Looking for the previous owner: Anybody recognize this bad boy?

I agree with the OP and think it is worth the risk. Especially if you plan to take it out to the desert or trails often. Sometimes I laugh at myself for buying a brand-new car and then tearing it apart just to add more weight. Seems like a fun project, if I had an open garage bay I would consider a project like this.

Anecdotal story regarding totaled cars:
My wife's 2023 Volvo XC90 was rear-ended at the end of October. All the airbags went off except the front ones. I was sure it was going to be totaled. It wasn't, we just got it back 2 weeks ago due to parts shortages. It was a fleet vehicle (my wife works in sales), so not sure if that changes the calculus around totaling vehicles. We had a shitty Ford Edge for 5 months, really makes you appreciate the nicer things in life.

 

You can definitely appreciate the 4Runner reliability after the Volvo XC90. I had two of them and one was a lemon the other just a plain nightmare.

 

the real question is how often did the oil get changed, every 2000 or every 3000 miles?

 

This is our third Volvo in the last 6 years and we have loved all of them so far. Granted we haven't driven one past 65,000 miles.

 

Miles? I thought we go by minutes? After 2-3,000 minutes of running.

 

Damn! That's a good deal imo.

 

Man that's one banged up Victory 4x4 STEEL Blitz bumper and it looks like the passenger side is somewhat folded up. If the frame is in good condition then hopefully it'll only be a handful of 'rail' brackets, new fender, etc. needing replacement. I'd be concerned with how much work the rest of the front end will need...there's a lot of thin crossmembers and support pieces that are definitely toast. Also, I can see the (front) KDSS actuator may still be intact, but I would def. check the rest of the hydraulics in the system.

 

Jeff Spicoli : Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it!

 

ASSEENONTV collection.