Volvo appreciation thread! Lets see em...

[danthecapriman]

Ive had a few Volvos myself and I know theres a lot of love for them on here too.

Since I recently found some pics of a couple of my old ones I thought it was a good time to stick some pics up of them.

 

This was my first ever Volvo. A 1991 J reg 340 1.7GL, one giffer owner after spending its first few months as a dealership test drive car. It was a great car and it was utterly spotless and well kept. I bought it with 50K on the clock and sold it on with 69K so was very low mileage. It went to someone in Chandlers Ford area of Southampton and my mate used to see it around until a few years ago. Its dissapeared now though and I have a feeling it may have got scrappaged! Id love to have it back!

 

Pics are from when I sold it.

 

Another bonus ovlov in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

Next is my 1979 V reg 244 2.1DL, I got this off ebay and used it through winter to keep my Capri off salted roads, I kept it for years in the end though as it was such a good car. It was another giffer owned (pattern emerging here!) car that originally came from Redruth, Cornwall but had sat outside unused for some time before I got it, hence the rusty body. It was pretty solid though and had low miles on it too. I eventually sold it on when I bought my Granada, someone off here bought it, then it got sold on again to someone from the blue forum then sold on again after being repainted blue with a silver roof, and later 240 plastic bumpers and slightly modified, eventually ending up in Scotland! Its still about but wearing different number plates now.

 

Its got its rear bumper missing in the pics, I think it was from when we sorted the rusty rear panel out.

 

 

Check out the evil tow bar! I used to catch my shins on that evey time I walked around the back of it.

Again id love another one like this too.

 

My 1987 E reg, 740 saloon 2.3GLE. Another great car, did loads of miles in this and it never missed a beat or let me down. It was a lovely thing to drive and was in good nick too. I bought this from a guy in the Chilean navy! He was over here for a couple of years and was using this to smoke about in, I said id buy it when he left the uk so buy it I did! Got to be the best car ive had this one.

I eventually had to sell it to make room for my yank, sold it on here and it went up to Newcastle area. I really miss this one!

 

 

 

Ive also had a 1994 850 estate but got no pics of it as I only owned it for one day! Bought for £150, the intention was to get it an mot, clean it up and sell for profit. But I ended up selling it straight on to my mate who wanted it. He put a new steering rack gaiter on and got it a fresh mot. Eventually he sold it to one of his mates who thrashed it mercilessly and blew up the auto box, so it got scrapped. A shame as it was a very clean car. It was metallic red with a beige interior.

 

 

So thats mine, lets see yours. Old, new what you got or had...

[cms206]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy... !!! I'll dig out some pics...

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Oh dear Dan,what have you started ? This is just what they needed to occupy them between the referendum and Hogmanay . I can see this becoming a third sub- forum !

[cms206]

First Volvo here was this '89 740GLE 2.3 auto saloon, acquired from rml2345 of this parish; it was a complete shed among sheds, never worked,was rotten and it convinced me that Volvos were A Bad Idea. It's dead now.

 

 

Needless to say another Volvo came up; the world* famous Council Estate '88 740GLE 2.3 auto estate. Bought blind, driven to Wiltshire for Shitefest '12 and still here all these years and 20-odd thousand miles later.

 

 

One Volvo is never enough. In hindsight this '88 760 2.3 Turbo auto was a big mistake - enormously rotten and very, very rough. It's now awaiting uplift for scrap registered E952 HFG.

 

 

This '92 940 Wentworth 2.0 turbo auto saloon was on fleet for about eight months and was sold on; it too is now dead

 

 

The reason for it's departure was this '97 940 Classic 2.3LPT manual estate. Arrived as R168 NBM and now carrying the plate off the 760 scrapper.

 

 

Then there was the raffle prize '96 850 T-5 manual from Barrence Shitpeas. To date my only wrong wheel drive Volvo. Now with Creeping Jesus.

 

 

Last and most recently is the ex-Sigmund Fraud/Gary Cox '89 740GLE 2.3 auto estate. I reckon this may stay for a while, getting quite fond of it...

 

 

Seven so far... quite fancy an early 245 at some point and a 300 is an itch I still need to scratch.

