Boxy, but good. 1989 Volvo 740
Discussion
chris1roll said:
Interestingly enough it is feathering the outside edge of the NSF tyre 
I don't recall it being an issue on the two I had before, but perhaps they had had the fix.
If they're the same as the 940 you can re-drill one of the top mount bolts which increases the camber and apparently solves the tyre wear and improves handling, it's a free mod if you've ever got the front struts off. Plenty of info on google about it, it was a modification that Volvo themselves carried out by all accounts. I don't recall it being an issue on the two I had before, but perhaps they had had the fix.I'm following this with great interest, I've not long bought myself a 940 and I've got my work cut out, fun boxy things
I had a days holiday to use up on Friday, so spent some time tinkering.
There is still an intermittent vibration through the steering wheel that sets up at certain speeds, but can be 'driven through', and last time I had it in the air I noticed some play isn the NS wheel so I thought I would investigate that first.
Having removed the boots on the inner track rods and given everything a good wiggle - the play is in the rack. The inner rack can be moved up and down slightly in the housing. Since it is fine to pass the MOT and just irritating, it can stay like that until I have money to burn.
While it was up in the air I dropped the ATF again. Getting redder, I think we're probably passing the cleaning stage of the new fluid, a couple more and that'll be fine, then I'll just do a single drain and fill at service time:
Having not yet actually had the wheels off, and already being aware of a reasonable lip on the discs, I thought I would check the condition of the front brakes to make sure I wasn't going to be metal to metal anytime soon.
I have Bendix calipers:
There is enough pad to get through to the spring at the miles I'm doing without going below 3mm:
All four dust boots are perished in the same place, it looks like for quite some time. The pistons although corroded all move easily so I think it's probably worth my while getting a rebuild kit and having a go at doing that when I come to replace the discs+pads.
Comfortable that the brakes are safe for the time being I buttoned it all back up again and dropped the car back on the ground.
I got a cheap trim removal set from Amazon in order to stand the best chance of getting at the panel lights without snapping ancient plastic:
With it all apart, I checked each bulb to ensure it was actually blown, and each socket to check it was getting power.
Sadly someone had been in there before me and snapped one of the mounts of on the heater control panel. I put some small (copper, because they were what I had in the right size..) washers over all four when I refitted.
8 bulbs, all blown:
A bit of a mix, as they've obviously been replaced piecemeal over the years.
A pack of new ones in green:
I thought about going LED, but I'd need to experiment a bit to find some that don't flicker - I can see trails from some LED lights and my wife gets migraines triggered by flashy/flickery lights, so incandesent is the safe option for now.
Not the best picture, but now I can see what gear i'm in, and adjust the heater - if I had one!
That was a good shout, thanks:
So I'm currently day-runningless for now until I get round to fitting an in-line holder. Another thing to add to the list, which doesn't ever seem to get shorter!
I did a complete 180 on a wet roundabout when I thought I would 'see if I can get the back end out'
Thankfully I didn't hit anything and there were very few cameras about back then so I just learned a lesson in throttle control!
I have searched this up, some of it seems a bit 'finger in the air' but if it works, great.
There is still an intermittent vibration through the steering wheel that sets up at certain speeds, but can be 'driven through', and last time I had it in the air I noticed some play isn the NS wheel so I thought I would investigate that first.
Having removed the boots on the inner track rods and given everything a good wiggle - the play is in the rack. The inner rack can be moved up and down slightly in the housing. Since it is fine to pass the MOT and just irritating, it can stay like that until I have money to burn.
While it was up in the air I dropped the ATF again. Getting redder, I think we're probably passing the cleaning stage of the new fluid, a couple more and that'll be fine, then I'll just do a single drain and fill at service time:
Having not yet actually had the wheels off, and already being aware of a reasonable lip on the discs, I thought I would check the condition of the front brakes to make sure I wasn't going to be metal to metal anytime soon.
I have Bendix calipers:
There is enough pad to get through to the spring at the miles I'm doing without going below 3mm:
All four dust boots are perished in the same place, it looks like for quite some time. The pistons although corroded all move easily so I think it's probably worth my while getting a rebuild kit and having a go at doing that when I come to replace the discs+pads.
Comfortable that the brakes are safe for the time being I buttoned it all back up again and dropped the car back on the ground.
I got a cheap trim removal set from Amazon in order to stand the best chance of getting at the panel lights without snapping ancient plastic:
With it all apart, I checked each bulb to ensure it was actually blown, and each socket to check it was getting power.
Sadly someone had been in there before me and snapped one of the mounts of on the heater control panel. I put some small (copper, because they were what I had in the right size..) washers over all four when I refitted.
8 bulbs, all blown:
A bit of a mix, as they've obviously been replaced piecemeal over the years.
A pack of new ones in green:
I thought about going LED, but I'd need to experiment a bit to find some that don't flicker - I can see trails from some LED lights and my wife gets migraines triggered by flashy/flickery lights, so incandesent is the safe option for now.
Not the best picture, but now I can see what gear i'm in, and adjust the heater - if I had one!
chris1roll said:
SirGriffin said:
Lovely cars.
The daytime running lights can cause the fusebox to overheat as they age, many owners simply removed the fuse since they aren't a legal requirement here.
I'll check out the fusebox and get some contact cleaner on the go.The daytime running lights can cause the fusebox to overheat as they age, many owners simply removed the fuse since they aren't a legal requirement here.
So I'm currently day-runningless for now until I get round to fitting an in-line holder. Another thing to add to the list, which doesn't ever seem to get shorter!
