Unmolested Volvo 850 GLT
Discussion
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 in the forces, then in 1999 the 850 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.
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, I thought maybe a buckled wheel!!! 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 and the front is looking sorted now
Fitted new rear bumper brackets and removed the towbar then refitted the bumper straight this time
Lockdown mission accomplished and nothing left to do
The 850 was new in 1997 and delivered (UK spec) to Germany where the original owner worked in the forces, then in 1999 the 850 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.
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, I thought maybe a buckled wheel!!! 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 and the front is looking sorted now
Fitted new rear bumper brackets and removed the towbar then refitted the bumper straight this time
Lockdown mission accomplished and nothing left to do
Thanks for the kind words, yes It's a lovely car which I was lucky to find.
@ rix I would have a Gul in a minute but it would be wasted on me now... No rattly tailgate, but thanks for the offer
@ miniman Thanks
@ Rass29 Yes very happy now that it's back to a factory fresh 23 year old. I cleaned the wheel arches with a pot scrubbing brush, soapy water then rinsed and when dry gave a coat of Chemical Guys Bare Bones
Before and after pics...
@ rix I would have a Gul in a minute but it would be wasted on me now... No rattly tailgate, but thanks for the offer
@ miniman Thanks
@ Rass29 Yes very happy now that it's back to a factory fresh 23 year old. I cleaned the wheel arches with a pot scrubbing brush, soapy water then rinsed and when dry gave a coat of Chemical Guys Bare Bones
Before and after pics...
rednotdead said:
These were a real favourite with the UK Forces in Germany, helped by very favourable pricing on top of the tax free bonus. They were everywhere in the mid/late 90s, usually metallic green.
Yes this was purchased by a German based UK forces Captain, it spent the first two years in Germany then came back to Blighty in 1999. DVLA website has it as 1997 car first registered in the UK in 1999. Original receipt in 1997 for a cost of £17,948, heavily discounted and lower VAT when buying for the German marketThere were a lot on German based UK forces guys who bought cars and sold them on to UK dealers, apparently it only took 4 cars before you had enough money to buy yourself a new car. Then they changed the rules and cars had to be kept for a minimum of 6 months so all the lock-ups in Germany were filled with brand new Volvos, Mercs, BMWs and Audis for 6 months before being brought to the UK markets. Some of the dealers in the UK done deals where they provided train tickets for the guys to get back to Germany...
Edited by 47p2 on Wednesday 24th June 18:51
Recent work on the 850 has been to paint some of the metalwork underneath to 1. Make it more pleasing to look at when I remove the wheels and 2. To help preserve the car for future generations to enjoy.
I started by painting the brake calipers and then the suspension parts
Then it was the exhaust tailpipe’s turn to be tidied up. Original GLT tailpipes are no longer available and the GLT doesn’t have the square pipe that was fitted to the T5s but a round pipe with a folded inwards lip that was originally painted in black. I spoke to my local stainless exhaust builder and we decided the best route was to keep the original tailpipe and weld a stainless steel tailpipe over it
I started by painting the brake calipers and then the suspension parts
Then it was the exhaust tailpipe’s turn to be tidied up. Original GLT tailpipes are no longer available and the GLT doesn’t have the square pipe that was fitted to the T5s but a round pipe with a folded inwards lip that was originally painted in black. I spoke to my local stainless exhaust builder and we decided the best route was to keep the original tailpipe and weld a stainless steel tailpipe over it
SVX said:
That's probably the cleanest 850 on here...
Thanks, I think you could be right, I doubt there will be many if any left in the UK in this condition. It literally looks like a 2 year old car that could be sitting in a Volvo showroomaust240378 said:
...Do you have any photos of the engine? Cheers Austin
Thought I had posted engine pics but didn't so here you are. It's only a 10V 2.5 which nobody wants unlike the T5 range which are soaring in price
Another couple of jobs jobbed, actually these are extras as the car wasn't originally fitted with them.
First was an engine under-tray. My engine was covered in mud splashes when I bought the car and a bit of research found that although a few 850s were fitted with under-trays most were not. I managed to find one and tried it for size this evening. I need to drill holes for 3 of the the fixings which I'll do tomorrow
This should help keep the engine bay a little cleaner
This however I haven't a clue what its purpose is!!!
Half a plastic liner for the spare wheel well. Initial thought was to prevent the wheel from moving around, but it's in there pretty solid once the strap is on. Maybe it's to prevent the tyre from rubbing at the paintwork? I really haven't a clue.
Answers below if you know
Before pic...
After pic...
First was an engine under-tray. My engine was covered in mud splashes when I bought the car and a bit of research found that although a few 850s were fitted with under-trays most were not. I managed to find one and tried it for size this evening. I need to drill holes for 3 of the the fixings which I'll do tomorrow
This should help keep the engine bay a little cleaner
This however I haven't a clue what its purpose is!!!
