Major mechanical repairs have been done so far.
* New drive shaft
* New left and right control arms
Other mechanical:
* New Conti DWS06 (205/50/R16)
* Remove and Replace Upper Radiator Hose
* Replace Cabin Air Filter
* Replace Engine Air Filter
* Synthetic LOF change with liquimoly friction reducer
* 4 wheel alignment
Regarding Exterior:
I spent the weekend renewing the paint finish. This involved a three step process over the whole car, after wet sanding a few deep scratch areas:
* Cyclo machined compound
* Cyclo machined Polish and Swirl remover
* Cyclo machined paint sealant
The finish looks really good, with the exception of minor road rash on the hood, and major issues with the front and rear bumpers.
So, I have an appt to have a local shop to:
* Remove
* Repair / Refinish
* Repaint
the front and rear bumpers. Cost $400 / bumper due to the amount of work to refinish (rather than just spray paint) them.
Regarding Hardware:
The car is at Volvo of Overland Park today to have the front door lock mechanism repaired. It may be as simple as the internal bar, but the lock cylinder does not work and the pull handle is loose and does not always spring back to closed position. Price TBD. They are also cutting a new key an programming an inoperable key FOB. This was an unwelcome surprise.
I have a broken door light widget on order from IPD or FCP.
Regarding Interior:
I have an appointment to have the front seats repaired while the car is at the paint shop.
A local interior upholstery shop is going to sew new black, hand diamond stitched Alcantera into the existing seat skins. Volvo dealer wanted
* $232 for 9190162-9 padding
* $91.60 for 30657279-1 seat heater pad
for a total of $352.46 to restore the padding. I thought this was too expensive, so the upholstery shop will do the best they can with cutting and wrapping high density foam where needed to bolster the seat sides and back. Cost $375 per seat, for a cost of $750 total for the front seat restore. The leather is still very good, and he will touch up any spots needing dye.
The plan is to restore the rear seat Alcantera with soft towels, soapy water, (or 70% water / 30% alcohol), and then slow circular sand with 2000 grit sandpaper to remove pills and imperfections.
A weathertec rear mat has arrived so the German Shepherd does not screw up the back hatch area. I was very pleased to see this car has the integrated cargo net to keep him from sloberring on the seat backs. Volvo Rubber R inscribed floor mats are on order.
I have lots of squeaks and rattles. Not sure what to do about that. I have put rubber tape and friction electrical tape around the rear seat latches and the rear door latch mechanism. That helped some. Any threads or ideas, especially where rattles from the rear plastic come from would be appreciated!
The most OCD dent guy around is going to remove door panel dings this weekend. Excited to see how it looks after that. I will post pictures. We decided to defer addressing dings on the hood, for now, because it requires removing the headliner, and I don’t want to go down that path…. Many people would never notice the few dings on the roof….
I am considering what to do to replace a previously installed, and now old, double din DUAL DVD player. I don’t want to pay more for the stereo upgrade than I did for the car. I need instructions how to pull it out, and I may just swap in a Kenwood with bluetooth streaming and phone. The owner was careful to power all speakers including the center channel, and I don’t want to loose that functionality. But I don’t want to spend much on sound…. unless it is new cat back…
The Vanity plate V70R is on order!
Its been fun! Looking forward to suggestions on the items underway!