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TG’s Yellow Volvo Obsession & Progression & Memories Thread - Very Past, Past & Present (Picture Heavy)

52K views 475 replies 45 participants last post by  Magnus Cars 
#1 · (Edited)
Been meaning to do this for a while and never got around to it and also it has been a while since I have owned my favorite car of all time: a 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R. (Sedan)

How it all started:

Back in 2002 (dating myself in here) my roommates and I were hosting a party as we just moved into this huge house and I was super happy with the garage, parking and the space situation. As the night progresses, a buddy of mine approaches me and starts asking questions about my cars, what I do with them & etc etc. He is not a car guy at all so I ask him where this conversation is going? He tells me that he is looking for a place store his mom's car in Seattle (they are originally from Canada) and he was wondering if I can keep the car at our house. At this point I am thinking asking my buddy to sell his mom's car or park it in the street somewhere.

But then I of course ask: -What kind of car is it? -He responds: -Volvo
Me: It better be one of those Yellow ones as I am not interested in keeping a brick at my house! -He responds: It is Yellow
Me: Your mom drives a Yellow Volvo?
He goes, no my mom doesn't even have a driver's license. She saw it at a display at a Volvo dealer in Toronto in 1995, loved the color, how it looked and walked in and bought it on the spot and of course never drove it. (My buddy's fam is very successful)
Story was then his bother took it down to Texas for college but after his studies did not need the car anymore and shipped it up to Seattle. Now the poor car with 28K miles is sitting in a shady parking lot somewhere in downtown Seattle as we were having this conversation.
10 hours and a jump start later she was rescued, detailed and parked next to my WS6 (please do not judge!)



Car actually gets transferred to my name and I am asked to maintain it with an open check book. It pretty much got annual oil changes and time based maintenance. It sat next to the WS6 for another 2 years until we moved to a smaller house in town.

One day, I am bored and I tell myself that I am going to spend some time with the Volvo like it was my own car. I decided to take it out, buff it, detail the heck out of it and actually made my mind to start diving it time to time which was completely ok with the owners -I just hate driving other people's cars. After my full wash and detail (also while I am thinking I must be the only person in the planet who thinks this car is cool) I park the car in front of my house.



Couple of hours later, as I am taking the trash out, I find a card on the windshield from Volvo Speed Northwest Crew to contact them and the rest was pretty much history. That night there were at least 6 other super cool Volvos in front of my house and I was introduced to the Volvo world and bunch of good folks that I am still friends with to this date.
We had amazing gatherings and did some exciting stuff back in the day. I was also informed that my Yellow is the 3rd one to be accounted for in Seattle area……. Later on my best friend / roommate ended up bringing the 4th one to Seattle and of course we arranged another Volvo Speed meet to document the occasion.








In 2006 as fast as it began, I got a call from my buddy who owns the car that his fam wants it back in Canada, back at their house. By now, we were all thinking that his family will eventually want to sell the car to me and would not want it back. I have had this thing for almost 5 years! NOPE, a truck showed up in a week and picked the car up and I have never seen it in person again (we will get back to that)

My roommate still had his yellow and I ended up ordering a 2007 BMW E92 335i via Euro delivery to keep me sane as I was super bummed.



Later that year, we came across a Yellow Wagon that my best friend wanted since day he saw one at the Paris Auto Show and of course we bought it sight unseen and shipped it to Seattle. I had 188K miles and was in pretty rough condition. It was a new project for us and a dream come true for him. And of course, I bought his sedan.
Wagon Being delivered….only way to pick a yellow Volvo is with another Yellow Volvo to confuse everyone. :D







This was our new project and he wanted to make this thing the 1st day it came out of the factory with very few minor modifications. Again, with open check book. By this time we know these cars pretty well, we know all the locals who work on them and my body shop can match that yellow paint in his sleep. So off we go.
It took us about 2 years to get everything sorted out. Car was very original and mechanically solid. We fixed replaced whatever it needed and my buddy decided to go all out on the cosmetics….and we did.

