We were looking for a wagon to have something that can move furniture, mulch, dirt, firewood, or whatever needs to be moved.
I found this car via Bne who knew of its existence at a local repair shop, so we went to take a look. Let me be clear, it was not for sale. But everything's for sale, right? It looked like a stock wagon. Dull white paint. Blue cloth interior. Perfect.
It's a 1993, the best year. The driver front seat was somewhat crushed & collapsed. It has an automatic trans. Some minor dings and chips but nothing I would call real body damage. Some dents in the floor from scissor jack misuse. It's not rusty. There isn't really any rust on it. Except for some suspension bits, but that's fine.
Tint was purple & bubbled. Side trim was removed so the car could eventually be buffed. Rear mudflaps were off for some minor cosmetic repairs.
Let's take a closer look and get some details...
It just had a new windshield installed, a new heater control valve (the good metal one!), and new blower motor (!). This was all done by the owner of the shop as he started to prepare this car for his donor turbo engine + trans.
The door pockets had been replaced, I think by him as well. It had a nice stereo + speakers from the previous owner. Story was the father wasn't using the car much, so he sold it to the son. Then the son wasn't using the car much, so he sold it back to the father. I couldn't find any major issue that led to the car ending up sold to a repair shop. Carfax showed this shop replaced the starter in February 2022....the latest entry. Everything before that looked as-expected.
One of the recent Carfax entries is from 9/24/2019 when it had 247,489. it now has ~253,300. ~5,500 miles in 4 years or about 1,300 miles per year.
I purchased the car on 6/29/2023 at 251,498 miles. The A/C was recharged as part of the purchase price. The car was buffed for an additional fee and the trim was reinstalled before we picked it up.
First trip was 5 miles to the tint shop. Record keeping starts now...
251,500 - 7/1/2023 - New window tint. Front windows 50%, rear doors + rear 3 windows at 25%. We had initially planned to only have the old stuff removed ($150) but went ahead and got new tint ($500). Very happy with how it turned out. I've never owned a car with tint before.
251,500 - 7/29/2023 - New seat foam for driver front seat + seat heater grid - Swedish Car Parts. Seat rebuilds are not fun, but are necessary sometimes.
251,600 - 7/30/2023 - Inspected front steering/suspension/brakes and rear suspension/brakes. No issues found. Good pad life remaining. Bushings look good. Exhaust looked good.
251,600 - 7/30/2023 - Ran a 1/2"x20tpi die over the front wheel studs = good as new (were NOT good as new when I took the front wheels off)
252k - August 23, 2023
252k - ?/??/2023 - A/C stopped working. Sad. It lasted about a month and was cold. Already has dye in the system, so I will figure out where it's leaking and fix it in the spring.
252k - 9/12/2023 - New key cut by the dealer from the VIN, ~$63 (+ copy cut for $9 to a blank bought on ebay). Car only came with one worn copy.
252k - 9/13/2023 - Cupholder center armrest repaired & installed before Mountain Meet (armrest came with the car, needed some work)
253k - September 17, 2023
253k - 9/18/2023 - New driver side taillight + swapped to Volvo branded bulb holders. Replaced working but slightly faded aftermarket taillight. Both are now Cibie circa '95-'98.
253,500 - 9/29/2023 - Mobil 1 10w-30 + Mann W917 filter. The "Mighty" filter was a joy to change....the oil had drained out of it, so no mess! GT style upper braces installed, originally from my '87, perhaps my first mod ever. Splash pan installed, also from the '87. Voltage regulator inspected, brushes nearly worn to nothing.
253,947 -- 11/4/2023 --
255k -
256k -
I just did a ~1,000 mile trip to Mountain Meet and the car did great, other than a minor case of brake pad fade on Rt 151 between Asheville and the lodge. Alden rode along and taught me how to drive an automatic.
Objective: stock'ish both in looks and ride height. Not going to turbo it. Not going to lower it. Not going to manual swap it.
