Hey all! SO excited to be back after an 8 year hiatus! Strayed to Subaru and regretting it right now. Headed back to a real car, which is why I need some help.

I've owned lots of 240s and early 850s. I'm in desperate need of reliable and practical transportation. I just found a 2001 V70 T5 with a manual transmission. I've always longed for such a car. It has 228k but entirely new top end and lots of other stuff done by a local and reputable Volvo shop.

Work done...
1. Head gasket
2. valves (not sure about guides, looking into details)
3. timing belt
4. water pump
5. clutch
6. bored to clean up cylinders (broken spark plug)
7. new rings (not sure about pistons, looking into details)
8. exterior is in excellent condition
9. has some IPD stuff, grill, maybe other (still working on the exact details)
10. interior isn't great, but its not bad at all
11. newer (used) transmission, done around 180k(?)

I have little knowledge of there cars/engines relative to what I know about 240s. So my concerns are as follows...

1. Should I be worried about the bottom end of the engine with the current miles?
2. Status of turbo is unknown. Hoping for more details from seller. At 228k can I assume its not original? Is it suspect? Expensive fix?
3. Possibly lowered. I mentioned IPD stuff. The front end looks really low. Looks cool but I live on a long gravel driveway with lots of potholes. I would scrape going down it. Is swapping to stock springs a lot of work?
4. Anything else?

Price is $4000. And no, I won't tell you where to find the car. :-)

I know there's a wealth of knowledge on this site. You folks have been awesome and helped me thru head jobs, transmission swaps and a myriad of other stuff. I'm really excited to be back.

Thanks a ton!
Ben