Come October, buy a 400 Series Volvo.

[Guest]

 

In what is becoming a depressingly regular event, another 400 Series Volvo has passed into my fleet. After waving goodbye to my 480 En Suite after a part time job bit the dust, shop work was acquired and I found myself behind another flickering 400 series CEM display. It appeared briefly on Retro Rides with no interest, and then as a lot on eBay. I messaged the seller Mark directly with an offer and he accepted. He seemed slightly bemused that someone was prepared to come 250 miles to pick up a mouldering Dutch fusebox, and I think that's what influenced his decision to drop the price. I can't remember the last time I saw a 460 locally, to be honest.

 

This 460 is my third, probably the last, and definitely the rarest. The booted 400s were the runts of a not especially brilliant litter, and the majority of them suffer the same fate as their 440 \ 480 brethren - engine donors for Renault 5 GT Turbos.

 

 

Nevertheless, I made the trip down to Richmond to pick the car up from where it had lived all of its life. From reading the service history this is the furthest North its ever been. I have a folder thick will main agent bills from its first three years on the road, followed by the inevitable decline into budget tyred ignominy. In deference I decided to keep the Surrey parking permit on the windscreen.

 

My car is probably the earliest 460 Turbo left, being registered as a company car within a month of the model's launch date. It retains its dealer plates and rear window sticker - and for that authentic ditch finder vibe, a Goodyear NCT 2 on the offside rear. I've made plans to buy the Taurus 15"s back off Chris and store the original wheels somewhere. They were only available for two years on the top 460 models but their now weird tyre size rules out any decent performance oriented options.

 

It has MOT until August next year, and tax until January. My plans are to keep it around on a quiet street somewhere and perhaps do a couple of cheap trackdays to confuse all and sundry. For an eight valve non crossflow engine, the B18FT responds remarkably well to chip tuning by the Richmod \ R237 method. 180 BHP with a re map isn't unknown and this would add to the sleeper mystique. By modern standards it isn't that quick but certainly goes better than its slab sided body styling suggests. The aforementioned boot is massive and the seats fold flat, as I discovered yesterday when rescuing a trapped seatbelt.

 

 

Whilst showing a number of daily driver scars the dreaded tin worm is minimal. Sooner or later the front wings will need sorting because of wounds sustained from bollards. The fourth lady owner listed also seemed to be a fan of parking by touch if the state of the rear bumper is anything to go by.

The legion electrical problems known to the 400 series seems have passed mine by, which is a blessed relief. No wisps of smoke or winking pop up lamps here - although that's only because it doesn't have them and they're not there to go wrong. The passenger door seal lets water in, as I discovered when I tried to drive it through a car wash.

 

 

The run was aborted when I realised things were going to get messy, so that's something that needs to be sorted. What else? Ah yes, the creaking suspension. This seems to be a 400 series hall mark. Dry bushes and tired shocks plagued my 480, and G392 VYO seems to share this charming family trait. A pair of Delphi dampers can be had for £30, so the cost of rectification shouldn't be too bad until labour and the inevitable bush replacement gets factored in. The latter will probably have to be sourced from FRF Volvo or Rybrook in Warrington. After the debacle with my 305's dizzy cap I'm not sure the computer systems at ECP \ GSF can be trusted and I don't have the time to go traipsing back and forth to Trafford Park to return wrongly specified parts.

 

Any offers of support or abuse should be directed to the usual PM address. Thanks for watching.

[M'coli]

Good report. What size are the OE tyres? Just out of curiosity, y'understand.

[Guest]

Good report. What size are the OE tyres? Just out of curiosity, y'understand.

 

Either 185-60 or 195-60 14"s. Great for tragic Arrowspeed 'budget' shit, crap for decent quality boots. With the Taurus wheels I go up to 195-50-15s which means I can get T1-S Proxies for £50 each delivered.

[eddyramrod]

Nice one Jon! May it serve you well.

[carlo]

So far I've been to Stafford, Walton-on-Thames, Romford and Taunton to collect my 4 different 405s. If you know what you want you don't mind travelling!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Looks great that, must be super rare. Why are you flogging it? Lack of dollar?

[Guest]

Looks great that, must be super rare. Why are you flogging it? Lack of dollar?

 

Eh? I'm not selling it boll.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Sorry, i’m just shit thick, I thought it was a for sale ad!!!

 

Looks a great motor, would you like to bring it to my workshop one Saturday or Sunday, we could power up my new waxoyl gun and take turns to pump its ass full of anti-rust gloop.

[RobT]

A rare thing worth saving, and a good write up too I lost patience with my 460 and it's electrical maladies so went back to a 360, but it did drive nice, when it worked...

[Skizzer]

Ooh, we like. Long may it reward your faith and patience.

[R9UKE]

That looks awesome. My 440 was one of the most surprising cars I've ever owned. Such underrated cars.

