School me on Volvo 960's

[Stanley Rockafella]

Looking at a sedan with auto to replace the e30 in the winter. Something with fold down rear seads for the snowboard/skiis, RWD and sturdy. Auto since I prefer it in the heavy traffic we usually get stuck in.

Honestly, I can't seem to find anythign else that fits the bill. I have one I may see soon that has a mere 90k miles on it and it's a 93.

feedback is appreciated

[tjts1]

92-93 have 30k mile timing belt.
94 50k
95+ 70k
When the T belt goes you're replacing the engine. The T belt job is very easy on these cars because theres ton of room up front. I have it down to about 20 minutes. Much easier than FWD Volvos. If you DIY it you're looking at about $150 in parts for the belt, tensioner, pulleys etc. The tensioner and pulleys only need to be replaced every 100-150k so the belt on its own is maybe $20.

92-94 have 201hp + 3.31 diff, about 50% have a lockup diff.
95+ have 180hp, 3.73 diff, all are open diff.
All 960s in the US used Nivomat self leveling suspension. Its crap and causes the rear end to sag when it fails. The self leveling shock absorber will cost about $250/side to replace. The whole system is self contained in the shock. On non IRS wagons, you can replace the spring and shock for conventional suspension from a 740 or 940. Thats what I did on mine. The IRS sedans have also been converted to conventional spring/shock. Search brickboard or turbobricks for info on that.

The AW30 4 spd auto on all 960s is built by Aisin (read Toyota) in japan. Its the same gearbox used on the LS400, GS300, Toyota pickups and SUVs and a few Jeeps. Its bullet proof. Volvo claims the ATF is lifetime fluid, change it anyway.

On 92-95 everything including suspension is interchangeable with earlier 940, 760 and 740. The aluminum block 6cyl B6304 is a very solid motor. We have 170k miles on our 94 wagon. The car is extremely robust but they burn a ton of gas. Expect 17 city, 23 highway in normal driving. Anybody claiming 30mph is full of shit. It runs fine on 87 octane despite the 10.7:1 CR. It has coil on plug ignition, Bosch Motronic 1.8 on 92-94, Motronic 4.3 or 4.4 on 95+ cars. Theres a thermostat in the bottom of the airbox that feeds hot air to the engine. Rip it out and set the intake to cold air only. There is no aftermarket for this car except for a few suspension bits from IPD.
cheers

[Stanley Rockafella]

wow, that's a lot of info....thanks :)

[Wild Ride]

I have owned 3 volvo 740 wagons (all white). One has been in my family 20 years and I will never sell it, they just get under your skin and are THE quintessential wagon. Get a 940/740 turbo vs a 960. Alot more engine tuning options with a turbo and a much more robust engine overall from my experience. everything else seems to already be covered by TJTS1 above. Go on turbobricks.com to learn more.

[Stanley Rockafella]

For the price and the versatility...they seem like a great deal actually

thanks for the reply

[Wild Ride]

e34 wagon<740 turbo this is what I arrived at when making a purchase decision for my wires work car, They are much simpler cars (e30 simple) and are overall more cost effective to own than an e34, faster too.

[Stanley Rockafella]

90 740gle 16v or 93 940 Turbo?

Consideirng one of these cars. Which is better bang for the buck and comparable to an e30 in terms of simplicity and reliability?

90 740 GLE 16V

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/cto/3504977841.html

emailed seller who hasn't responded yet. Has working AC and only about 100k miles
The fact that it's simpler without the turbo attracts me, but the performance (or lack thereof) makes me wanna go with the turbo version.

93 940 Turbo

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pml/cto/3474501899.html

Called the owner who purchased car from a small dealer. Only selling since the car is too old for her. Has a little over 100k miles

[superboosted]

16v is pretty easily turboed if need be, and that head is like ford/volvo gold. They don't do too bad power wise but MAKE SURE the timing belt has been done or put that in your budget. I personally have had about 5 740 turbos, never a 16v,but always wanted one. Best part about either of those cars is that you can build a PERFECT one right out of the junkyard,and that volvo mechanicals are just stout and made simple to work on. Good luck! Turbobricks.org is your friend.

[Emre]

Consider a Mercedes-Benz 300E (W124) wagon.

[streetwaves]

Consider a Mercedes-Benz 300E (W124) wagon.

+1 definitely.

[///schwartzman]

I had the odd pleasure of helping on a rebuild of a 740 turbo motor, I have to say I was impressed with the motor design... The integrated bearing girdle bottom-end is bulletproof... I can see these motors built to do 400whp as a daily driver easily. Gas mileage, that's another story.

[SwedishDeserter]

93-95 940 turbo is what you want. lots of reasons why, but that's what it all boils down to.

beyond that... any 90+ volvo RWD turbo car is good.