James_N said:
My first experience of a 740 was one I purchased for £100. A blue GLE with tan leather. Drove it for years until I lost the arse end on a wet bend and it went through a hedge backwards.
When I was 17 I took my 1.6i 440 to a local volvo specialists to be serviced. They gave me a C-reg 2.3 GLE as a courtesy car.I did a complete 180 on a wet roundabout when I thought I would 'see if I can get the back end out'
Thankfully I didn't hit anything and there were very few cameras about back then so I just learned a lesson in throttle control!
lel said:
chris1roll said:
Interestingly enough it is feathering the outside edge of the NSF tyre I don't recall it being an issue on the two I had before, but perhaps they had had the fix.
If they're the same as the 940 you can re-drill one of the top mount bolts which increases the camber and apparently solves the tyre wear and improves handling, it's a free mod if you've ever got the front struts off. Plenty of info on google about it, it was a modification that Volvo themselves carried out by all accounts. I don't recall it being an issue on the two I had before, but perhaps they had had the fix.A busy weekend.
I'd originally intended to do this back sometime in the summer, but... didn't.
Luckily the weather gods were smiling on me this weekend so I could get it done before it turns all cold and wet.
I already mentioned the only rust I could find on the car was on the rear arches, a good few inches away from being a strutural issue, but in need of sorting before it gets any worse.
Nearside:
Offside, the lower part was worse than the nearside, but the rest of the arch was much better:
I'll preface this by saying I'm not a bodywork guy, this is not intended as an instructional, its just me blogging about it, and in order to be called a bad painter, I would first of all have to be a painter.
This is a daily driver, and my intention is to prevent further decay as far as possible, and end up with a job that is 'good from 6ft away'.
I bought a few bits and pieces:
Of course these jobs always grow a bit. At some point someone had done a quarter-assed job with some rubberised underseal, glooped it on so thick there was a drip hanging down from the arch at one point, and got it on the paintwork too.
Predictable enough this had made things worse, and I ended up having to scrape it off the back of the sill and the inside of the arch.
Luckily I caught the sill end in time:
Back to clean metal - I did the same on the inside of the arch, but thats not so easy to photgraph (or to get to - I was utterly filthy at the end of it)
I didn't have to take as much off the off side:
I took a file to the jagged rusted edges to make it look a bit more tidy:
First coat of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80:
After I had waited the requisite 30 minutes I applied a second coat.
The minimum time before overpainting is 3 hours (24 recommended). This would have taken me to about 5:30, at which point I would have been chasing the sun and fighting falling temperature and the dew, so decided to leave it overnight.
I'm glad I did, this next morning the entire surface I had treated was the dark black of the activated product, and once the temperature had come up I was able to get on with the painting.
Finished article:
I think I fulfilled my spec, not bad for painting by hand by decanting a touch up paint into a ramekin and using an artists paintbrush!
I'd originally intended to do this back sometime in the summer, but... didn't.
Luckily the weather gods were smiling on me this weekend so I could get it done before it turns all cold and wet.
I already mentioned the only rust I could find on the car was on the rear arches, a good few inches away from being a strutural issue, but in need of sorting before it gets any worse.
Nearside:
Offside, the lower part was worse than the nearside, but the rest of the arch was much better:
I'll preface this by saying I'm not a bodywork guy, this is not intended as an instructional, its just me blogging about it, and in order to be called a bad painter, I would first of all have to be a painter.
This is a daily driver, and my intention is to prevent further decay as far as possible, and end up with a job that is 'good from 6ft away'.
I bought a few bits and pieces:
Of course these jobs always grow a bit. At some point someone had done a quarter-assed job with some rubberised underseal, glooped it on so thick there was a drip hanging down from the arch at one point, and got it on the paintwork too.
Predictable enough this had made things worse, and I ended up having to scrape it off the back of the sill and the inside of the arch.
Luckily I caught the sill end in time:
Back to clean metal - I did the same on the inside of the arch, but thats not so easy to photgraph (or to get to - I was utterly filthy at the end of it)
I didn't have to take as much off the off side:
I took a file to the jagged rusted edges to make it look a bit more tidy:
First coat of Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80:
After I had waited the requisite 30 minutes I applied a second coat.
The minimum time before overpainting is 3 hours (24 recommended). This would have taken me to about 5:30, at which point I would have been chasing the sun and fighting falling temperature and the dew, so decided to leave it overnight.
I'm glad I did, this next morning the entire surface I had treated was the dark black of the activated product, and once the temperature had come up I was able to get on with the painting.
Finished article:
I think I fulfilled my spec, not bad for painting by hand by decanting a touch up paint into a ramekin and using an artists paintbrush!
Winter preparations, part 2!
I now have a heater.
I bought one of the new old stock right hand drive valves from Germany:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224543798978
Or rather, I tried to.
They took my money, marked it as despatched and then a few days later refunded me. No explanation. I messaged them in both English and very broken German but didn't get any response.
Not impressed with the communication - what peed me off the most was that on the refund message from E-bay they had stated that I had asked to cancel the transaction!
I see now that they have changed the listing to 'out of stock', so I guess that's that.
Therefore, I had to make something else fit.
After a bit of measuring, I settled on the following:
16mm push to close brass water valve:
https://www.t7design.co.uk/brass-heater-valve-16mm...
1.5m bowden cable:
https://www.t7design.co.uk/type-a-bowden-cable-1-5...
1m of 16mm edpm heater hose:
https://www.t7design.co.uk/epdm-car-heater-hose-16...