[Formula Autos]

Ooh, that takes me back!

 

My first car was a 460GL (1.7 Renner non-turbo engined) on a H plate, in white. I bought it off my Dad.

 

Barum tyres seemed to work well on mine, and lasted well - though mine had 14" steelies on.

 

It might be worth spending a few minutes going round it tightening up all the screws and fixings in the interior. I did this not long after I got mine and it turned from a car that creaked, rattled, and sounded like it had spent ten years as a minicab, to being almost silent. Maybe the shell flexed or something, as the creaks came back after a few weeks, particularly around the centre console/armrest thingumy.

 

Mine also came with a manual choke, made of comically brittle plastic that snapped off in my hand on frosty days (this never bother my Dad though, as he garaged it when he owned it). I eventually modified a Mercedes choke handle I got from a scrappy, rather than fit a fourth comedy Volvo part. That sorted it for good.

 

Nice to see what should have been where all the blanking plates were. In mine the bit where the gauges are under the stereo was a cassette tape holder. Same stereo though - it must have been standard fit from mingeback base model (like mine) to top of the range models like this.

 

Oh, and I hope the speedier Turbo models have an effective airdam on the front bumper. I once took mine up to near 90mph on the motorway, only for the steering to go spookily light, as if the front end was lifting off the ground. This did not inspire confidence, and I rarely took it over 80 after that.

 

Good car though, and I expect the Turbo is better still.

[Lord Sterling]

Wow Jon, I thought the first photo was an actual brochure shot!

 

You've got some amazing photography skills man.

 

That is a really nice car. I think I may have driven one in the near murky past. As its a pre-launch one its certainly worth keeping and preserving for the future. Long may it serve you well.

[theorganist]

That looks awesome. My 440 was one of the most surprising cars I've ever owned. Such underrated cars.

 

+1

 

I loved my battleship grey G reg 440GLE. Such a comfortable and reliable car, only cost me £225. Definately surprised me.

 

Nice one, that looks lovely, I think they are a really nice design.

[CIH]

195/60 14 was fairly common back in the day. Opel Manta GTEs had 'em.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

They are very nice photos. It's a nice car too, although a bit grown up for me.

[eddyramrod]

Wow Jon, I thought the first photo was an actual brochure shot!

 

Could be, couldn't it? I've admired Wat's camera skillz before in this vicinity, though perhaps silently. Now is a good time to stand up and applaud, for most assuredly is the applause deserved.

[dollywobbler]

To be honest, I've found some of Wat's shots to be a bit over-manipulated. Can't deny that the first Volvo shot is a stunner! Beautifully framed. Top work!

[Pete-M]

Oi, Wat, your offside number plate light ain't workin'...

[Guest]

Looks a great motor, would you like to bring it to my workshop one Saturday or Sunday, we could power up my new waxoyl gun and take turns to pump its ass full of anti-rust gloop.

 

Yes, yes I would. Be warned, I'm fucking useless in the workshop. Ask Pete-M, SCTSH_ANDY and MM5. I can open bonnets though, Mark can't for some unknown reason. When canst I appear with tea and ineptitude?

 

To be honest, I've found some of Wat's shots to be a bit over-manipulated.

 

I agree. Now that I've got a semi decent camera I'm backing off a bit on the tweaking. It's a bad habit I developed from only having phone cameras and having to do a ton of work on them to make them half viewable. Definitely got my money's worth from my Sony Ericssons though, and I still use my W995 as a back up when the D70's too bulky to look around.

 

Oi, Wat, your offside number plate light ain't workin'...

 

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU *adds to list*

[Guest]

Wheels pointing wrong way shocker.

 

[504GL]

Sorry, i’m just shit thick, I thought it was a for sale ad!!!

 

Looks a great motor, would you like to bring it to my workshop one Saturday or Sunday, we could power up my new waxoyl gun and take turns to pump its ass full of gloop.

 

[mnde]

Nice. Up until recently my Grandad had a silver 440 on a 'J' plate - I think a GLE - that he'd owned since new. He traded it in to the Volvo garage that he'd bought it from and which had maintained it all its life when he gave up driving at the grand old age of 92. So I have many happy memories of being driven places in it when we went visiting. The heated seats, and the clicky noise and flashing light to remind you to belt up

 

Mark.

[Guest]

Nice. Up until recently my Grandad had a silver 440 on a 'J' plate - I think a GLE - that he'd owned since new. He traded it in to the Volvo garage that he'd bought it from and which had maintained it all its life when he gave up driving at the grand old age of 92. So I have many happy memories of being driven places in it when we went visiting. The heated seats, and the clicky noise and flashing light to remind you to belt up

 

Mark.

