I located and negotiated to purchased yet another manual swap kit and it was delivered on March 2, 2023, so my spring was shaping up well to finally start going to town on the R. 😛 On March 3 however and while driving to an appointment in an area I was not entirely familiar with, I came to a stop behind a lifted 4X4. After a brief stop, he pulled away as did I and instead on maintaining forward momentum, he locked up his brakes at the precise moment I turned my head to locate an address. His bumper was at the ideal height to sheer off the top half of my bumper, grill and headlights and push my hood into my radiator and intercooler into the engine. WTH?? The result was as follows:
No airbags were deployed as we were likely only doing 5-10 MPH. After exchanging driver info, he explained that the driver in front of him locked up (her) brakes for no discernible reason. I had the R towed to my home and over the next few days went through the full range of emotions; rage, embarrassment, sorrow, frustration and an overwhelming sense that I had failed the R community. I then spent to next two months fighting our insurer to try to save it.
The following week however (March 7), a 2007 S60R was listed locally on CL for parting out – apparently the owner bought it in the US while attending university in WA, did a bunch of mods and then drove it home to Canada without properly importing it – when he went to insure it locally, he was refused. Shockingly, I was able to connect with him and he granted me first right of acquisition. I now had a donor car to help reduce the parts cost, which would increase my chances to save the VR. I picked it up the following weekend and had it towed to my home. The bonus was the 18” Pegs. Later that afternoon I also picked up a 2015 V60 as an interim daily driver.
So with a driveway full of Volvo’s, I continued to negotiate with my insurer who gave me great news in mid-July – as there was no frame or structural damage, they would repair the R and it would retain a clean title. WooHoo!! Off to the body shop it goes!
My body shop was great to work with as I had done a number of projects with them over the past 15 years and just last week, they advised that the R was ready for pick-up. After seven months, I finally was able to get behind the wheel and while there a couple of minor issues still to resolve, overall, I am ecstatic to have it back. I expect to drive it sparingly until the early spring and then start with the suspension works and then determine when to undertake the manual swap.
To summarize, it has been an emotional rollercoaster over the past seven months, but in all, I am happy with the outcome. Stay tuned for more.