I love it! Reminds me of many many good times.

Here's one:

Up to Hartford, a 1-hour drive, to pick up a dirt cheap 79 264GL. It's 1990 or so... the car was really nice, and of course totaled in the rear. Runs, can move, the V6 was even strong, but it makes horrible noises when it moves. Horrible. The guys who own it are real inner city types, we're country boys (much more so than I am now) ... I mean naive kids. These guys have the windows blacked out, chrome strips 8 inch wide on the rockers with script "VOLVO GL" over that... the car's on crap wheels because they kept their big rims, and the trunk's gutted out because they just pulled the subwoofer box out to put it in their BMW 535. They have us sit in the back of the BMW while they fire it up. The 12 inch subs are against the seat back, and pretty soon I'm having both my eardrums and spine rearranged. Sounded good for what it was, but way too loud in that back seat. License plate rattling and all that.

So we finally get it up onto this junkyard homemade trailer, and tow it back home courtesy of another 244GL. The trailer itself has to weigh close to a ton, it's huge, rusty, and overbuilt out of 3x3 angle iron. So figure 5000 lbs on the hitch of the 244 for a 60 mile drive... well, Volvo is conservative on their towing ratings. It did fine of course. We offload the fresh new junk at my house.

We quickly find out why the car screeches. The huge scapula shaped crash plate behind the rear axle did its job in the collision, and folded the trunk up just like the crash test pictures. But now it's jammed outward right into the space between the rear caliper and the inside edge of the wheel rim. We unbolt it and the car rolls free. I suggest the gouged wheel should be replaced before we drive it. I am overruled. We fire it up. The V6 is strong. It's noisy too, as the exhaust was apparently rusty before the accident, and now is partly broken and partly missing. Sounds like crap. Well, it sounds like a 6 with an open exhaust. BZZZZZZFFFFFTTTT. Yeah!

We find out (we're 20, remember) that it can do a pretty decent hole shot, one wheel of course. Then we find out the real reason for letting it go so cheap... we drop it in reverse. It sits. Rev it up. It sits. Wind it up good to about 5000 rpm... BANG REEEEEEEEEEECHHH! The trans suddenly picks up and the 264 burns rubber in reverse. My neighbors are starting to notice. We put the junker out of sight quickly. In the end, that car fixed about a dozen other pre-85 240s. Pretty sure it went to the crusher with that useless B27 still between the strut towers though...

Fun fun fun!
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::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 M47 212K ::: 90 745GL M47 275K ::: 90 745T AW71 213K ::: 90 745T Parts Car ::: 88 245DL SOLD! ::: 84 242DL Project ::: 70 VW Bus ::: 70 VW Pickup Project ::: 71 VW Notchback :::