(For the amount I used, this could better be substituted with a 90deg edpm elbow that they sell instead, with the 90deg taking the place of the volvo hose I ended up adapting, especially if you have had to cut the original hose off.)
A 16mm brass bulkhead fitting:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B77XYSXB?ref=ppx_yo2...
And a few extra hose clamps.
I did pay extra for DPD delivery on the stuff from T7 design as Royal Mail's latest record for delivery here is now just over three weeks on a 48hr tracked service and I kind of wanted to get on with it, but otherwise the total cost is less than £40.
The first trial fitting.
The short length or rubber hose needs to be cut such that the brass valve almost touches the inlet on the heater matrix, but leaves enough length that the valve can be lifted enough to point more directly at the hole in the bulkhead which it currently sits below:
I didn't want it all flopping about down there. Luckily I found this random bracket left over from when I built our kitchen a few years ago:
In order to fix that bracket to the car, I neded to drill a hole just at the end of the tippex mark on the steel sheet here:
Somehow I managed that, and with the bracket loosely in place, part of the original volvo hose is trial fitted to point to the hole in the bulkhead.
Now, the original bowden cable was never going to reach down to a replacement valve so that needed to be changed.
I had assumed, that the original cable came off the left of the slider, did a little loop, and then went directly to the valve.
It does not.
It comes off the right hand side of the slider, loops over the heater unit and controls a flap in the air intake. From there a second cable runs to the valve and it is this one that must be replaced.
Can you see it?
No?
Here you go:
This is what took the time. It is the cable closest to the pivot that has to come off. A long screwdriver popped the out cable clamp off, and then I was able to pop the inner out of the white plastic clip you can just about see.
At this point it is worth noting that the inner cables here aren't double bent, the have a single 90deg bend in them and are then clipped into the white plastic clip, so I had to modify the new cable.
Getting the new cable actually clipped into that plastic clip was quite frustrating! It would look like it was ok, but after a few actuations it would work its way out again. In the end I had a screwdriver wedged under it against the heater box, and then used my 1/4 drive extension wedged against the upper bulkhead to get the pressure required to seat it properly.
I originally bought the 1.5m cable deliberately thinking it would be too long and I would need to cut it down, but in fact it turns out it works out just right for me being able to route it with only gentle bends in it. it runs along over the top of the pedal box, curves around almost against the right hand side of the car, passes through the loop formed by the ignition ecu, goes just above the steering column and onto the valve.
Once it was hooked up I discovered that becase it was driven by the inside of the lever (I.e. closer to the pivot point) on the top of the heater box, that shortened the throw compared to if it came straght off the slider, and therefore it didn't have enough throw to open the valve any further than this:
So the valve had to come out again (twice) while I drilled some extra holes in the arm so that the throw I had available would open the valve from the fully closed position, to, as it ended up, about 95% of the way:
All fitted:
Further out picture of the bowden cable route.
Good job my car is an auto.
In a manual I suspect bending the cable retaining bracket might get the cable to clear in front of the clutch pedal, but without one to check I can't be sure. The alternative maybe would be to make an L shaped lever and use the original bowden cable to drive that with a short link to the valve lever. The valve in that case would need to be push to open..
The bulkhead fitting showing in the engine bay:
I was originally going to use a piece of 15mm copper with an olive soldered on to either end, but given how thin copper pipe is these days, the much more substantial piece of brass seemed the right option.
I had made some washers to go either side of the bulkhead, but as it turns out the centre part of the fitting wasn't quite long enough to use them. It isn't moving around, but I ended up putting some silicone (
) around the hole on the engine bay side to ensure any gaps were filled in case of exhaust leaks etc..
And with the hoses hooked up and the coolant topped back up again I now have a toasty warm heater
I now have a heater.
I bought one of the new old stock right hand drive valves from Germany:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224543798978
Or rather, I tried to.
They took my money, marked it as despatched and then a few days later refunded me. No explanation. I messaged them in both English and very broken German but didn't get any response.
Not impressed with the communication - what peed me off the most was that on the refund message from E-bay they had stated that I had asked to cancel the transaction!
I see now that they have changed the listing to 'out of stock', so I guess that's that.
Therefore, I had to make something else fit.
After a bit of measuring, I settled on the following:
16mm push to close brass water valve:
https://www.t7design.co.uk/brass-heater-valve-16mm...
1.5m bowden cable:
https://www.t7design.co.uk/type-a-bowden-cable-1-5...
1m of 16mm edpm heater hose:
https://www.t7design.co.uk/epdm-car-heater-hose-16...
(For the amount I used, this could better be substituted with a 90deg edpm elbow that they sell instead, with the 90deg taking the place of the volvo hose I ended up adapting, especially if you have had to cut the original hose off.)
A 16mm brass bulkhead fitting:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B77XYSXB?ref=ppx_yo2...
And a few extra hose clamps.
I did pay extra for DPD delivery on the stuff from T7 design as Royal Mail's latest record for delivery here is now just over three weeks on a 48hr tracked service and I kind of wanted to get on with it, but otherwise the total cost is less than £40.
The first trial fitting.
The short length or rubber hose needs to be cut such that the brass valve almost touches the inlet on the heater matrix, but leaves enough length that the valve can be lifted enough to point more directly at the hole in the bulkhead which it currently sits below:
I didn't want it all flopping about down there. Luckily I found this random bracket left over from when I built our kitchen a few years ago:
In order to fix that bracket to the car, I neded to drill a hole just at the end of the tippex mark on the steel sheet here:
Somehow I managed that, and with the bracket loosely in place, part of the original volvo hose is trial fitted to point to the hole in the bulkhead.
