XC70: General Police Spec MY2011

[Puffster]

I've just let my insurer know and it made the difference of all of £12 (+£26 admin fee ) but at least they know now. There will be loads of other people out there with ex-Police cars that have been modified who haven't a clue they have and will not have informed...

[Puffster]

Originally Posted by Simon Jones

If you want the under boot tray that would also have been removed by the Police, let me know as I know a chap in Derbyshire that has a stack of them. I've just picked up a couple of them on Monday.

Please!

Wouldn't have a jack as well would he?

[Simon Jones]

His name is Bob (I can send you his number if you like) and this is his listing for a boot tray:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-V70...MAAOSwUoNZ~bAc

He had about 17 of them as he buys all the gear removed during police car commissioning process. I don't think he has much more Volvo stuff left now.

[Puffster]

Great - thank you.

Quick question - will a full sized spare wheel/tyre go under it?

[Lost Medic]

Originally Posted by Puffster

Great - thank you.

Quick question - will a full sized spare wheel/tyre go under it?

I have a full sized spare and the front half, forward of the boot sill half of the boot tray is all that will fit. It was already cut to size by the police before I got the vehicle. The rest of the tray is just way too deep to accommodate a spare (full size) and the tray.

[LikesToFly]

One of the easiest ways to spot an "authorities" V70/XC70 is, as you mentioned, dual rear fog lights. These are a factory fit item, so that the police can make the lights alternate whilst stopped at the side of the road.

As well as heavy duty battery, under the lid of your battery box (passenger side under bonnet, partially beneath windscreen scuttle) you'll find a 125A maxi fuse. That fuse protects an additional fuse box you will find in the passenger footwell, tucked up behind the glovebox. The fusebox feeds the pre installed looms you mentioned, speeding up conversion of the vehicle once delivered. The looms prevented trim and headlining removal. Authorities vehicles delivered to the UK aren't in fact complete and ready for use. They’re "prepared" at the factory to speed up installation, but all emergency warning equipment, lighting, siren, cameras, IDR are installed by contractors in the UK

The images attached show the locations of the various cables included in the loom. (8218,8009, 8198, 8419, 91020

Your vehicle will have had a plastic hood in the centre of the dash (shown in image), which is used to mount various items of equipment, depending on the use of the vehicle. VASCAR, ANPR, Airwave/TETRA, Satnav etc. The self-levelling suspension was standard due to the heavy loads carried by roads policing and armed response. Payload is one of the main reasons behind the choice of police vehicles at the moment. BMW seem to have monopolised the ARV market using the X5 XDrive30d as it can carry lots of kit. Incidentally, these come with Self levelling Suspension in the Authorities role. Its something the police and ambulance service specify in their tenders.

Full size wheel and tyre: An authorities vehicle cannot be driven in a response, using a tempa wheel (obviously!) so spacesavers are a waste of time and space for an Authority. A full size wheel is provided, so that it can be stored at the police workshop or in the technician's response van. If the vehicle gets a flat, the wheel is changed as a complete unit, as opposed to faffing about with a tyre change. gets the vehicle straight back on the road. The punctured tyre can then be replaced slow-time. Authorities vehicles all had the same alloy wheel, regardless. It was the 5 spoke 17" Turnus wheel (Pictured). Designed to be strong (thick simple squareish spokes) and allow a good level of cooling. This is the only wheel option as it has to go through stringent testing (Metropolitan Police Service brake Test) before certification. They don't want to turn the expense of trashing a handful of cars, into trashing 30 cars to take into account four of five wheel options


You've already mentioned the XC/V70 Authorities big brake setup. Beware if you order new discs- measure the originals! The front brake pad kit is unique to Authorities models- it has wear warning sensors embedded in the inner pads. The message "Brake failure, please stop safely" appears on Driver Information Module at 3mm pad thickness.

Your steering rack may also be a heavier duty version, which means replacing it at a later date may be expensive. They can be rebuilt if need be, but inform the rebuild specialist and expect it to take a little longer.

Police textile upholstery had a couple of options. The best was a textile upholstery with heavier duty leather bolsters to take the wear and tear from batons and handcuffs scuffing them. One option had a one-piece rear seat made from vinyl, so that prisoners couldn’t hide things in the gaps between the 60/40seats.

Most Volvo Authorities vehicles are equipped with factory polestar option, (although its not called that by them!). The problem now, is that whilst your vehicle can achieve a substantial performance upgrade, modern vehicles like the new 90 series, with small highly tuned engines don't have much left to give. They’re already tuned for high performance and low emissions, all with a good economy. The new XC90 is 235BHP. The Authorities model is remapped and gives 240BHP!

You've pretty much covered all the other bits and pieces. Here's a few images of the wiring loom location, in case you want to hard wire anything like dash cams, or sat nav.

Hope this sheds some light on your vehicle. Overall, not just “another” XC70. They are a special vehicle and are built to withstand the rigours of emergency response driving.

[LikesToFly]

on more thing- You'll have a calibrated speedometer too. That means it's as good as 100% accurate, unlike standard civilain spec speedos which have a bit of flex in them (usually reads 70mph when you're doing 67-68mph).

It may have a calibration sticker on the speedo. "calibrated by RS"

[Simon Jones]

The calibration would have been done with a specific set of tyres with a specific rolling circumference which is affected by amount of tread remaining. So, as with any calibration, it will only be assured to be 100% correct on the day of the test.

[LikesToFly]

Very true simon, but either way, it's more accurate than a standard vehicle, so dont drive at 73 thinking you're taking into account the factory error!

[Ploppyv70]

Hello,

great info about Police SPEC V70 p3

I have a T6 and wondered please if you have any info on fitting a run lock as near the gear selector I have several yellow bllue etc wires I think may have been used for that

Thanks again

Ploppy