Half a plastic liner for the spare wheel well. Initial thought was to prevent the wheel from moving around, but it's in there pretty solid once the strap is on. Maybe it's to prevent the tyre from rubbing at the paintwork? I really haven't a clue.
Answers below if you know
Before pic...
After pic...
I drilled 3 x 5mm holes in the front of the subframe to allow the cover to be bolted into place. I find it odd that Volvo never fitted covers to these cars in the factory and from my research only a few had them fitted. I'm hopeful it will prevent water and muck splashing up into the engine bay and help keep that area a bit cleaner in the future
Today was 'get dirty day' yet again...
The underside of the car has come a long way since I bought it but the exhaust which is now over 23 years old was looking a little tatty so I decided to give it a rub down and a coat of high temperature exhaust paint. I used this paint on a manifold many years ago and it was still perfect when I sold the car 10 years later so I'm hoping the exhaust will hold up for a few years longer
The underside of the car has come a long way since I bought it but the exhaust which is now over 23 years old was looking a little tatty so I decided to give it a rub down and a coat of high temperature exhaust paint. I used this paint on a manifold many years ago and it was still perfect when I sold the car 10 years later so I'm hoping the exhaust will hold up for a few years longer
Thanks for all the kind words and support, I'm afraid I think I'm running out of jobs to do on the 850 so updates will not be as regular
Today's task was to tidy up the spare wheel. The other Columba wheels were powder coated by either the dealer or the previous owner but the spare is still original. As it's only the spare I decided rather than go to the bother of powder coating i would paint the inside (inside rim was originally painted and not powder coated) as the outer is still presentable. Some serious rubbing with 60 grade sandpaper removed the rough and I finished off with some emery cloth. Etch primed and some grey primer then a couple of coats of clear lacquer. I'll leave it tonight and polish the outside tomorrow before applying a coat of wax
Just hope my granddaughter doesn't want to play cards tonight...
Today's task was to tidy up the spare wheel. The other Columba wheels were powder coated by either the dealer or the previous owner but the spare is still original. As it's only the spare I decided rather than go to the bother of powder coating i would paint the inside (inside rim was originally painted and not powder coated) as the outer is still presentable. Some serious rubbing with 60 grade sandpaper removed the rough and I finished off with some emery cloth. Etch primed and some grey primer then a couple of coats of clear lacquer. I'll leave it tonight and polish the outside tomorrow before applying a coat of wax
Just hope my granddaughter doesn't want to play cards tonight...
Spare wheel now cleaned up waxed, tyre dressed and back in the boot and looking so much better than it was.
It's actually came up better than I expected so will keep my OCD at bay for today[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/M1QHM3VM[/url]
Original Volvo tool kit, tool roll, pouch and bulb kit
It's actually came up better than I expected so will keep my OCD at bay for today[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/M1QHM3VM[/url]Original Volvo tool kit, tool roll, pouch and bulb kit
Happy as a pig in the proverbial...
When I bought my 850 it only came with one key and two remotes, one remote of which was faulty. Not a problem I thought as I can order spares from Volvo.
The spare remote I received had the battery cover missing so I swapped the battery cover off the working remote and tried the broken one to see if it was working. After a clean with some Isopropyl the remote worked faultlessly so the hunt for a battery cover commenced and after a bit of luck I managed to find another used remote that allowed me to do a case swap.
I ordered a spare key from Volvo and was told to allow up to seven days for it to arrive. I booked the car into my local Volvo dealer to have the key programmed to the car then had a call that Volvo don't have a key and don't know when they can get one. I cancelled the local dealer and started looking for an alternative.
I contacted the original owner's son who sold the car to the dealer and he told me there were 3 keys with the car that were passed on, I called the dealer who said if he receiver 3 keys they would be passed on to the new owner. I called the guy I bought the car from and he was adamant that he only received one key.
After many phone calls and emails I discovered there are less than a handful of people who can clone and cut or program a key for the 850 and none were anywhere near me, then last weekend I found someone local who said they could cut and program a key but he never had any in stock so he would need to order one.
When I bought the car in March I searched the internet and found the old adverts from over a year ago from the dealer and took screenshots of them. At the weekend I decided to have a look through them and discovered that he advertised the car with 'spare keys' so I contacted the previous owner again and he said he would have another look but was certain he was only given one key.
On Monday evening the previous owner contacted me to say he found two Volvo keys but was unsure if they were for the 850 or from another Volvo he once owned.
The two keys arrived this morning and I went out and tried them, first in the door lock, then tried to start the car and they both work. So I now have 2 standard keys plus a valet key and two working remote controls
Happy days indeed
When I bought my 850 it only came with one key and two remotes, one remote of which was faulty. Not a problem I thought as I can order spares from Volvo.
