Discussion
I posted this in the classic section but I know not everyone goes there so here it is for those who don't...
I managed to find an original unmolested low mileage tidy 850 GLT which was one family plus one owner
The 850 was new in 1997 and delivered (UK spec) to Germany where the original owner worked for the forces, in 1999 it was brought to the UK
The original owner passed away in 2008 then his spouse took ownership only using the car sparingly for a couple of years with their son using the car when visiting his mother then the car was laid up in their garage between 2012 and 2014. The son then took ownership of the car and ran it for a couple of years until 2016 before storing it in his garage. The son sold the car last year to an 'enthusiast' who had been looking for an 850 (turns out he was a car dealer) The car was then sold in April 2019 to the person I bought it from.
I bought the car a few days before we went into lockdown and drove to 250 miles home. The 850 had a new timing belt fitted a couple of weeks before I purchased the car so several stops were made on the road home to check nothing was amiss. However when I arrived home and lifted the bonnet I noticed the radiator expansion tank was almost empty. It didn't take long to find the leak at the water pump. The day before we went into lockdown I managed to order a new timing and serpentine belts, idler pulleys, tensioners, water pump, service kit and various other parts from Volvo and when they arrived the work began. New discs & pads were supplied with the car so they are fitted for the time being as the original 23 year old discs were ready for the bin. Next time I'll be fitting genuine Volvo parts.
I spent April and May getting the car ready for the road, I detailed the paintwork and interior, spent a week cleaning the underside (was covered in brown watery muddy splashes) I made up a flash code reader then managed to find an OBD2 dongle to connect to the primitive 850 system and connected the the ECU which allowed me to check the mileage. The 850s have a habit of breaking the cogs in the speedo head and most 850 have done many thousands more miles than is on the speedo. Turns out my car has a discrepancy of 857 miles. Speaking to the son the cog has never broken so at a loss as to where the miles have gone.
The son told me the car was in excellent condition when he sold it apart from the front bumper which was scuffed and bashed. This would explain why the bumper had been poorly repainted with a textured finish in the wrong colour. I managed to fine a used bumper in good condition and fitted it last night.
I taxed the car on 1st of June and so far have done 270 miles. I kept a close watch on the water level as I had changed the water pump and done a full coolant flush to remove the pink and fill with Volvo HOAT coolant. I had read that it can take a week or two to remove all the air from the system but I've not had to top up therefore no air and no leaks.
Still a few small bits of fettling before it's back to factory original but I'm almost there...
One of the stops on the road home to check nothing is amiss
Car was supplied with two sets of wheels, Antlia 15" which had new cheap tyres fitted and Columba 16" with cracked tyre sidewalls. I bought new tyres for the Columba wheels and went for a quick spin the day before lockdown. The car didn't feel good, something was amiss and a balance problem, but as were were going into lockdown there wasn't much I could do. After fitting the Volvo parts I had ordered I decided to take a closer look at the suspension. I found nothing worn or broken and was stumped as to why the car didn't ride as good as it had on the 15' Antila wheels, maybe a buckled wheel is I went to check them and there it was right in front of me, a 205/55R16 tyre, I checked the others and there were two x 205/55R16 and two 205/50R16. I had ordered 205/50R16 so National Tyres had screwed up big time. The car went in to have the incorrect tyres changed and I had them check the balance of the others, they were well out of balance with only 25 miles on them. Lesson learned, I won't be buying from National Tyres ever again
Columba wheels and wonky tyres fitted
The 850 is in good company with an XC90 for company for some sibling rivalry
Interior is in immaculate condition
Genuine low mileage car
Dirty bottom
Clean bottom.
I went over every inch of the car and the only rust I found was on the towbar which has now been painted
Wheel arches all cleaned
1st June and street legal and with the sun shining it was time to go for a test drive
Once up and running and with the heatwave I decided to take the 850 to my local air-con guru, a couple of hours later I had icy cold air. Then the sun hid behind the clouds and the rain came...
