Thanks for the info on the solution finish. I'll check it out. Need to see the Primera in person so I know what's been done to it. If they tried to paint that part, I may need to paint it in order to cover up the streaking. If it'll restore without paint, I'll go that route.
Wasn't TL for me, and I did read it. I like car stories. Especially liked the part about the T4 cross-country trip with track/pie. You're braver than I am to take a car with that many unavailable parts on a cross-country road trip and back. You've also had lots of bad luck with your cars. Hope you're all set with the new Tm now. I vaguely remember seeing a pic of the P10TRLR back when you were starting it. That was around when I stopped frequenting here much, I think.
My first car was a Volvo, too - a 1980 240DL wagon in mustard yellow with the brown vinyl seats. I loved that thing, even though it was heavy as a dump truck and had moped-like horsepower. Got T-boned right in the driver door in my high school parking lot my junior year though. Probably saved my life since it was built like a tank.
After that I had a 1985 brick red (non-turbo) 740 wagon for a bit, but my sister ended up taking it off to college. A 1986 white Subaru GL-10 followed that, which was my first turbo car and my first absolute lemon. So many overheating issues and coolant leaks that I think I only had it for about a year. It was fun to drive when it was working, and I still miss the cool digital cluster with the little turbine animated graphic when it spooled up.
When I went off to college in Buffalo, NY (I'm from Bend, OR originally) I got my first Nissan. A blue 88 Pathfinder SE, which I absolutely loved and it got me hooked for life (on 80s/90s Nissans anyway...they'll never get me back on newer stuff until they come out with something that has angles on it again). Had that for a few years before it overheated on the freeway at night and I wasn't paying attention to the temp gauge. Ended up warping the block and was beyond salvaging. Still got a pretty good sale price for the body since nobody can get older vehicles back there without tons of rust and mine was in perfect shape. Sold it to the mechanic at the dealership who was going to swap the motor out.
Was in a pinch for transportation so I had to get something quickly after that, and I basically stumbled on a 5-speed (all of these up until this point have been 5-speed) KH2 93.5 G20. Loved everything about it, and had it for a few years until I moved back west. That was the car that I had when I joined Gnet in 2002. Did some bolt-ons and started learning about cars with that one. It was getting some rust spots from the Buffalo winters and I found a really nice condition KH3 95 P10T on eBay, so I flew down to LA and drove it back to Boise. Swapped a few parts over, then sold the 93.5. That was in 2005.
Fifteen years, a wife, two kids and two houses later....still driving the same car daily. Whenever my wife tells me to get something "from at least this century," I remind her that my P10 shows my loyalty and it should make her feel more secure in our marriage to know I'm not a guy to trade stuff in for newer models. I like what I like and I won't change. Now, I've cheated on my P10 (not on my wife) a time or two along the way...89 K5 GMC Jimmy, 02 Isuzu Trooper, 74 International pickup...but have always kept the P10 as my daily. My wife has an 08 Pathfinder LE and I have a 93 Pathfinder XE for winter. Only reason I haven't been on here in forever is because I had swapped over a W11 Avenir motor with S4 cams and T28R turbo back around 2009, and the thing hasn't caused me any problems in the last 11 years other than a burnt-out clutch and leaky power steering hoses. Also, kids have kept me pretty busy and not thinking about car stuff as much anyway.
Was about to get my car repainted a few weeks ago since black swirls, fades and just generally sucks. I swore I'd never get another black car. I was hunting around online for Autech parts to add to it before repainting it if possible, and I found the Autech Primera. After debating myself for about two weeks about whether it was worth it to take a big step down in power and luxuries to own an authentic Autech, I finally decided to just do it. If I had some land like I assume you must, I'd keep both of them. But I don't so my other P10's gotta go. There's another member on here, John (space1) who lives about 2 miles from me and is interested in it, so I may still get to see it driving around and know it has a good home. I just won't try to race it.