140 bricks

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.