1990 Volvo 760 GLE - V6 bus
Discussion
We needed a cheapie family bus and I saw this on Ebay. As is a seemingly common occurrence, I had had a few beers and put a cheeky bid on the old girl and it turned out I was the only person to bid to bid on the bloody thing. Come the end of the auction I was the proud owner of a big Volvo estate!
The pictures were blurred, there was very little info on it and after I had won it I realised it was in North London (I live near Aberdeen).
So I called the bloke up to confirm I was coming to collect, got some insurance, booked a Sleazyjet flight down to Luton and made my way down to sunny Barnet.
Well, what a surprise! I turns out the car is absolutely immaculate - One owner from new, full Volvo service history (from the same dealer), taxed and tested until the end of the year, all the keys, hand books and documents. Absolutely everything works, the heated electric leather seats, the aircon blows cold, even the little light under the bonnet.
It has a four speed slush box, and the 2.8 'Douvrin' PRV V6 to haul it along - the same engine that graced such stunning motors as the Renault 25 and Delorean. It makes 170bhp under the bonnet of the bus. Makes the old girl quite sprightly too!
The engine is actually quite interesting (if you like that sort of thing). It was originally designed as a V8, due to the fuel crises of the early 70's they decided to lop two cylinders off and make it into a V6. it still retains the V8 90 degree cylinder layout so in V6 form has an uneven firing pattern. However, the engine was used in a Le Mans racer producing 950bhp and in the 90's Renault Safrane Bi-Turbo (which I'd never heard of) knocking out 260bhp. I feel I need one of these Safranes in my life at some point...
Anyway, I digress - The car made the 550 mile drive in absolute comfort, not missing a beat at a steady cruise of 0.8 leptons. It averaged about 28 mpg and due to the 60 litre tank required two fill ups!
It needs a couple of jobs, a new exhaust centre section and rear dampers as it's a bit boat like at the back. I also want to sort out a tiny bit of bubbling on the front arch and a repair on the rear arch. I'm going to put four new tyres on it and get the wheels repainted too. The tyres are all good but all have 2006 date stamps in them! It is such an amazingly good car, it would seem a shame not to keep it in tip top condition.
Anyway, some pics of my new prized possession:
It's also one of the last 760's to roll off the production line being a mid 1990 car. After this Volvo stopped using the V6, dropped the 700 moniker and launched the face lifted 900 range complete with brand new inline engines.
The wife likes it, but the first thing she said when I pulled up was 'It looks like a hearse...'.
The pictures were blurred, there was very little info on it and after I had won it I realised it was in North London (I live near Aberdeen).
So I called the bloke up to confirm I was coming to collect, got some insurance, booked a Sleazyjet flight down to Luton and made my way down to sunny Barnet.
Well, what a surprise! I turns out the car is absolutely immaculate - One owner from new, full Volvo service history (from the same dealer), taxed and tested until the end of the year, all the keys, hand books and documents. Absolutely everything works, the heated electric leather seats, the aircon blows cold, even the little light under the bonnet.
It has a four speed slush box, and the 2.8 'Douvrin' PRV V6 to haul it along - the same engine that graced such stunning motors as the Renault 25 and Delorean. It makes 170bhp under the bonnet of the bus. Makes the old girl quite sprightly too!
The engine is actually quite interesting (if you like that sort of thing). It was originally designed as a V8, due to the fuel crises of the early 70's they decided to lop two cylinders off and make it into a V6. it still retains the V8 90 degree cylinder layout so in V6 form has an uneven firing pattern. However, the engine was used in a Le Mans racer producing 950bhp and in the 90's Renault Safrane Bi-Turbo (which I'd never heard of) knocking out 260bhp. I feel I need one of these Safranes in my life at some point...
Anyway, I digress - The car made the 550 mile drive in absolute comfort, not missing a beat at a steady cruise of 0.8 leptons. It averaged about 28 mpg and due to the 60 litre tank required two fill ups!
It needs a couple of jobs, a new exhaust centre section and rear dampers as it's a bit boat like at the back. I also want to sort out a tiny bit of bubbling on the front arch and a repair on the rear arch. I'm going to put four new tyres on it and get the wheels repainted too. The tyres are all good but all have 2006 date stamps in them! It is such an amazingly good car, it would seem a shame not to keep it in tip top condition.
Anyway, some pics of my new prized possession:
It's also one of the last 760's to roll off the production line being a mid 1990 car. After this Volvo stopped using the V6, dropped the 700 moniker and launched the face lifted 900 range complete with brand new inline engines.
The wife likes it, but the first thing she said when I pulled up was 'It looks like a hearse...'.
from the time Volvo built unkillable motorised bricks & still made them proper wheel drive so you could enjoy it in the winter.
Cheers for the kind words.
I can tell you that after a 9 hour non stop drive, the seats are hugely comfortable!
@ anomaly - I'd love a Delorean myself, I always thought they were awesome! When did you sell yours?
I have a random Volvo 760 fact - Erich Honecker, the leader of the German Democratic Republic, had one of these as his staff car!
In fact, it seems the East German Stasi loved Volvo's in general. I just found this fascinating link:
http://www.volvobertone.com/7enstory.html
I can tell you that after a 9 hour non stop drive, the seats are hugely comfortable!
@ anomaly - I'd love a Delorean myself, I always thought they were awesome! When did you sell yours?
I have a random Volvo 760 fact - Erich Honecker, the leader of the German Democratic Republic, had one of these as his staff car!