Now, the original bowden cable was never going to reach down to a replacement valve so that needed to be changed.
I had assumed, that the original cable came off the left of the slider, did a little loop, and then went directly to the valve.
It does not.
It comes off the right hand side of the slider, loops over the heater unit and controls a flap in the air intake. From there a second cable runs to the valve and it is this one that must be replaced.
Can you see it?
No?
Here you go:
This is what took the time. It is the cable closest to the pivot that has to come off. A long screwdriver popped the out cable clamp off, and then I was able to pop the inner out of the white plastic clip you can just about see.
At this point it is worth noting that the inner cables here aren't double bent, the have a single 90deg bend in them and are then clipped into the white plastic clip, so I had to modify the new cable.
Getting the new cable actually clipped into that plastic clip was quite frustrating! It would look like it was ok, but after a few actuations it would work its way out again. In the end I had a screwdriver wedged under it against the heater box, and then used my 1/4 drive extension wedged against the upper bulkhead to get the pressure required to seat it properly.
I originally bought the 1.5m cable deliberately thinking it would be too long and I would need to cut it down, but in fact it turns out it works out just right for me being able to route it with only gentle bends in it. it runs along over the top of the pedal box, curves around almost against the right hand side of the car, passes through the loop formed by the ignition ecu, goes just above the steering column and onto the valve.
Once it was hooked up I discovered that becase it was driven by the inside of the lever (I.e. closer to the pivot point) on the top of the heater box, that shortened the throw compared to if it came straght off the slider, and therefore it didn't have enough throw to open the valve any further than this:
So the valve had to come out again (twice) while I drilled some extra holes in the arm so that the throw I had available would open the valve from the fully closed position, to, as it ended up, about 95% of the way:
All fitted:
Further out picture of the bowden cable route.
Good job my car is an auto.
In a manual I suspect bending the cable retaining bracket might get the cable to clear in front of the clutch pedal, but without one to check I can't be sure. The alternative maybe would be to make an L shaped lever and use the original bowden cable to drive that with a short link to the valve lever. The valve in that case would need to be push to open..
The bulkhead fitting showing in the engine bay:
I was originally going to use a piece of 15mm copper with an olive soldered on to either end, but given how thin copper pipe is these days, the much more substantial piece of brass seemed the right option.
I had made some washers to go either side of the bulkhead, but as it turns out the centre part of the fitting wasn't quite long enough to use them. It isn't moving around, but I ended up putting some silicone (
) around the hole on the engine bay side to ensure any gaps were filled in case of exhaust leaks etc..And with the hoses hooked up and the coolant topped back up again I now have a toasty warm heater
Great work! Coming together now 
chris1roll said:
I did pay extra for DPD delivery on the stuff from T7 design as Royal Mail's latest record for delivery here is now just over three weeks on a 48hr tracked service and I kind of wanted to get on with it, but otherwise the total cost is less than £40.
Glad to see it’s not just us…I have 7 parcels sat at Bridgwater sorting office awaiting delivery. Oldest from the 3rd Oct! We see a postman once every 2 weeks for letters…! 86,016 miles - 6 months and 3,664 miles since purchase and the piston/valve interface.
Time for it's 6 month service
First time ever not fitting a genuine filter on a redblock, but I'm 99% sure Mahle make the Volvo ones, they have the non-return valve in them, it was half the price and just down the road rather than almost in the next county.
I also now posess enough sump washers to do a 6-monthly change from now until June 2035, which my wife says is 'optimistic'.
This was the 7th Drain and fill of the gearbox. It still looks dark in the drain pan, but holding it up to the light in a syringe it's not bad:
The gearbox is vastly, vastly improved over when I got it, with only the very occasional 'firmish' 1-2 change at low speed. I can live with that, if it's firm, its not slipping!
That'll do for the repeated drain and fills-now at 96% new fluid, hereafter I'll do one every service, its only £12.50's worth of ATF each time.
Onto the oil and filter, and I've decided it is literally impossible to remove the filter on these without making a mess. This time I tried putting a plastic bag over it but that didn't help. The fact I was short of blue towel to put under it didn't make it any cleaner either.
While that was draining I pulled the spark plugs. The original Volvo schedule calls for changing them every six months but i think that is a touch excessive with modern plugs - just a check and gap is fine for the minor service IMHO.
They looked in good nick with only Cyl1 needing a little tweak up (the 0.7mm feeler gauge was a bit loose)
No.1:
No.2:
No.3:
No.4:
Doesn't seem to be much wrong with it.
In preparation for my planned rebuild of the front calipers in the new year, I decided to try and free the bleed valves, as if they were just going to shear off there wouldn't be much point buying the rebuild kit.
Copious application of 'super slax' (I'm dreading running out of that, it came from the quarry my mate worked at about 15 years ago), and a gentle tap longitudinally with a hammer and then the 10mm 1/4drive socket on them and all 4 on the front calipers came undone, with only the upper one on the off side putting up a little bit of a fight.
I was most surprised with the rear ones - looked in worse condition and only an 8mm hex on them, but they came undone easily.
The unions onto the flexi's don't look too bad. I soaked them in super slax in readiness, but I'll go into the job prepared to have to replace at least one hard line.
Then I had planned to change the diff oil because, well, why not?
Ah, someone has been here before. That copper washer looks quite well squished and the bolt head has seen better days.
