J-T Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 I've been on the lookout for a cheap loadlugger to be used for carting crap about as I'm renovating a house. Well originally I wanted a cheap van like a C15 or a Scudo etc but couldn't get a quote for van insurance that wasn't ridiculous. Looked at a Scenic for £300 which was asking about £295 too much. Then noticed this Volvo on ebay going cheap because it had a crack in the sunshade of the windscreen and virtually no description. Ended up winning it for the grand total of £155! Epic photo taking fail as I forgot to take a pic of the front! Faults include a broken fog light, a bit of a scrape down the passenger side rear, bit of a crunch from 3rd to 4th if you rush it, oh and the odometer's stopped fairly recently at 155k Other than that there ain't much wrong! It's a GLT which I think is a bit posh although it still on placca trims which is a bit odd. It's got 6 months MOT (no advisories on the last one), 4 good tyres and drives pretty well, if very very sedately. A 2 litre one of these is certainly no ball of fire! Still it's already started earning its keep - managed to get just about all the carpets out of a 3 bed house in the back of it with the seats down to the tip in one go. It's a proper old bus! Picking it up was an experience as well, the bloke who had it was a proper shiter - engines on the drive, the lot. The Moog, The Old Bloke Next Door, hennabm and 23 others 26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skizzer Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 That looks like a lot of transportation for the money. It costs me most of that to get a train to London if I have to be there before lunch - and coming home again is extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 All 850s were badged GLT for the first couple of years, so it doesn't really mean anything. rml2345 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilko220 Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Nice. Bonus points* for the big bright yellow Brexit sticker in the back window too... Sheefag 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shep Shepherd Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Nice purchase! Judging by the bumper trim, it's an early model with the slightly sharper-looking front end. I see that it's got series one V70 rear lights with the clear indicators, which are a straight swap. I imagine that the originals went opaque due to UV exposure, which is an endemic problem on early 1990s Volvos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rml2345 Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Looks a good purchase. 1990s Volvo trim levels seem to bear no relation whatsoever to the actual features of the car so I wouldn't read too much into the GLT badge. The odometer problem is a common old Volvo thing, there's a tiny plastic cog that lives in the mechanism and is made of cheese but if it bugs you replacing it isn't too difficult. 850s are great machines and one of the best handling larger cars of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-T Posted August 4, 2016 Author Share Posted August 4, 2016 All 850s were badged GLT for the first couple of years, so it doesn't really mean anything. Oh. That's my chips pissed on Nice. Bonus points* for the big bright yellow Brexit sticker in the back window too...Yeh, that's gone in case a militant remainer puts a real brick through my metaphorical one! Sheefag 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethj Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 If you're moving carpets, do you know that the passenger front seat can be laid flat to get an even longer load in? Look for a plastic clip, I think it's near the seat runner at the back, then the backrest folds dead flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebargeken Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 Volvo estates are bloody ace. I had a 2.0 turbo one. Loved it until Mrs PBK told me to sell it. Twiggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacquer Peel Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 I've been on the lookout for a cheap loadlugger to be used for carting crap about as I'm renovating a house. Well originally I wanted a cheap van like a C15 or a Scudo etc but couldn't get a quote for van insurance that wasn't ridiculous. That's strange, I've found the opposite is true, van insurance is cheaper for me than car insurance.Nice brick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonbennet Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 We loved our brick and kicked ourselves up the arse countless time for flogging the bugger. Laseraligningfoofooflanges 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetleysmooth Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 We loved our brick and kicked ourselves up the arse countless time for flogging the bugger. You can buy my one if you like, then I can bugger off and buy a T5. gordonbennet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beko1987 Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 We loved our brick and kicked ourselves up the arse countless time for flogging the bugger. Rusty_Rocket, Pillock, John F and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-T Posted August 5, 2016 Author Share Posted August 5, 2016 If you're moving carpets, do you know that the passenger front seat can be laid flat to get an even longer load in? Look for a plastic clip, I think it's near the seat runner at the back, then the backrest folds dead flat.No, didn't know that, could come in useful! Also, how do you turn the lights fully off? They are doing that very Volvo thing of always having the sidelights on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetleysmooth Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Also, how do you turn the lights fully off? They are doing that very Volvo thing of always having the sidelights on? On the main light switch, there's a very small screw type thingy. Turn it anti-clockwise and the day running lights will go off. gordonbennet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonbennet Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 On the main light switch, there's a very small screw type thingy. Turn it anti-clockwise and the day running lights will go off. Coo thats handy to know, possibility my next new lorry will be a Ovlov, if so i'm going to try me best to turn the DRL's off, got to be the campest buggers on the road after Landrover