Interesting story and that you have had this car only for a short while.

I think that the problems it has are in layers and the previous owner was looking for someone to give it some TLC. This car needs to be yours even though you sound a bit foreworn.

It is only my opinion, that the older Volvos need the same work at home in the garage as some newer aged German cars as Porsches and Italian Fiats categories. The production numbers vary greatly as so their survival rate. Volvos have held up well.
The early 80’s VW (the folk’s car) numbers were higher but their maintenance levels were far worse by half their age or the mid 90’s. In those days, if you worked on them in the garage, you bought yourself some insurance to keep you from having to work on them out on the highway. The same goes for today’s 20 to 30 year old classic Swedish (referred to as “tractors” in Sweden) Volvos running around, except I think we pay less for those insurance “premiums” out in pricey parts and work hours.

Today, VW has finally awakened to water cooled emission engines and a more spacious cars altogether. I do not know how overall maintenance and daily cost are going to be doing but they may out do the Volvo of today. Throw in Chinese ownership over a German establishment, well, save up your used car coins because, it is going to be toss!

Of course, Volvos were a more expensive car up front and that gives them, in my book, a best buy rating for a used vehicle today. The depreciation zombie eats any type of a cars value. It is harder to find any of the fore mentioned, to be as solid or inexpensive to maintain and as a reliable daily driver too boot. Be patient, it will pay off!

When I first read your story, it sounded like your gas tank was well below the half-full point. When you went up a hill and IF the in tank fuel pump is not feeding the main fuel pump, it will buck, snort and quit, as the tank gets lower and lower. Sometimes it is best to change the pump even though it may sound like it is running because the hose inside the tank may be rotten, which allows air to mix in or lose volume to the main pump. They can wear out almost together. A full tank may cure all this temporarily and is what makes you think you have it in good shape.

The things you mentioned in order the normal things to repair first. You have lifted away some layers of neglect already. You said you replaced the distributor for whatever reason but I wondered how the old was the timing belt and about all the timing marks connected to that distributor. Since you change the clutch, you have crawled around and under this car! I have to assume you have been in there and done that.

You said you change the fuel relays apparently to no avail. I thought about the RPM signal, which comes from the distributor on this car. That turns on everything first or it does nothing. No spark is a heads up. Listen for the pumps to run very shortly after releasing the key from crank position or as soon as the cranking stops.

You said you wiggled the wires down there. The $300 wire statement lost me, unless you meant the harness. My thought was yow, that is big dollars in my eyes and that would make my eyes very big, looking over that harness. I can become one heck of a wire tracer and pusher before I would swallow that pill!

The fuse panel can mess with your mind on these cars. Rainwater evaporates from your shoes off floorboard and gets on those connections. That doorjamb gets cold and the moisture vapor will migrate to those fuse tips. There is very little of an air exchange behind those covers and that means it can stay there quite a while. That metal on them does not do well under those conditions and turns whitish. I clean them by buffing them on denim (my pant leg always seems available) and then I coat all the holder clips with LPS 2. You can of course use your own favorite anticorrosion elixir.

Just keep peeling the layers off. Every time you clean your hands, you will feel much better, as you are closer to the beauty underneath. This is a car that you can learn to understand to its core, which by itself, is a comfort along with the pride of what you can do!

Life is a daily progression and reverse was not an option offered on the very first cars either.

FYI, Trains yards used round houses in their shops and it is how the company "Rotary Car Lifts" got their name.

Therefore, life does come with a rear view mirror!
Phil