The spare remote I received had the battery cover missing so I swapped the battery cover off the working remote and tried the broken one to see if it was working. After a clean with some Isopropyl the remote worked faultlessly so the hunt for a battery cover commenced and after a bit of luck I managed to find another used remote that allowed me to do a case swap.
I ordered a spare key from Volvo and was told to allow up to seven days for it to arrive. I booked the car into my local Volvo dealer to have the key programmed to the car then had a call that Volvo don't have a key and don't know when they can get one. I cancelled the local dealer and started looking for an alternative.
I contacted the original owner's son who sold the car to the dealer and he told me there were 3 keys with the car that were passed on, I called the dealer who said if he receiver 3 keys they would be passed on to the new owner. I called the guy I bought the car from and he was adamant that he only received one key.
After many phone calls and emails I discovered there are less than a handful of people who can clone and cut or program a key for the 850 and none were anywhere near me, then last weekend I found someone local who said they could cut and program a key but he never had any in stock so he would need to order one.
When I bought the car in March I searched the internet and found the old adverts from over a year ago from the dealer and took screenshots of them. At the weekend I decided to have a look through them and discovered that he advertised the car with 'spare keys' so I contacted the previous owner again and he said he would have another look but was certain he was only given one key.
On Monday evening the previous owner contacted me to say he found two Volvo keys but was unsure if they were for the 850 or from another Volvo he once owned.
The two keys arrived this morning and I went out and tried them, first in the door lock, then tried to start the car and they both work. So I now have 2 standard keys plus a valet key and two working remote controls
Happy days indeed
Just back from a holiday with the caravan and my neighbour handed me a parcel that arrived whilst I was away.
I saw them advertised on Gumtree and tried to buy them but I was pipped to the post as someone had beaten me to them. Then the vendor contacted me to say the guy who was supposed to buy them never arrived to collect so he was open to offers.... me and 4 others were given the chance to blind bid... Not really the way to do things and not normally something I would entertain but I decided to bid his asking price plus postage and and extra £5 and I'm now the owner of some NOS Volvo 850 mats. The vendor's father bought them new in 1996 for his 850 but never used them so they car adorn my 850 for high days and holidays.
Need to get myself a new pair of slippers for when I'm driving the 850 now
I saw them advertised on Gumtree and tried to buy them but I was pipped to the post as someone had beaten me to them. Then the vendor contacted me to say the guy who was supposed to buy them never arrived to collect so he was open to offers.... me and 4 others were given the chance to blind bid... Not really the way to do things and not normally something I would entertain but I decided to bid his asking price plus postage and and extra £5 and I'm now the owner of some NOS Volvo 850 mats. The vendor's father bought them new in 1996 for his 850 but never used them so they car adorn my 850 for high days and holidays.
Need to get myself a new pair of slippers for when I'm driving the 850 now
Fitted the rest of the mats today only to find out that my 23 year old carpets needed a clean when seen against the new grey of the mats. The rear tunnel and rear driver side footwell were looking a little dirty with passengers muddy feet getting in and out. I used a steam cleaner and a cloth to remove the ingrained in dirt and I suspect this is the first time the carpet has been cleaned as there was no soapy residue in the carpets from previous cleans.
The rubber mats had left some marks along the edges where they had sat on the carpets for the last 23 years so the steam cleaner managed to lift most of the pile back up and make it look more respectable.
The rubber mats had left some marks along the edges where they had sat on the carpets for the last 23 years so the steam cleaner managed to lift most of the pile back up and make it look more respectable.
TW124 said:
Superb car all round that is OP. Loving the obsessed attention to detail. Do you measure your hoovering stripes or tape off the sections to get them perfect? I know someone who does....
Thanks, no measuring was used in the making of the stripes, just the vacuum cleaner with attachment and go in different directions for effectSmallblock1 said:
If you don't mind me asking where did you buy the floor tiles? Really like your colour combo
They are 7mm Ecotiles now 10 years old and still looking good, the only downfall is the grey tiles discolour with warm tyres sitting on them (I was told this would happen). Apart from the discouloured marks the tiles still look new https://www.ecotileflooring.comwoodnut67 said:
I hope you got in SERIOUS do do for that little trick from you're granddaughter! 
Haha I bought her another set before she noticed
Haha I bought her another set before she noticed
shalmaneser said:
...Car looks wonderful, proper timewarp and is a credit to you.
Thanks, the only reason I bought it was because it was in such good condition and I could see the potential. I was lucky that the original owner's family took great care of the car, I only wish I could have bought it direct from them rather than the nugget that owned if for 10 months prior to me buying itGassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff