My New Project (Car)

[Gurm]

Well, I'm pleased to announce the first project on Gurm.Net!

(Yeah, I'm a narcissist and registered Gurm.Net, cope...)

The Volvo Project.

Backstory:

Julie has been bugging me to get rid of the BMW coupe for a while now. Ever since she got big enough during her pregnancy with Logan that getting in and out of it was difficult. And then while he was an infant and getting the car seat in and out was difficult. Now that she's pregnant again the push is on.

Only she doesn't want to spend money on it. Y'know, the perennial "can't you just change this car into a sedan?" question. I _did_ pay a premium for the coupe when I bought it, but things are never that simple now are they?

So my friend Boondoggie has been on the lookout for cheap wagons. He spends far too much time on Craig's list, and not enough time doing his actual job... but so long as his boss is happy with him, who am I to nitpick?

Anyway, Boondoggie sends me a link last week... let's see if I can find it...

"1990 Silver Volvo 740GL Wagon. Power Windows. Braking system problem. For parts or repair... $200obo"

Now, I'd normally be tempted to just LAUGH at an ad like this. But y'know what? I figure I'll call the guy. Why? Three reasons. First, those things are TANKS - you have to really TRY hard to destroy one. Second, Boondoggie has ripped down, and rebuilt from the ground up, 5 or 6 of them. He's a Volvo 740 master. And third? The MOST expensive part for that car is about $50.

So I call the guy. He says it "looks like a 15 year old car, but it runs". Rust? No. Frame? Solid. Body? One ding in the front passenger door. Engine? Pristine. So I figure what the hell, we'll go look at it.

Last Saturday was rainy and crappy. Cold. PERFECT day to go look at a car. So the first thing that happens when we get there is I realize it's missing the driver's window. I knock on the door of the house. The kid says "yeah the driver's window is just GONE, it happened yesterday". It's been raining in it all day though, JESUS you'd think he might have covered it up with a trash bag, huh?

So then I see the driver's seat is torn. Fudge. And it's FILTHY. But he wasn't lying - the frame is flawless, no rust to speak of (amazing for a vehicle that has spent 15 years in New England) and the engine is clean as a whistle. New front suspension, new front tires. Except for the driver's seat and window, all the glass and leather is in tip-top shape (but very VERY dirty). I tell him I'll think about it.

Next day, I go back - his DAD is there. Turns out the kid is a total screwup, didn't go to college, just sits around the house and never takes care of his cars. He's got three junkers for sale. His DAD restores old cars for fun. Tells me how much of a screw up his kid is, over and over. Starts by asking if I'm sure I want that damn heap, but when I tell him what I'm gonna do he agrees that a couple weekends and $500 ought to get it safe and inspectable. So I call up AAA, weasel a tow out of them, give the kid his $150, and a couple hours later it's delivered to my yard.

http://www.gurm.net

Click on "The Volvo Project" to see the pictures for Phase 0 (acquisition).

Believe it or not, by the end of the summer this will be a dependable daily driver and baby-mobile for Julie. It looks like crap now, but just y'all wait. I've got a new seat ($50 for heated motorized leather), window ($30), door panel ($20), and center console ($20) on order already, today I'm jacking it up to see what the brakes need. My starter budget is $500 to get it to pass inspection, and after the BMW is sold (did I mention my BMW coupe is for sale?) I'll have another $1000 to make it pristine.

[RichL]

Bits broke, missing and covered in grime.
Reminds me of my Mach 1 project, now sadly aborted due to lack of time.

[agallag]

Good find. The engine and body are shockingly clean compared to that interior. It should last FOREVER with diligent maintenance.

My dad finally retired his 1989 740 Turbo wagon at 675,000km (419,425 miles). He still managed to get over $1000 for it, and it still ran pretty well. The body was just starting to go though, so he decided to get a newish (2002?) Maxima, breaking his streak of 4 Volvos in a row. His first was a late '70s 240 sedan, followed by an early '80s 240 Wagon, then an '85 240 Turbo wagon, and finally the '89 740. He put close to 1/2 million km on all of them.

If you take good care of yours, it could easily become Logan's college car.

[Gurm]

Good find. The engine and body are shockingly clean compared to that interior. It should last FOREVER with diligent maintenance.

My dad finally retired his 1989 740 Turbo wagon at 675,000km (419,425 miles). He still managed to get over $1000 for it, and it still ran pretty well. The body was just starting to go though, so he decided to get a newish (2002?) Maxima, breaking his streak of 4 Volvos in a row. His first was a late '70s 240 sedan, followed by an early '80s 240 Wagon, then an '85 240 Turbo wagon, and finally the '89 740. He put close to 1/2 million km on all of them.

If you take good care of yours, it could easily become Logan's college car.

Yep. Volvo gives out (pay shipping, but otherwise free) badges. They START at 250k miles. One friend of mine (Boondoggie) put the 500k (MILES, not km!) on his 240 before selling it. My other friend put the 350k on his 740 Turbo before his wife insisted that it was unsafe (due to his excessive power mods, not any defect in the car or engine) for his as-yet-unborn child.

I know of people who put a MILLION miles on their P1800. Volvo makes indestructible cars and the B230FT motor will go forever with care.

[agallag]

Yeah, my dad had all the badges in his cabinet at home. He didn't want to put them on the car though.

I saw one guy who had a P1800 with 2 million miles on it, and it still looked brand new.

[Fluff]

http://www.gurm.net/volvoproj/phase0/P1010074_resize.JPG

Looks like half a herb grinder to me. Good luck with the car!