 

I look forward to the rest of the SVM's input and seeing more Volvos. All probably* tidier than mine.

[Station]

Here is the only Volvo I've owned - a 440 Si. It had a CVT gearbox, engine was quite pokey, and build quality was quite nice, but boring and highly doubt I'll have another Volvo; I've never seen one that makes me want one, they all seem to be 'meh'. They make perfect winter cars though. I'd definitely have a 340.

 

[danthecapriman]

I suppose the 300 series isnt technically a pure breed volvo is it, but I think theyre great. French engine in an ancient weird looking body with a gearbox in the wrong end! Same goes for the DAF/Volvo 66 type. There all welcome in this thread though!

 

I really really want to go on ebay now and look for another big bumper 244!

 

Keep the pics coming.

[HillmanImp]

Think I have only ever had one Volvo and CMS has already put up a photo of it but feel free to have another one:

 

 

When I was looking for this photo though I did find this which is sort of on topic as it is a Volvo but has never been owned by me.

 

 

 

[bub2006]

Are the 2.3 carb and injection engines as bad on fuel as folk make out? Would love a 740 2.3 auto but always shied away due to people saying they are so lethargic and uneconomical

[danthecapriman]

How many of you lot have had that gold 740 estate? Ive lost track now! Wasnt it Sam Glovers at one bit?

It looks good though, my fav colour for these Volvos (colour code 400 if im not mistaken!) same as my old saloon.

[danthecapriman]

Are the 2.3 carb and injection engines as bad on fuel as folk make out? Would love a 740 2.3 auto but always shied away due to people saying they are so lethargic and uneconomical

 

My saloon was a 2.3 auto injection (Bosch Kjet) and it wasnt bad on fuel. It was my daily for a long time and I cant remember it costing loads in fuel. Dont ask what sort of mpg I was getting with it though, I never bothered working it out.

They arent quick cars anyway but drive it gently and it wont be bad at all. The later electronic injection ones are better though for economy.

 

The 244 I had above, was a 2.1 (same engine) but carb fed and it was shit on fuel! Id avoid the carb ones if your concerned with fuel economy!

[dugong]

Ooh, dangerous thread.

 

Have a 1966 121 Amazon and a 1990 460 Turbo.

 

 

Amazon is still off the road despite having T&T. It's been an anti-climax since it went back on the road - the sunroof catches failed and flung the lid off the car backwards down the A55. It's currently in the workshop of an Anglesey-based 120 specialist receiving repairs. Finding new catches was difficult, but certain Australian Fords (XW XY XA XB GT HO GS ZD) used the same Golde sunroof cartridge as my car. There's a place down under making the sliders and mechanisms again out of brass, so I saved up and paid the (obscene) asking price for a set.

 

It also needs a million other little jobs completing as it was thrown back together to get it out of the way. Bonnet lettering, windscreen seals, door seals, heater, drivers' seat, wiper motor, door mirrors - the list is fairly long. It won't be attending many shows - I'm tired of classic enthusiast foamers ripping it to pieces because the paint \ chrome \ trim \ tyres \ windscreen \ door mirrors \ wiper arms aren't shiny enough.

 

 

The 460 Turbo remains off the road in my unit after failing an MoT 18 months ago. It doesn't need a great deal but the parts are harder to source than for the Amazon and fixing it hasn't been a priority. It'll see the road again and will probably be better than it's ever been before - I have some better suspension, a Richmod and a full SXi leather interior in the pipeline.

[worldofceri]

Jap/Dutch turbo Volvo at the seaside:

 

[daveb47]

Have had many volvos over the years ranging from 144 right through to a 164,but my current one is this 1996 940 ltp turbo

Just as a matter of interest i used to work for bm-volvo at Parkestone quay,my job was to inspect/repair or return all daf/volvo cars as they came off the ship,must have checked out thousands,everthing iincluding daf 33/4455/66 marathon.etc

[phil_lihp]

You've all seen it, but here it is again.

 

 

My first Volvo, I'd wanted one for ages and this is a good one.  It's a totally turquoise 940 2.3 LPT manual, barely run in at 136,000 miles and pretty tidy apart from being keyed down both sides.  It seems to have suffered from a lack of maintenance recently which I'm rapidly sorting out.  I've only had it about a month so far but it's already been towing trailers and carrying crap to earn its keep and I couldn't really ask more from a car.  Love it.

