New turbobrick

[scooters]

So with Mrs Scooters getting Des's Esplodder and my daily looking like an older Saab 9000, I was thinking - that will be the tin sorted for the next year...but like every shitter every now and then along comes a car that you simply MUST have.

 

I always regret selling my last 940 Sport Edition and have been looking for a replacement since. The problem always was – they don't come up and when they do it is usually for silly money. When this car came up on ebay for silly money it was only on for a few hours before I noticed it and hit the BIN.

 

Anyway,this is a genuine Sport Edition in the rare 'Sand Silver'. It is in very very good condition. These cars are uncommon rather than rare but are not often on the market and this was not one I had come across before. I suspect it was owned by an enthusiast owing to the condition and attention to detail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car was one of two bought by an engineering company in 1996 from what I gather from the extensive history it was clocked up most of it's 260,000 miles in the first 4/5 years. Mileage over the last 5 years has been modest.

 

All the usual sport edition trimmings:

Lower suspension

thicker anti-roll bars

190 bhp turbo+ system

manual gearbox

special edition leather interior (in superb condition)

aircon

glass sunroof

tinted windows

heated door mirrors/seats

front and rear spoiler

7 seats

Volvo load guard

Volvo load tonneau

Galaxies – recently repainted

Limited Slip Differential

Eggbox grill

roof rails

premium sound system and multi-changer

new Nivomats at the back

 

The car has a full service history and has had over £11k spent on it over the years with a pile of receipts.

 

In addition this one has a manual boost controller and a turbo boost gauge – currently set to around 0.6 bar which gives a good balance of power vs MPGs. As this is the main family transport, we'll keep it at that for the moment. Nice to know the option is there though!

 

The car has had recent Avons all round

 

last year the chassis and underside was steam cleaned and professionally waxoyled including the box sections (a la Rustmaster)

 

There is not a spot of rust on this car – not even in the usual places – every hinge and nut seems to have been treated with quality copper grease as well – none of this Lithium nonsense!

 

Behind the wheel is exactly what I have expected – tight, growling engine, - rifle like gear change, positive steering, excellent brakes, good manners when driven gently, great acceleration when boost engaged. For those who have never driven a Sport Edition before the big difference over the other 940s is the handling – the lower suspension, New Nivomats and bushes, thicker anti roll bars and the LSD make it handle very well indeed. Whilst not at 5 series starndards it is nevertheless superb for such a heavy and large car. The turbo set up is spot on as well, if driven out of boost (easy to spot on the surprisingly accurate factory fitted boost gauge- this one has an after market one as well) the MPGs are civilised – Mrs Scooters drove the car from Godalming in Surrey to Edinburgh via Durham (430 miles) on one tank of fuel yesterday about 30.1mpg....mind you if I had been doing the driving you could have added half again. Just goes to show if you behave yourself you can get decent real world MPGs out of these things.

 

 

The interior is dated but solid - cheap plastics are less obvious than in lower spec cars, the headlining is tight, everything works as it should with a W124 like solidity. The seats are superbly comfortable and give excellent lateral support as well as feeling substantial. The soundproofing is also excellent for what is a less than aerodynamic car. Instruments wise, its all there - large clock, tach and speedo, temp, oil, turbo boost, fuel etc. wipers and indicators on stalks - hazards in the usual 940 location - next to the indicator stalk in the steering column requiring the usual 940/740 contortion to activate. The 940 Sport has driver airbag and ABS as well as the SIPS (side impact protection system) and seven 3 point belts ( a big plus compared to some seven seaters). It also has the integrated child seat in the rear arm rest - any parent of young kids will understand how handy this is in the era of car seats. ventilation is good, aircon is a simple button - no fancy climate control here. The Stereo is the Volvo unit with a cassette player and CD multi changer in one of the boot storage chambers. When the engine is off and the car has been sitting for a couple of days it hunches down on its rear shocks (nivomats are self contained self leveling shocks which pump themselves up- £250 each to replace - many folk convert to normal ones but working nivomats make a hell of a difference IMHO). Turn the key - starter a tad lazy -I suspect the brushes in the motor which has never been changed (260k - pretty good so far) I'll service the motor before winter. The engine cranks into life with the usual Volvo redblock roar. Gear change is precise and the clutch surprisingly light compared to the Subaru the car it replaced. Progress is civilised at low to medium revs. This car has an additional turbo gauge - as the standard one is not accurate enough to set a manual boost control.

 

In town the car is a good performer - the short geared 2nd is a bit of a palaver in stop start traffic but not a huge issue, the excellent Volvo turning circle means the car is a doddle to park and the LSD helps when negotiating sharp turns) 'A' road driving is a dream all the fun of a powerful RWD - drop the car a gear and floor it and the turbo kicks in - the acceleration pushes you back in your seat as the car lurches to 60mph in about 8.4 seconds ( a tad faster with the MBC set up) - amusement is guaranteed as astonishment is seen in the eyes of the driver behind especially as he has been sitting on your wing waiting to overtake an old Volvo. Hit full throttle and the 'turbo +'system activates, basically a solenoid operated valve that prevents the wastegate from dumping the pressure giving an increase in turbo boost. It's only available when the turbo is spinning. This makes the acceleration between 50 and 90 quick and is great for overtaking or bullying 520 drivers.

 

The car keeps pulling all the way to over 120 mph. Handling is a huge improvement on the standard car - corners can be tackled with confidence and zero body roll, the LSD gives huge confidence. There are no squeaks, rattles, flat spots, - no issues of any sort and I check the mileage to verify it - 257,453.....surely not - the car feels like it left the factory 3 years ago.

