Well, with the Blitzen needing a full overhaul, I have been hunting for a backup vehicle. I picked up an '04 Jeep Grand Cherokee that ended up needing vastly more work than I expected, and had to be abandoned. (It's a great vehicle, apart from the bent front axle, but I don't want a Jeep bad enough to fix that.)
So, the hunt was back on, and the next vehicle in my sights turns out to have been in my back yard for 2 years. I talked to the mechanic I rent from, and he offered up this 1998 Volvo V70 base model for $600. (Oh, no, not another cheap Euro car, haven't I learned my lesson?)
It got had a new head gasket, water pump, timing belt, and heater core installed before the previous owner was given a new(er) Prius for free and handed the title over to my mechanic. It then sat around for about 2 years, getting run for a few minutes here and there, when it needed to be moved around the yard. But i put a jump pack on it and it fired up instantly, zero hesitation. Sounds real good (if a little too quiet, that inline 5 needs to sing louder,) and makes no weird noises. Idles well, even after you take the jump pack off, but it dies if you give it throttle without the pack on. If it's still plugged in though, it revs real responsively.
It's got no sunroof, and no roof rails, for a nice, clean look, which I appreciate.
So, I'm gonna be back in a wagon again, this time with a funky 5-cylinder under the hood. Manual, cloth seats... but it still has butt warmers. Hell yeah. Plans for the time being are:
-Replace driver's side seat belt (Done)
-Get it running right (probably just a battery.)
-Deep, deep, deeeeeeep clean all the rodent life from it.
-New wiper blades.
-Give it a good, satisfying powerwash.
-Hippie sticker removal.
-Find some less stale front tires (they're not entirely cooked, but they're getting there.)
-Add some yellow Hella 500 fogs and white Hella 500 driving lights, both of which I already own.
-'06-'07 STi lip spoiler (Looks real, real good.)
-V70R rear wing (Stupid expensive, but so very nice looking.)
-Paint the wheels bronze
-Some kind of stereo upgrade shenanigans, probably.
-Replace the ceneter muffler with a glasspack/resonator.
-Install the free "DTM-Style" Exhaust tip I was given for free.
-Manual swap, some day, maybe, if it stays around long enough. Apparently, this is one of the last Volvos that this is relatively easy to manual swap.
also, unlike every Subaru I've owned... IT'S GREEN!
This is important to a very small section of my brain.