Hood, fenders, bumpers, rockers all got a fresh coat of single stage paint, wheels were repaired to perfection (not painted), new Volvo windshield, grill, battery & emblems were installed, our paint protection film person re-did all the factory pieces and did a custom clearbra to protect the new paint.
All of this was done just in time for IPDs 50th year anniversary…..











I ended up selling the sedan bec it just was not the same as a 30K mile example that I got used to driving. That particular car felt way under powered and clunky in comparison to the low mile one and no matter what we did to it, it kept asking for more and more which I got tired of and called it quits. That car is still on the road and I hear is in good hands.

Sale of the Wagon:

So my best friend who had the Wagon for quite some time asks me to buy it from him all of a sudden! He knows I hate wagons, I have no room and what I am really after is a low mile sedan. So, I say, you are stupid for selling it to begin with but I definitely do not want it. We have been working on it for a while now and I am done with it as much as you are. Now the reason why he wants to sell it is pretty justified. We found a 2006 E55 AMG Wagon. Back then Benz did not make these unless you ordered one specifically and 2005 & 2006 model years are just as rare as Yellow Wagons. Of course the car was on the East Coast and that's where we went to go get it.



Safe back in Seattle



Yellow sells real quick and shortly after the guy who bought it from us puts it on ebay, sells it and she is now in great hands.
At this point the only Volvo around is his wife's 2005 V70R M66 which we love working on but we are also both driving different non-volvo cars.



Benz was replaced by a BMW F31 M-Sport and I went through several cars during that period. However, every single car / Volvo person that I know, knows that I am still after that low mile Yellow that most likely doesn't exist or its locked up somewhere and is not coming out anytime soon. So my hopes are continuing to fade.

Remember my buddy who started all of this? Well, I get a call from him and it is about the VOLVO! He goes do you want to buy it back? ---I am super excited and thinking that the car went to storage after it was picked up and it still is in the same condition. Short answer is a big fat NO!
It stayed in storage for a long time until my buddy who is not a car guy decides that he wants to daily this thing and haul his dogs around. Long story short, he seizes the engine due to oil starvation bec a service light did not come to remind him that the car was due for a service unlike his modern Acura.
Life gets in the way, car gets flat bedded to their property in the middle of no where Canada for 2 years until I get the call. I sent a friend up there to take a look at it and he tells me that I do not want it back. After sitting like this for 2 years, farm animals chewed through pretty much everything and most likely she will never be the same again. It had a little over 40K miles and one of the saddest moments in my life was seeing the final pictures of the car that started it all for me. I did try to bring it back to Seattle due to its low miles and straight body but importing / transporting a non-running car back to US is a major hassle.

These are the last images of my old friend that I have. I understand that she was sold for scrap later on.





To be continued.
 
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#56 · (Edited)
Let's Detail this thing!

Again back in the day one of the very 1st things I would do would be to order a new rectangle OEM tailpipe. Well, they are NLA....

So, the thing to do is fix / repair the existing one new again! NP.



Lets hit the trunk, spare wheel area next and detail those guys and bring the air-pressure on the spare to spec.



Interior......: It was in new condition to begin with but leather can always use cleaning / conditioning and alcantara can use some of my touch. All responded perfectly, of course.







Next Exterior:

This was a long process and i can get into the details if anyone is interested but it all started with decon, trim removal and preparing the paint for my multi stage correction.







Lets get to work and see the condition of the paint. -It was actually in very good condition for a single stage paint with very minimal oxidation. I decided to use green pad along with very gentle polish to remove swirls, oxidation and other imperfections.



While I was in the middle of all of this, some goodies from George at Viva that they made for the car arrived along with an old style UK plate from Fancy Plates & WA plates. Thanks, George for putting up with me with all of my requests!





.....and the detailing continues.
 
#380 ·
While I was in the middle of all of this, some goodies from George at Viva that they made for the car arrived along with an old style UK plate from Fancy Plates & WA plates. Thanks, George for putting up with me with all of my requests!





.....and the detailing continues.
Hey, did the steering wheel and the arm rest come from George too? If not, where did you get them lol.

