Jesse,

You are in for a real treat driving you 850 with a stick. I have two 1996 850 GLT wagons, both manuals. One I purchased new (red) the other was a used Volvo VIP car I purchased through a Volvo dealership (silver). I have dealing with dealers, but it was the only manual 850 wagon I could find in the market.

By the way, kudos to you for having the courage and skills to swap out an automatic for a manual transmission. In my opinion you have performed the equivalent of “automotive brain surgery”. You made an alteration that is typically only done inside a factory.

My red 850 has 365,000 miles and the silver has 290,000 miles. I try to take good care of them, but realize when they are finally retired, I will probably have no choice but replace them with automatics. I’ll still be driving Volvos (I confess I drank the “Koolaide” with the brand), they will just be equipped with automatics. From what I’ve read, it actually costs more money now to make cars with manual transmissions. Also with the advent of CVT and 8 speed transmissions the traditional mpg advantage that manuals offered in term of getting better mileage is disappearing. I hope to still have my 850 wagons long enough to teach my youngest daughter (now a freshmen in high school) how to drive a stick. My two older daughters know how.

Knowing how to drive a stick, will be a skill that will eventually disappear. I guess it is progress, but I’ll miss it.

Hugh