This all began when I first tried to build an Evo 5 off of a USDM Mirage chassis. This hooked me on this "Evo" thing at the height of the SCC culture.
Fast forward through life and the Evo 9MR (the last REAL Evo) gets released and I grab one. It's white. It's beautiful. And aside from IC pipes, exhaust and a tune it's stock and awesome.
ANNNNYWAY. This necessitated that I grab a winter car because salt. Glorious glorious salt.
Only requirements were.
1. Manual
2. RWD
3. Can't be something so classic that I need to buy anOTHER car because I get sad about ruining this one.
Enter 1987 Volvo 240 sedan.
I bought this car and the brake master cylinder failed AND all the needle bearings in the steering shaft fell out on the drive home. What a CAR!
I spent money on fixing those things. Bleeding the brakes and removing a salt soaked steering knuckle were the two projects that exposed me to Volvo's. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm still here.
Once those got sorted, I needed to tend to the fact that the car was only making 15mpg. Did the valves, tach, general tune up and boom... back up into the 20's. Then I bought GT springs and billy tourings, painted the steelies white, screwed some cut up floor mats to the wheel arches for mudflaps and went drifting around in the winter.
I was honestly SO impressed.
Sadly... as with every salt story... the salt takes what the salt wants.
So this car turned into my parts car and I "upgraded" after moving south. WAY south. To this.
1993 240 wagon in auto. Tan interior.
This car appeared on CL for something hilarious like $3500. Featuring THIS PICTURE! The car is literally in a field where it died. They were positive that it's battery died (while driving) and they limped it to there where it had sat for at least a year. The ODO was no good but they estimated it had 400k on it.
When I opened the tailgate, the trunk was filled with hay. ???
I popped the hood because I brought a battery (I'm no yob) to see what's what, but of course I pulled the oil cap first and there it was. The boogery mess of a blown HG. I explained all of this to them and advised them that they shouldn't attempt to drive or start it. Politely offered them (they were exceptionally nice) $300 and they declined and I left.
I contacted them again 2 days later as they were going to scrap it and I said I would pay $100 more than the scrapper. This of course ended up being $300.
Phoned up triple A and informed them that "I had just broken down while having dinner at a friends house". They sent a flatbed over, winched the car out of it's sunken in the field with low tires without asking a GD question and drove it an hour back to my house for me. What a service!
Anyway... I'm switching computers... so the thread will wait to get updated.
Spoiler alert.
Fast forward through life and the Evo 9MR (the last REAL Evo) gets released and I grab one. It's white. It's beautiful. And aside from IC pipes, exhaust and a tune it's stock and awesome.
ANNNNYWAY. This necessitated that I grab a winter car because salt. Glorious glorious salt.
Only requirements were.
1. Manual
2. RWD
3. Can't be something so classic that I need to buy anOTHER car because I get sad about ruining this one.
Enter 1987 Volvo 240 sedan.
I bought this car and the brake master cylinder failed AND all the needle bearings in the steering shaft fell out on the drive home. What a CAR!
I spent money on fixing those things. Bleeding the brakes and removing a salt soaked steering knuckle were the two projects that exposed me to Volvo's. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm still here.
Once those got sorted, I needed to tend to the fact that the car was only making 15mpg. Did the valves, tach, general tune up and boom... back up into the 20's. Then I bought GT springs and billy tourings, painted the steelies white, screwed some cut up floor mats to the wheel arches for mudflaps and went drifting around in the winter.
I was honestly SO impressed.
Sadly... as with every salt story... the salt takes what the salt wants.
So this car turned into my parts car and I "upgraded" after moving south. WAY south. To this.
1993 240 wagon in auto. Tan interior.
This car appeared on CL for something hilarious like $3500. Featuring THIS PICTURE! The car is literally in a field where it died. They were positive that it's battery died (while driving) and they limped it to there where it had sat for at least a year. The ODO was no good but they estimated it had 400k on it.
When I opened the tailgate, the trunk was filled with hay. ???
I popped the hood because I brought a battery (I'm no yob) to see what's what, but of course I pulled the oil cap first and there it was. The boogery mess of a blown HG. I explained all of this to them and advised them that they shouldn't attempt to drive or start it. Politely offered them (they were exceptionally nice) $300 and they declined and I left.
I contacted them again 2 days later as they were going to scrap it and I said I would pay $100 more than the scrapper. This of course ended up being $300.
Phoned up triple A and informed them that "I had just broken down while having dinner at a friends house". They sent a flatbed over, winched the car out of it's sunken in the field with low tires without asking a GD question and drove it an hour back to my house for me. What a service!
Anyway... I'm switching computers... so the thread will wait to get updated.
Spoiler alert.