Before I got the T-5R, I got this 850R. Before I got this 850R, I got a red/tan 850R estate from just north of Albany, NY, but, while it was sitting in a huge snowdrift in our yard last February, it got picked up by a front end loader that was supposed to be clearing the street, but ended up doing some off-roading in our front yard instead. This meant I needed another caR, so I bought this one off of the Atlanta Craigslist in April, 2015 with a blown engine and had it shipped up here. I was looking for another red/tan to replace the other one, but, given its cosmetic condition, what the guy was asking, and the fact that it was probably going to get parted out if I didn't buy it, this was simply too good a deal to pass up.
What's the history of this car?
It's an odd history since the original owner sold it. I have to wonder what the story is with that second guy who owned it for 4 years and only did 9k miles in it.
What have I done so far?
What does it still need/what am I planning on doing? (in no particular order)
Pictures!
This is what it looked like right after I vacuumed and washed it.
IMG_6903 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6904 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6909 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
The odometer works. Gear was replaced by the original owner at the dealer. Dealer pulled the mileage from the computer when they did this.
IMG_6911 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6938 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6939 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6941 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6947 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6951 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
What's the history of this car?
- 1996-08-01: OSD order placed. Original owner was a one star general in the Ohio Air National Guard.
- 1996-09-17: Temporary Swedish registration issued.
- 1996-09-23: Departed Sweden on M/S ATLANTIC CONCERT.
- 1996-10-15: Arrived in Baltimore with 16 miles on the odometer.
- 1996-10-22: Registered in Canal Winchester, OH.
- 2010-07-30: SOLD to second owner in Atlanta, GA, at 253k miles. The original owner took incredibly good care of it.
- 2014-05-29: "Sold" to 3rd owner at 262k miles. I say "sold" because this guy never actually transferred it to his name. I believe he had blown the engine by November, 2014.
- 2015-04-06: I agreed to buy it at 269k miles. This got complicated because the guy never transferred it into his name.
- 2016-01-27: Finally got a bill of sale from the 3rd "owner." Yay for VT's lax title laws. Luckily I have a copy of the title signed over to him and bill of sale from when he got it, so I can document the full chain of custody and that it wasn't stolen if I ever need to.
It's an odd history since the original owner sold it. I have to wonder what the story is with that second guy who owned it for 4 years and only did 9k miles in it.
What have I done so far?
- Vacuumed and washed it. This thing was a mess. The guy left tons of junk in there and the car was covered in pine pollen. It was bad...and there is still pine pollen coming out of the panel gaps.
- Somebody thought it would be a good idea to put in some really crappy Kenwood speakers in the front doors and take the tweeters out of the dash. Did a speaker swap from the wrecked R. Sounds good now.
- Aired it out. Still airing it out, actually. 3rd "owner" was a smoker.
- Bought some 850R floor mats on ebay. Pretty clear that there were some OEM Volvo mats in there until recently before I got it, but who knows where they went.
- Started process of engine removal. Got everything ready to pull the engine, but then we discovered the engine was seized when we tried to turn it over to pull the torque converter bolts. Bolted a steel bar on to the end of the crankshaft where the serpentine belt pulley attaches and broke out one of the bolts trying to get it moving. Going to pull the head and try to get it going from inside, and, if that fails, then I guess we'll pull the engine and transmission together and put the M66D in the this one now and do the T-5R later.
What does it still need/what am I planning on doing? (in no particular order)
- Needs a working engine!!
- MANUAL SWAP! Obviously...this will eventually happen even if it doesn't happen at the same time as the engine swap. Going to use a M66D. Going to to turn the sport/econ button into a boost controller as part of the swap.
- Need to buff out the paint. It is pretty badly oxidized from living outside in Atlanta, and I haven't been keeping up with the wax, either, since it was already bad when I got it.
- Needs a new headliner. The fabric was falling, so the previous owner tried to use some thumbtacks. That didn't work, so he just ripped it off and the fabric was in a big ball in the back when I got it. Oh, yeah, I got a lifetime supply of thumbtacks out of this deal, too.
- E-code lights.
- Needs a rear spoiler. Thinking about adding roof rails, too.
- Driver's door was damaged and replaced at some point. It was clearcoated when it was repainted, so I need to either find an original 609 door from a R that's getting parted, or have it repainted again in single stage. The clear that is on there is starting to show signs of failure.
- Might put in a SC-901 at some point.
- Maybe get another dash pad from somewhere and try to mod a dolby center speaker into it (anyone done this in an 850 yet?).
- Needs a new glovebox door because some clown tried to pry it open at some point.
- Needs to spend a day with a PDR guy. Surprisingly, there aren't any door dings, but there is a pretty good dent in the port A pillar, a small dent in the roof, and a crease that is only noticeable from certain angles in the starboard fender.
- Front bumper has a couple cracks. Hopefully I can address those without a full bumper respray but I think it probably will need a respray.
- Probably going to put in some heated rear seats and maybe some other goodies for the people in the back, like maybe an aux jack for the music management system I have planned, a P2 style armrest with the little storage bin, and some floor lights like the front seat gets. Maybe some P2 style B pillar air vents if I really go nuts.
- Going to add a music management system that has enough space for all of my music. Can't fit it all on a phone so this is going to have to be something clever....and I'm going to use a stock HU because I want to keep that '90s feel. Hoping I can do something where I can hook it up to my wi-fi network and sync music directly from my computer.
- Need to call up the original owner and see if he still has the OSD plates. Managed to track him down, but he's moved to AZ since he sold the car, so I'm not feeling optimistic. Failing that, maybe I can get some repro OSD plates. I have the temporary registration form with the reg number and expiration date on it.
Pictures!
This is what it looked like right after I vacuumed and washed it.
IMG_6903 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6904 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6909 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
The odometer works. Gear was replaced by the original owner at the dealer. Dealer pulled the mileage from the computer when they did this.
IMG_6911 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6938 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6939 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6941 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6947 by Jared R 945, on Flickr
IMG_6951 by Jared R 945, on Flickr