Short term needs:
Long term needs/goals:
Need to replace the license plate light gaskets -- found the part number, and a few other p/n's I may reference later:
License plate light housing gasket, p/n 678529-9, $6.89ea:
www.tascaparts.com
'86+ e-code plastic anchor clips at end of adjuster, p/n 1307452, $3.15ea:
'86+ e-code headlight trim ('L' shaped or straight):
1259250 - L headlight trim - chrome LH NLA
1259251 - L headlight trim - chrome RH $47.81
1259404 - L headlight trim - black LH $60.68
1259405 - L headlight trim - black RH $60.68
1312634 - straight trim - chrome LH $39.91
1312636 - straight trim - chrome RH $45.90
1312738 - straight trim - black LH NLA
1312739 - straight trim - black RH NLA
I found this car via Bne who knew of its existence at a local repair shop, so we went to take a look. Let me be clear, it was not for sale. But everything's for sale, right? It looked like a stock wagon. Dull white paint. Blue cloth interior. Perfect.
It's a 1993, the best year. The driver front seat was somewhat crushed & collapsed. It has an automatic trans. Some minor dings and chips but nothing I would call real body damage. Some dents in the floor from scissor jack misuse. It's not rusty. There isn't really any rust on it. Except for some suspension bits, but that's fine.
Tint was purple & bubbled. Side trim was removed so the car could eventually be buffed. Rear mudflaps were off for some minor cosmetic repairs.
Let's take a closer look and get some details...
It just had a new windshield installed, a new heater control valve (the good metal one!), and new blower motor (!). This was all done by the owner of the shop as he started to prepare this car for his donor turbo engine + trans.
The door pockets had been replaced, I think by him as well. It had a nice stereo + speakers from the previous owner. Story was the father wasn't using the car much, so he sold it to the son. Then the son wasn't using the car much, so he sold it back to the father. I couldn't find any major issue that led to the car ending up sold to a repair shop. Carfax showed this shop replaced the starter in February 2022....the latest entry. Everything before that looked as-expected.
One of the recent Carfax entries is from 9/24/2019 when it had 247,489. it now has ~253,300. ~5,500 miles in 4 years or about 1,300 miles per year.
I purchased the car on 6/29/2023 at 251,498 miles. The A/C was recharged as part of the purchase price. The car was buffed for an additional fee and the trim was reinstalled before we picked it up.
First trip was 5 miles to the tint shop. Record keeping starts now...
251,500 - 7/1/2023 - New window tint. Front windows 50%, rear doors + rear 3 windows at 25%. We had initially planned to only have the old stuff removed ($150) but went ahead and got new tint ($500). Very happy with how it turned out. I've never owned a car with tint before.
251,500 - 7/29/2023 - New seat foam for driver front seat + seat heater grid - Swedish Car Parts. Seat rebuilds are not fun, but are necessary sometimes.
251,600 - 7/30/2023 - Inspected front steering/suspension/brakes and rear suspension/brakes. No issues found. Good pad life remaining. Bushings look good. Exhaust looked good.
251,600 - 7/30/2023 - Ran a 1/2"x20tpi die over the front wheel studs = good as new (were NOT good as new when I took the front wheels off)
252k - August 23, 2023
252k - ?/??/2023 - A/C stopped working. Sad. It lasted about a month and was cold. Already has dye in the system, so I will figure out where it's leaking and fix it in the spring.
252k - 9/12/2023 - New key cut by the dealer from the VIN, ~$63 (+ copy cut for $9 to a blank bought on ebay). Car only came with one worn copy.
252k - 9/13/2023 - Cupholder center armrest repaired & installed before Mountain Meet (armrest came with the car, needed some work)
253k - September 17, 2023
253k - 9/18/2023 - New driver side taillight + swapped to Volvo branded bulb holders. Replaced working but slightly faded aftermarket taillight. Both are now Cibie circa '95-'98.
253,500 - 9/29/2023 - Mobil 1 10w-30 + Mann W917 filter. The "Mighty" filter was a joy to change....the oil had drained out of it, so no mess! GT style upper braces installed, originally from my '87, perhaps my first mod ever. Splash pan installed, also from the '87. Voltage regulator inspected, brushes nearly worn to nothing.