Previous owner fitted aftermarket clear side repeaters and left the originals in the car so I Tango'd them back onto the car
Replacement bumper fitted last night and the front is looking sorted now
I managed to find an original unmolested low mileage tidy 850 GLT which was one family plus one owner
The 850 was new in 1997 and delivered (UK spec) to Germany where the original owner worked for the forces, in 1999 it was brought to the UK
The original owner passed away in 2008 then his spouse took ownership only using the car sparingly for a couple of years with their son using the car when visiting his mother then the car was laid up in their garage between 2012 and 2014. The son then took ownership of the car and ran it for a couple of years until 2016 before storing it in his garage. The son sold the car last year to an 'enthusiast' who had been looking for an 850 (turns out he was a car dealer) The car was then sold in April 2019 to the person I bought it from.
I bought the car a few days before we went into lockdown and drove to 250 miles home. The 850 had a new timing belt fitted a couple of weeks before I purchased the car so several stops were made on the road home to check nothing was amiss. However when I arrived home and lifted the bonnet I noticed the radiator expansion tank was almost empty. It didn't take long to find the leak at the water pump. The day before we went into lockdown I managed to order a new timing and serpentine belts, idler pulleys, tensioners, water pump, service kit and various other parts from Volvo and when they arrived the work began. New discs & pads were supplied with the car so they are fitted for the time being as the original 23 year old discs were ready for the bin. Next time I'll be fitting genuine Volvo parts.
I spent April and May getting the car ready for the road, I detailed the paintwork and interior, spent a week cleaning the underside (was covered in brown watery muddy splashes) I made up a flash code reader then managed to find an OBD2 dongle to connect to the primitive 850 system and connected the the ECU which allowed me to check the mileage. The 850s have a habit of breaking the cogs in the speedo head and most 850 have done many thousands more miles than is on the speedo. Turns out my car has a discrepancy of 857 miles. Speaking to the son the cog has never broken so at a loss as to where the miles have gone.
The son told me the car was in excellent condition when he sold it apart from the front bumper which was scuffed and bashed. This would explain why the bumper had been poorly repainted with a textured finish in the wrong colour. I managed to fine a used bumper in good condition and fitted it last night.
I taxed the car on 1st of June and so far have done 270 miles. I kept a close watch on the water level as I had changed the water pump and done a full coolant flush to remove the pink and fill with Volvo HOAT coolant. I had read that it can take a week or two to remove all the air from the system but I've not had to top up therefore no air and no leaks.
Still a few small bits of fettling before it's back to factory original but I'm almost there...
One of the stops on the road home to check nothing is amiss
Car was supplied with two sets of wheels, Antlia 15" which had new cheap tyres fitted and Columba 16" with cracked tyre sidewalls. I bought new tyres for the Columba wheels and went for a quick spin the day before lockdown. The car didn't feel good, something was amiss and a balance problem, but as were were going into lockdown there wasn't much I could do. After fitting the Volvo parts I had ordered I decided to take a closer look at the suspension. I found nothing worn or broken and was stumped as to why the car didn't ride as good as it had on the 15' Antila wheels, maybe a buckled wheel is I went to check them and there it was right in front of me, a 205/55R16 tyre, I checked the others and there were two x 205/55R16 and two 205/50R16. I had ordered 205/50R16 so National Tyres had screwed up big time. The car went in to have the incorrect tyres changed and I had them check the balance of the others, they were well out of balance with only 25 miles on them. Lesson learned, I won't be buying from National Tyres ever again
Columba wheels and wonky tyres fitted
The 850 is in good company with an XC90 for company for some sibling rivalry
Interior is in immaculate condition
Genuine low mileage car
Dirty bottom
Clean bottom.
I went over every inch of the car and the only rust I found was on the towbar which has now been painted
Wheel arches all cleaned
1st June and street legal and with the sun shining it was time to go for a test drive
Once up and running and with the heatwave I decided to take the 850 to my local air-con guru, a couple of hours later I had icy cold air. Then the sun hid behind the clouds and the rain came...
Previous owner fitted aftermarket clear side repeaters and left the originals in the car so I Tango'd them back onto the car
Replacement bumper fitted last night and the front is looking sorted now
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