 

And that's the point really, the point of one of these cars - well you want to buy a car for under a grand. You need reliability, practicality, reasonable running costs, a long distance cruiser which is also a load lugger and you want a car that could last for years to come. Volvo Cars in the 1990s was a victim of its own quality control department. The Torslanda factory was gutted when QC told them that their Torslanda 240 estate would only last 21 years. By the time the company was making the Sport Edition (a UK specific special edition which ran for about 6 months) this QC had ensured a vehicle was of ridiculously high standards when it left the production line and none more so than the RWD fleet leading models. The 940 Sport was one of the final hurrahs for the 940 - production stopped in early 1998, continuing for a few more years for the 960 and RWD V90. This quality control was great news for the customers - the traditional Volvo buyer was affluent, professional and typically bought their own car rather than on a company fleet scheme. Cars were bought to last 20 odd years and they lasted. Bad news for the commercials - as demand from this segment tended to desire the previous model - this is why production of the 240 outlasted the 740. The 940/60 continued to sell well despite the availability of the more modern and powerful 850. The 940 Sport with its factory 190 BHP was less than the LPT 850 at 193 BHP - the T5 R came in at over 250 BHP. Why was this? Well having owned both the 940 and 850 are very different cars. Firstly the 940 is a much better built car and is 100% old skool Volvo, it has a larger boot, is tougher, has the redblock longitudinal engine and has the longevity desired by its conservative customer base. The 850 is a more modern vehicle in every way, still well built and tough it is a car from the era of driving rather than motoring (if that makes sense). The 15-20 year sales pattern of the traditional customer was commercial suicide for a car maker with large market aspirations especially when many other manufacturers had moved to selling finance deals on 3 year terms. The county set was considering the plethora of luxury 4x4s and the emerging larger Subaru estates rather than the Volvo route. The writing was on the wall and when Ford bought Volvo Cars they were forced to introduce cost engineering a la ford and to adopt global template models.

 

The 940 Sport was one of the last cars to roll off the Kalmar and Gothenburg production lines and the workforce went out of its way to ensure these final models were superbly built. When looked after they will last literally decades and several are already on their way to starship Enterprise mileages. In fact, I have not yet seen a 940 sport or a 960 which has fallen to bits in the way that say a Rover does - when knackered it is usually always due to poor maintenance rather than wear and tear.

 

Having worked on several post 2004 vehicles, some high spec ones, the thing they all have in common is you can see where corners have been cut and costs saved, maybe not in the cabin which can ooze quality - rather where it matters - "but the car is only made to last 5 years" was a response i had from Ford UK when I complained about a 6 year old plastic thermostat housing that had failed....says it all really.

 

It will be interesting to see if we will ever see the 1990s quality of several marques in the future. I doubt it, unless the world realises the huge environmental and resource cost of changing cars every 3 years. The dawn of the sub £10k SUV Dacia Duster is on us - price is everything.

 

OK, whilst MPGs and insurance are expensive in the 940 Sport the cars can be picked up for under a grand, are very well screwed together, and they don't break down much. I'll be sticking with it as the main daily.

[barefoot]

That looks nice.

 

As always from you, an interesting readable write up with information that I didn't know - thanks.

[Micrashed]

Nice buy there Scooters. Liking the tyre weld and jump leads in the boot too!

[Spiny Norman]

Brilliant old bus, well done.

Also supports what's being said in another thread about mid 90s cars being 'all the car you'll ever need'.

[fiatdaft]

Looks nice,try not to fuck this one eh!

[Rocket88]

First dibs when you want to get rid please!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Whats happeneing with that SAAB 9000?

[scooters]

well,I committed to buy it and have paid a deposit so will be collected in the next 2-3 weeks - got to collect Des's Explodder first though.

 

that is unless anyone wants a gifferspec Saab 9000!

[scooters]

noticed a slight error in my write up =

 

Obviously these aren't Galaxies - I suspect the wheels are aftermarket unless anyone knows better - 10 spoke alloys which seem to be newer than the car even though repainted. I suspect the galaxies have been removed and sold on at some point.

[wuvvum]

That looks qualz. I had a 940 saloon years ago with the 2.3 LPT engine and autobox and that was nippy enough to wind up some boy racers away from the lights - would imagine the Sport version is a right giggle. Nice to read another Scooters Tat Collection Mission story too - it'd been a while...

[HMC]

Lovely! like the idea of the manual boost controller on that one. I saw a 960 estate (2.8, no turbo) crop up locally for sale last week, reading your write up leaves me regretting not buying it!

[eddyramrod]

That does look lush. Well bought sir, and excellent write-up too. I was extremely happy with my 740 GLE and would do it all again like a shot.

[Shep Shepherd]

That looks amazing. I wish I could find one as nice.

 

BTW, the wheels are proper Volvo wheels and go by the name of Adhara. They are often seen on mid-1990s 940s. Pity that the Galaxys have gone for a Burton, though.

[Cavcraft]

That doesn't half look tasty. Haven't you just sold a 740 estate though?

[scooters]

That doesn't half look tasty. Haven't you just sold a 740 estate though?

 

 

aye - impulse buy really - one of the only cars I've specifically wanted for ages having flogged the last one foolishly in 2008

[kinkersaab]

well done! here is the only pic I have of mine from a few years ago. it is still sitting in my shed waiting for something to happen to it.....

mine has its proper wheels on it though.....