12 hours. I started working on the wagon at 6:30 AM on Saturday, and didn't finish until 6:30 PM. I always overestimate how much I can get done in a day. It didn't seem like that much...finish converting to an electric fan, change out the shocks, replace one trailing arm bushing and change the u-joints...okay, it does sound like a lot, but I thought I could get it done in six hours or so. And it would have been almost that fast except everything that had a possibility of being really difficult, WAS; it started with the front shocks fitting so snugly into the holes in the A-arms that were supposed to let you change them out, that they had to be wiggled and tapped and prodded quite persistently both to get the old ones out and the new ones in; then the trailing arm bushing proved to be far too tight of a fit for my abilities and the tools on hand---after extensive heating with a MAPP gas torch to expand the arm and about a half hour of using a small sledge with tremendous gusto, I got it in---a little mangled, but functional. (Please, never ever do this job the way I did: i just about shot myself). Finally, of the three u-joints, two had never been changed and required breaking them to get them out; and the third had indeed been changed at some point, but was the wrong size---too small. No wonder the car had issues with vibration. The good news (for me) is that everything works properly now, so much smoother and quieter, and none of those things should need attention for a few years at least.

A final comment: Bilstein HD shocks are unbelievably awesome. They are expensive, but the difference cannot even be described. The car feels brand new, and so much better than it ever has before that I can't even tell it has been lowered more than 4"! I will never put anything else on my Volvos.

We have finally gotten around to fixing up O.B.'s '67 144S after it sat all summer while he was gone. It needs a lot, but it's solid, like an old Volvo should be. The car runs awesome---there are 270,000 miles on the clock and it is still not burning oil! Unbelievable...

Yesterday I finally got around to checking out the odd clunking in the rear suspension, the irritating squeak in the rear hatch, and the unnerving rumbling vibration that occurs in the drivetrain from around 2,700 RPM to 3,300 RPM. Poor old 145. She hasn't had a real rest in 36 years! Once on jackstands, I began pulling and prodding around underneath; this is something I have been meaning to do for months. The inspection revealed: 1) a bad u-joint. 2) blown shocks front and rear(I sort of already knew that by the way it drove), and shrunken, rotted shock bushings that were the cause of the rattling. 3) Under the panel inside the rear hatch I discovered the source the annoying squeak---the lock mechanism had a loose screw---and that was it. Time to buy some parts and get cracking. Worn out as she is, this old girl just keeps running better!

I have been missing working on Faye Valentine lately. I was looking at some pictures of the beautiful new red upholstery and awesome steering wheel and realizing that I basically haven't driven her since I made those improvements. Not that she is going anywhere, and she's under a cover for protection from the cruel SoCal sun...still, I miss her.