 

Yes, mine does the clicky seatbelt thing too. If SCTSH_ANDY ends up borrowing it as back up car it will drive him INSANE. Penance for parking a dead Saab outside the unit with flat tyres - mofo.

 

Incidentally, if anyone wants 400 series bits (aye, don't form a queue or anything) FRF Volvo in South Wales are great.

[r.welfare]

CLICKACLICKACLICKACLICKACLICKACLICKA etc etc etc. All Volvos of this era I've owned (340, 440, 740) do it, drove me crackers too.

 

That looks superb to be honest, can't see the damage to the wings so it's either my eyes or your flash photography. I recall the Autocar & Motor road test of the 460 Turbo back in early '90 (might have been the same issue as the Rover 414 IIRC), they said the midrange punch was incredible but wondered if anyone would buy one for £15,995

 

I owned my 440 (90H, 1.7GL carb) for two weeks about 12 years ago so don't remember much about it other than (a) the CLICKACLICKACLICK, ( the rattling dashboard and © the ridiculously heavy unassisted steering. I sold it to my brother as a suitably low-insurance-group first car, I seem to recall he mooched about in it for a good 3 or 4 years until he wrote it off against a Rover 800.

[Guest]

CLICKACLICKACLICKACLICKACLICKACLICKA etc etc etc. All Volvos of this era I've owned (340, 440, 740) do it, drove me crackers too.

 

That looks superb to be honest, can't see the damage to the wings so it's either my eyes or your flash photography. I recall the Autocar & Motor road test of the 460 Turbo back in early '90 (might have been the same issue as the Rover 414 IIRC), they said the midrange punch was incredible but wondered if anyone would buy one for £15,995 .

 

My 480 just threw a warning light up. Must be a 440 \ 460 thing.

 

The wings will go manky pretty quickly if I don't so something about them. I can assure you that there are scabby bits and that those photos hide quite a few bollard pinball wounds.

 

It's all about the low to mid range with that thing. The turbo spools from something like 1800-4500 RPM, so it pulls like a bastard in second and third. You can do it in first as well but all you'll do is set the tyres on fire. The Richmod chippery ups the boost pressure from 0.3 to 0.9 bar, so you end up going from 120 brake to 175 by changing the ECU. Haven't decided whether I'll do that yet - it's already quite good at pissing TDi reps off whenever they occur (cunts).

 

As for the price, my inflation calculator puts the 1990 RRP at £28K in today's money.

[RichL]

+1 for the excellent photography. I too thought the first shot was an old brochure scan! Looks like a minter, must be few and far between now, there weren't many turbo's about 5 years ago when I worked for a Volvo dealer. Parts were no problem then though, unlike the 300 series which Volvo seemed to want to forget about as regards parts supply. I seem to remember there is a mass of hoses under the bonnet as per 5 GT Turbo and looking them up was a nightmare.

[345DL]

Hi

 

That's a really lovely looking car. I'm jealous! I definitely think that 440s and 460s are becoming very rare these days, as they have almost got past the banger stage - look at how cheap an R, S or T plate S40 is, and why would you want a 440!

 

I got my 440 as my second car at the age of 18 in 2003, it was my mum's old one, a 1.9TD on an N-plate. It was a million times nicer than the N-reg Escort I had before, and felt like a luxury car compared to the Fiestas and Corsas that my friends were driving at the time. It even had part-leather seats.

I absolutely loved it, but I sold it to a couple of my friends in 2005 when I decided to trade up to a much newer S40 as I had to start doing a hell of a lot of motorway driving, but I was hoping to be able to buy it back to keep it as a classic when I eventually got my own place and the space to keep it. Unfortunately, it met its end with a wall on a country road in 2008

[Shep Shepherd]

I love the first photo. It looks like it could have been lifted from a period Autocar and Motor road test, possibly titled, "DAF BOOT - could Volvo's new Dutch-built turbocharged saloon torpedo the BMW 3-Series?"

 

Pawnote: I seriously considered buying an H-reg 460 GLT (non-turbo 2.0) in summer 2000, but went for an L-reg Rover 214Si (which was up for the same price - £2995 - at the same garage) instead, as I thought it would be cheaper to run.

 

I'm now pretty sure that the Volvo would have been a better car long-term...

[Joseph]

This is my first post, hopefully not my last!

 

The Volvo 400 series really is a car range which is close to my heart. I will have to own a 440/460 or 480 one day. This shape of 460, as featured in the photos must be rarer than the 300 series nowadays, as they are less desireable. Certainly I have only seen two of these chrome-grilled 460s in the past few years, up in my neck of the woods (Glasgow area). My father once owned a J-registered 460Si in blue, with the period 'Lambda Sond' badge on the grille. It covered c.180,000 miles before it died (gearbox had had it). Notice the wing mirrors on this Turbo-this distinguishes an early 460, the later ones were smaller - yes, I am an anorack!