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VOLVO P1800
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Comments
Remind me to take some pics of my 740's interior some time. While I have seen some demolished interiors in Volvos, mine looks brand new. The key, I think, is actually taking care of the leather. I disagree over the quality of the paint, too. I dunno, maybe by the late 80s they had fixed some problems, or possibly the 740s were simply built with better materials than the 240s. I would agree with your assesment that the 850s were screwed together better, and with higher quality materials, too.
But really, Volvo leather did suck back then IMO. It's a well-know thing and while there are always exceptions to every rule, I suspect that a casual sampling would confirm this. It's also no coincidence that Saab leathers were equally fragile. Hides are graded and generally the inferior grades are used in the lower priced cars. Volvo was not as upscale then as it is now.
Again, many other cars first attempts at leather were equally bad. Early Lexus cars come to mind as well.
I'll tell you one great thing about Volvos, though. I never personally saw a Volvo engine throw a rod, even under tremendous abuse.
Speaking of the Volvo B21: I disagree with your statement there. For $2K, you can have a very beefy B21. Look at www.kgtrimning.com. This is a Swedish Volvo tuning specialist. Remember theat the curreny exchange rate is 10.50kr per $1.
I'd rather put that kind of money into a P1800 engine myself. You could cam it, get some improved SUs on there, B20E head, exhaust headers, better timing gears (another weakness of the B20), etc., and you'd have an 1800 that could actually get out of its own way.
And very expensive to repair.
My PV 544's on the other hand were rock tough and simple.
But that was a long time ago...
I'm sure your diligence contributes to your success with this car.
Another factor is that the newer the 850, the better it is. The car has benefitted from improvement and development. If you check consumer guides for the earlier ones, you will see reports of auto trans failure, and many, many complaints of electrical problems and body hardware. Right around 1997 or so, things get much better on the charts.
What I guess I meant by "nickel and dime" is that the 850 is not a car I would personally expect to be totally trouble-free once out of warranty. I would expect it to, well, nickel and dime me, that is, no major component failure, but always something to attend to.
It would be interesting to examine that 126K wagon and see how many things I could find wrong with it that do not affect the day to day running of the car.
Some people's idea of "no problems" are different than mine maybe?
But anyway, glad to hear you are having good luck with yours.
When we inspect them we find they are not as they appear. Since we really don't work on Volvos, we farm them out to the local dealer.
The last "creampuff" needed a head gasket (not uncommon) and a bunch of electrical glitches fixed. We lost a ton of money on that one.
Now, we usually just wholesale them before something breaks.
Saabs are worse...much worse.
Not picking on Volvos, I just don't think much of them.
I vividly remember one of my father's coworkers owning a '74 Sonett III coupe when I was a toddler. And yes, that Sonett was unreliable, hard to get parts for, and a money trap in terms of repairs. Their boss's '86 9000 Turbo: the same way as that Sonett. Money trap, chronic breakdowns, tons of electrical glitches, even when it was brand-new. Needless to say, these cars were dumped by around 1989. My dad still had his old '78 Toyota Celica around that time (and he bought it brand-new!).
The Volvo I was thinking about was around a 93-95, hard to tell (for me)since they all look alike
I remember the check engine light was on (as usual with a Volvo)and the air bag light too.
Something with the sunroof too, and the brakes.
If it was just this isolated Volvo, that would be one thing but it just seems (to me anyway)that this is pretty typical.
But don't mind me, I don't like anything Volkswagen either for the same reasons.
I dunno...maybe we just get the edgy ones.
I have to wonder how a car drives that's exceeded its estimated useful life by about nineteen times. I know the mechanicals have been replaced but unless he's got a full roll cage and frame bracing, that body has got to be clapped out. What about things like spindles, A-arms and axles? It would be interesting to magnaflux the entire car.
http://www.v-performance.com