I put the bertone door panels in my car many years ago and have conditioned the leather a couple times a year but otherwise haven’t touched them. Recently someone else noticed the veneer panels are looking a little faded and could use some cleaning and oil to keep them in shape. It had not even …
Category Archives: Cosmetic
Functional fogs
Well, sort of. Factory fog lights on 850s are more cosmetic than functional. But the single most annoying thing about them is that they do not turn on unless the low beam headlights are on. Which is a little frustrating because if it gets foggy enough to need fog lights then the low beam headlights …
960 wheel
This may be the fastest major change I have ever made to a car. In about a half hour I went from this: To this: It is a steering whee and airbag from a 96 960. I’m keeping my eye out for a leather s90/v90 wheel, but for now this vinyl wheel looks so much …
Wiper and hatch upgrades
A profitable day at the junkyard yielded a couple of small but significant upgrades I have been planning to make to the 850. These little things that make the car just a little nicer to drive or live with or make it more modern are by far my favorite sort of upgrades to make. The …
Polyurethane upgrades
After running over a large and unmarked speed bump at night I had an exhaust rattle that turned out to be the panel under the second O2 sensor having been bent up and vibrating on the exhaust. But before I figured that out I checked all the engine mounts out and noticed the transmission mount …
850 airbag
The passenger side airbag cover on most 850s ends up peeling up and in general looking terrible after a decade or two in the sun. Mine was irritating me and giving the car a ratty look. Fortunately a beautiful 850 GLT at the local junkyard donated its airbag and dash. If you have never replaced …
850 Rear Mudflaps
The R did not come with rear mudflaps for some reason, and because it rains in the northwest and occasionally people have to drive behind me I bought some rear mudflaps from Volvo and installed them this weekend. Pretty simple job and not only will the cars behind me see less spray and the rear …
New Shoes
Volvo show season and good weather are getting close and yet the 242 is currently riding on a mismatched set of wheels due to a tire failure. As long as I needed new rubber I decided to make a change.
Yearly cleaning
The wagon has been difficult to start after sitting for more than a few days and I’ve been trying to ignore it until warmer weather. Last time I drove it was stumbling badly when cold, so I figured it was time to move it into the garage and investigate. And since it will be inside …
Instrument updates
After 15 years I finally replaced the old cracked dash with a good condition one and took the opportunity to make a few small updates/upgrades while everything was exposed and the wiring was accessible. Cracked old dash: “New” dash: Second big update was swapping out the analog ambient temperature gauge in favor of a digital …