FML, my wife is going to be mad I'm into Volvos again lmao

EDIT - Nvm, I see them on their site. Worth the price?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: ZZZZZZZ and JaredR
#60 ·
This car is much nicer than either of my 850's could dream to be. Good catch and nice work, excited to see what comes in the future. I wish someone would put out a polishing guide on these cars so I could make mine really shine :)
 
#62 ·
I'm definitely curious to hear what you did. My experience has been the same, though; the single stage on these cars has never given me trouble.
 
#67 ·
Not a zoom class but I can do a quick write up and provide links to the products that I have used.

Car's paint isn't 100% perfect (I am picky) as I won't do aggressive polishing on a single stage paint but it looks pretty darn good.

This is awesome! I'd love to come check this out in Seattle sometime, at a distance of course if you wish, or under better circumstances :)
Of course! There are several cars & coffee gatherings I try to attend when we are allowed.

Great story and thx for sharing. I have contemplated the addition of a yellow to my stable over the past few years, but given that my ultimate objective was an estate and I accepted that my odds are/were admittedly slim, I have demurred taking on a serious search. However, having recently inspected (and drooled over) a local yellow sedan and reading through your story, I am thinking I may now entertain this option as well. I, like you, are a patient person and am willing to wait for the 'right' one to come along, noting that I searched for the better part of three years to find my ES. To this end, JaredR's suggestion to explore the European market is not lost on me. Your detailing prowess is also similar to mine in that clay bar is my friend and one could eat off the doorjambs on any of my vehicles, lol. I once sold a black Xterra to an equally anal individual (he owned a black E30 M3) who commented that now he understood what it would be like to buy a car from himself, which I took as a compliment. Anyways - again, thanks for telling your story - greatly enjoyed!
Great story!

Being patience and being financially ready are the two key items. I know there are more of these these cars with low miles laying around on this side of the pond.

EU route is an option of course if you are looking for a "forever" type of a car as their prices are no joke, plus the shipping costs of course.
 
#64 ·
LOL
 
#66 ·
Great story and thx for sharing. I have contemplated the addition of a yellow to my stable over the past few years, but given that my ultimate objective was an estate and I accepted that my odds are/were admittedly slim, I have demurred taking on a serious search. However, having recently inspected (and drooled over) a local yellow sedan and reading through your story, I am thinking I may now entertain this option as well. I, like you, are a patient person and am willing to wait for the 'right' one to come along, noting that I searched for the better part of three years to find my ES. To this end, JaredR's suggestion to explore the European market is not lost on me. Your detailing prowess is also similar to mine in that clay bar is my friend and one could eat off the doorjambs on any of my vehicles, lol. I once sold a black Xterra to an equally anal individual (he owned a black E30 M3) who commented that now he understood what it would be like to buy a car from himself, which I took as a compliment. Anyways - again, thanks for telling your story - greatly enjoyed!
 
#68 · (Edited)
OK more about the car.

She became a daily driver juuuuuuust for a bit.

My lease was coming to an end on my 535 (best BMW I have owned) and I decided to delay ordering its replacement. I knew BMW was making mid year upgrades in July produced cars so I did not put in my order until July 2019 to make sure I get a July production car. But that meant I did not have a daily until Sep time frame.

The good news is that my commute isn't that long and this would give me some ideas of what 850 needs or how she behaves as a daily driven car...... on sunny days of course. MINI ended up with rainy day duties but we had a great summer overall.

This was the last pic of the 535 I took and BMW Seattle sold her within 2 days of my return. Turning in a leased car is a really weird feeling for sure.



Meanwhile on the daily driver front, here is her 1st tank of gas!!!



We are getting used to each other just fine and I have to keep reminding myself that this car doesn't have all the safety features of the BMW like blind spot monitoring, 6 different cameras, lane assist and park distance control. I know I sound like an idiot but it is amazing how one gets use to technology. Of course none of the other guys in the garage have those type of tech but they are toys and are driven when needed. At the end of the day, all I needed on the 850 was a Bluetooth device to take my calls over. I have this chargeable thing that goes on the visor and that is the only tech I really needed. :)

Well...... the 1st tank of gas did not go THAT well.

