Thanks Hugh!

Yes, my 850 has been great, but she's a baby with 91k miles. My grandmother bought her new in Southern California in '96 when I was 14. She's one of the first "new" cars I ever drove. My grandmother fell in love with the Autumn Gold color, and reluctantly got used to the turbo.

She gave me the car in 2009 when the auto died at 71k. I shipped it from CA to Boston. My friend and I sent the transmission to get rebuilt and I drove it for 5 years. At the Carlisle import show this year, someone was selling a manual swap kit. I knew what had to be done. Some of my friends graciously offered their time and lift and we got her swapped in a weekend.

I had already converted my '73 1800ES and '92 245 to manuals. So it was inevitable. I now have 4 manual Volvo wagons, including my '01 v70.

Anyway, the Grannywagon, my 855T, is a totally new and different car with the manual. I don't know why they never offered the 850T in a manual. I guess they corrected that with the s/v/c series.

Good luck with that car. I hope it's awesome.

Also, if you have 300k+ on yours, at the rate I'm going, I probably have another 50 years with my 850. :^)

-Jesse