I posted on turbobricks.org, and they said this board would be more helpful for my questions... I've read some of the FAQs, and there are a lot. Most of those are how tos, and not really opinions or advice, so I now begin my quest...

Hi all, I know some of these (actually, probably all) are going to be repeats, but here goes.... You can skip to the questions if you don't want to read the story. I get long winded sometimes.

I just got a 1985 Volvo 744t (I'm guessing the second 4 is for 4 doors, right?). It has a blown head gasket and the climate control fan doesn't work. It started making lots of noise, and eventually died. The rest of the interior is pretty much mint. The dash is only slightly cracked, and the seats are in really good shape. The automatic transmission was replaced about a year ago with a used tranny, so I'm really not sure of its condition.

My father-in-law drove it down to a Volvo mechanic friend of his. The guy gave him a list of things wrong that included a blown head gasket, warped head, leaking manifold, etc... My father-in-law isn't interested in putting any money into fixing it, and he has no mechanical skills at all, so he is throwing in the towel on it. The mechanic was willing to buy it (obviously cheap), but I had first dibs. So I traded our oil burning, oil leaking, faded, 1990 Geo Prizm with a horrible salvage title for the Volvo. I thought I am getting a good deal, and he has another running car again. So we are both happy.

Now, here's the deal. This thing needs some work done on it. I have had some pretty good hands on experience with my 300ZXs, so I'm no stranger to turbos or getting greasy. Since I don't need a third car to drive right away, this isn't a rush job for me. I just want to get it right, and not have to worry about it for another 100,000+ miles. I plan on doing as much of the work as I can myself.

Now, my questions are:
1. Since I'm going to be taking the head off to have it checked and milled, is there anything else I should do or have done while it is off?
2. What is an average price to pay for having a head milled?
3. What kind of life expectancy do these transmissions have?
4. Anyone else have to pull the dash to replace the climate control fan? Is it all that difficult?
5. (For this question, please only state facts, I don't want to start a "that site sucks, this one rules" fight) I came across this site from another web forum that looked like is was more for newer volvos (S40, S60, 90+, etc...). Is there another forum that also deals with the "turbo brick" style Volvos? (like the nickname BTW). (you can e-mail me off board if you don't want to be pointed out.) I just want to keep my options open since I know message boards have their strong and weak points.
6. And with that, what Volvos (styles and years) are considered "turbo bricks" or is it really just "bricks"?
7. Any other little crap that usually goes wrong with the cars that I should be aware of and take care of before I put this thing back out on the road?
8. I haven't looked yet, but is there a factory service manual available for this vehicle? If so, best place to buy one? I'm going to be picking up a Haynes manual before I begin anything, so I won't be completely clueless.

Again, thanks for the help. I'll post pictures and stuff as soon as I get the car home.