960 Project Pt. 4 - End of Spring Almost Summer Updates

Since my last update back in February, I have had a lot of changes happen in my life. I went from an office job, to working full time for a local Volvo shop. I now do the marketing and classic car & car parts sales for Hailey Import Service. Due to this, I have been busy but lots of mods have been happening to my 960. My last update I had done a few comfort modifications, but I have upgraded the car even further. The car got a new dash carpet, full steam clean (again), and some much better air fresheners to remove the old musty smell. Using the ozone generator followed by an order remover disk I was able to neutralize the mold smell caused by the water leaks in the car. A re-sealed sunroof has also helped reduce water entry into the car.

Over the past few months, I have been driving the car on an almost daily basis, slowly building up a trust in its reliability. I have been able to do 2 round trips to visit my family in Charleston, SC and the car had no hiccups from the 4 hour drive each way.

Safety has also been improved with new lighting and taillights. I used LED upgrades in the lights and the difference was significant. Fahren LEDs were used for the headlights, and SNGL LEDs were used for the fog lights. Both kits were ordered with a 6600k color tone to give the car a clean white look up front.

One of the major issues I have had with this car have been the abused cosmetics. The paint is in rough shape in a lot of locations around the car, and does show signs of a respray at some point. During a washing session, the power washer took the paint on the rear drivers door clean off revealing a white door underneath. Since then I have begun the process of using vinyl wrap to cover the worst affected panels on the car. Avery gloss black has been used due to its cheap price, as well as its very close color match to Volvo 019 black color code.

Side shot showing the painted drivers door vs. the wrapped rear door.

The hood before. Note the clear coat spots and “crows feet” marks.

After, not 100% color accurate but much better.

Other additions to the car have mostly been cosmetic. A set of used corner lights from the UK were imported. I have always liked the clean look of clear lights up front. The set cost me about $80 when all said and done. Expensive, but around the going rate for a set in the US. A bonus was that they came with the sockets for a single filament bulb instead of dual like ours require.

1997 Volvo 960 Project Pt. 0 - $800 Worth of Headaches

If anyone who reads this follows me on social media, you will know that I recently picked up a 1997 Volvo 960 wagon off of Marketplace. The body is in pretty good condition, but its definitely a little rough around the edges. The car itself has over 190k on the clock, and all of its history up to this point is a mystery to me. Surprisingly I am only the 3rd owner of the car, and I intend, or at least hope to, get the car back into a running / driving condition.

While I was able to drive the car home, it definitely needs a lot of work before I would consider actually driving it anywhere. As it stands it needs (in no particular order):

1. Timing Belt and Serpentine Belt

2. Oil Change and Fluid Flush

3. Oil Cap Gasket

4. New Spark Plugs and Ignition Coil (Misfire on Cylinder 3)

5. New Idle Air Module

6. Headlight Bulbs

7. New Taillight Assembly and Bulbs

8. New Brakes

9. New Front Suspension

10. Fix Seat Rail Motors

11. Interior and Exterior Deep Clean Detail

There is likely other stuff, but these are the items I would consider to be the ‘bare minimum’ of what needs to be done to at least get it running and driving around. There is a good list of cosmetic items that I also have planned like fixing the missing trim and fuel door. Thankfully this car, and its parts, are dirt cheap and will allow me to experience the world of RWD Volvos. I’m hoping to do some videos and a lot of write ups on this car. Much like the P3s, there arent a ton of enthusiasts around the 900 series cars, much less the inline 6 versions. So stay tuned, and if you have any recommendations or tips for me please feel free to send a comment below!