Next morning the garage smelled like if someone was to light a match, we would all go BOOM!

After searching for obvious leaks I was able to pin point what is going on....... - Fuel Pump!

It could of been the seal, cap or the actual pump itself. After inspecting all the lines it was clear that the lines were all fine and the suspect is the pump and its components.

So I decided to replace everything while I am in there.......







And that was it! That was the only glitch she gave me for the 2 months of being my daily driver. She sure brought back bunch of memories and I kept making a list of all the goodies that I wanted to spoiler her with......

By the end of the summer, the replacement car came in (yes, it was delivered untouched with all the plastic) as well as a custom made lingerie for the 850. Just in time for winter storage! I call winter storage an opportunity to install newly acquired parts!!!!





But the Mrs had completely different plans for us all............
 
#70 ·
Did you PPF the new lenses? I just ordered some new ones from Skandix for my sedan (i'll move my used ones to the wagon) and I think I want to get them protected against rocks and sand
 
#76 · (Edited)
Remember when I said Mrs had other plans.

We have been wanting to get the interior of our house painted for a while. It was one of those things that was on the "to do" list but nothing urgent.

Well, our regular painter calls us up in Dec and offers a huge discount for the job if we get it done in Feb. I decided to take advantage of the situation and countered by saying he has a deal if he paints my garage as well. He accepted and I decided to address some of the stuff on my own "to do" list for the garage. This was all pre-covid and most of this stuff have been keeping me busy during the lockdown

Garage To Do:

-New 6 bulb fixture 5000K Lights
-Stainless Steel Shelves
-New Cabinets & workbench
-New heater

My old LED lights that the house came with vs the New lights



Of course the garage paint day ended up being the rainiest day in 2020 so far where all the cars were outside. Good thing is that they are not made out of sugar and did not melt away! :p

Int Paint & Lights & Heater Done





Next came the cabinets...... These were all delivered right before Covid shutdown. Timing couldn't of been better. It took me a while to assemble them all and I took my sweet time.





Now, Volvo has a redecorated room.

My only advice is that Do NOT get your house painted in the middle of the winter no matter what the discount is. The overall experience wasn't that great but everything turned out just fine.
 
#77 ·
Remember when I said Mrs had other plans.

We have been wanting to get the interior of our house painted for a while. It was one of those things that was on the "to do" list but nothing urgent.

Well, our regular painter calls us up in Dec and offers a huge discount for the job if we get it done in Feb. I decided to take advantage of the situation and countered by saying he has a deal if he paints my garage as well. He accepted and I decided to address some of the stuff on my own "to do" list for the garage. This was all pre-covid and most of this stuff have been keeping me busy during the lockdown

Garage To Do:

-New 6 bulb fixture 5000K Lights
-Stainless Steel Shelves
-New Cabinets & workbench
-New heater

My old LED lights that the house came with vs the New lights



Of course the garage paint day ended up being the rainiest day in 2020 so far where all the cars were outside. Good thing is that they are not made out of sugar and did not melt away!


Int Paint & Lights & Heater Done





Next came the cabinets...... These were all delivered right before Covid shutdown. Timing couldn't of been better. It took me a while to assemble them all and I took my sweet time.





Now, Volvo has a redecorated room.

My only advice is that Do NOT get your house painted in the middle of the winter no matter what the discount is. The overall experience wasn't that great but everything turned out just fine.
Looks great! Do you by chance follow Matt from Obsessed Garage? The cabinet array/lighting/swisstrax looks greatly inspired by him
 
#81 ·
During quarantine, many of the small businesses that I have been using for years have been hit pretty hard. This included the folks that does paint protection film for me.

So I called them up and asked if they would be willing to do some custom work for an old Volvo. The answer was a big YES and took the car in the next day.

I had the full hood, headlights covered and all factory pieces replaced. Removing 25 year old factory pieces was not fun but we did it. We also installed very small custom pieces on the fender above the turn signals to protect those particular areas.

Then I took some Spring pictures as we had a beautiful Spring in Seattle.

1st pic during OEM pieces removal..... Shop refused to remove them alone as they did not want to damage my car (owner know how crazy I am lol). So this is a task we all did together.



