Well, I figured it was high time I started a thread about my new car. It looks like she'll be sticking around now for a while, and with the Smurf gone, I now have some extra room in the garage, and a bit more time to focus on other things.
For those that don't know, in the fall I purchased a 1990 745T with M46 from a Valentine Volvo tech in Calgary. The car had been purchased from Valentine and owned by someone who worked at Valentine since day one. After a bit of a process, and some last-minute speedy driving from Matt, I managed to land the car. A huge thanks to Matt for his help in that.
The car was very clean for something with 300,000kms. There is zero rust that I can see, although there has likely been a respray on certain panels at some point. Some of the panel gaps are iffy, so I'm sure there's been a few small accidents. The interior is near perfect, and everything appears to have been pretty well maintained....Volvo battery, correct filters, clean engine bay etc. etc. It's been lowered on IPD springs. It even came the correct mats, a cargo mat, with an okay stereo, summers and winters, and a few spare parts. I was stoked, but a little hesitant to buy anything but a 240. I've liked a few 700 series cars over the years, and driven plenty, but never owned one. But since then, I've warmed up to this one a bit. It's much quieter, faster, better on gas, easier to drive, better on the highway, and doesn't have horrible fumes pouring out of the hood.
I've just had to get used to the wacky seat belts, a bad armrest which I've since replaced, and driving around feeling a little less like I'm in a really really cool car. It just doesn't have the presence of the Smurf sadly.
At any rate, besides some detailing, a new windshield, putting my rack on, and a new armrest, I've done nothing to the car for a change. It's kinda a relief. So here's some photos.
After I first got her home.
Winters.
NOS rear bumper cover.
Spare 530 head.
After a good detail.
Rear seats looked like they've never been used. And the tailgate carpet is near perfect.
Plans are to do basically nothing...thus, the "Anti-Project." It needs new struts/shocks, a hazard switch, and maybe some fog or driving lights. The bumpers are quite grey, so they need to be re-blackened. The transmission grinds going into reverse most of the time, and is a little tough to throw the rest of the time. I'll flush the fluid to see if that helps. The idle is rough at certain points, and nearly stalls at others, and there's a bit of a hesitation at certain revs, so I'm guessing there's a vacuum leak, or perhaps a bad intake gasket. A good stage zero will help as well. Beyond that, I might bump the boost up. Hopefully the rest of the time I can be working on the YROG!
Oh, and the name....well...my co-worker won the contest to pick the name. Black leather/red paint=something sexy. Thus the Hot Pants. I hate it already.
