So registered and titled her today and starting to poke around for my "to do" list.
The good is the for a 24 yr old car the body, interior and paint are in pretty good shape. So is the interior with the exception of 2 or 3 repairable tares on my drivers seat bottom. The engine & transmission were rebuilt approx 20,000 miles and and the turbo about 10,000 ago..windows , vacuum locks and sunroof all working well. The car was maintained for the most part but maybe let things go in the last few years......PO had it for only 6 -7 months to use for moving his grandpa's furniture around.
From him it came with a set of Black 17" BMW M3 wheels & correct spacers with driveable Michelins on front & almost new on rears. Fronts are on the car and rears not. AC was converted and blows nice and also cold. It is fast, RWD and shifts real well. The engine is dry and so is the underside which looks like a freight train.
I got this for a good price and with the above good traits it was a quick test drive, a nice talk with the PO, & call AAA to get her home. Looking for a RWD wagon with sunroof on craigslist is not easy. Came with a box full of Mann oil filters, a new unopened turbo brush kit, and a few other little extra parts.
List:
1) I was advised that guy the PO bought the wagon from put lower springs on the rear so to get the back rims on I would need to put normal springs back on . I will check on that tomorrow afternoon. Would be nice to have matching size tires asap and not drive around looking like I am living in my Volvo ......
2) No horn. Wiring not hooked up, and quite a mess. fuse is good.
3) My AC & Fan fuse just blew on my 2 times tonight so there is something shorting the system there. It worked fine all yesterday & today without shorting out but maybe tonights heavy rain exposed some bad wiring job.
4) Headlight switch just spins and the lights are in the "ON" position so need to fix that.
5) Drivers seat is off track for reclining seatback. tilts to the left if I go far back. It is ok now but would be nice to fix it.
6) ABS light is on and possibly related I was told brakes need to be bled. There are new upgraded IPD stainless steel brake lines on all 4 wheels. Pedal stops car ok but it is half soft.
7) Speedo, Fuel gauge, and Odometer are not working. Temp gauge seems to be working.
Dash cluster lighting is dim and seems to have a few burned out bulbs. The mileage on the wagon is roughly around the 250,000 mile mark and was purchased new at Ken Garff Volvo on 525 South State in Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. 3 years and 145,500 miles in Utah and the rest registered in Florida.
I can do a few DIY basic jobs but I also do not want to break things as I do them. I did somehow get lucky today and fixed my not moving electrics on the drivers seat by taking apart the control switch box and not sure but maybe squeezing it back together or shaking it got my seat controls working again.
I may try to install the rear springs tomorrow afternoon. I do see what looks like pretty new rear shocks in front of the rear axle. First time I saw rear springs with no shock inside the spring. I thought I had no rear shocks for a while. I wasn't able to make out the type shocks I have there but I was able to read partially Sensatrak on them, but they are all silver color and all the pics I see of Monroes are all black. I do have a good trusted Indie mechanic who I have used for a few older Mercedes and an 87 Porsche 924S. I probably will get up to him to have him check the car out and have him fix some of this like the horn and the electrical problems..
If anyone has any input or even a 760 wagon/Volvo guru in south Florida worth calling I do appreciate that too.
Thanks.......Austin