[Umfriend]

My colleague has one of those, I think from 91. Hi swife used to drive it shifting small orders of wine. It is a tank. It may use a bit of gas, but these things (and I shouldn't know as I don't know anything about cars) typically refuse to die or malfunction.

Good luck with the project. How much has it run sofar?

[Gurm]

My colleague has one of those, I think from 91. Hi swife used to drive it shifting small orders of wine. It is a tank. It may use a bit of gas, but these things (and I shouldn't know as I don't know anything about cars) typically refuse to die or malfunction.

Actually, once tuned every Volvo in the USA gets... 24 mpg.

Good luck with the project. How much has it run sofar?

Idles lousy, but we figured out why. Runs fine. Brakes suck, so I don't move it far (yet).

[Helevitia]

Thanks for the laugh Gurm I'm interested in following the story as it progresses (sp?)

[Gurm]

I'll post an update to the site tonight.

Cleaned the car today as thoroughly as I could with the shop vac and without disassembling anything.

Ordered a new center console... everything from the dash back, including armrest, cupholder, rear ashtray, storage cubby, e-brake housing, and cutouts for switches (seat heaters, etc.) and whatnot. $20 on eBay. Well whaddya know - there ARE bargains to be had on eBay. Called up my parts supplier for the BMW/Volvo, told them that I'd be their new best customer as soon as the tax return comes back. They actually suggested that I keep my eye on eBay since they can't get me trim bits. Apparently 7-series Volvo plastic/vinyl parts go cheap on eBay. Who knew?

Got it running a bit better today too - new spark plugs and plugging the holes where a couple of the engine hoses were leaking saw to that. Still stalls if you let it idle too long. Ah, well - didn't think it'd run great overnight, at least now I can putter it up and down the yard.

DEFINITELY need new shocks, at least on the front and probably on all four corners. The rear has Volvo's amazing "Nivomat" self-leveling system. It's great for wagons, and makes for a comfy ride - but the shocks are $200 APIECE. If they're leaking, I'll be going for the alternative - shock+spring replacement kits for $50 each.

Rear seats have minor nicks but all in all look good - a bit of vinyl/leather repair goo here and there and they'll be good as new. The front passenger's seat needs a vinyl/leather patch on the back, and one of the seams has come unsewn. No biggie.

Virtually ALL the plastic bits don't fit right any more. I'll be replacing them all as time/funds permit - and as deals pop up like that one I scored today.

Got the technical manual on order, too - actually a set that includes the elusive manual for my 960 as well! Woohoo!

Oh, and I found out why the Dad referred to his kid as a screwup. If YOUR kid sat in his beater car that you bought for him but he has trashed, chainsmoking and toking on herb with homemade pipes, wearing a transvestite wig, playing with kinky rubber toys, and wearing black eyeliner... wouldn't YOU call him a screwup? *sigh* YES, I found all those things while cleaning the car, and I'll likely find more since as I said I haven't taken any panels out yet.

[Jessterw]

Definitely looks like a fun project

I took on fixing an older Chevy Blazer ('89 I believe) that the in-laws had; slow going it is. Hope you have better (and faster) luck getting it fixed up.


And wow, Logan is getting big.

[KvHagedorn]

The MOST expensive part for that car is about $50.

Wow.. nice to know you can get a couple of new front seats for $100. Then it looks like you need new carpet, center console, pedals, door panels, front door window, then just call those car-deodorizer guys who were on Myth Busters (You know, the episode where they put the two pig corpses in the corvette and let them rot for a couple of months) and you should be good to go. You should record every receipt used to fix this thing up and put it on the site.

[Gurm]

Wow.. nice to know you can get a couple of new front seats for $100.

No kidding! I was amazed, myself. One place lists them as $50 but says they're vinyl... hmm... either it's the cloth/vinyl combo seat which I don't want, or they're just crazy, oh well I gotta go there anyway for some other stuff. Another site says $75. Either way, $100-$150 for new front seats is a steal!

Then it looks like you need new carpet,

Yeah, hoping I can score some cheap. I can live with what's in there, but I'd rather not - it's nasty.

center console,

On its way, see above.

pedals,

Yeah, ought to be cheap. Lemme see... $5. I'll order that up in an order with something else. No point in paying shipping on a $5 item.

door panels,

Working on this. Got a few feelers out, I'd rather not pay full price. I have to disassemble all the doors and see which panels are just dirty and which really need replacing. They're all a bit ... loose, as is all the trim/plastic in the vehicle.

front door window,

$30-$50, plenty of availability. That's the first purchase after the taxes come back. That and the brakes... LOL.

then just call those car-deodorizer guys who were on Myth Busters (You know, the episode where they put the two pig corpses in the corvette and let them rot for a couple of months) and you should be good to go.

Hmm... I am contemplating having a detailing place deodorize it. We'll see how much it still stinks after I hit the entire thing with the steam cleaner.

You should record every receipt used to fix this thing up and put it on the site.

Oh, absolutely!

[KvHagedorn]

Hmm... I am contemplating having a detailing place deodorize it. We'll see how much it still stinks after I hit the entire thing with the steam cleaner.

Depending on the odor level, this could be your biggest challenge. Long ago my old boss inherited a nasty small station wagon from his deceased father. The old man lived to be 90 something and chewed tobacco in the vehicle. God knows how he got that filthy brown spit residue EVERYWHERE, but there is was. We removed all the carpet from the car and power sprayed it with soap then lysol then soap again.. then put it back in. The funk remained.

[Marshmallowman]

Then vents and ducts in a lot of cars is where a lot of the stink resides, especially when the drain tube for the air con gets blocked...I think you can get specialised deoderisers for them