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Hi, ya'll. I just posted to the 240 board for some DIY help. I bought an '81 GLE last year at loooong last. She's basically in fairly reliable daily driver condition, lots to work on but nothing critical yet. Very little rust even though her first owner lived in the cold salty Northeast. Too bad about the splotchy acid rain paint job, but she really looks better than lots of the Volvos I see out there. And when she's waxed - hoo wah! It's enough to distract you in the mall parking lot. I'm starting to take side trips here at work to take a gander at other Volvos parked nearby, and actually feeling a little superior when Red zips past students driving a rusty, dented Volvos. Sniff. I'm so car proud!
Now I'm starting to work on her and I'm having a blast. I'm a novice mechanic(i.e. my whitewalls are sparkling clean and so are those pretty blue wires connected to the red thingy). Lol! Reading the Brickboard has really been a confidence builder. I'm ready to to my first tuneup (thanks for all the how-to tips), which should solve the harsh idle and hard start. If not, I've got a checklist to work my way through after that, thanks to lurking around the Board for the last year.
Once I get this tuneup done (why am I just sitting here at work when it's 75 degrees and sunny in my driveway?), I'll start bringing Red up to a "known state." The maintenance records are sketchy, my mechanic gets a little too excited when I say "Just tell me what needs to be done", and I've got no real clue what's what about keeping a car running anyway. I'd rather go over each system and figure out what do repair/replace so I've got a clean slate, so to speak. I'll be asking for help pulling together a punch list, and maybe a 3-year plan for restoring her. Not doing anything cosmetic or convenience related until she's in solid mechanical shape, then things like a/c, interior and exterior can get done. Keep in mind, no matter how spiffy she gets, I'll still be hauling manure through fields with her.
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