253,947 -- 11/4/2023 --
- Replaced voltage regulator. Old ~5/32nd brush length, new ~14/32nd. Old was still working.
- Installed new Bosch cap & rotor. Old looked fine, but unknown age/mileage.
- Noticed some signs of grease around the center of the passenger side front wheel, so I popped the dust cap off, cleaned it along the edge on the outside. Grease was fine inside, reinstalled the cap and will keep an eye on it.
- Removed brake pads from passenger side front, pinched back the pistons and they all moved fine, cleaned the pins of rust, cleaned the calipers of rust where the pad rides, sanded the rust off the edges of the pad backing plates, and put it back together with grease on the pins. Wheel spins OK but a bit slow, so I think the pads were dragging. Wear was even and pad has decent life left, maybe about 4-5mm.
255k -
256k -
I just did a ~1,000 mile trip to Mountain Meet and the car did great, other than a minor case of brake pad fade on Rt 151 between Asheville and the lodge. Alden rode along and taught me how to drive an automatic.
Objective: stock'ish both in looks and ride height. Not going to turbo it. Not going to lower it. Not going to manual swap it.
Short term needs:
oil change-- doneinstall splash pan under engine-- done- rear hatch doesn't open from the inside
- passenger side rear door doesn't open from the inside + outside handle is loose
- timing belt + (maybe) T cam. All the oil seals look good and the engine is very clean.
- investigate minor exhaust leak near downpipe
- new v-belts
check alternator brushes--checked, part ordered-- done
Long term needs/goals:
- install e-codes + upgraded wiring/relays (have new reflectors & clips to do a rebuild on some I have)
- replace vinyl trim along top of doors/quarter panel
install upper GT braces (from my '87 autocrosser)-- done- install 25mm front sway bar (stock is 21mm)
- replace front rotors + pads + lines (no rush, plenty of pad life, but confirmed they suck if they get hot)
- replace rear rotors + pads + lines
- bleed brakes
- radiator + hoses + tstat + water pump (no rush, current stuff looks good)
- air filter
- engine/trans mounts (no rush, currently looks good)
- power steering flush
- trans flush
- replace torque rods with pre-81 spares
- investigate air vent cut-out where ECU currently is located
- replace burned out bulbs in the interior -
rear fog for sure,and some switches -- done, unplugged, not burned out (10/7) wire new seat heater grid (winter is coming)-- plugged in, light comes on (10/7)- Tachometer (need the proper flat black late one, low priority)
- Install digital ambient temp gauge
- Install a voltage gauge
- Find '92 black trim for the quarters and whatever else I need to finish a set + install it.
- Add headlight wipers
- Find rear cargo pull-out cover (although the tint does a pretty good job, so not a high priority)
- Refinish & install 15X7 MSW wheels with new tires (current tires from 2015, good tread, just old) -- Spring 2024 project
- Replace front springs (HD, standard height)
- Replace rear springs (overload)
- Replace front struts - likely revalved Bilstein HD
- Replace rear shocks - likely revalved Bilstein HD
- Maybe move camber plates over from my 244
- Any other general maintenance (fuel filter, plugs, wires,
cap,rotor) -- cap & rotor done - Install ABS? Oddly, this one doesn't have it.
Need to replace the license plate light gaskets -- found the part number, and a few other p/n's I may reference later:
License plate light housing gasket, p/n 678529-9, $6.89ea:
1984-1993 Volvo Lens & Housing Gasket 678529 | TascaParts.com
1984-1993 Volvo part # 678529 - Lens & Housing Gasket
www.tascaparts.com
'86+ e-code plastic anchor clips at end of adjuster, p/n 1307452, $3.15ea:
'86+ e-code headlight trim ('L' shaped or straight):
1259250 - L headlight trim - chrome LH NLA
1259251 - L headlight trim - chrome RH $47.81
1259404 - L headlight trim - black LH $60.68
1259405 - L headlight trim - black RH $60.68
1312634 - straight trim - chrome LH $39.91
1312636 - straight trim - chrome RH $45.90
1312738 - straight trim - black LH NLA
1312739 - straight trim - black RH NLA
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