[cms206]

Are the 2.3 carb and injection engines as bad on fuel as folk make out? Would love a 740 2.3 auto but always shied away due to people saying they are so lethargic and uneconomical

Seems to depend on many factors; the grey 740 estate is managing about two weeks between fills but the gold one is a gutsy bastard and used to want fed every Friday. The 940 LPT manual goes like stink and driven the way I drive does about 32mpg on a run. All the 2.3s seem to do about 23-25 round town and 30-34 on a run.

 

The n/a 2.3s autos are asthmatic for 131bhp; the 2.3LPT in my 940 manual is 135bhp and goes like a totally different car, like a modern turbodiesel for torque almost.

[cms206]

How many of you lot have had that gold 740 estate? Ive lost track now! Wasnt it Sam Glovers at one bit?

It looks good though, my fav colour for these Volvos (colour code 400 if im not mistaken!) same as my old saloon.

Errr... Sam Glover, Scooters (thrice I think), HillmanImp, the fella who had it before Scoots appeared on here for a bit too.

[Lukas]

As everybody here knows, I´ve had one Volvo because I always wanted one and so I bought this

1999 Volvo S80 2.4 Auto two years ago:

 

 

I loved the look of it, I loved the wonderfully comfy seats, the safe feeling driving in it, the nice velour, it was a great car! Sadly, it wasnt a well-kept one, so it got a lot of electronic issues, leaving me at the side of the road three times in 6 month so I sold it to an export-dealer.

 

So my Volvo-era was very short, full of love and disappointments. But I´d have another one I think. Not this one ^^, but another one!

[Skizzer]

I've never had a Volvo, but I'd cheerfully exchange a kidney for a nice 262c.  When Jerry from The Good Life met John Carpenter's The Car:

 

Volvo 262 C by Auto Clasico, on Flickr

 

 

Yes, I know they're supposed to be dreadful.  But they're SO DAMN COOL it hurts.

[Matt]

I keep looking at this intercooled '88 740 turbo diesel that's on evilbay.

 

 

Despite

[danthecapriman]

^^ Just buy it! That interior colour is nice but the headlining looks like its growing new things!

Ive never had a diesel one. Can they run on veg? its a VW engine isnt it?

 

 

Ive always fancied one of these but they are rare and expensive.

Volvo 780.

Inspite of its looks it shares no panels etc with the standard 700 series.

[Matt]

^^ Just buy it! That interior colour is nice but the headlining looks like its growing new things!

Ive never had a diesel one. Can they run on veg? its a VW engine isnt it?

 

It's very tempting, I was going to get my mother to drive me to it on Saturday so if I bought it I could drive it straight home but medical reasons means she can't drive for the foreseeable future and I'm ill so I feel like fucking shite and so I don't fancy doing a 200 mile round trip in a car that is noisy and hurts my back after half that distance.

 

It's from the big LT vans/small trucks.

[Junkman]

I've never owned a Ovlov *duckforcover*

And the only one I ever drove, was a 164E with that funny gearstick. That must have been in the mid-80s.

It was so overbearingly atrocious, that I refused to as much as sit in anything Swedish for decades.

Now I would want one just because it is so awful.

[Vantman]

No Volvo owned at present but in the past have had several,1965 PV544 (Ruddspeed tuned),Amazon and 740GL estate. Also part owned lorries include,F86,F88 and F10.

 

 

[Jim Bell]

Ive had a few.

 

340 1.4 GL

 

 

 

 

 

340 Vario

 

 

 

 

 

360 GLT

 

 

 

 

360 GLE

 

 

 

 

740 GL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overruns 360 2.3turbo

 

 

 

 

 

 

T4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oman5]

My first 240, a Torslanda. It now belongs to a mate, has over 200 k on the clock. A little sluggish with a 2.0 but still a great motor and very solid for one of these.

 

I only sold it because this came up

 

 

 

A 940 with the straight six turbo diesel truck engine. Many people don't like them but I love it. It's a case of being my perfect all round vehicle that I'll be keeping until it's completely worn out.

