The Cockroach (a new to me old Volvo)
Discussion
So with our current house renovation beginning to kick of it was time to make a decision , do we hire multiple skips, pay delivery charges for dirty materials and risk damaging either of our other cars.... or buy some form of estate untested unseen from somewhere off the interwebs.
After dismissing several for generally being fit for the scrappers, or clocked to the hilt, or indeed both, and being sold by some chap called Lou, he kept calling me brother and cocked me about I received notification i'd won something on ebay....
So off we set armed with the necessaries
Surprised by the location, a lovely old cottage in a village somewhere out near Braintree... story goes this was the chaps mother in laws car but she's packed in driving. He did drop in he had hoped to get somewhere nearer a grand but he was a man of his word. So a smidge over £650 was handed over and i was the new owner of a tank.
Its a 96/97 Volvo 940 Turbo SE... means nothing to me, but its big silver, RWD and has the word turbo in the name. 182k on the clock, 12 months MOT and a decent amount of history.
Obligatory service station carpark photo
Its blown an indicator on the way home, most likely owing to the cracked rear light letting water in and it has a ticking noise that i suspect to be the exhaust gasket as some googling leads me to believe its a common issue.
So there it is... soon to be pressed into load lugging and tip runs.
I'll try to keep it updated, but doubt it'll be that interesting!
After dismissing several for generally being fit for the scrappers, or clocked to the hilt, or indeed both, and being sold by some chap called Lou, he kept calling me brother and cocked me about I received notification i'd won something on ebay....
So off we set armed with the necessaries
Surprised by the location, a lovely old cottage in a village somewhere out near Braintree... story goes this was the chaps mother in laws car but she's packed in driving. He did drop in he had hoped to get somewhere nearer a grand but he was a man of his word. So a smidge over £650 was handed over and i was the new owner of a tank.
Its a 96/97 Volvo 940 Turbo SE... means nothing to me, but its big silver, RWD and has the word turbo in the name. 182k on the clock, 12 months MOT and a decent amount of history.
Obligatory service station carpark photo
Its blown an indicator on the way home, most likely owing to the cracked rear light letting water in and it has a ticking noise that i suspect to be the exhaust gasket as some googling leads me to believe its a common issue.
So there it is... soon to be pressed into load lugging and tip runs.
I'll try to keep it updated, but doubt it'll be that interesting!
Edited by croakey on Monday 24th October 10:25
I'm 30 and wanted a square volvo for years...
its only a lowly 134bhp and feels about a third of that has since left... i'm led to believe a 60bhp upgrade is super cheap as its only an increase in boost pressure.
I'd only intended to keep it 6 months but in the less than 200 miles i've done i've grown to quite like it, nothing at all like my A4 (it has proper tyres not bands, wallows like a trifle, and isnt pretentious)
its only a lowly 134bhp and feels about a third of that has since left... i'm led to believe a 60bhp upgrade is super cheap as its only an increase in boost pressure.
I'd only intended to keep it 6 months but in the less than 200 miles i've done i've grown to quite like it, nothing at all like my A4 (it has proper tyres not bands, wallows like a trifle, and isnt pretentious)
These are awesome.
I bought a Volvo 740 back in 2005 when metal prices were crap for £26 off Ebay (no MOT or Tax). Had 186k on the clock and when I checked the stacks of history, the clocks had been changed in the past and it had actually done 346k. Ran like a beauty though!
Enjoy it - you can get a double mattress in the back with the seats down so makes a useful bus when camping as well
I bought a Volvo 740 back in 2005 when metal prices were crap for £26 off Ebay (no MOT or Tax). Had 186k on the clock and when I checked the stacks of history, the clocks had been changed in the past and it had actually done 346k. Ran like a beauty though!
Enjoy it - you can get a double mattress in the back with the seats down so makes a useful bus when camping as well
Same here - my father runs a 940 2.3t as his 'shed', helped us move house and the load lugging capability on these is astonishing.
The only issue I'm aware of with the power-plant on these is that the head can get porous leading to HGF, depending on it's service life/duty cycles.
As noted above an MBC can give it the extra shove it needs.
Great bit of kit.
The only issue I'm aware of with the power-plant on these is that the head can get porous leading to HGF, depending on it's service life/duty cycles.
As noted above an MBC can give it the extra shove it needs.
Great bit of kit.
si_xsi said:
Lovely old buses are these. Dad had a 1990 G plater 760 gle 2.8 auto. Fully loaded and acres of space. Have you found the secret storage compartments in the boot yet?!
Oddly enough, I have the very same car in a sort of silvery grey colour. Owned a couple of years now and I don't want to part with it. The old girl has become part of the family...Cracking buy OP - old Volvo estates as awesome in a large wobbly yet secure sort of way.
My old man has a '97 Celebration 2.3 turbo same as this, one of the last off the line so plenty of kit. Has literally been round the world, as my Aunt bought it new and took it where ever my Uncle was posted in the RAF, as far as The Falkland Isles!
155k on her now, the ticking noise is likely either the manifold gasket as you thought, or also common is they crack the manifold. Nothing that can't be welded back up though. Done the head gasket on it too, along with loads of exhausts as they rot! No rust on her though
The rear lamps are quite pricey for an old bus, as they quite commonly fall apart, so set an eBay notification to let you know when one gets listed as they get snapped up quickly!
155k on her now, the ticking noise is likely either the manifold gasket as you thought, or also common is they crack the manifold. Nothing that can't be welded back up though. Done the head gasket on it too, along with loads of exhausts as they rot! No rust on her though
The rear lamps are quite pricey for an old bus, as they quite commonly fall apart, so set an eBay notification to let you know when one gets listed as they get snapped up quickly!
Love the 940, as you say for some reason you get quite attached to them. I've had one for about 8 months, and aside from a fuel pump failure in the wilds of Scotland that left me stranded its been great. Looks like you've got a tidy one, mine's low mileage but a bit scruffy (and I've never washed it which doesn't help).
They definitely encourage relaxed driving and don't like to be hurried around corners, though as others have said you can get a bit sideways on wet roundabouts if you're brave!
The ticking could be the valve hushers (a rubber damper under the cam followers which apparently goes brittle), mine is a little ticky at around 2000rpm but otherwise runs pretty well, I've yet to check them out: https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/ValveTrainMainena...
They definitely encourage relaxed driving and don't like to be hurried around corners, though as others have said you can get a bit sideways on wet roundabouts if you're brave!
The ticking could be the valve hushers (a rubber damper under the cam followers which apparently goes brittle), mine is a little ticky at around 2000rpm but otherwise runs pretty well, I've yet to check them out: https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/ValveTrainMainena...
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