Owner: Tom Cavey – Instagram: @boulderc30
2009 Volvo C30 R Design – Location: Boulder, Colorado, USA
“Stay hungry, stay foolish.” -Steve Jobs
Was there any unusual circumstances around how you acquired your car?
I purchased the car new in California in 2009. I had to decide between an ice white R-design 6 speed manual with no sunroof and little options, or a cosmic white and java brown two tone R design with all the options, and automatic transmission.
The paint job was so wild that I decided to go with cosmic white, and the rest is history.
Was there more work on your car than you anticipated? Did you find a bucket of wiring worms, find some secret hidden problems…..
Most recently when trying to stance the car I have encountered a few issues. The plastic trim fenders on the C30 are incredibly hard to manipulate to look right. Lots and trial and error goes into stance and if it’s done right, it looks amazing.
Are there any unique mods on your car? Hyper-rare parts, custom made parts…
The best mods in my opinion are the ones that have a personal or unique element to them. One of my favorite unique mods I’ve created is a sequential LED tail light board which utilize a custom PCB with 80 LEDs that operate as brake, turn, and running lights as well as a “show mode” with light patterns. Other parts which are custom/hyper-rare include rear seat delete handmade wooden storage box, Heico E-Brake lever, boost piping for water-methanol injection and my custom built 5×108 3 piece Work VS-SS wheels.
I was very fortunate to acquire a half roll cage made by Gerrit “The Belgian” when he made his trip out to Colorado for a P1 Nation car meet, along with other Volvo enthusiasts. Thank you Gerrit!
Would you consider your car done in its current form? Or do you have a list of “to dos” still left?
Over the last 12 years my C30 has been through many different mods and styles. It’s changed with me as I’ve gone through my life and I’ve learned a lot through that experience. As such I still have a bunch of work left on this car. I have a donor car for an AWD and M66 swap in my driveway that is still being used as a commuter. So future mods will include K16, AWD swap, M66 swap, block mod, Ceika big brakes, battery relocate, bucket seats, black headliner/pillars, and more.
What is the biggest problem you ran into on your build?
Well, the biggest issue is the lack of aftermarket support. This is a problem for people like me, or other Volvo enthusiasts because it means we don’t have big companies with budgets to do R&D on parts. The P1 Volvo community needs to work together and build parts, and solve issues together.
I hope one day the Bosch ME9 will make their firmware open source and can be read and wrote to without needing a license/key.
If you had to do it again, would you build the same car?
Absolutely. Although I would have told myself to be patient, and think more critically about how to do some things more “cleanly”. Maybe don’t pull and cut the fenders so much?
Are you apart of a club or crew with your car?
The C30 community has been a massive influence for me, over the last decade I have met many people through various clubs, forums, and meets that have all helped me in one way or another. To mention a few: C30world/C30ballers/C30crew and P1 Nation.
Is there any part/mod on your car you had to do a few times, or installed and then removed?
Suspension. I’ve had probably 6 different variations of suspension ranging from Volvo Dynamic Lowering Springs to air ride. Mainly I just wanted to keep going lower, but over the years I changed wheels and styles and the suspension plays a big part in how the car stance appears.
What is your favorite part on your car?
Right at this moment if I had to pick one part on the car I would say my Work wheels is my favorite.
What’s the best memory you had in your car?
The best memory I have had in my car is a hard one for me. Having owned the car for 12 years it’s been though a lot, and I have lots of amazing memories with this car.
One memory that comes to mind when thinking about this question is: cruising with my fiancé after we got engaged with our dog Bodi.
Build Report
Shark Stage III tune
OCD Thread-on Bags
BC Coilover Shocks/Struts
Airlift Performance Rear Bags/Control arms
Accuair Endo CT 3 gallon tank
Airlift 3P Management
Do88 Intercooler
Elevate Upper Inlet Manifold
Elevate Exhaust
Elevate Downpipe
Elevate Turbo Pipe
Elevate Turbo Blanket
Turbosmart CBV
Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit
The Belgian Rear Brace
The Belgian’s Half Cage
Elevate Rear Anti Sway Bar
Massive Adjustable Rear Control Arms
Massive Adjustable Toe Links
Volvo C70 320mm Brake Calipers
Elevate Engine Torque Mount
Do88 Silicone Hoses
Do88 Intake Box
Rocfab Hardpipe with IAT Sensor Bung
Snow Performance Stage 2.5 Water Methanol Injection Kit
Sequential LED Rear Lights
Rear Seat Delete
Custom Storage box
GlowShift Boost Gauge
Horn Relocation
Carbon Fiber wrap headlight shroud
Morimoto D2S mini 4.0 bi-xenon retrofitted projectors
Morimoto 6500K XB35 D2S bulbs
Morimoto XB Halos
LED foglight projector bulbs
Swedish Flag Engine Cover
Gloss black fog light covers
Heico E-brake Lever
Maxton Design Paint Matched Front Lip and Side Skirts
WORK VS-SS 3 Piece Wheels
5×108 18×9 F: +37 R: +32
Metallic Gunmetal face
Custom Hidden hardware kit for 3 piece conversion
Forged T6061 Aluminum Lips and Barrels
Polished aluminum lips F: 3.5″, R: 4.0″
