My name is Bobby and I am finally getting around to joining and posting on this site. I have been perusing this and similar forums for ages. I have an old history with Volvos, starting with a pumpkin-orange 1978 4-door sedan...don't recall the model, but I'm guessing it was a 240. That was a family relic. In 1997 I inherited a tan 1985 764 with a black leather interior, which introduced me to new levels of discomfort (failed blower during a hot, hot summer). After that experience I took a 10-year sabattical from Volvo.
I am now the owner and operator of a blue 98 S70 n/a manual trans. with 242k. This car has been a delight to drive, especially after suffering through base-model Chevy interiors. At the same time, it has been a terror for maintenance. I can't complain about it with the age and mileage, and it already has 20K more miles than my Chevy made it to before the engine blew. At this point, I am just really, really, really glad I have invested in tools. I think evey tool I own, with the exception of SAE wrenches and my compression testor, has been put to use on this car. I have bought more sizes of vacuum, fuel, and vapor hoses, not to mention fittings and elbows, than I ever knew existed. Considering I used to work in a shop, that says a lot...
Oh, yes, in a past life I was a professional mechanic at an automotive electric and A/C shop. We worked on a fair number of Volvos, mostly for A/C work, overheating, or tailgate wiring. This was back in the mid '90s, before many of the I-5 engines were hitting the shops. It has been well over a decade since I lived that life, and much of what I learned has gone to pasture.
Well, that's me in a nutshell. Hopefully I can be of use from time to time here
-Bobby
