Peg Leg

I was browsing through the junkyard and came across a Volvo S70. Not an unusual sight in the automotive grave yard these days... The S70 was built from 1998-2000, so many have been crashed, broken, or neglected.

But something about this S70 caught my eye.

It looked mostly stock. After prying open the rusted hood, I could tell it was stock. However, the seats had been snatched up by the vultures, as had three of the four wheels. The remaining tire was flat with a screw going straight through the tread.

But this remaining wheel was no ordinary alloy rim. It was a factory 18"x8" Volvo Pegasus wheel, the same wheels that came standard on the S60 and V70 Rs.

I quickly picked up the wheel and hauled it to the parts counter.

"How much for the wheel?" I asked.

The cashier responded, "$35," as she reached for a power drill. It was standard procedure at this junkyard to drill through the sidewall of tires.

I waved my hands to stop her, showing exactly where the screw had puncture the tread. Acknowledging that this tire was already damaged, she shrugged and sat the drill down.

Handing over $35 cash, I went straight to the local franchise tire shop. They popped off the tire, inspected it for any damage, then determined it was fixable and still road worthy. After patching the hole and rebalancing the wheel, they sent me on my way for no charge.

This Pegasus wheel, often called a "Peg" in the Volvo community, required repainting, but it would be the perfect full size spare.

Some slight modifications in my trunk and this Peg became the perfect addition in my C30. A full size spare means that if I get a flat while on a long distance trip, I am not limited to the 55mph donut. The 18" diameter is also large enough to sufficiently clear my big brake kit.

Only once have I needed to use this Peg leg, and it didn't look half bad on my C30!