint job. 

Over the past 10 years it seems like car wrap shops have popped up on every street corner offering car owners the ability to create unique designs with all sorts of textures and finishes like matte, gloss, metallic, or even chrome finishes. Vinyl wraps offer paint protection over the original paint, it can also cover paint that has lost its luster! Businesses use wraps to promote their craft or services. Here at ipd we have taken advantage of using wraps to market our brand from a subtle logo that can only be seen up close to full blown designs featuring crazy color combinations.

Wrapping a car is an art. Like most individuals who work in a skilled trade, if someone is good at what they do, they become well known within their sector. Experience plays a huge role when it comes to vinyl wrapping a car. That is why ipd only works with the best in the game.

All ipd’s project cars have gone through one company. Kolor Werx in Portland Oregon is owned by Kevin Meade. We like to call him the “Godfather” of wrap! Kevin comes from an extensive background in graphic design, custom signage, pinstriping, and art. Kevin is also active in the motorsports industry, creating the most incredible designs and graphics for anything that races on land and water. It’s rare to find someone with the amount of experience and knowledge Kevin possesses. He can look at any project and know exactly how to tackle it. Kevin does not cut corners. His commitment to quality is why we continue to use him for all our car projects.

When installing a wrap, you want to pay attention to those minute details. Kevin will never sacrifice his integrity around a job. That is why all the end lines, overlaps, door handles, emblems, rack surrounds, door jams, and cuts are seamless! Once we knew our XC70 V8 was going to be completely wrapped, there was only one place we wanted to partner with!

For those of you who don’t know what a topographical map is, I’ll try to summarize it quickly. A topographical map is a detailed overview map representing natural man-made features of a specific area of the earth’s surface. It is primarily used to show elevation and terrain, making it a valuable tool for a variety of activities including hiking and off-roading. Topographical maps feature contour lines. These lines reveal steep slopes and changes in terrain. You see these maps more often when looking at Forest Service websites featuring hiking trails and service roads for off-road vehicles. Topographical map have become popular with overlanding vehicles as a theme. Even factory off-road vehicles are being sold with graphics highlighting topographical maps on them.

When building our XC70 V8 Overland Project, we wanted to display a topographical map featuring the Mt. Hood National Forest. Mt. Hood is a majestic volcanic mountain, poking out of the valley reaching 11,000ft. Mt. Hood is located approximately 40 minutes east of Portland, providing a fantastic stomping ground for our vehicles for over 60 years. Mt. Hood has also served as a backdrop for our most popular project car images and photoshoots. It was only natural to choose Mt. Hood for the theme of our topographical map which would be displayed on the XC70 V8.

Our marketing team was able to design a “positive-negative” image of the Mt. Hood topographical map in vector format. We turned that over to Kevin at Kolor-Werx and figured he would come up with something that was appropriate for our overland project. When you have worked with someone for so long and trust their creativity and ability, all we had to do was drop the car off.

Kevin decided to go with a matte black viny wrap printed with subtle contour lines of the perfect size complimenting the shape of the vehicle. The lines are hard to see from far away, but when you get close, our Volvo comes alive with soft blue-hue contour lines highlighting Mt. Hood and surrounding terrain. It’s all about the details! Kevin created ipd logos featuring a topographical map inside the lines of our logo. That was a huge surprise to see! Kevin also had his work cut out for him. This wasn’t a normal wrap job where one color spans across all the door and hood cutouts. This wrap has printed contour lines that have to match up. Kevin had to make sure all the lines matched up perfectly over each cutout on the XC70. Kevin and his team executed the job perfectly!

The XC70 V8 vinyl wrap exceeded our expectations. It is extremely unique and visually appealing. We love seeing the contour lines change under various lights. There is no way we could have done this without Kevin and his team at Kolor-Werx.