At the risk of sounding like a corporate shill, I figured I'd point out that Northern Tools is offering a free gift card — this week only — worth up to $100 when one purchases tools online.

I personally like Northern Tools' stuff. Although it doesn't have the rock-bottom pricing of cheap crap that Harbour Freight sells, Northern Tools does have name-brand tools that actually last. If you're in the market, give 'em a try:

As soon as I heard Google (and now Yahoo!) had opened the interface of their mapping sites to developers, I planned to do something like this.

Turns out Paul Graz beat me to it. Find local owners — and post pictures of your own 1800 — on his "Frappr" page — a point-and-click map of Volvo 1800 owners.

Check it out at ...

Noticed this on the Yahoo! 1800list today: A dealership in Maryland is selling a "new" 1973 Volvo 1800 ES — never titled, with less than 300 miles on the clock (I'm assuming that's test-driving miles?).

The asking price is a cool $49,995 — about 10 grand more than a new new Volvo sports wagon (the sexy XC70). Although that's certainly not cheap, it's probably a decent price — about what one could expect to pay to get a more "used" model to look/feel/be "brand new." But then, at least with a used, fixed-it-yourself, model, you know what you're getting.

And wouldn't you hate to hit a shopping cart in a brand new 32-year-old car?

A couple of notes for those considering replacing their side mirrors on the Volvo 1800: It takes at least an hour to do it right, and you'll need some pretty small hands.

About three months after I brought my 1800 home, I discovered my rear-view mirror — broken at its base — lying on the hood of the car. My girlfriend had found it earlier lying in the street beside the car, and she had placed it on the hood so it wouldn't get any more damaged than it was.

A year later, I finally got it replaced with the correct vintage mirror (not the new "OEM" mirror that looks nothing like the original). The mirrors mount from inside the door, so although it's a simple enough task, expect to spend a while dismantling and reassembling the door (I took the opportunity to refresh the plastic and paper inside the door, too). The tight quarters in which the mirror mounts inside the door are also evidence that child labor was at work when these doors were built — if you've got big hands, you may want to enlist the help of a friend with a slighter build (fortunately, I happen to have manly hands like those of a schoolgirl, so…)

We've seen the images by now, and I can only imagine the grief and frustration currently felt along the Gulf Coast of the United States this week. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. For the rest of our readers, please see this page for a list of organizations seeking donations and volunteers to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Keep in mind that volunteers are not encouraged to head to the strike zone themselves. Right now, cash is the best gift you can give these people. Thanks.

Editor's note: Thanks for the interest. The job is filled, and the work is being done as I type.

Classic1800.com needs a 3D model of a Volvo P1800 for use in games, Flash animations and an eventual application interface we're planning. Since we (I) suck at 3D modeling, I figured I'd check to see if anybody else might be interested.

Basically, I need the 3d source files (3ds, Max, Maya, Blender, zModeler, WHATEVER…) and full reproduction rights that I can use for whatever P1800 projects I might have in the future.

If interested, please let me know here, and please provide a link to some of your work and a price and timeframe that you think is reasonable (I'm poor, though, so please be gentle!). Designer credit can always be given, too.

If you need inspiration, thousands of pictures of the car can be found at ....

I look forward to seeing what anybody can do!

Karl Eric Målberg, who runs one of my favorite 1800-specific Web sites, the amazing Volvo 1800 Picture Gallery, has gone a step further now and is testing a new site, volvo1800chassis.com, which features a searchable database of registered Volvo 1800s from all corners of the globe — complete with photos of the vehicles from the Picture Gallery.

The world of 1800 owners is growing smaller every day. Thanks, Karl!