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A Man Restores a 1996 Volvo 850 R That Was Abandoned for Five Years To Surprise His Wife

Larry Kosilla from AMMO NYC YouTube channel got asked by a friend to help him restore a 1996 Volvo 850 R to its former glory. The sedan was abandoned in the woods for five years in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The new owner wanted the Volvo in shipshape as a nostalgic surprise for his wife. The married couple had their first date in a similar model many years back.
1996 Volvo 850 R 21 photos
Photo: AMMO NYC YouTube channel
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The Volvo 850 R was part of a revolution at the Swedish carmaker company. It came out of the need to appeal to the younger generation from an aesthetic perspective but also from a performance standpoint. The 850 lineup saw the light of day for the very first time in 1992, and the sportier 850 R came in 1994. After Volvo was pleased with its overall vehicle safety rating, the people in charge decided it was time to launch a turbocharged version on the 850, which came in both a sedan and a station wagon version.

This is how they ended up installing a 2.3-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine that could output 237 horsepower (240 ps), with 243 lb-ft (330 Nm) of torque. Furthermore, the FWD 850 R featured a stiffer suspension, wider light-alloy wheels, and came with a five-speed manual transmission as a standard, or with a four-speed automatic extra option. It weighed 3,245 lbs (1,472 kg), and in its heyday, it did 0-62 mph (0-100 kph) in 6.9 seconds and reached a top speed of 152.2 mph (245 kph).

Now returning to the 850 R of the hour, it didn't need much of a restoration, even though it has been sitting in the woods for five years. After extensive exterior and interior cleaning, polishing, paint retouches, and all sorts of things of this kind, the restoration team started to work on the engine.

Overall, they had to replace the wheels, brake calipers and rotors, air filter, plugs, battery, and distributor coil, along with other parts. One oil change later, the car was purring happily once again, just like it did many times before during the 292,000 miles (469,928 km) it covered in its lifetime. It took just one day to get it up and running, and out the garage door. Needless to say, the married couple were very happy to relive their first date.

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About the author: Codrin Spiridon
Codrin Spiridon profile photo

Codrin just loves American classics, from the 1940s and ‘50s, all the way to the muscle cars of the '60s and '70s. In his perfect world, we'll still see Hudsons and Road Runners roaming the streets for years to come (even in EV form, if that's what it takes to keep the aesthetic alive).
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