hello hello!

yesterday marked a milestone. after three years biking around Saint Louis I've finally given in.
Now that I've developed the self control to continue exercising and not putting the pounds back on, I've allowed myself to buy a car; take two guess on the make.

I boarded a mega bus at 3:30 a.m , bound for Chicago, for a craigslist lead on a solid looking 1986 244 GL. I hopped off the bus a bit famished and had about eight hours to myself in the city, before the meet.

I took to the usual haunts, downtown at Central Camera in the loop, to buy a few rolls of film, seeing that I hadn't brought more with me. After a walk through Millennium Park, up to Navy Pier, and a few hours lounging on the beach, it was time for the meet.

the previous owner found themselves in a situation opposite of mine; they were taking on a life of biking, while I was leaving one. As to not let this gem of a car go to waste, they decided to hand it off, rather than letting it sit.

I was given the rundown; the good and the bad.
98k on the clock
a wiper reservoir in need of changing
no a/c, but strong heat.
two headlights and a headlight relay needing switched; lights themselves in the glove box.
the occasional appearance of a battery warning light, with a brand new racing battery in the trunk; in addition to a metric ****ton of ratchet straps and a crawfish keychain.

and last but not least, the most off-putting tid bit
a flickering oil light.
Don't panic though; I knew coming into it, that there was an issue that might be causing this and I'd later discover this is caused by a hanging wire on the oil pressure sensor!

it kicked over on the first turn and sounded great; a few steps on the gas, no rod knock or odd noises. After checking fluids, the test drive came.

It was a bit hard getting used to the weight and handle of the silver bullet, but about five minutes in I had gotten the hang.

we headed toward the interstate and realized that it was rush hour just outside of downtown Chicago. luckily, no highway drive was needed, as I was sold already.

a bit foolish, but I tend to shy toward it.

after about an hour spent filing paperwork and playing with their siamese cat, the deed was done. I gave them a polaroid of what they called "the Rhombus" and began to prep for the drive home.

and let me say, I've never had a better ride in my entire life. heading down interstate 55 during the golden hour with the windows down and moon roof open was freeing.

70 mph for the whole five hours, with steady rpms and temp.
(can you tell when I started to get tired writing?)

I ran down the full tank it came with and filled up with 91octane, as I'll continue to do till I die; as well as another half tank before hitting Saint Louis at 10:30pm.

those last two hours holding the brights, due to the headlight relay, were challenging; especially when the fatigue of the entire day spent in the sun kicked in.

I'm looking forward to many long rides , once I dot the i's and cross the t's on this Volvo.

as I'll be attempting to do as much work as I can on this car personally, I'd appreciate it greatly if you had any pointers, or resources I could use!

looking forward to getting to know some of you, and develop a passion with others who share it

 

Wow. It looks BEAUTIFUL. Congratulations!

Out of curiosity, does "they decided to hand it off" mean they gave it to you free of charge?


Thanks for the nice story, and hope you enjoy it.

 

Congrats!