A quick backstory: this vehicle was originally sold brand new in Baltimore, shipped to Florida, where it spent the first 8 years and 4 ETM’s of its’ life under the original owner. It had light damage to the front end, but is not noticeable to me. In late ’08 to early ’09, the car was brought to Detroit with just under 100k miles, where it sat on a dealer lot with a no start condition (assuming fuel pump, as it is in perfect shape and appears the rear subframe was dropped). Around 2012, two enthusiasts were sharing this car in the Detroit area. The car was still completely stock, and running great. One of these enthusiast was bought out of his share of the car in 2014, and the other member sold the car to my neighbor at this time. The car only had 110k miles.
This is it, taken in 2014
At age 14 in 2014, I had given little thought to Volvos. My dad, a 30 yr employee at Ford, had convinced me to dream about Mustangs and the brand new at the time Focus ST. I liked the styling of Volvos, but I did not do my research on these cars.
Later that summer, I began drivers training. My neighbor, owner and operator of Midwest ABS, broke his leg and was unable to drive. One day, he had me take him to the store in the wagon, making it the first car I had ever driven. He mentioned selling the car after he bought a new truck, but I could not afford it at the time. He wanted $3500 for it, which looking back was a great deal.
The following summer, I was looking for my first car. Still obsessed with the Focus, Fusion, Crown Vic, and Lincoln LS, My eyes still were not on Volvos. My dad was flipping cars though, and invested in an IAAI (Insurance Auto Auctions Incorporated) membership. Just 2 months before my 16th birthday, I bought my first car. A 2007 V50 2.4i with 80k miles for a whopping $750! A month later, I resurrected the car by simply plugging in the CEM (car was donated in non-running condition), and that’s it! I had that car for a little over a year and 25k miles of trouble-free driving!
My V50, next to my neighbors Sandstone (his ABS module test car), what is now Dan Maley’s Laser Blue that he’s M56 swapping, and of course, my Nautic still under the neighbor’s ownership. These two photos were taken in 2016.
Now here’s where it gets interesting: In this photo, the Nautic was no longer a daily driver. He was using both the Sandstone and Nautic as ABS module test vehicles for his Midwest ABS business. The Nautic had a positive side battery terminal failure, along with the immobilizer ring. My neighbor was sick of working on these cars, so here it sat… for a while.
All through high school I had an obsession with P1’s. I had the V50, then purchased and ’09 T5 AWD R-D, had a ’06 2.4i M56, ’07 T5 AWD, and an ‘04.5 T5 M66. The T5 R-Design was my baby that I was planning to keep and M66 swap, but I quickly learned that the RNC motors were not my thing.
All the previous P1’s during high school. Made some coin on a few!!
Eventually college happened and I needed a beater to abuse. I scored this in summer of 2019 for a mere $450, and did plenty of maintenance. This car won my heart, and is still regarded as the best Volvo I have ever owned! 2000 Moondust S70 AWD, 1-owner with 120k miles on the dash.
The car that made me fall back in love with P80’s, taken in 2019.
Just months later, I sold the S70. Sadly just weeks after, my S40 R-D jumped timing. I was done with P1’s.
When summer of 2020 came around, I desperately needed a job to pay for a car addiction and college. My neighbor at Midwest ABS reached out, and hired me to operate another one of his side hustles, a power wash company. Here I worked all summer under the table doing quality work. Halfway through the summer, my neighbor offered me the V70XC as a bonus for my hard work. No payment necessary.