(Its not leaking, thats after I cleaned all the crap off with brake cleaner)
Well, you win some, you lose some, my luck following the bleed nipples couldn't last.
I am so glad I remembered to try and undo this before the drain plug!
I had a quick go, but no chance.
I will come back to this when the weather is a bit more clement, with a set of Irwin bolt grips and a pair of replacement drain/fill plugs.
Time for it's 6 month service
First time ever not fitting a genuine filter on a redblock, but I'm 99% sure Mahle make the Volvo ones, they have the non-return valve in them, it was half the price and just down the road rather than almost in the next county.
I also now posess enough sump washers to do a 6-monthly change from now until June 2035, which my wife says is 'optimistic'.
This was the 7th Drain and fill of the gearbox. It still looks dark in the drain pan, but holding it up to the light in a syringe it's not bad:
The gearbox is vastly, vastly improved over when I got it, with only the very occasional 'firmish' 1-2 change at low speed. I can live with that, if it's firm, its not slipping!
That'll do for the repeated drain and fills-now at 96% new fluid, hereafter I'll do one every service, its only £12.50's worth of ATF each time.
Onto the oil and filter, and I've decided it is literally impossible to remove the filter on these without making a mess. This time I tried putting a plastic bag over it but that didn't help. The fact I was short of blue towel to put under it didn't make it any cleaner either.
While that was draining I pulled the spark plugs. The original Volvo schedule calls for changing them every six months but i think that is a touch excessive with modern plugs - just a check and gap is fine for the minor service IMHO.
They looked in good nick with only Cyl1 needing a little tweak up (the 0.7mm feeler gauge was a bit loose)
No.1:
No.2:
No.3:
No.4:
Doesn't seem to be much wrong with it.
In preparation for my planned rebuild of the front calipers in the new year, I decided to try and free the bleed valves, as if they were just going to shear off there wouldn't be much point buying the rebuild kit.
Copious application of 'super slax' (I'm dreading running out of that, it came from the quarry my mate worked at about 15 years ago), and a gentle tap longitudinally with a hammer and then the 10mm 1/4drive socket on them and all 4 on the front calipers came undone, with only the upper one on the off side putting up a little bit of a fight.
I was most surprised with the rear ones - looked in worse condition and only an 8mm hex on them, but they came undone easily.
The unions onto the flexi's don't look too bad. I soaked them in super slax in readiness, but I'll go into the job prepared to have to replace at least one hard line.
Then I had planned to change the diff oil because, well, why not?
Ah, someone has been here before. That copper washer looks quite well squished and the bolt head has seen better days.
(Its not leaking, thats after I cleaned all the crap off with brake cleaner)
Well, you win some, you lose some, my luck following the bleed nipples couldn't last.
I am so glad I remembered to try and undo this before the drain plug!
I had a quick go, but no chance.
I will come back to this when the weather is a bit more clement, with a set of Irwin bolt grips and a pair of replacement drain/fill plugs.
Lovely car,
A family friend bought a new 1984 A reg 760 GLE in Redwood metallic with Tan leather, as a 14 yr old it was lovely to go in and a cheeky drive, would I be right in saying 2.8 straight 6?
That got px’d after 100000 miles for a 740 GLT Turbo, boy was that thing quick, White with a black part leather trim and manual box.
He previously had a 164 GLE and a 264 GLT .
I was working at the time when my then boss bought a new 740 GL Est as we sold office furniture and the 740 along side a Renault 21 Savannah was able to carry two 4 draw Bisley filing cabinets side by side in the back.
So allways had a soft spot for an old Volvo.
A family friend bought a new 1984 A reg 760 GLE in Redwood metallic with Tan leather, as a 14 yr old it was lovely to go in and a cheeky drive, would I be right in saying 2.8 straight 6?
That got px’d after 100000 miles for a 740 GLT Turbo, boy was that thing quick, White with a black part leather trim and manual box.
He previously had a 164 GLE and a 264 GLT .
I was working at the time when my then boss bought a new 740 GL Est as we sold office furniture and the 740 along side a Renault 21 Savannah was able to carry two 4 draw Bisley filing cabinets side by side in the back.
So allways had a soft spot for an old Volvo.
mdk1 said:
Lovely car,
A family friend bought a new 1984 A reg 760 GLE in Redwood metallic with Tan leather, as a 14 yr old it was lovely to go in and a cheeky drive, would I be right in saying 2.8 straight 6?
That got px’d after 100000 miles for a 740 GLT Turbo, boy was that thing quick, White with a black part leather trim and manual box.
He previously had a 164 GLE and a 264 GLT .
I was working at the time when my then boss bought a new 740 GL Est as we sold office furniture and the 740 along side a Renault 21 Savannah was able to carry two 4 draw Bisley filing cabinets side by side in the back.
So allways had a soft spot for an old Volvo.
Thankyou A family friend bought a new 1984 A reg 760 GLE in Redwood metallic with Tan leather, as a 14 yr old it was lovely to go in and a cheeky drive, would I be right in saying 2.8 straight 6?
That got px’d after 100000 miles for a 740 GLT Turbo, boy was that thing quick, White with a black part leather trim and manual box.
He previously had a 164 GLE and a 264 GLT .
I was working at the time when my then boss bought a new 740 GL Est as we sold office furniture and the 740 along side a Renault 21 Savannah was able to carry two 4 draw Bisley filing cabinets side by side in the back.
So allways had a soft spot for an old Volvo.
The 760 would have been a 2.8 V6 - A Peugeot-Renault-Volvo joint effort.
