OK, thanks to some kind advice, I've got my immediate electrical issues with my "new" 1985 Volvo 740T taken care of. The interior lights work again, and the damnable noisemaker relay has been removed. However...

I'm having some turbo issues. When I first drove the car after insuring it, when I finally felt comfortable really letting the turbo kick in, it seemed to work fine; I'd hear a rising-pitch whining noise and suddenly be doing 45 in 2nd gear :) . The turbo gauge seemed to come up to maybe the 12:30 or 1:00 position when it really kicked in. I may have hit 5000 RPM once or twice during this process.

(Yes, I should have had the car properly serviced first. But as-is this is the fastest and nicest car I've ever owned, so please cut me a lil' slack.)

After a couple of days, I was driving to the bank on payday to deposit my check. On the way back, as I made a turn from a dead stop and gunned it in 2nd to get up to speed, the turbo started to rev up then dropped back down again. Since then, the turbo has either come up to just below the yellow zone in 2nd, or just barely gotten into it. In 3rd, the turbo comes up to perhaps 11:00. In 4th and OD, the turbo appears to be operating normally. However, it doesn't feel like I had quite the boost that I used to. OTOH, I've only rarely had the chance to really get it into the high-gear boost range in the five days I've owned it. Basically, right now, it feels like a barely-turbo car; I can hear and feel the turbo (which still sounds fine) but the turbo isn't going as high as it used to and

So I know I should first check all the hoses, then take it to a competent mechanic who knows their bricks. However, I can't do that right away, given my work schedule. I'm wondering how much risk of damage there is for me to drive it until then, putting perhaps 300 highway miles and 30 city miles on it. If I drive it like a granny, never giving the turbo a chance to engage, will that help?