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Had her about a month and just got tags for her. Did some safety maintenance and suc. She had been sitting about 3 years when I picked her up.
Gave her a fluid change, brake work, power steering hose and fired her up. She runs great....very well for a vehicle with 410,253 miles on her!
She is going to be my photography equipment hauler. So she is going to be a good work car for me...and cool to boot!
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Chris M. '85 245 w/ 410k+ miles
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Good looking wagon! You have more cajones than I to buy a 410k miles car!
How's the wiring harness? I assume it has been replaced?
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95 855 GLT Sportwagon 214k, sold - 90 244 DL 300k
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I have the exact car, color and all. Yours looks real clean. Manual or Automatic?
I have Virgos on mine, no roof rack, and about 170K less miles ;)
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I've had lots of folks look at me like I'm crazy when I mention mileage...it's high...I know.
Here is the kicker....2 owner car....it's owner had the Volvo dealership maintain it using the recommendations in the book....and I have those records....down to the dome light bulb replacements. He traded it in for another Volvo at 82k miles.
2nd owner bought it and had it maintained at a Volvo specialty shop....and followed all book recommendations for repairs....
All work was done at this shop...wiring harness replaced, ac converted, timing belt 7 times (following 50k mile replacement recommendation), trans services, radio replacement, mafs, etc....receipts for all of it....and regular oil changes at 3500 miles.
That's 117 oil changes at $35 (low estimate for the shops) = $4095 in oil changes!
Knowing the maintenance history, and the owner....I didn't hesitate.
And it was super super cheap. :)
She needs some work but if I can get her to run for me for a year it'll be worth it! If not...still worth it!
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Chris M. '85 245 w/ 410k+ miles
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Nice story on the car! So cheap you say, Who paid Who?
I know I stretch out my oil changes but not past the 7,500 by far. I use highway driving forgiveness theory. I knew I change oil to do it right, but wow that is bucks alright! Never added that up in my head before but the Next worse, is to have your car washed every week or two. A paint job or an engine, some choices in there somewhere?
Unless you are a short person you might want to think twice about lowering the wagon. The tailgate door will give you a reason to wear a thick knit hat!
On a station wagon of this magnitude you will load it. Lower it without good "load" springs you might end up taking city names off sewer caps or even put divots on the other side of those canals that are used for street storm drainage.
You can tell I do not like lowered cars. Most have remove drivability and any chance of resale. I love what you got and it could be a chick magnet around a college! Low maintenance types drive bugs too! Sometimes both drivers have brains with those smiles!
Turns out ALL GOOD for Kodak moments!
Phil
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The car has cost me about $250 including all the fluid changes, plugs, and title/tags....so pretty cheap!
I don't want to slam it...just lower it a bit to help the stance a bit. I will be hauling equipment and plan to simply cut a coil off a set of overload springs and drop them in. Maybe 2 coils off the front to get a level look.
I say this is going to just be a beater....but a nice one.
C
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Chris M. '85 245 w/ 410k+ miles
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Ok I see the point that you stole that car, but you are taking thrifty a wee bit too far, when you want to cut the springs, for me. I told you I hate seeing cars lowered for the very reason you just mentioned. When it is not done with a professional respect it ends up riding and handling like a hack job.
Anybody who buys a car, lookout for hack jobs of the interior or wiring and they usually walk away, like yours truly! The look of stock cars are figured around a mass audience not just a few individuals. Aftermarket is tuning for that other "selected" market of tweakers in most of us, restorers or bargain hunters!
I agree that the front end looks to high but then the back end has probably sagged and any kind of load or none will result in that look.
You could try lowering the front first and that may help your minds eye.
Jacking around with springs is like playing with a box matches. Sometimes the first try does not light...right nicely.
First of all springs are not "simply" cut when they are made. They are flat across the ends and squared to the compression axis for a reason. The material is tapered smaller along with the end as it turns so the rate of compression is graduated. The temper of the coils change within the coils length and pressure exacerbates those stresses.
Blacksmithing or now, heat treating and metallurgy are bonifide trades. You do not want a spring to "bunch" to one side. These are not ball point pen springs and are not contained in a barrel and a cracked spring....well?
After springs are made they are tested, compared and grouped in sets or "batches" by their steels reaction specfications. They can look and measure dimensional the same but have different part numbers. The responses are sold to be predictable for a reason.
That said, change your springs as you will, but remember that most time while you are driving you expect the car to act according to what you expect it to do and "that" can make a difference in surviving the unexpected things we call, accidents.
I suggest you forget the torch and tape measure. Identify what spring you have and how much load it takes to change it to the height you want and take them around looking for the spring that holds that weight at that height with a spring rate you like for the rest of the travel after the preloading. Stiff or soft and shop for the closest stock one in the diameter needed.
It will be the least expensive and the one with the best reputation with suspension professionals.
With the gazillions that are made there must be boat loads of information around. Probably a half dozen cars in junkyards with them with cross references.
Anyway that is what I would do.
I have three cars that I have changed springs around within them to get better loading characteristics. I started out with two from IPD since they were the closest professional tweakers I knew.
Their rear overloads were a little too stiff for a sedan but almost right for my station wagon empty and just fine when loaded up! The standard unabused 86 wagon springs are better under the 84 sedan. I need another set for my 91 as sits a little low and squashes too easily.
I think it is back to a box of mixed up matches as it is not a waterproof affair!
Good luck
Phil
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It's an automatic. Gonna be removing the center strips from the roof rack I think. They vibrate a bit...most of the plastic/rubber under them have disappeared.
CM
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Nice pic. Almost nobody uses a large aperture to blur the background.
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'96 855R,'64 PV544 driver, '67 P1800 basket case, '72 Yamaha Rd400, '68 Honda 350-4, '12 XC70, the first 5 are mine, heh, heh, 525,000 miles put on 10 bricks James A Sousa
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Most don't think to with modern point and click digital cameras.
I have a criticism with the modern (read: all digital) production methods. We have all of these video and (can you call it) film (anymore?) production tools that makes the Adobe PhotoShop revolution seem dull now. Yet the production methods are flat and bland. Everything is like looking at some teen mag poster. No depth (everything is focused, though, fore and backgrounds).
You look at the work using only film even into 1970s television is better than today.
The reason I don't like Dr. Who. This new series is an illusion in front of a cheap digital camera.
I don't create photography. I'll fancy the Kodak Retina cameras, sometimes.
cheers,
Fuzzy Kitty.
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Fuzzy Kitty!
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I agree with the flatness...the "not realness" of modern photography. Although I do shoot some digital work (10% of my work) because people expect me to shoot digital.
90% of what I shoot is Wetplate collodion photography....1850's-1870's. I make tintypes and ambrotypes of subjects....cars, historic sites, weddings, families, prom portraits, etc.
the reason I like it....it's real. I hand coat each plate, expose it, hand develop it and we look at the image immediately...it is a handmade original image. Want another? I have to create another. Want a large print? I'll shoot a glass plate negative and print from it.
Here is one of my images:
These are scans that have been matched to the originals and resized only. Each of the originals are on metal (tintypes)
The camera I use is a reproduction wood/bellows camera. The lens is from the late 1850's.
Digital isn't nearly as fun.
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Chris M. '85 245 w/ 410k+ miles
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Oh man that sure looks good but you said you were a photographer!...?
Is this a touched up photo? What does the other side look like?
Darn you make me jealous, I might have out and at least polish my white 86 now!
Phil
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Looks pretty sweet, good luck with her. She will probably keep you busy.
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The drivers side is the worst side....push in at the back bumper from a parking lot hit/run.
The pic is from my phone and run through an Instagram app....haven't taken the time to do a real shoot with her. That will come later. I've got to get her closer to the ground first.
She is a pretty nice looker from 20ft....up close you can see the peeling clear coat and a few pits from rocks and 410k miles of driving. The hood is about 3 shades lighter than the body too (original but faded).
When I cleaned her I just gave her a spray bath of Awesome! degreaser and let her soak...then sprayed her off. After that I scrubbed her with a good brush and heavy soap. She looked much better. Not finished with the wheels yet....still lots of brake dust from years of not getting cleaned.
She runs ok....made the first trip to work today....have some greasing to do and some other small issues to work through. Hopefully I'll be able to get another local volvo guy to help me sort some of this out.
Bw, the bulk of my photography is wetplate collodion (1850-1870's)....so I'll be shooting some tintypes of Big Lucy the Volvo pretty soon.
Thanks for the compliments!
Chris
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An exterior masonry industry cleaner called "Detergent 500" does a great job on getting stubborn, seemingly glued on brake dust off of old rims.
If you have extra time and a little money (about $35) Mother's 3-part system of waxing does a great job in restoring the old finishes of these Volvos. In particular, it does a great job in buying time with worn down hood clear coats. You'll need about 12-15 coats of Mother's #2 on the hood, but the finished result will look like a thick sheet of glass. And besides helping to blend in the lightening color of the front hood with the rest of the vehicle, it'll help buy you some time before having to repaint or re-clear coat the front hood.
Mother's #2 is actually more important and effective than the well know carnauba wax contained in step #3.
Using a rotating regime on the front hood and roof alone of the vehicle (one dries while the other gets applied), you can literally put down 3-4 coats of Mother's #1, 12-15 coats of Mother's #2, and 3-4 coats of Mother's #3 (use the paste wax version if you can find it) in about 2 hours. The results are simply incredible.
I actually found this advice either on this board or else up on Turbobricks, and boy, whoever suggested it was dead on.
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The hood has no clear coat left....just paint. I'm going to probably dip the car just because of the expense of trying to really repaint it.
I've got some of that concrete stuff ordered...should be at the shop tomorrow...gonna fix those wheels.....cut the springs and get some better tires on her this weekend.
Thanks for the info on the wax system. I'll probably do that to my G-Cherokee.
C
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Chris M. '85 245 w/ 410k+ miles
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