The same engine was used in the DeLorean, but was strangled by the US Emissions requirements so it dropped about 30hp!
I drove one once (a 760, not a Delorean) - fastest car I had been in at the time, but you could literally see the fuel gauge going down as you drove.
Still tempted by getting a turbo engine to rebuild and swap in, but then I'd be introducing a lot more (elderly) electronics that I wanted to get away from. They were damn quick - faster than the 944, 325e, and Audi 100 turbo of the time.
Lovely car, lovely life giving effort.
Regarding release agent, XCP is very good, for not much moneyhttps://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-and-fluids/lubricating-and-penetrating-oil/xcp-one-dual-action-can-400ml-471949.html
I tried it because Bad Obsession Motorsport used it taking apart their mobile library bus, and it worked a treat on my MX5, which I completely dismantled as a base for a kit car and was as rusty in places as you would expect a 25 year old mx5 to be.
Regarding release agent, XCP is very good, for not much moneyhttps://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-and-fluids/lubricating-and-penetrating-oil/xcp-one-dual-action-can-400ml-471949.html
I tried it because Bad Obsession Motorsport used it taking apart their mobile library bus, and it worked a treat on my MX5, which I completely dismantled as a base for a kit car and was as rusty in places as you would expect a 25 year old mx5 to be.
guitarcarfanatic said:
Excellent work - and good job on the mileage so far! 3.5k in 6 months is pretty good going for a multi-car household! Are the C70 and V70XC still getting much use as well?
The 740 and the XC are both used pretty much every day. The 740 is probably going to get a bit of a break over Christmas as there is no afternoon school run for me to do.The XC is going to have done around 8k this year - that's with some time stood up / in bits. We've got quite into geocaching this year, and it is generally the car used for that - with the extra bit of ground clearance we're not too worried about throwing it into field gateways, up verges etc and possibly ripping something off the bottom etc, but if we are going somewhere with an actual car park, I'll want to take the 740.
The C70 went in the summer. I just couldn't live with the scuttleshake, and our daughter absolutely hated the car. I still think it was a beautiful thing, just flawed for actual driving.
I lost so much money on that - I put a new front caliper, flexi hoses and one hard line, as well as track rods on it before the MOT and got a first time pass and put it up with some decent pictures for the same as I had paid for it. I reduced the price several times with still no interest so ended up putting it on a no reserve e-bay auction.
It went for £700
I'd have been better off not doing any work and just selling it to the scrapyard
Not my finest purchase!
I did 4k in the C70 in less than 6 months so our annual mileage between the two of us is probably around 16k.
Smitters said:
Lovely car, lovely life giving effort.
Regarding release agent, XCP is very good, for not much moneyhttps://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-and-fluids/lubricating-and-penetrating-oil/xcp-one-dual-action-can-400ml-471949.html
I tried it because Bad Obsession Motorsport used it taking apart their mobile library bus, and it worked a treat on my MX5, which I completely dismantled as a base for a kit car and was as rusty in places as you would expect a 25 year old mx5 to be.
Thankyou, I'll give that a go when my stock runs out!Regarding release agent, XCP is very good, for not much moneyhttps://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-and-fluids/lubricating-and-penetrating-oil/xcp-one-dual-action-can-400ml-471949.html
I tried it because Bad Obsession Motorsport used it taking apart their mobile library bus, and it worked a treat on my MX5, which I completely dismantled as a base for a kit car and was as rusty in places as you would expect a 25 year old mx5 to be.
Lovely to see these - I did a lot of my real life "learner" driving in an estate version and my folks had Volvos from the mid '70's to date aside from a few years with a Merc E class rustbucket. Many happy memories of the 740. I think we had a petrol estate, and then a couple of 760 turbodiesels before the ill-fated german invasion that was rectified with a 2005 XC70 that I have currently "borrowed" from my Dad. From memory the only time we ever had a breakdown was from dirty diesel fuel, and I am sure my Dad stretched the laws of physics a few times with some towing. Cracking cars - I think I still have a load of brochures from the Volvo dealer for these in a cupboard at my parents' house.
Some minor tinkering today.
I had sat down one evening earlier in the week to start looking for brake parts, but turns out in typical 80's Volvo fashion, that in addition to the two different caliper possibilities I was aware of, there are also three options for discs, that can't be determined from reg or VIN.
Whipped the front wheels off to check which of the multiple possible variants of discs/calipers I have - turns out to be 260mm discs without integral hubs ( I think integral hubs were only very early cars) and bendix calipers.
The front hoses are in good nick but I'll replace them since I've got to remove them anyway. One of the rear ones is _just_ starting to show some cracking on close inspection, so since the system is going to be open I might as well do those too, providing the unions don't round off.
I swapped the wheels front-back on the off chance the oddly intermittent steering wheel wobble is caused by a tyre rather than the play in the near side rack shaft bushing. I am not holding out much hope on that tbh but worth trying before spending money on a rebuild.
Gave it a quick wash and spray wax since it was covered in white dust, either limestone dust from the quarry nearby or the mineral plant at work I guess - either way abrasive stuff I wanted hosed off!
You may remember it has been day-running light less since after taking SirGriffens advice I checked the fuse and found it a little bit melty.
Well, it's not really a 1980's Volvo without the lights being on all the time, is it?
I had to watch a video to work out how to get the fuse and relay block out - I had unclipped it and tried lifting it up, but it turns out that you need to slide it towards you first, then lift it over the lip of the gear surround, slide it a bit more and up, etc. Its actually quite well designed in that if the radio is removed as well, one can in fact pull it all of the way out and flip it over to get full access to all the contacts.
