Good story. I hope you're not talking about parking the front wheels on 8-inch concrete blocks of the type that are used in constuction of retaining walls, etc. Please don't use those. They are much too unreliable.

I found my breather box totally clogged. A reputable foreign car mechanic had been servicing the car for over 10 years. I guess he never actually checked to see if the box was clear. I just got a new one because I thought it would be hard to get all the gunk out of a clogged one.

Thanks for the tip. My impression is that flame traps get their deserved attention by Volvo people , but breather boxes don't.
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Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock; 86 240, 129K