1986 Volvo Stationwagon, “Art Car”, The base vehicle is an 1986 Volvo Stationwagon. I chose this vehicle due to it’s reliability and being worthy of fixing. It has over 200K miles on it, and the odometer is broken. It starts well and runs well. It is currently registered and licensed in the State of California. It just passed the stringent, State of California smog inspection/test, when I renewed the registration this year. You may drive it on public roads, but, it only has 2 seatbelts, for the driver and the front seat passenger. It is probably not legal to drive on public roads with people in the back. Maybe, in some communities and situations, you could get away with it.

This vehicle is actually a kinetic sculpture called, “The Dragonfly Lands” and it was built for Burningman 2007. I worked with a team of people to create this car, and with the generous contributions of everyone who worked on it, it was built in 5 weeks during the months of July and August 2007. I did my best to do all the modifications with a high level of craftsmanship and integrity, given the time and financial constraints. The car functioned beautifully on the Playa, and was granted both day and night licenses by the Department of Mutant Vehicles. I applied for and was granted permission to bring the car back in 2008, but chose not to do so. You should be able to take it to the Burn, as is.

The Dragonfly sculpture attaches to the top of the car with ratchet, tie-down straps. The wings, tailboom, and head are held in place by bungee cords. A central mast and guywires support the wings. There is a fabric skin that stretches over the frame of the bug, and the inside is lit up with fluorescent flood lights. It can be seen from a mile away, no kidding. The wingspan is 28 feet. There is a shelf on the back bumper to hold a small generator to power the lighting.

I attached a tow-bar to the front bumper and towed the car to Reno, Nevada. I drove it to the Playa from Reno. I disconnected the driveshaft, and tied it up with heavy wire, then reconnected it in Reno. Vehicles with an automatic transmission cannot be towed with the drive wheels coupled to the transmission and the wheels on the ground, as this would destroy the transmission. Towing the car with all four wheels on the ground is called “flat-towing”, and the car flat-tows excellently.

There is a u-shaped, asymmetrical couch in the back of the car. There are custom, form-fitting cushions for the back seating. The back area is accessed by stepping up on a shelf that is attached to the trailer hitch, and then stepping through the gap in the back of the car. It is easy for relatively agile people to climb aboard. Theoretically, 8 people can sit in the back, but 8 adults weigh too much for the current suspension. 10 or 12 children could ride. There are storage areas under the seats.

There are two covers for the car. The first is made of shrinkwrap and it protects the entire back of the car. The car cannot be driven with this cover installed. Shrinkwrap will degrade rapidly in the direct sun…….and the cover probably has 6 months of life left in it. The second cover is a tent rainfly that covers only the front seats. It is much easier to install than the shrinkwrap. The back part of the car has drainholes to allow rain to drain out and not puddle.

Full disclosure statement!!! There are few things that need to be fixed for the car to be better. The blower motor for the heater does not work. The dashboard instrument lights do not work. The right side rear view mirror is broken (the frame, not the glass.) The taillights are damaged, they work, but the plastic lens is broken (I have replacements, but they are not from the exact same year, and so need to be modified to make the wiring connections all work.) I have been told that the fuel level gauge does not work correctly.

The doors cannot be opened. The driver and front seat passenger must climb over the door sill to get into and out of the car. You must be fairly agile to do this. After cutting the roof off the car, I reinforced the body to compensate for the removal of the structural part of the unibody. The car was undrivable without the added frame structure. I consulted with a structural engineer about how best to add the framework, and followed his suggestions. I offer no guarantee of any kind as to the ability of this car to remain intact and protect the occupants in the event of a crash. You will have to inspect the modifications I made and make your own determination of the safety of this car.

The car has a stereo system, including a in-dash Radio/CD/SD card/USB flash drive reader, 2 6”X9” speakers in boxes, and 2 3 ½” door speakers. The in-dash unit stopped working on about the 5th day at Burningman, due to getting exposed to too much dust, and now it needs to be dis-assembled and cleaned, after which it should, theoretically, work.

One of the great things about this car, is that it goes exactly 5 m.p.h. when you take your foot off the brake. 5 m.p.h. is the speed limit at Burningman. Please see the Burningman website for detailed information about what it takes to bring an art car to the event. You must pre-register, get pre-approved, and then pass the on-Playa inspections.

A tremendous amount of time, energy, and resource went into the construction of this car. The basic vehicle could be used for many different uses, including a platform for another art car, a truck, parade float, touring car, etc.

Included in the price: The Volvo. The complete dragonfly sculpture including the thorax/core, tailboom, wings, head, mast, and most of the rigging to install it all. The spare tail-lights. A Volvo repair manual. The title. The 2 covers. I will teach you to assemble it all.

Not included: Honda generator. Some of the lighting parts. Some of the rigging parts.

The asking price for this vehicle is $1000. The value, including labor and materials, exceeds $10,000. This is probably the cheapest way to have your own art car to bring to Burningman.

I live in San Diego. Please call or text me at 619-993-3509. Blessings, Stove