In early 2013, I made the tough decision to sell my beloved S2000 and replace it with something that could actually carry all the gear we needed to trade at shows and help grow that side of the brand. I didn’t want a van, so the search turned to estate cars, and one stood out more than the rest, the Volvo 245. With its big capacity and not being a common choice it became the ideal base to start with.
A plan for the build came together pretty quickly with us being in the peak of the stance era, but finding a solid base proved harder than expected. I eventually pulled the trigger on what looked like a great deal and the perfect starting point, but in reality, it was anything but.
After a full polybush kit, a clutch, new brake lines, exhaust, and a big service, the car was about as ready as it was going to be for the fun stuff. Air suspension was an easy decision, we wanted the car as low as the chassis would allow, while still being practical enough to keep the ride height consistent when fully loaded with trade equipment. As with many of my builds, I already had wheels lined up: a set of 5x112 BBS RFs. As the build neared completion and a stroke of luck a set of 5x108 faces became available, which meant no adapters and wider lips could be used, a big win!
All of this was happening with Wörthersee 2014 fast approaching, so we set ourselves a pretty unrealistic target to make it there. After countless overnighters, the car made it albeit with a leaky fuel tank and arriving just 12 hours late for the ferry. We headed to Munich to catch up with friends before continuing on to Wörthersee. The trip was incredible, and the Volvo completed a 3,000-mile, multi-country drive without missing a beat… as long as the fuel tank stayed under half full.
After that, the car attended multiple shows, including VW Days in France and our Belgian Chapter event, where the head gasket failed. It was luckily repaired in Belgium by a good freind Glenn, but by the end of the 2015 season, a turning point had arrived. The car needed welding to pass its next MOT, and with a lot of adult life on the horizon, it was stripped and parked in various locations, waiting for its second awakening.
The years rolled on. A Datsun was bought, a Mk1 resurfaced, and the Volvo slowly dropped to the back of a long list. I doubted I’d have the time to get back to it within the next five years. Eventually, I told everyone except a select few that the car had been sold, mainly to stop the constant DMs asking where Bricky was and when it was coming back.
Then one day, a conversation with Eden sparked something. I didn’t want to part with the car, and Eden wanted to build a “big project.” Some pretty wild ideas were thrown around, and not long after, Bricky had a new owner, still very much within the RH team. Its second awakening began, although it was shaping up to be far wilder than I’d ever anticipated.
We set ourselves a goal, to make Bricky faster around Donington than Eden’s heavily track-prepped E46 M3. The question was how to achieve that with a brick-shaped car sitting on a chassis developed in the early ’70s.
The not-so-simple answer was this, find an E90 M3 chassis and drop the Volvo shell over it. The measurements weren’t too far off, with the wheelbase only around 40mm longer than the Volvo’s, and we had a plan to make it work. We teamed up with our incredibly talented friend Khyzyl (The Kyza) to design a one-off kit specifically for the car.
With the foundations set and an unreal group of people behind the project, it was time to get to work and enjoy Bricky’s next chapter.
We will be updating this blog with the build but also documenting it on our Youtube channel so please head over, have a watch and dont forget to subscribe.
Images: Dan / Mikey / Jonny / Scott / Pat