Custom front pieces (look carefully), they are there



Rear Panels (After)



Trunk pieces (After)







 
#83 ·
Hahaha I love how they recommend unscrewing the door lock pin
 
#85 ·
It is interesting how these cars vary with their problems from one to the other.

The 220K wagon had zero problems with its seats and they all worked perfectly. None of my other 850s also had any type of seat problems.

But apparently, cables that control the rear tilt function going bad is a common problems for these guys.

Sure enough, the front seats did not recline on this car since it arrived. From the records, it looks like a dealer looked at it in the past but the PO declined the repairs.

This wasn't something that was really bothering me at all as they were stuck in a position that I was fine with but since we are all stuck at home, its raining buckets outside, so why not fix them?

Super easy fix and now I have 100% functioning front seats :D



 
#86 ·
It is interesting how these cars vary with their problems from one to the other.

The 220K wagon had zero problems with its seats and they all worked perfectly. None of my other 850s also had any type of seat problems.

But apparently, cables that control the rear tilt function going bad is a common problems for these guys.

Sure enough, the front seats did not recline on this car since it arrived. From the records, it looks like a dealer looked at it in the past but the PO declined the repairs.

This wasn't something that was really bothering me at all as they were stuck in a position that I was fine with but since we are all stuck at home, its raining buckets outside, so why not fix them?

Super easy fix and now I have 100% functioning front seats




I need to do this too. Seats haven't reclined since I bought it but I've been too nervous to try to tackle it. Also the heated seats don't work on either side. That one is less important to me since it's only a summer car
 
#88 ·
Well, her modeling career is off to a good start. She will be featured in a local car magazine and we did a 4 hr photo shoot last night in Ballard, Washington where the 1st Scandinavian fisherman settled into this area. She may or may not been getting a spa treatment all weekend to get ready for the shoot

The shoot started at the main entrance of the brand new National Nordic Museum and then we headed off the docs to shoot her against sunset and the Cascade mountains.

These are clearly my photos but can not wait to share the professional ones as well as the magazine article once it gets published. :)













 
#90 ·
Excellent!
 
#93 ·
1st of all, Jared, Thank You for pointing out the wrong headlight! That problem is now solved, waiting for install.



Then thanks to John (Parsnip) for pointing out this part in one of your posts. It absolutely completes the undercarriage of the 850 per the car's original design. Not sure why these covers were not installed at the factory.

Volvo still makes them and they can be ordered from the dealer. Since my car sits on a lift most of the time, I had to get this! Volvo Part# 1397236





 
#96 ·
Definitely Japanese; you can tell by the plate bracket, if not the Japanese signs on the buildings.
 
#97 ·
Wow, the car looks just a beautiful from below as it does above! Bet you could make some $$$ from Volvo for their historical showroom, but I know you would never do that. Actually, your garage rivals most showrooms lol.
 
#102 ·
Thanks for the kind words. I think Volvo kept enough of these for themselves. There is a zero mile sedan at the Volvo museum in Sweden and there are 2 (sedan and a wagon) at Volvo's US HQ in New Jersey. Wagon is displayed at a common area but the sedan is tucked away.

Looking good and glad I've helped. From what I know the undertray was fitted only to very few petrol engines but all the the diesel versions were fitted. I don't know why Volvo did that but like you my car is often on the lift and seeing that void covered makes it look a lot better

Show me your bottom and I'll show you mine... :whistle:

The way you take care of that car is totally up my alley John. Love looking at the pics you post and thanks again for the tip on the engine cover.
 
#98 ·
Definitely Japanese; you can tell by the plate bracket, if not the Japanese signs on the buildings.
 
#99 ·
Looking good and glad I've helped. From what I know the undertray was fitted only to very few petrol engines but all the the diesel versions were fitted. I don't know why Volvo did that but like you my car is often on the lift and seeing that void covered makes it look a lot better

Show me your bottom and I'll show you mine... :whistle:

 
#105 ·
Looks fantastic. I feel inspired hahaha
 
#106 · (Edited)
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