It's been a while since I've been on brickboard (long time 122/164 owner from back in the George Downs era)....

Thinking of getting another volvo, this time a C70.

What is the smallest wheel that will fit on a 2nd generation C70? I live in boston now and want some jumbo tires to soak up some of the gigantic pot holes we get around here, so ideally a 16 inch or even 15 inch wheel would fit on one of these.

Assuming I can find a manual transmission C70, is there anything I should look out for?

See if Volvo sells a set of snow tires for your car that uses steel wheels. You will have snow tires AND sturdy wheels.

A GOOD tire shop should be able to find you some steel wheels for your car - My tire shop Stansfield Tire in Lowell Masachusetts found me a set of steel wheels with the proper load rating for our '96 855R. They had longer welds that tied the two parts of the wheels together than Volvo wheels.

Wheels with a higher load rating are sturdier that wheels with a lower rating.

I have a set of 544 station wagon wheels for my 544 - they are 1/2 inch wider than the stock wheels and have thicker metal.

Really good aftermarket wheels may be stronger than the stock wheels - beware the need to use special lug nuts!

read this:
https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-c70-14/c70-hardtop-roof-93017/

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Keeping it running is better than buying new

I have an '07 C70. It's the first volvo out of 5 that I would steer anyone away from. I suspect that potholes are much worse in Boston than here in Memphis. There were two options for wheel sizes, 17" and 18". Ours has the larger and in two years we bent or broke 4 wheels. The bent wheels ended up in flats as the bead seal was compromised.

Because of the brake rotor and caliper size the smallest you might be able to go is the 17", which may or may not help.

After bending and cracking a couple of wheels and having them repaired, I asked the wheel shop if running a higher pressure would help. Their opinion was that the car is too heavy for the wheel material and design. Short of finding steel wheels with the right backspace and offset, you're kind of stuck.

OEM wheels are very expensive, over $1,000, so after finding one in a salvage yard and having it bend I began using aftermarket OEM design at half the price which don't hold up any better.

This was my fifth Volvo and by far has been the worst for maintenance and repairs, which I do mostly myself. Radiator, multiple coolant hoses, suspension, brakes, timing belt, water pump, trunk leaks, falling headliner, and now the top failed.

I love volvo but for a convertible I had much less trouble with my '70 Fiat 850 Sport Spyder, which is saying a LOT.

Erwin
Memphis
'88 745T $
'92 945T $
'95 855T $$
'07 C70 $$$$$
'08 V70 $

Back when I lived in riverside Ca and frequented junkyards (looking for parts for my 164) I'd spend hours crawling all over the old rear-engine fiats.

Oh, to have a time machine to tell younger me to rescue the BMW 700 I found one day.

But these days I want a car I can put the roof down on and drive with the kids in the back seat. A 93 VW cabriolet would be perfect.

The most recent C70 6mt got away, so the hunt will continue.


Thanks for the feedback; one other person independently said "yeah, a friend had a c70; it had flat tires constantly but was otherwise great!"

Get on your local Craigslist and search for convertible by owner. Manual soft tops are better than motorized.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Welcome back! The second gen C70 is fine looking car! Volvo's P1 platform makes for an engaging drive, especially the T5 with 6-speed manual.

I ran 15" 144 wheels on my 850 for a time, it had 280mm front rotors - the calipers cleared the wheels by the slimmest of margins. The C70 has 300 or 320mm rotors so 15 inchers are a no-go.

A user here "Erwin" seems to have had more than his fair share of issues with a P1 C70. His posts might be a good place to find ideas of things to look out for.

Don't get too discouraged about finding a manual transmission one. There aren't many, but I've seen them come up for sale here in New England. May have to be patient is all.

Best of Luck,

Will
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XC60 / Odyssey

There are only a few manual C70's in the USA, and these usually get a premium price. Lots of luck.

16 inch wheels are probably the smallest wheel size that will clear the brake calipers. 17 inch are not a problem. Beware, potholes have been known to crack rims easily on the C70.

Look out for noises when lowering/raising the top. If the top is fabric look for creases, they are not easily replaced. Check the windows, the cables have a tendency to fall off the plastic guides. The seats are unique to the C70. The panel in the trunk must not be broken!

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Keeping it running is better than buying new