Anyway, I left the radio be, and pulled it far enough forward to get access to the DRL fuse.
After sliding the contacts out of the holder I could trim the cables and untangle them from the loom for maximum length.
The load side of the fuse had some discoloured copper so I had to trim back a bit further.
I made one attempt at crimping but there wasn't enough space for the tool/length on the wires so instead I went for a couple of my beloved Wago221s. If they can handle 32A @ 450v they'll be fine at 15A @12v. They also have the benefit of not mangling the wires in case of future work.
After digging around in my spares box for the best looking 15A fuse, I shone the terminals up with some 240grit, and it all snuggled nicely down out of the way:
And the car's identity crisis was ended:
I also took the opportunity to shine up the terminals on the high load fuses - heated seats, rear demist etc. Notably, they have good thick copper contacts in the fuse holder compared to the basic contacts in the DRL position.
A quick walk around and spotted the near side numberplate lamp was out. It came on when tapped a bit, but decided to take a look.
The bulb was all blackend so on its last legs, all the connections looked fine.
Of course I didn't have a T4W bulb in my box so a quick trip to Halfords was in order where a pair was obtained for less than the cost from Amazon. Fitted it in the car park and we were back to full lighting.
I had sat down one evening earlier in the week to start looking for brake parts, but turns out in typical 80's Volvo fashion, that in addition to the two different caliper possibilities I was aware of, there are also three options for discs, that can't be determined from reg or VIN.
Whipped the front wheels off to check which of the multiple possible variants of discs/calipers I have - turns out to be 260mm discs without integral hubs ( I think integral hubs were only very early cars) and bendix calipers.
The front hoses are in good nick but I'll replace them since I've got to remove them anyway. One of the rear ones is _just_ starting to show some cracking on close inspection, so since the system is going to be open I might as well do those too, providing the unions don't round off.
I swapped the wheels front-back on the off chance the oddly intermittent steering wheel wobble is caused by a tyre rather than the play in the near side rack shaft bushing. I am not holding out much hope on that tbh but worth trying before spending money on a rebuild.
Gave it a quick wash and spray wax since it was covered in white dust, either limestone dust from the quarry nearby or the mineral plant at work I guess - either way abrasive stuff I wanted hosed off!
You may remember it has been day-running light less since after taking SirGriffens advice I checked the fuse and found it a little bit melty.
Well, it's not really a 1980's Volvo without the lights being on all the time, is it?
I had to watch a video to work out how to get the fuse and relay block out - I had unclipped it and tried lifting it up, but it turns out that you need to slide it towards you first, then lift it over the lip of the gear surround, slide it a bit more and up, etc. Its actually quite well designed in that if the radio is removed as well, one can in fact pull it all of the way out and flip it over to get full access to all the contacts.
Anyway, I left the radio be, and pulled it far enough forward to get access to the DRL fuse.
After sliding the contacts out of the holder I could trim the cables and untangle them from the loom for maximum length.
The load side of the fuse had some discoloured copper so I had to trim back a bit further.
I made one attempt at crimping but there wasn't enough space for the tool/length on the wires so instead I went for a couple of my beloved Wago221s. If they can handle 32A @ 450v they'll be fine at 15A @12v. They also have the benefit of not mangling the wires in case of future work.
After digging around in my spares box for the best looking 15A fuse, I shone the terminals up with some 240grit, and it all snuggled nicely down out of the way:
And the car's identity crisis was ended:
I also took the opportunity to shine up the terminals on the high load fuses - heated seats, rear demist etc. Notably, they have good thick copper contacts in the fuse holder compared to the basic contacts in the DRL position.
A quick walk around and spotted the near side numberplate lamp was out. It came on when tapped a bit, but decided to take a look.
The bulb was all blackend so on its last legs, all the connections looked fine.
Of course I didn't have a T4W bulb in my box so a quick trip to Halfords was in order where a pair was obtained for less than the cost from Amazon. Fitted it in the car park and we were back to full lighting.
Love it when these threads pop up
A great find that has clearly been cherished, a friend’s dad had one of these back when it was almost new. We took it up to Scotland from Lancashire for a week up the west coast
Great comfortable waft, but not quick at all
Really love it when these cars get saved
A great find that has clearly been cherished, a friend’s dad had one of these back when it was almost new. We took it up to Scotland from Lancashire for a week up the west coast
Great comfortable waft, but not quick at all
Really love it when these cars get saved
s2kjock said:
Lovely to see these - I did a lot of my real life "learner" driving in an estate version and my folks had Volvos from the mid '70's to date aside from a few years with a Merc E class rustbucket. Many happy memories of the 740. I think we had a petrol estate, and then a couple of 760 turbodiesels before the ill-fated german invasion that was rectified with a 2005 XC70 that I have currently "borrowed" from my Dad. From memory the only time we ever had a breakdown was from dirty diesel fuel, and I am sure my Dad stretched the laws of physics a few times with some towing. Cracking cars - I think I still have a load of brochures from the Volvo dealer for these in a cupboard at my parents' house.
Similar here. My parents had a 144S when I was born, then an M plate 144 DL Auto, a T plate 244DL, an X reg 245 GL, a Y reg 245 GLT, a J reg 940 my Dad wrapped around a tree, an 850, a V70, a V70AWD, back to a 940 (after the third propshaft and second angle gear on the AWD).