Unusually high spec for a diesel, it has full leather, air con, cruise etc some of which still work. I adore it.

 

I've also had a 740 td and a 740 glt 16v which I really should have kept as it was in lovely nick.

Am I the only one in the WVM?

[oman5]

^^ Just buy it! That interior colour is nice but the headlining looks like its growing new things!

Ive never had a diesel one. Can they run on veg? its a VW engine isnt it?

 

 

.

Yes it's the LT engine, and yes they can indeed run on veg, used sump oil etc although you need good glow plugs,regular fuel filter changes and personally I don't use it in cold weather.

[oman5]

It's very tempting, I was going to get my mother to drive me to it on Saturday so if I bought it I could drive it straight home but medical reasons means she can't drive for the foreseeable future and I'm ill so I feel like fucking shite and so I don't fancy doing a 200 mile round trip in a car that is noisy and hurts my back after half that distance.

 

It's from the big LT vans/small trucks.

It's noisy when cold started, once you're under way it doesn't notice. I've never had back problems with any volvo, the seats are ace

[NorfolkNWeigh]

My first Volvo was a 73 144GLE in JRG, in 1981. I remember getting a 240 steering wheel from a scrappie because the original was uncomfortably bus like.

Since then I've driven most of them either as company cars/ fleet demonstrators, ones I've bought to sell and a few as family cars. So even though I'm 100% English I'm fond of a Swedish brick,but......

Modern Volvos are just ordinary ! Sorry but I've looked at and test driven a Couple of V70s, an XC70 and an all singing all dancing AWD S80 Exec ( it even had a fridge FFS!). I can report that they don't have that cliched 'hewn from solid' feel that even the old S80 and XC90's still had. To add insult to injury the 2.0 ones even have Mondeo engines complete with iffy DMF etc. needless to say I haven't bought a Volvo and I worry about what future generations of the SVM will worship.

Now is the time to buy up 2006/7 S80s and ex Polis T5 V70s to salt away( maybe not literally) for the wains, especially as I see a lot of 'em on trailers behind Polish Sprinters heading East.

[xtriple]

I had a  lovely 164 auto in that marroon colour they all seemed to be with black leather.  It was in really good order and not 'bad' to drive, but not great either. I swapped a BMW 633 for it and a Datsun 280ZX.... the BM was a nail (I was glad to be rid of)  and the Datsun wasn't much better but the Volvo was okay - traded it to a dealer in classics for a Merc 380SE... it was a good (for me) deal!

 

Bought an old 245 GLT from a local scrappy I used to be friends with (he was a really decent bloke and had a yacht in the south of France - invited me and the missus out there indefinitely while we all fixed his engine and got pissed!) as it had failed its MOT on a blowing exhaust! New back box (£40 fitted) and an MOT later it was a lovely car. Only fault with it was a dog had taken a chunk out of the dashboard above the clocks with its teeth so I 'repaired' it with filler and paint - no one could tell unless you pressed it as the rest of the dash was lovely and soft and that bit was... hard! Sold it for a MAJOR profit... yumm.

 

The only one I have 'really' owned was my V70. 2003 2.4 petrol auto, high spec (SE?) with loads of toys, leather, high spec stereo with an in dash multi-changer. It was bloody lovely and we had it for a couple of years... but, as soon as it hit 100K it started to fall apart. Door locks would 'bounce' gearbox was starting to slur between changes, dashboard was playing silly buggers. I joined a Volvo forum and found these were all common faults and a couple of them were 'quite' expensive to fix... so I got rid quick! Apart from the usual front suspension faults that made it wander around like a drunk looking for a KFC, it was dead reliable and servicing was cheap and easy(ish). Should have changed the gearbox oil though... sealed for life my arse!

[Leyland Lawrence]

I love the old 144/240/340/740/940 ranges.

 

I'd always buy a 240 and having had two will do so again. I'd never buy a modern Volvo; they've lost their Swedishness. Simple good engineering.

 

Here are some of mine

 

Green Volvo. Feared scrapped. Nothing wrong with it.

 

Grey Volvo GLE. Sunroof jammed. They all do that.

 

I want shot of this Z4 so that I can get a top notch 240. Ideally a 1984 5 speed.