Ewok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 Not all of them have it. The second switch here shows what you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scdan4 Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 this thread is full of ace volvo phaxt. Am sat here now hoping my front seat will fold flat as well. Car is too far away to check right now tho. as for losing the daylight runners: hurrah. I had come to the conclusion that the light switch was the most pointless thing on the whole car - the only difference I can get between off and on is whether the headlight flash stays on full or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheefag Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 The flat seat lever is a little lever that is just above the nearside seat rail at the back of the seat.The glove box release will fail soon, google the fix and do it now. https://youtu.be/WVi8ahPhxEI The fuel flap will occasionally stick - And I've still got a double din head unit & disc changer somewhere if you want it. Richard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 My glove box failed on the way to Cholmondeley last year, which wouldn't have been so bad except my Paracetamol were in there and I very much needed them the next morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheefag Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 And the infinitely variable, VW wiper relay trick - well worth the money http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=26474 155V6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 If you google VW Relay 99 mod you should find a list of other relays that do the same job- 197 and 198 seem to be more compact versions of the same thing. It's easy to change, reach up behind the dash and feel which relay clicks when you're in intermittent wipe, pull it out, taking care to note the orientation then plug the new one in. 155V6 and Sheefag 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scdan4 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 All good stuff! Won't bother with the intermittant wiper mod as I quite like having non adjustable ones - it's just more solid somehow. Lack of adjustablilty doesn't worry either. I tend to keep going without wipers on until the last possible minute for some reason, and then always use the setting one below where it probably should be. It's not a concious thing, but it must be 'bad' as more than one person has commented on it. Too many years on motorbikes I guess. Will do glovebox mod (when things calm down a bit and I have time to fart), the sat nav lives in there (no thief would ever think of looking) and that could cause quite a headache on it's own if it picked it's moment, and had already spotted the fuelflap release whilst exploring. If you don't want the stereo and no one else does I'll happily pay the postage - the power button doesn't really work on mine. It's an easy workround though (just never turn it off) so if you wanted actual cold hard cash for it I'd probably decline! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warninglight Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Those wheel trims are off a mk1 V70/S70 so your motor may well have had alloys originally, as you thought! The passenger seat backrest folds forwards on just about all Volvos from the last 25 or more years, the manual will show you, but if you stick your head in the footwell behind said seat, you'll see a little handle at each side of the seat, hold these both up at the same time and the backrest will flop forwards. Looks like a good motor for the money! The only bit that really ever rusts on these is the rear exhaust hanger, not hard to make a new one from a 50p exhaust clamp and some scrap 6mm bar if you have a MIG welder handy. J-T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-T Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 The glovebox is already bollocksed I'm afraid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-T Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 Not all of them have it. The second switch here shows what you're looking for. Checked today and mine doesn't have the little screw. Is there another way to turn the sidelights off as I don't have the handbook? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 I don't think there is. There are handbooks on this page that you could look through. http://www.volvotips.com/index.php/850-2/850-brochures/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheefag Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I'll have a look for that stereo next week, it was in one of my stockrooms at work when I last saw it - that was a few years ago though. J-T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-T Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 Holy thread resurrection! Well, I never updated it because there was never much to say, this thing just got on and did its job. Saved me a fortue in skips and it took some SERIOUS abuse - dragging its arse along on its bumpstops full of bricks was a personal highlight. Poor Ovlov! Even the sodding tyres were squashed. I had it for about a year and spent the grand total of £40 on some new HT leads when the king lead failed and it was sparking. I did fear that once its MOT was due, that would be it, but it passed 1st time with virtually nowt wrong - even with the cracked screen. I finished the house and couldn't really justify keeping it, useful as it was, so I gave it to my stepdad as payment for some work he did for me and he's still running it to this day. It's just had another decadent £40 expenditure on 2 part worns. I had to borrow it again today to do a big tip run. I'd forgotten just how bloody useful it is Cor, look at the size of that The only difference is it now smells a bit of dog as my stepdad carts his labrador in it. So there you have it. £155 and two MOTs later with a grand expenditure of £80 in maintenance. Fucking incredible! I want it back now. Just remembered, I did actually clean it once, just before I gave it over. Well, I say cleaned...chucked a bucket of water over it but it looked flat as fook, so I spent hours lovingly polishing it, detailing world style with several stages of prep...dry it, spray on some pledge (no really), wipe it off. It actually came up ok, see.. Datsuncog and Coprolalia 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Fantastic. And doesn't it still look nice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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