In fact, it seems the East German Stasi loved Volvo's in general. I just found this fascinating link:
http://www.volvobertone.com/7enstory.html
Edited by bob1179 on Saturday 29th March 16:10
bob1179 said:
@ anomaly - I'd love a Delorean myself, I always thought they were awesome! When did you sell yours?
I sold mine 10 years ago. Really regret selling it though: such a fun car to own and much better than their reputation suggests. I will get another one day!Edited by bob1179 on Saturday 29th March 16:10
The year is 1989, i'm 4 yrs old and my fathers e34 530i is stolen whilst at work in London, and he has to find a replacement. A leftfield choice by comparison, but he opts for a demonstrator - silver 760GLE 2.8 on a G plate. The next 3 years summer holidays are spent in the south of France and we take the ovlov, fully laden with a family of 5, their luggage, air con on full and the cubby holes under the boot floor stuffed with wine! One year we took the scenic route back through the alps and the old girl struggled a bit on the hills, but never let us down.
Good memories, he trades it in 1993 due to needing a new exhaust which was quoted something like £1100 back then, and got a Renault Safrane. A common site in France, but still special (their prime minister was chauffeured around in one) but less so in England. I've never seen a bi-turbo version though. It was an advanced car for its time, came with a voice computer which when you pressed the button said ' the vehicle is checking all systems for you', and if you left a door open, it would tell you off!
Anyway I digress, lovely rare car OP, it looks in rude health for the year.
Good memories, he trades it in 1993 due to needing a new exhaust which was quoted something like £1100 back then, and got a Renault Safrane. A common site in France, but still special (their prime minister was chauffeured around in one) but less so in England. I've never seen a bi-turbo version though. It was an advanced car for its time, came with a voice computer which when you pressed the button said ' the vehicle is checking all systems for you', and if you left a door open, it would tell you off!
Anyway I digress, lovely rare car OP, it looks in rude health for the year.
My father had one of these in 2000/2001. An 86/C-reg in JRG. It was not very powerful, but the engine made a lot of noise. We also had a '91 740 GLE (2.3 non turbo) in the family and I always wanted the rare 740 16v version.
Both replaced with 850 T5s that have also long gone to car heaven.
Both replaced with 850 T5s that have also long gone to car heaven.
anomaly said:
bob1179 said:
@ anomaly - I'd love a Delorean myself, I always thought they were awesome! When did you sell yours?
I sold mine 10 years ago. Really regret selling it though: such a fun car to own and much better than their reputation suggests. I will get another one day!Edited by bob1179 on Saturday 29th March 16:10
si_xsi said:
The year is 1989, i'm 4 yrs old and my fathers e34 530i is stolen whilst at work in London, and he has to find a replacement. A leftfield choice by comparison, but he opts for a demonstrator - silver 760GLE 2.8 on a G plate. The next 3 years summer holidays are spent in the south of France and we take the ovlov, fully laden with a family of 5, their luggage, air con on full and the cubby holes under the boot floor stuffed with wine! One year we took the scenic route back through the alps and the old girl struggled a bit on the hills, but never let us down.
Good memories, he trades it in 1993 due to needing a new exhaust which was quoted something like £1100 back then, and got a Renault Safrane. A common site in France, but still special (their prime minister was chauffeured around in one) but less so in England. I've never seen a bi-turbo version though. It was an advanced car for its time, came with a voice computer which when you pressed the button said ' the vehicle is checking all systems for you', and if you left a door open, it would tell you off!
Anyway I digress, lovely rare car OP, it looks in rude health for the year.
It does seem like a nice old bus. As for the exhaust, I spent an hour or so yesterday trying to find one for it. It appears that other than the centre silencer they are a bit thin on the ground so I may have to have a pattern one made up.Good memories, he trades it in 1993 due to needing a new exhaust which was quoted something like £1100 back then, and got a Renault Safrane. A common site in France, but still special (their prime minister was chauffeured around in one) but less so in England. I've never seen a bi-turbo version though. It was an advanced car for its time, came with a voice computer which when you pressed the button said ' the vehicle is checking all systems for you', and if you left a door open, it would tell you off!
Anyway I digress, lovely rare car OP, it looks in rude health for the year.
I always liked left-field cars, that is why the old V6 Volvo appealed to me so much. It's also why I have to seek out a bi-turbo Safrane!
jimmy156 said:
I like it, I grew up with a grey 740 in the family so have a soft spot for old volvo's
If you filled up twice you must have used at least 2 full tanks of fuel? Which would be more like 20mpg!
I did a rough calculation, and I filled it up in Barnet before I hit the M25 and again on the M6 in cumbria. it looks like I was getting about 25 mpg. Pretty much exactly the same economy as I get in my old Merc on the Motorway!If you filled up twice you must have used at least 2 full tanks of fuel? Which would be more like 20mpg!
It is a proper anchor of an engine and reading back some old Autocar test reports online, this engine was often slated for it's poor economy.
Autocar averaged 17.7 mpg in their test car!
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Go to one of these specialist places and have a custom stainless one knocked up. Will sound great and probably cheaper and easier than sourcing an OE Volvo part
I was think about doing this. Though I'll keep it pretty standard.I feel there is something not quite right about a rorty Volvo estate!
SebastienClement said:
Well done, Sir! Looks a cracking example, and I'm watching this thread with interest
Cheers SC. I've already started ordering bits for it, I really want to get the bubbling in the front wing seen to. It's not very obvious but I can see it getting worse, plus the duff repair on the rear arch.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff