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I guess this is an odd place to make my first post on this board but...
I was bitten by the bug a number of years ago. It was cured by a Saab addiction for a number of years. I then stumbled across (just recently) a 1982 245 DL in fantastic condition. It had to be mine and so it was.
As an aside, the person tried to sell it to me for just $300. I told them that was too low and gave them $500.
My prior Volvos had all been fairly decent and never had anything to repair really other than the normal things that I had done at by a mechanic.
The "new" Volvo has nothing in it to repair other than some minor cosmetic work. The headlight assembly should be fixed as it has the traditional screw holding the parking lights to the headlights. The rear brake light assembly has a couple of cracks in it so I figure that should be replaced at some point too.
Anyhow, I digress... I'm writing this to share my fortunate experiences.
Knowing that I'd probably want to fix all of those things and knowing that I'm still just as curious as ever, I started looking around. I found a Duett in the back of someone's field as I was driving by and stopped in to ask the owner about it. (Yeah, I'm like that.)
He didn't mind and we spent a couple of hours talking about Volvos and drinking a couple of beers. As we were nearing the end of our discussion (I was running out of beer and wanted to get to the store before it closed) I asked him if he knew of any other Volvos in back fields or what not. I figured the car wasn't *that* old but it would certainly be beneficial for me to find a parts car as it is my intention to keep this car as my daily driver during the summer. (It simply is that nice, I'm the second owner and the elderly lady who owned it prior maintained fantastically - meaning not even squeaks or bumps on old Maine roads.)
To make a short story long, he then went on to look at me as if I were from another planet (I'm thinking Canada, yeah, he looked at me as if I were from Canada) and he sputtered for a few moments before asking me, "Err... You mean you don't know about A. C. Wheeler?" I told him I did not.
He then told me that about a 'Volvo junkyard' out in Leeds, Maine. He asked if I knew where the Jennings Road was and I told him that I did - I actually drive out that way almost every time I need to go down that direction though it is nowhere near my home.
It seems there is a sign on the side of the road that I must have passed hundreds of times. I'd never once noticed it. That may well be for the best as I would certainly have even less money if I'd seen the place before.
Yesterday I made my maiden voyage to A. C. Vintage Volvo and found out where old Volvos go to die. There are a pile of old Volvos out through the woods and what not. There are a number of them that are even for sale but the ones out back are mostly just junk but have scads of good parts still left on them. Unlike any of the other pick your own yards I've been to, this one was fantastic. There weren't any maps. There weren't any people out there to help. There were just cars in various states of disrepair and a lot of them. I think that there was at least some relic of most model years from the late 50's to the mid 90's.
It was a pick your own type of deal but I didn't need any parts on that day. So... I mostly picked his brain and have decided that his hourly mechanic prices aren't bad at all and are certainly worth it.
I said all of that to say this...
It seems to me that if you're able to find a yard where the cars are all of the same type and is obviously for enthusiasts then you're likely to find that the part pullers using more care and respect. I am not positive but I think it may be due to a respect for the car, even if it is junk, or it may be that they respect their fellow enthusiasts.
Hmm... No...
It is probably because they do not know when they themselves are going to need the parts so they're being careful to not break 'em. :)
Anyhow, I was happy to find the place and wandering through gave me no help for my volvoitis. I was once cured you know -- it can be done. I was once an ex-smoker too. It seems to be a bit like that. The worst part is now that I've been there and have seen it? There is a 1979 262GL with only 21k on it that I think I might like to own...
Damn it... *sighs*
I didn't need the money anyhow.
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