Then an E320 CDI was on the scene for a few years before returning to a 56 plate XC70 that got written off by a deer during lockdown, a very brief period with a Subaru Outback that Dad didn't really like but couldn't find anything else quickly enough, he now has a XC90 that really earns it's keep.
Only failure to proceed in the Volvos was a seized camshaft in the 244DL, that the local garage owner they used to service it a short while prior was heard boasting about setting up in the pub
Inconclusive investigation work today.
22/23/24th Jan were very busy and I did about 350miles in those three days. All was going well, until on the way home on the 24th I was heading up the slope of the bridge at Avonmouth at 70mph when suddenly the engine/exhaust note changed accompanied with a loud 'click click click click click' noise that sped up and slowed down with the engine.
I'm not sure if it lost any power, I think I just instinctively lifted off and the hill slowed me down.
Of course based on the history my first thought was that something that got clobbered when the belt stripped, had finally given up.
I got into Gordano services, left the engine running and popped the bonnet. It was still clicking away loudly and sounded like top end.
On the basis that it was still running, still had oil and coolant in it and didn't have a visible hole in the block, I decided 'F*** it, lets get her done' and ventured back onto the motorway and did the next 30 miles at 55 with it clacking away like a good 'un.
I was planning on taking a video when I got home, but when I got home after the few miles of driving off the motorway it didn't sound too bad?
The car was then used for about another 70 miles of school runs. Drives fine. The sound is still there all this time, hwever much quieter than when it first occurred, mostly noticeable between 1,500 to 2,500 rpm under load, seems to disappear off throttle now, and is heard mostly when warm.
A dose of the flu since last Thursday meant that I spent all last weekend in bed and was unable to investigate any further until today, and I still feel a bit pathetic!
I pulled off all the belts and checked for noisy pulleys. all good. There is the *slightest* bit of play in the water pump pulley if you grab hold and properly yank it around but nothing to worry about.
Checked the timing marks, all good.
Also means I could listen for things without the fan noise.
While it was cold, I got Mrs1Roll to (attempt to) hold her hand over the exhaust while I felt round the manifold joints - I couldn't feel anything in the 15 seconds it took to start getting hot enough to burn me.
Tried listening around with the length of heater hose in the picture - couldn't find anything.
Moved onto a compression test:
Those results are [checks notes] better than when I got the car, presumably from being driven regularly.
I was originally thinking about whipping the valve cover off, but with those compression figures I think I'd be wasting my time, if it was a valve/spring/ something that had given up I'd have a low cylinder and/or a dead miss, surely?
So, in conclusion, I have no bloody idea where this noise is coming from!
I've ordered a set of Elring exhaust manifold gaskets, maybe I'll fit them and see. Manifold studs don't look too bad, a dose of ATF and acetone should hopefully get them off. I hope.
I can't see any soot deposits (especially with the oil from the rocker cover which is leaking again!) or feel anything at idle when cold but all the gaskets look like this:
So I gave up and washed it this afternoon!
22/23/24th Jan were very busy and I did about 350miles in those three days. All was going well, until on the way home on the 24th I was heading up the slope of the bridge at Avonmouth at 70mph when suddenly the engine/exhaust note changed accompanied with a loud 'click click click click click' noise that sped up and slowed down with the engine.
I'm not sure if it lost any power, I think I just instinctively lifted off and the hill slowed me down.
Of course based on the history my first thought was that something that got clobbered when the belt stripped, had finally given up.
I got into Gordano services, left the engine running and popped the bonnet. It was still clicking away loudly and sounded like top end.
On the basis that it was still running, still had oil and coolant in it and didn't have a visible hole in the block, I decided 'F*** it, lets get her done' and ventured back onto the motorway and did the next 30 miles at 55 with it clacking away like a good 'un.
I was planning on taking a video when I got home, but when I got home after the few miles of driving off the motorway it didn't sound too bad?
The car was then used for about another 70 miles of school runs. Drives fine. The sound is still there all this time, hwever much quieter than when it first occurred, mostly noticeable between 1,500 to 2,500 rpm under load, seems to disappear off throttle now, and is heard mostly when warm.
A dose of the flu since last Thursday meant that I spent all last weekend in bed and was unable to investigate any further until today, and I still feel a bit pathetic!
I pulled off all the belts and checked for noisy pulleys. all good. There is the *slightest* bit of play in the water pump pulley if you grab hold and properly yank it around but nothing to worry about.
Checked the timing marks, all good.
Also means I could listen for things without the fan noise.
While it was cold, I got Mrs1Roll to (attempt to) hold her hand over the exhaust while I felt round the manifold joints - I couldn't feel anything in the 15 seconds it took to start getting hot enough to burn me.
Tried listening around with the length of heater hose in the picture - couldn't find anything.
Moved onto a compression test:
Those results are [checks notes] better than when I got the car, presumably from being driven regularly.
I was originally thinking about whipping the valve cover off, but with those compression figures I think I'd be wasting my time, if it was a valve/spring/ something that had given up I'd have a low cylinder and/or a dead miss, surely?
So, in conclusion, I have no bloody idea where this noise is coming from!
I've ordered a set of Elring exhaust manifold gaskets, maybe I'll fit them and see. Manifold studs don't look too bad, a dose of ATF and acetone should hopefully get them off. I hope.
I can't see any soot deposits (especially with the oil from the rocker cover which is leaking again!) or feel anything at idle when cold but all the gaskets look like this:
So I gave up and washed it this afternoon!
Edited by chris1roll on Saturday 3rd February 20:44
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