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Mike K's '79 242 Barn Car Revival

The bug has bitten. :lol:

If you are going to go to another autox try raising the front just a little and dropping the rear as far as possible. Remove rear sway bar also.

Yeah I've been thinking of doing these two things already. The back end is pretty snappy, the power delivery of the holset doesn't help. After spending so much time just dicking with the car it was so satisfying to just go run the damn thing. Really glad I did it.
 
This thread gives me warm and fuzzies. I luff this car. :love:

Thanks! I've just been happy that I'm an imgur user and the thread is intact, although it made me realize I need to backup the thread should anything happen.

Also thanks for the bump and a good excuse to post this picture that eeuro put up from the autocross.

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i'm going to drive that car.

have you thought about painting the front lip body color? or did you actively elect to paint it black?
 
i'm going to drive that car.

have you thought about painting the front lip body color? or did you actively elect to paint it black?

I did give it a coat of SEM when I refurb'd the skinny bumpers. Never really thought about body color, but think I like the black... having a hard time picturing it beige.

Was actually just browsing paint guns online... still have half a plan to give this thing a proper paint over the winter. One of my bigger concerns with that is getting the color right!
 
Paint looks pretty great from the photos, although I haven't seen it in person I'd say it's a great looking car as-is.
Have you considered leaving it alone? It's only original once...as they say...
 
Paint looks pretty great from the photos, although I haven't seen it in person I'd say it's a great looking car as-is.
Have you considered leaving it alone? It's only original once...as they say...

The car got a decent complete re spray back in 99-00 with the PO. They put about an eighth inch of paint on it (hyperbole) which means we had plenty of single stage to cut and give a polish, so it does look pretty good. But it's got some runs and blisters, some lifting around lock cylinders that kinda stuff. Honestly most people don't notice but a truly good coat of paint will really elevate the car imo. The main thing is that the rockers are starting to go, so once we get started on body work we're going to go the whole way with it (as has become standard for all the projects..)

Have actually been thinking I'd like to try and retrace through the PO to who painted the car last time to talk about what paint they might've used.. The color match to stock is excellent, whereas I struggled to get it right with the paint in the engine bay/underside
 
i think the black lip works fine on your car, i'm just surprised. seems like so many guys match the lip.
 
I hear that your car was invited for showing in-doors at the Staggered show at Eastern States this weekend.

How'd it go?

He won ?trend setter?. I saw it inside and it?s super clean.

there was also a 240 drifting and another parked for showing outside.
 
Jeeze, it's time for the "season wrap up post" already?

Haven't had much to post on this car since the clutch went in, which is mostly because it just keeps running well, looking good, turning sharp, going fast... it hasn't missed a beat all year (granted I've driven it all of 1,600 miles since May). I've been running it at ~22psi since the clutch broke in.

But really the car has come together great, to the point where my main issue right now is squeaks and buzzes from the interior (anyone got tips for shutting up my glovebox and doorpanel/door sill rubs?) I have a list of things I want to do next, but have put them off to be done in late winter/early spring after we have knocked out a chunk of work on the 943.

I hear that your car was invited for showing in-doors at the Staggered show at Eastern States this weekend.
How'd it go?

We all know you know! :-P Yeah.. we brought the car to the Staggered Auto Show this weekend which is mixed-make but leans towards the VW crowd a bit, so it's a much different kind of show than I have been to in the past. I submitted pictures of the car and they picked it as one of a few dozen to be parked indoors for showing. I was pretty happy with this based on the level of some of the cars they bring in, so it was cool to have the Volvo inside out of the rain, and yes it was the only Volvo in the building! There were a lot of nicely finished VW's there that really made me want to paint the car...

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I didn't spend a lot of time around the car, but when I did I had more than one guy ask me if the car was a diesel. I tried not to be visibly offended :lol: but I couldn't understand where that was coming from (one guy said 'well it has injectors'??!) until one guy said he thought the DL trim level meant diesel! Kind of drove home the point that it was a crowd that really had 0 Volvo familiarity.

Despite that, the car got a really positive reaction and people seemed to get a kick out of it. Since I was parked inside I was kinda stuck until the bitter end of the show, so by default I was standing around for awards. Given the crowd and the size of the show I wasn't expecting anything, and as a 30-something white dude in a beige Volvo I was definitely NOT expecting to be called:

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Was very surprised, and honestly really proud of this one. Unlike the other shows where I just had to beat out a bunch of other old Volvos and SAABs this one was a win over some pretty seriously built cars, so it was really nice to see people appreciate it. I still think it's funny to call the car a "trend setter" but the organizer of the show told me the award is given in honor of their friend who started the show, and he was into things that were new/different/unexpected - and the Volvo evidently really caught them off guard.

He won ?trend setter?. I saw it inside and it?s super clean.

there was also a 240 drifting and another parked for showing outside.

Shoulda said hi! If I knew you were there I would have told you to follow me home and thrown a transmission or two in your trunk...

SO, there ya have it. Beige Volvos are now certified Neck Breakers and stance-crowd approved. Great way to cap off the year. Temps are starting to drop here which means the car is an animal in the morning when it's 45deg and the roads are chilly. Boost season! Next year a few things to make it go faster and a few to make it look better.
 
Thank you!


Mid forties in the morning this week, woo! It rips in this weather. The car is too fast for stock brakes... need to do something about that next year.

Yes. It's accidental highway burnouts season :S The extra 30 whp is awesome though!
 
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