Ingrid: Thomas' 1974 Volvo 242

Words by Danté Cavazos

Photos by Lane Skelton & Danté Cavazos

I’m a firm believer that some things are damaged and some things are broken. 3rd gear pop out? Damage. Rod knock? Broken. Balancing on this fine line is a ballet of anxiety as well as a practice of carelessness that I’ve yet to fully embrace. This might be because I grew up in a closed-hood family. No discrediting my father, he always had some well kept cars. We just lacked the sort of spirit to fix things ourselves. This culminates in a fascination towards people who’ve mastered the art of driving broken. And that’s the reason @toms_elleck is asking his daughter to hop in the back seat of his 1974 Volvo 242; to take me for a spin and finally indulge in my fascination with the man behind the moose.

I’ll start with this; the Volvo crowd are a motivated bunch. Backyard engineers and experts in the “odd”, these hobbyists seem to always posses a sense of ingenuity that evades me. Peel back the lid on a precarious looking brick, and one might quickly find out why the Swedish company serves as a gentlemen’s counterpoint to Honda culture. With a habit of long production runs and general uniformity, most engines/transmissions across the Volvo platform can be bolted into the generously sized bay of the early makes. For a lesson in volvonomics take a quick peak at future features @boostedbrick and @tfrasca who both sport Swedish swaps. Automotive class was in session at the February 2nd DWA Morning Motors and if these guys are Volvo professors, Thomas is the dean. Stashed between a techno blue Volvo 740 and the Pana food truck sits Ingrid, lightly Sun dyed and super fly, you can’t miss her in a crowd. You see, Ingrid is the name engraved on the small keychain that dangles from a lightly weathered silver key in the ignition. The same keychain that originally came with the car in an estate sale from Saratoga in 2015. Thomas was at work when he got the call from his radical wife that the sale included the minty 242. After putting on some boxing gloves, the price came down to a reasonable number and she pushed the car out of the original garage for the tow truck. Garage life has been kind to the Volvo’s original factory orange paint. The car is certainly easy on the eyes and Thomas relies on a pair of hotrod steelies with classic whitewalls to pull the look together and get the power down. Contrary to her appearance, Ingrid is “motivated” by a non-factory non-original 6.0 eight cylinder Chevrolet LQ lodged in her chest cavity. Shortly after acquiring the 242, Tom and his Father swapped the factory dinosaur b20 block for a refreshed motor out of a 2000-something Tahoe. After a set of cams and some minor breathing mods, Ingrid purrs. The original plan was to rally the Volvo and sell it, continuing Tom’s endless carrousel of driveway decorations - but after his fathers passing it became crystal clear that the Volvo is a forever car. Thomas’ first lesson of the day - from engine to wiring harness, our friends’ and family’s impact on our projects make them special.

Thomas interrupted the Volvo’s ancient accessory chime with a key stroke and she fired right up. Once again, Ingrid is most certainly not broken, just a work in progress. Driving stick by vice-grip (true story) may not seem graceful, but the downshifts feel something akin to conducting a redneck symphony. Unfortunately, I’m not afforded a concerto today because the engine sourced from the Tahoe came attached to an auto trans for a steal. A manual swap can’t be done without modifications to the trans tunnel and some interior finagling, so down on the list it goes with some additional future wants. The OEM shifter notches to D and we lurch through the lot gurgling with a lusty lumping growl. A few lefts and rights and Tom had us deep into some classic DWA! backroads like the damn veteran he is. Within those two steel doors I have the privilege of watching him hold court. Slicing through the narrows, he recounts his first love affair with a classic Karmann he restored which coincidentally reignited the automotive fire in his Dad’s heart. Built from the ground up to be broken back down, this was the nature of Thomas’ first project. Almost by accident, he seems to have experienced a catalyst of timing and opportunity that afforded him a valuable lesson, drive things damaged because eventually they break. He glances over at me from the Volvo’s tattered drivers seat, his bushy beard has some white patina shrewd about, “Id say my biggest problem is that I can’t stop driving the car” he says, “but with the rally on the horizon, it’s time to tackle some issues just to provide some piece of mind”. Thomas rattles off a long list of to-do’s including some coil overs, bushings, wheels and other miscellaneous odds and ends that are mostly in Thomas’ possession. He says Ingrid needs it, but his driving fools me. I bob back and forth while we chat, the Volvo’s aged racing seats are big boy sized and only intersected by a seatbelt receiver mounted directly on the center console. This wide set lapland causes the cross strap to sit at a pitch so dramatic it hardly touches my chest. Im pressed to admit, I feel small like a child.

We pulled back into the ol’ gum lot at noon and it’s turned to a ghost town. I take a few snap shots of Ingrid while Thomas preps for a family lunch. It took about fifteen seconds before Thomas was stolen away for another conversation and I have my final lesson for the day, this is more about the meat sack than the machine. He’s a magnetic dude with an incredible project and THIS is why RADwood is exploding so quickly. It feels like a fight not turning our 20 minute drive into a novel, so I’m going to reserve myself for future features with Thomas. With a new German horse in the stable, we’re soon going to be diving into the 924S that Thomas acquired from DWA! host, Art, earlier this year. As for me? I’m going to focus on channeling my inner Ingrid on the upcoming 2020 Coastal Range Rally… here’s to driving like Thomas.

- Danté